Is your computer sending out spam or viruses without you knowing it?

Posted on January 17, 2009 by wjimenez275

Sometimes computers seem to have a life of their own. In some cases, they do. Your computer may be part of a network of computers that are sending our spam and viruses to other computers, and you don’t even know it.

I’d like for you to read this article from the Free PC Security blog that explains what Bots are and how to find out if your computer is one: Botnets – Are You One?

PC security is critical in this day and age. There are plenty of free tools that will diagnose and protect your computers. I’ve posted a few earlier articles that address this. Take a look back.

Internet Security: What is it and why do I need it? and What Free Security Programs can Protect My PC?

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What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? – PC World

Posted on January 12, 2009 by wjimenez275

What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC?

Lincoln Spector

Jan 12, 2009 3:44 pm

You really can protect your PC with free software, but there’s a price. Multiple free security programs usually aren’t as easy to use as one pricey suite. Your less likely to get decent support (perhaps I should say even less likely). And they lack features like antispam and child protection which you may or may not need. All of the companies that give away security programs sell more feature-rich versions, which come with better support and additional features.

On the other hand, they’re free. And they have less overhead than the big suites, so they won’t slow down your PC as much.

What do you need? First and foremost, a good firewall (the one that comes with Windows doesn’t qualify) and real-time antivirus protection. (The term antivirus is somewhat misleading. In their current versions, these programs protect you from all sorts of malware, not just viruses.) It’s also a good idea to get a second malware fighter–one that you don’t run in real-time. It’s like going to another doctor for a second opinion–except it doesn’t cost anything.

Start with the Comodo firewall. It regular beats out the not-for-free firewalls in independent tests. It’s not the easiest firewall in the world–it gets in your face an awful lot with questions that would confuse most novices–but PC World readers should be able to handle it.

Comodo recently added antivirus, making itself the first free suite. But I’ve yet to see any independent test results on Comodo’s antivirus, and therefore don’t trust it. So, when you install Comodo, uncheck the Antivirus option and just install the firewall.

That means you need separate antivirus software. Go with Avast. It’s free, uninstrusive, and did very well on AV-Comparitive’s last round of tests.

I’ll give you two choices for extra protection, and there’s no real reason not use both of them. They are SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes. Scan your hard drive with one or the other of them every week or so–and if you suspect something.

via What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? – PC World.

By-the-way, the posts of another individual whom  I respect can be found here – http://freepcsecurity.co.uk/. Colin always has some fresh insight on security, which he tests out on his own systems. I’d recommend signing up for his blog.

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The bell tolls for your magnetic media | Tech Broiler | ZDNet.com

Posted on January 9, 2009 by wjimenez275

Don’t wait to try to retrieve the data and content from your magnetic media. Chances are, some of it may already be unrecoverable and highly degraded. Act now.

If you’ve got any kind of magnetic media (computer floppy disks or tapes), and you give a crap about anything that’s stored on them, I urge you to transition them off to a more stable digital storage medium immediately. We’re now at the cusp of which virtually any data from the 1990’s stored on floppy might be unusable, depending on the conditions in which they were kept. If you’ve got 5.25 inch floppies, you might even be completely out of luck, since it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find systems that can read them or haven’t lost their drive calibration to the point where doing a file dump is next to impossible. Many of the newer systems aren’t even capable of being cabled to a new floppy drive, but you can still buy USB-based units.

Magnetic storage degradation isn’t unique to floppy disks, either. With the HDTV transition, many people will have a renewed interest in being able to view their existing VHS libraries on the newer sets. While a number of low-cost solutions for viewing the material on the newer sets are available, there is still the issue of ongoing media degradation.

After about 15-20 years, VHS tapes will dramatically start to lose quality whether you watch them or not. So for those of you with wedding and home videos from the 1990’s, if you haven’t had them converted over to DVDs yet, you might want to think about doing so soon. If you had wedding videos done in the last 10 years and the videographer is still in business, you might even want to consider finding out if he still has the original Betacam masters and can convert it for you.

A number of companies will do a professional job on your VHS tapes with commercial equipment, particularly if you have certain videos that have special value to you, or need to have them digitally remastered. These companies will charge anywhere between $10 and $25 per tape if the source media is still relatively good. If you have a lot of videos, you might want to look into black box devices such as the ADS DVD Xpress DX2, which for about $80 will allow you to transfer directly from your VCR to your computer and burn DVDs.

via The bell tolls for your magnetic media | Tech Broiler | ZDNet.com.

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Tweak Internet Explorer’s Default Search Engine

Posted on January 7, 2009 by wjimenez275

Tweak Internet Explorer’s Default Search Engine

By default, Internet Explorer 7’s search box taps Windows Live Search–not the least bit surprising given that the latter is Microsoft’s baby. Unfortunately… hmmm, how to put this politely… Windows Live Search bites.

The good news is, there’s an easy to tweak Internet Explorer so it uses the search engine of your choice. Like, say, Google. Here’s how:

1. Start Internet Explorer.

2. Click Tools, Internet Options.

3. In the General tab, find the Search section and click Settings.

4. If Google is listed, click it and then click Set Default. If not, click Find more providers, then click Google and follow the instructions. As you’ll see, Google is just one of the available options.

