The right antivirus software

Of course, the first thing that you are going to want to do is install the right antivirus software. When you surf the web, one of the man things that you have to worry about is the bad guys being able to install something nasty on your system. With quality antivirus software installed on your computer, you will not have to worry about that threat. As long as you keep the system updated, most threats that you will run across on the internet will be neutralized. There are several antivirus software vendors that you can choose from. Microsoft even offers a version of their own antivirus software that you can use on your system. Their software is free and it is highly recommended in the security community. So now once you have the antivirus installed, it’s off to the next step.

Make sure that your network is secure

The next thing that we want to do is to make sure that our network is secure. We do this by installing a firewall on our system. A firewall is a piece of software that will block traffic from coming into unauthorized ports. There are two versions of firewalls that you can use a hardware firewall and a software firewall. A hardware firewall is one that is installed in the router that you have at your home. If you have a wireless network at your house then you most likely have a router with a firewall installed on it. Make sure that it is turned on. Also you can install a firewall right in your system. There are plenty of third parties that offer firewall software but there is also one already installed into Windows 7.

Time to get rid of the spyware

Now that you have the firewall and antivirus installed, it is now time to worry about the spyware that might try to enter your system. Even though some antivirus software will stop spyware as well it is better to get a dedicated piece of software to do the job. There are many places where you can get anti-spyware software and again Microsoft has their own version of this as well. We suggest that you go with a third party since the reviews of this software from Microsoft is not as high as their other security products.

As you can see, it takes a little bit of work to make sure that Windows 7 is secure from day one. But once you accomplish it, you will feel a lot better surfing the internet.

Disable dangerous features. Microsoft Windows systems come with a number of features enabled by default that introduce significant security risks while doing little or nothing for convenience. These include The Guest Account, Autorun, and even Automatic Updates because letting someone else who has no idea what software you’re running without you having tested the updates yet decide when changes should be made to your system is a bad idea. Microsoft Windows provides many features that are activated by default and are either unnecessary for the vast majority of users or poorly conceived from a security perspective. You should deactivate the features that you don’t need as each of them introduces its own risks.

Disable services that are unneeded. You should disable all unneeded services. Employ good email security practices. Make use of some basic email security practices to ensure that you do not invite the bad guys do not take advantage of you through phishing techniques, flood you with spam, or read your email. Install and maintain malware protection software. Malware remains a significant threat to Microsoft Windows systems, and running one without malware protection is dangerous. There are numerous options for antispyware and antivirus protections available so choose carefully well. Keep your malware protection software’s signature databases updated because the software only protects against the threats it can recognize, and don’t rely on your choice of antivirus software from six years gone by.

Update more than just MS Windows. In Microsoft Window’s world, the majority of the software most people run on their computers often comes from third party vendors who have no connection to Microsoft.  The result of this situation is that when you install other software programs you have to track security updates for these applications in addition to the operating system. Simply getting your Microsoft updates every month doesn’t always take care of everything you may have installed. If you want to maintain security for your system you need to keep track of what’s installed and whether it has received any updates, because security goes beyond the core operating system.

Research and test your updates. It’s important to keep your system updated can become vulnerable even if you have received patches from Microsoft and other software vendors. It’s equally important, however, to make sure that you test and research your software updates before installing them into a production system. All too often, users discover that untested updates are a cure worse than the disease, as they undo the benefits of previously applied updates, open additional vulnerabilities in the system, and break functionality. Researching others’ experiences can help ensure that your system does not develop problems as the result of a bad update.

Investigate alternatives to your default application choices. Should you be using a Web browser other than Internet Explorer, such as Opera, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome? Is the OTR encryption plugin or the protocol IM client Pidgin a better choice for your instant messaging needs, including security, than the original clients for gTalk, ICO, Y!M, MSN and AIM? Make sure you know the consequences of your decision before settling for default applications.

Use a high quality desktop firewall. In many respects, desktop firewalls are applications like any other, but they deserve special attention for MS Windows security applications. In addition, even Windows servers are in effect desktop systems, so don’t let the fact that a given computer is a server deter you from installing a good desktop firewall protection application on the system if you can spare the RAM and the CPU cycles. On a user desktop system, desktop firewall software is even more important. If you rely on the defaults you get when you buy the computer you may get your system compromised without your even knowing it. MS Windows after Service Pack 2 provides Windows Firewall and is certainly better than nothing, but you can almost always do better. Look into alternatives to the Windows Firewall, and select the option that best suits your needs.

