PC Security Guide » windows 7

How to create habits that will keep Windows 7 secure

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:11:02 +0000

   Windows 7 is the most secure operating system that Microsoft has ever released. This has been confirmed by a lot of the security experts in the industry. Even though the system is very secure there are some things that you are going to have to do to make it even more secure. There is no operating system on the market right now that can compete with users bad habits. The truth is humans are the weak points when it comes to the security of the computer. Most of the time when you blame the system, the problem probably comes from you. This is why if you want to be sure that you are able to run the system with no problems then you must start to learn habits that will help you in this regard. In this article, we hope to help you develop the skills that will allow you to use the computer without fear of having something happen to it or your data.

Be careful with which web sites that you visit
   The one thing that everyone likes about the web is that it helps you explore new and different things. But sometimes our adventure on the web can take us to places that might be considered undesirable. Or the web sites that you visit might look safe but they may have dangers lurking in the background. There are some technologies that can help you with this problem but most of the time the emphasis will be on you. You should be very careful with what sites you visit. If the web site that you land on gives you a bad feeling then you should listen to it and go somewhere else. Most attacks on your Windows 7 system are not very sophisticated and can be avoided with a little common sense. Make sure that you take a good look at the web site that you are on and then listen to your gut on whether you should be on there or not.

Do not just click on any link
   Clicking on links that we do not know where they lead to is for the most part the main way that we get in trouble. Clicking on links is a vital part of the web experience but you must be sure that you are not just clicking on any link that you see. The most important part in verifying a link to click on is to see who is sending it. Is it from a web site or person that you trust? If it is then there is a good chance that it is safe to click on. If the link is from a stranger or a web site that you are not sure about then analyze the link and search for the web site that it leads to on Google first. This way you are not being led directly to the page that they are pointing to and you can see if the site is legitimate or not.

Scan all attachments and downloads
   The last point that we want to make in helping you develop useful habits is to make sure that you scan all attachments and downloads that come to your computer. Use an updated antivirus solution and double check all files before you click on them. Even if the files are from people that you know. They may send an infected file and not even know about it.

   Making sure that you have the right habits when you surf the web will keep your Windows 7 system running a lot longer.
 

Help, I think my computer has a virus, what should I do?

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:08:38 +0000

If you are a person that knows a lot about computers then you will probably hear this said to you at least once a week. You may have family and friends that come to seek your computer guidance on how to fix these problems. An article such as this is a great resource to point them to just in case someone you know runs up against this problem again. If you are a person that doesn’t know a lot about the background systems in a computer and just knows how to operate certain programs then you have probably said this sentence a lot. Hopefully by the end of this article, we will have given you enough information so that you will be able to solve the problem yourself and also help you to prevent it in the future. So let’s get going and start giving you a few tips on how to solve this problem.

Do not be scared
The first thing that you have to remember about a virus is that even though the name sounds scary it is still just a normal computer program. It has the same one and zeros that the other programs on your computer have. The only difference between it and the others is that it is trying to damage your computer experience in some way. So when you are trying to fix this problem you have to start by having a cool head. Getting excited will make you miss obvious steps to get rid of the problem.

Running an antivirus program
The first thing that you want to try and do is to run an antivirus program on the machine. If you do not have one installed then now is the time to do so. It is a very bad idea to surf the web without an antivirus being active in the first place so make sure that you get one put on now. After it is downloaded, try to install it. If the software is able to install, run a full scan on your computer and see what pops up. We said try to install it because some viruses are so smart that they will stop the antivirus program from being installed on the computer. A virus like this is one of the worse ones that you can come across. If this is the case with you then we will have to go to the next step.

Now we get a little complicated
The next step is a little technical but you should be able to handle it. This next step involves downloading a live Linux boot disk and using it to scan the virus out of your computer. A live Linux CD is a disk with an operating system that doesn’t have to be installed on it. You just slide the disk in the CD player on your computer and it will run as soon as your computer boots up. Make sure that you read the instructions on the web site that you found the boot disk on so you will know how to run the scanner. A good live CD to try this with is Knoppix. Give these steps a try and if they still seem a little complicated now may be the time that you ask for help.

We have given you a few steps that you can take when it comes to securing your computer after a virus has attacked it. Try these first before you go to a professional and ask help.

Build up a secure Windows 7 system from day one!

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:05:08 +0000

When you buy any new computer, there are things you must do to make sure that it will stay in working order for a long time to come. With Windows 7, it is easier than ever to make the changes that are needed to keep your computer operational. Some of the tasks that you must do help keep your computer secure from outside threats. When you take a fresh Windows 7 installation out of the box, it is already pretty secure. This is not like the Windows operating systems of the past. Microsoft has made sure that they paid special attention to security matters in this OS. But there are still some things that you are going to have to do to make sure that the system will keep you and your data safe. We will take a look at some of these tasks. Once you have gone through this checklist then you should feel secure the next time that you go on the internet.

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.

Windows 7 Security Tips

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:17:06 +0000

Windows 7 is supposed to the most secure version of Windows yet.
Windows7 Operating System software is built on top of Windows Vista base code and hence it offers much of the same level of security that Windows Vista offered. However, Windows 7 has added some more new features to operating system security and streamlined the user account control.

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.