Before you assume MS Windows XP is what you need, research your options. The same principle that applies to applications also applies to the various operating systems. Different OSs can provide different functionality and security benefits. Just how certain are you that MS Windows XP is the operating system you need? Have you investigated other possibilities? What about MS Windows Vista or 2000? Have you checked out OpenVMS, OpenSolaris, or OpenBSD, for a server or Ubuntu Linux for a workstation?

Check out your protection through Window’s Security Center. This is an all in one monitoring tool that will help you keep track of your antivirus software, automatic updates, and firewall. Window’s Security Center for Window’s Vista has many more security categories than Windows XP does. It will now warn you should your antispyware software not up and running.

Keep Windows Vista updated. Every platform always has things that don’t work the way they should and the only secure way to fix those problems is by keeping your operating system updated. Inevitably additional problems and security breaches will be discovered over time.

Use the network profiles. Windows treated all network connections the same before the release of Windows Vista. In Vista, however, you can utilize their Network and Sharing Center to define a network as a domain, private or public domain network. When the machine uses the network to log on to a domain, the networks are automatically designated as domain networks. Since Windows implements various security features based on the type of network you’re connected to it is important to select an appropriate network profile.

If you have a choice, use the 64 bit version of Windows Vista. The reason for this is that this version of Vista is far more secure than the 32 bit version. The reason is that the Windows 64 bit version has one security feature which results in an offset that will be applied randomly each time the system files are loaded. The result is the system files are rarely located twice in a row in the same memory location. This randomization will usually foil the majority of the exploits that are most commonly used against the XP version of Windows. One more security feature which is found only in the 64 bit version allows the executable code to run only in certain areas of the system’s memory.

Use some software to protect the security on your Sidebar. Internet Security Systems is responsible for providing an overall gauge of security issues Internet wide. The Internet Security Systems has an Internet threat level indicator that has four levels and alerts users immediately if there is danger of some sort of large scale virus or worm infestation or some other disruption of the network. This software displays the current status from the ISS website. The status is automatically refreshed every sixty minutes.

By reading this article, you may know what kind of cyber crime “419 fraud” is (also known as Advance Fee Fraud or advance fraud), and you will certainly not step into the same hole.

Where does the 419 fraud come from?

The name of this fraud method comes from the Nigerian law article 4.1.9. dealing with fraud. It is also named the “Advance Fee Fraud” or advance payment fraud. This form of fraud is mostly committed by West African gangs, which Nigeria is especially known for.

How is the method of the 419-fraud?

They send millions of emails around, hoping that someone would read them. The mails come in different variations, there is a proposal for a business deal or a lottery prize. It may also look as if it was sent by a family. The fraud consists of a promised forthcoming amount of money, but preliminary payments are requested, such as transaction costs.

Danger! Money loss is not the only risk

Do not liaise with these fraudsters! Even if you think it’s just a “game” to play, because you know that it is a fraud, it can be dangerous. A Greek man, George Makronalli (29 years) thought he had a good business deal to close, but was ultimately kidnapped and later murdered by the crooks. If the fraudsters still arouse your interest and you want to test them first look at the link to the source of this article. You can read an example of someone who has also tested the fraudsters. You can use these for consideration.

What are the signs of a 419-fraud?

If you receive e-mails with proposals that seem too good to be true, it is actually a direct indicator light. It could be a response to an ad you clicked somewhere on the internet or an e-mail from someone you do not know with a business proposal. The e-mails are usually written in poor grammar and suggest a sense of urgency in the writing. The e-mail address may be similar to a spam address and Yahoo addresses are mainly in large numbers used for this form of cyber crime. If you recognize any of the above features, remove the mail! If it seems too good to be true, then it is. A scam e-mail may not meet all the above characteristics, because the crooks have various considerations.

When people have agreed to the proposals, they often receive official documents which gives the victim confidence in the counterparty (the scammers). Further analysis of the documents may quickly show that is fake: the lacking of a watermark, signature or official stamp and even a fake check.

CAUTION! If you by this or any other way have ever received a check that you are not familiar with, then go to the bank and ask if the check is real. Do not just check whether you can recover, because then you can be accused of fraud!

The default user account that is created during the installation in Windows 7 is a protected administrator that would only be prompted when programs try to make changes to the system’s configuration or when the user modifies the operating system settings and the User Account Control does not raise any flag.

This setting is apparently very comfortable for the user, particularly in terms of usability, because the Operating System is not incessantly bothering the user with a popup window and requesting several clicks in order to permit a program execution.

Still, it already been shown that the default value can easily change into an undesired security problem that could easily permit the self elevation of malware to full administrative privileges and run malicious code with no trouble at all. In order to safeguard your data and protect your system and prevent random codes from being executed, you should modify the default value of the User Account Control (UAC).

AutoPlay and/or AutoRun is one of the most, if not the most prolific tools for spreading e threats, including viruses and Trojans and depends on the exploitation of a rather simple yet very effective feature of the Windows 7 operating system.

AutoRun and/or AutoPlay permits the initiation or execution of numerous actions, such as to launch particular software or play the video and/or audio content in the correct player, namely a setup routine when DVDs or CDs are inserted and the USB sticks and flash drives or portable HDDs are plugged in or inserted.

This innocent behavior can be hijacked for malicious purposes, via the corruption of the files that actually store the information required by the operating system to perform a suite of actions or read the media content.

Therefore, instead of just opening the initial panel for setting up an application, such as playing a movie that is stored on a DVD or reading a Word document, the user could actually involuntarily trigger a piece of concealed malware.

The malware then steals his or her sensitive data, such as recorded key strokes, address book entries, passwords, and usernames and either opens the door to even more unwanted e threats or, worse yet, sends the details about the users on line transactions, such as credit card numbers.

To protect your system and data and to prevent malware infections, disable the AutoRun and/or AutoPlay feature.

To understand how to deal with spyware you first have to understand how it works. It gets on a computer by attaching itself to, or disguising itself as, some useful piece of software. Kazaa is the classic example of that It is a useful piece of Peer to Peer software but it is packed full of spyware. The first thing that spyware does when it is on a computer is add itself to various parts window’s registry so that it will be loaded when windows starts up. So the first thing you need to do is removed these various registry entries so that you can then remove the spyware.

To do this you will need to use some cool software. The first cool software you should use is called msconfig. It is installed standard on Windows XP, Windows ME and Windows 98. It is not included with Windows 2000. Don’t ask me why. I always run this right off before I do anything else. To access it all you have to do is click the Start button. Then click on Run and type in “msconfig” and click “ok”. You are greeted with the System Configuration Utility. You can disable most start up items by clicking on “Selective Startup” and uncheck “Load Startup Items”. If you do this most of the stuff that normally starts up will not start up when you reboot your computer. Then go to the Services tab and Disable all non-Microsoft services. Don’t be timid in disabling anything in this utility. There is nothing you can do that will permanently damage Windows because you can always come back to this utility and undo your changes.

After you have ran msconfig I would reboot the computer into safe mode. You can do this by pressing “F8″ while windows is starting up. Sometimes it hard to know when to do this. It’s after your computer goes out of the bios and boots off the hard drive you should press F8. If in doubt repeatedly press F8 while the computer is starting up. The advantage of being in safe mode is that none but the cleverest Spyware is loaded in Safe Mode. In safe mode it is time to try the powerful program known as HiJackThis.exe. HiJackThis functions like msconfig but it is much more thorough at finding possible spyware problems. The rule to follow when using HiJackthis is, “If you don’t know what it is get rid of it.” When you run a scan with HiJackThis you will be presented with a list of possible spyware found in the registry. Keep in mid that it is possible spyware, just because it is there it doesn’t mean it is bad. Most of the stuff listed here will be extensions to Internet explorer and stuff like that. Everything listed is optional. Your computer will work perfectly fine even if you removed everything listed. Once you check those things that you want to remove and you click “Fix Checked”, restart your computer in normal mode and you should have about 90% of your spyware removed.
To find out if you have successfully removed all the spyware, start HiJackThis again and do a scan. If you find anything listed that you had previously removed that means that the spyware is still on your computer somewhere and has come back to plague your existence. At this point it is hard to give you an exact procedure on how to remove the remaining spyware. Probably the easiest thing to do is download a good spyware scanner and run that. You can see a list of the ones I recommend at the Spyware Scanners page. If the spyware scanners still fail to remove the spyware than you’ll have to find a more involved procedure. A sure fire method of removing a known spyware file is by booting into an entirely different operating system and manually deleting it.

When you ran HiJackThis you probably noticed a file name associated with. This is most likely the file that is run when windows starts up that activates the evil spyware process. If you thought, “I’ll just delete this file.” It would be a great idea but if you tried to do so you probably came across the error, “Access Denied, file may be in use” or something like that. Don’t ask me why but Windows is unable to delete a file if it is in use. There is absolutely no reason why this has to be the case. I have no problems deleting executables of running processes in Linux. Anyway, to delete this file you need to boot the computer from a different medium, the most convenient is probably a CD. The best type of bootable CD for spyware removal purposes is probably Bart’s PE. You can find information on how to build a bootable CD with windows XP and spyware removal tools here.

If you took a look at that you probably noticed that it was a rather complicated procedure. It is quite possible that you already have a boot CD that will do what you need to do. If you have a windows Installation CD you could boot from it and then press ‘r’ to enter the recovery console.

Sometimes it will ask you for your administrator password. If you don’t know it try just pressing enter. If that doesn’t work see Windows Password Recovery Guide for information on how to reset administrator passwords. Once you are presented with a prompt you can issue DOS commands like, “del /Path/to/file/filename.exe” to remove the offending file that you found with HiJackThis.exe (you did wright that file name down, right?).

Hopefully this spyware removal guide has helped you get your computer working as good as the day you purchased it. Of course this all would have been avoided if you had just used Linux. Don’t forget to check out Spyware prevention once you get all the spyware removed.

However, there is a way that you can protect the security of your computer
without spending all your spare time installing updates, doing research, and
generally becoming a PC security expert. Use a firewall system that’s the closest at hand. The reputation of a website, service, or product in the computer industry is just about worthless. Yesterday’s best spyware cleaner, virus checker, spam buster, ad blocker, or firewall is today’s bust.

So how do you select a good security product if you can’t go by reputation? One answer is to use the tools you have already. Windows’ security has been roundly criticized, but the fact is that it’s better than it used to be, and besides, third party security products have their own set of shortcomings.

The fact is that all third party security tools complicate your setup. Although
it’s not difficult to find weaknesses in the Windows Firewall, it’s safe enough
for most PC users, and it’s far better than not using a software firewall at
all. Here are some other PC security tips:

• Don’t hesitate to try another free antivirus program. If something
is slowing down your system, and you have defragged the hard drive and did all the other standard maintenance tasks and the machine’s performance still didn’t improve as much as you expected it to, maybe it’s time for a new antivirus tool. The new and old new programs are both free, and the switch doesn’t take much time to complete. You may find that your machines performance will pick p immediately.

• Change your password often. One of the simplest ways to protect yourself
is by changing your password often. There is absolutely nothing better as it
is cheap, easy and quick. Many people use password managers, however, you then have yet another software application by a third party making matters complicated again. It is usually just easier to come up with a new password that is based on your own unique system and you should share it with  nobody. There is no need to write it down, enter it in an online form, or encrypt it in a password master file.

• Use encryption for secure email. Encrypting email is anything but easy.
The recipient and you have to deal with public and private keys, digital certificates, and any number of other time eating precautions and preparations.

• The easiest way encrypt your email is to use an email service which
does this for you automatically. Each service has a different set of steps to
set up encrypted mail but it is worth learning.

• Keep your browser updated. Your browser should automatically provide
you with updates but some may not so you should go to the browsers website and download the updates on a regular basis. The updated browser will have the latest security update and it is always a matter of keeping one step ahead of the Internet bad guys.

You can also continue reduce the possibility of infection and improve your PC’s security by following a few best practices, maintaining a current antivirus software package, keeping your system updated, and using a firewall. It is also important to back your critical files up on a regular basis prior to encountering a virus or other problems.

There are steps you can take to help avoid viruses which include:

• Use an Internet firewall.
• Subscribe to antivirus software and keep it current and do not open an email attachment from a person you don’t know.

Do not open an email attachment from someone you know, until you are sure you know exactly what the attachment is. The sender may not know that it contains a virus.

• Do not use an administrator account unless it is necessary. Instead use a standard user account.

Steps to prevent spyware include:

• Use an Internet firewall. Although unwanted software, including spyware, can come bundled with another program or can come from an unscrupulous website, some spyware can be generated and placed on your computer remotely by unscrupulous hackers.
• Keep your software updated. Use a software package that you’ve downloaded and installed all the latest critical and security updates.
• Adjust Internet Explorer security settings. Adjust the security settings on your browser to determine how little or how much information you want to accept from a website.
• Download and install antispyware protection.
• Surf and download more safely. The best defense against all unwanted software including spyware is to not download it in to begin with. Here are a few helpful tips that can protect you from downloading software you don’t want:
• Only download programs from websites you trust. If you’re not sure whether to trust a program you are considering downloading, enter the name of the program into your favorite search engine to see if anyone else has reported that it contains spyware.
• Read all privacy statements, license agreements, and security warnings associated with any software you download.
• Click the red x in the corner of the window or press Alt + F4 on your keyboard to close a window rather than clicking on Agree or OK to close a window.
• Be wary of popular free movie and music file sharing programs, and be sure you understand all of the software packaged with those programs.
• Use a standard user account instead of an administrator account.
• Although spyware programs differ from viruses, many can behave much like viruses and pose similar and other risks. To help protect against spyware, use a comprehensive malware protection program.

• Wireless routers
• Hardware routers
• Software firewalls

In order to ascertain the best type of firewall for you, you need to answer two questions and record your answers: How many computers need to use the firewall, and; What operating system do you use? (This might be a version of Linux, Apple Macintosh or Microsoft Windows.)

Now you are ready to decide which kind of firewall is best for you. There are at least three options, each having their own advantages and disadvantages.

Wireless routers

If you plan to utilize a wireless network, you will need a wireless router.

Pros: A wireless router allows you to use printers, personal desk assistants, portable computers, and connect computers without wiring. Wireless routers are also excellent for the purpose of connecting notebook computers to networks and the Internet.

Cons: The radio signals that wireless devices use to broadcast information can be intercepted by somebody who is outside of your home, assuming they happen to have the correct equipment. Also, the extra equipment may cost you additional money. In addition, not all wireless routers are equipped with a firewall that is built in, therefore you may have to purchase a firewall separately.

Hardware Routers

Hardware routers make a great choice to connect the Internet to home networks.

Pros: Hardware routers provide firewall protection for multiple computers.

Cons: Hardware routers have a lot of wiring that can often clutter your desktop.

Software Firewalls

Pros: Software firewalls make a good choice for single computers. Software firewall packages are available from numerous software companies.

Pros: Software firewalls do not require additional computer wiring or hardware.

Cons: There is additional cost associated with most software firewalls. Installation and configuration are usually required to get started. In addition, one copy of the software package is typically required for each computer.

Unwary computer users face many dangers associated with connecting to the Internet. The use of a firewall will help to reduce that risk. The absolute first step toward safe online computing is installing a firewall. To enhance your computer’s security use antispyware, antivirus software, and keep your software updated. It is also important to learn as much as you can about additional steps you can take to help protect your computer.

PC Security

There are numerous PC security systems on the market today. The purpose of this article is to give you a thumbnail sketch of four of the more popular ones on the market along with the more obvious pros and cons.

Avast!

Synopsis:  Avast!’s antivirus software now provides full security including antispam and firewall protection. It’s still provides only the essentials, however, it is a good choice if that’s what you’re looking for.

Pros: Avast! Installs fast and has a small download size. The firewall identifies and blocks exploits makes its own program control decisions, and stealths all ports. It has accurate antispam which needs no configuration. The PC security software includes multiple shields which prevent malware attacks.

Cons: This PC security software is less effective than some of the top suites at blocking and removing blocking malware. It also presents a minor drag on system performance.

PC Tools Internet Security 2010

Synopsis: Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 is at the heart of PC Tools Security suite and is an impressive standalone application. Overall, the PC security software is worth a look even though not every component measures up to Spyware Doctor.

Pros: This software provides great malware cleanup. It has an accurate spam filter, blocks leak tests and exploits, detects malicious web code and identifies bad sites, and has excellent protection against new malware infestation.

Cons: The phishing protection this software provides is less than effective when compared to IE. Also, it has a slow boot process, the spam filter significantly slows email downloading, and the firewall’s program control will default to a weak setting.

AVG Internet Security 9.0

Synopsis: This latest PC security suite from AVG provides a distinct improvement over its predecessor. The firewall problems with this software are now fixed and it integrates multiple new antimalware technologies. Although it is not a challenger for Norton Internet Security 2010 and other top products it is now a good choice.

Pros: This software has very good malware detection and multilayer malware blocking. It also provides free identity theft recovery help and protects against malicious websites and scripts. It actively blocks exploits, has fewer firewall queries, and an accurate spam filter.

Cons: The software doesn’t remove detected malware thoroughly. It has no parental control. Its anti phishing is not effective, and it does slow some system activities.

CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2010

Pros: Experts were hired to completely overhaul this PC security suite’s user interface. The result is an interface that is user friendly, stunning, and unique. The components of this software are now fully integrated in new user centric interface. The firewall resists direct attack by malware and it stealths all ports. It is very good at blocking root kit installations; it rates websites and links, and has good parental control.

Cons: The suite’s default settings can cause serious trouble for users. It has slow system performance and its default settings allow Internet access for unknown programs which can silently block good programs. Its spam filter is nonfunctional until trained and it only has rudimentary backup. The site rating marks valid sites as risky.