That’s it! Now, when you click inside IE’s search box and type a query, you’ll get results from Google–or whatever search provider you set as the default.

Want to change it back? Click the pull-down menu on the right side of the search box and choose Change Search Defaults.

via Secret Tech Tips From Hassle-Free PC – PC World.

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Gadget trade-in services that pay off – CNET News

Posted on December 7, 2008 by wjimenez275

Posted by Elsa Wenzel December 3, 2008 8:45 AM PST

Web sites that promise to pay for your old gadgets look bright around the holidays, when every extra dollar can count toward new gifts or even utility bills. But are the services worthwhile? How much can you earn?

We examined nine services that pay for your unwanted digital wares. These are among the newest options to help keep electronics waste out of landfills, while uncluttering your closets.

We looked up what each service said it would pay for working iPods, PDAs, laptops, gaming consoles, and more, with cables but lacking their original boxes. For dead devices, some offer a pittance, or will connect you with willing recyclers and charity recipients. Our chart (at right) shows what each site claims it pays for specific equipment. Keep reading for highlights of the trade-in services.

To read the entire article, click here (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10110288-2.html?tag=nl.e433)

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XP Service Pack 3 blocks .NET security patches

Posted on December 6, 2008 by wjimenez275

One more reason not to install XP Service Pack 3, or if you’ve already installed it to remove it…

XP Service Pack 3 blocks .NET security patches
By Susan Bradley

Installing SP3 on Windows XP eliminates the operating system’s ability to install important security patches for Microsoft’s .NET technology and possibly other software.

This problem forces XP SP3 users to apply patches manually to complete vital updates.

The new error is the latest in a long series of glitches relating to XP’s SP3, which Scott Dunn described in his Sept. 11 Top Story. The issues include spontaneous rebooting of systems based on AMD chipsets, as documented by Jesper Johansson in a blog post from last May.

To determine whether your XP SP3 system has a version — or multiple versions — of the .NET Framework installed, open Control Panel’s Add or Remove Programs applet and look for it among the list of currently installed programs. If you don’t see any .NET entries, you don’t have the framework installed on your system and needn’t be concerned about the update problem.

If you do see a listing for Microsoft .NET Framework, you need to use a third-party update service such as Secunia’s Software Inspector (described below) to patch the program.

To read the entire article, click here – http://windowssecrets.com/2008/12/04/03-XP-Service-Pack-3-blocks-.NET-security-patches/?n=story1

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RadioShack Offers Gift Cards for Old Electronic Devices

Posted on November 10, 2008 by wjimenez275

From the OCRegister Gadgetress

If you’re about to dump your old iPod, cell phone or other electronic device anyway, you might as well get some money for it, right?

RadioShack now offers an electronics trade-in program, which swaps store gift cards for your old e-junk. A lot of this stuff we shouldn’t be dumping into the trash anyway because they are considered hazardous e-waste.

The program accepts GPS devices, MP3 Players, wireless phones, digital camcorders, car audio head units, digital cameras, notebook computers, game consoles and video games. Not on the list: desktop computers. For those, I suggest using Toshiba’s trade-in program where you get actual CASH (read “Toshiba’s PC recycling program now accepts all e-junk“).

Just plug in your details at RadioShack’s site: RadioShack.com/tradein. If you accept the price, you print out the pre-paid shipping label, package up the gadget and send it in. The gift card is mailed to you. RadioShack says it issues the gift card 10 to 14 days after the product is received.

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A Little On Software Firewalls

Posted on November 6, 2008 by wjimenez275

As part of your online security you need to have a software firewall. I recommended a couple in an earlier post about Internet Security. First, what exactly is a firewall? Firewalls provide protection against outside attackers by shielding your computer or network from malicious or unnecessary Internet traffic.  In a nutshell, a firewall examines the traffic/data coming into and going out of a computer, and then makes a decision to permit or deny this traffic, based on pre-set rules or rules that users have set.

If you’ve been using a software firewall, even one that’s built into your antivirus program, you’ve probably noticed that at times it pops up and asks to allow or deny a program that wants to do something at that time. If you see an access request from the firewall when you first run a program that you know is okay, it’s probably safe to grant access. However, if you get an unexpected access request — one that pops up when you didn’t just start a program — then it’s safer to deny access.

To see if your computer is an open door to the bad guys, or to see if your firewall is doing what it’s supposed to do, check your ports at GRC (https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2). Make sure to check the Windows File Sharing and the Common Ports to see if you’re vulnerable to attack.

Filed under: Internet Items, PC Security, PC Tips and Tools, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Windows Updates – How can I choose what to install?

Posted on November 4, 2008 by wjimenez275

Microsoft introduced the concept of Patch Tuesday a few years ago. The idea is that security patches are accumulated over a period of one month, and then dispatched all at once on the second Tuesday of the month. Windows Update is a service that provides updates for the operating system and its installed components. Microsoft Update is an optional feature that can be enabled to provide updates for other Microsoft software installed on a Windows computer, such as Office. These updates can come anytime throughout the month.

If your computer is setup to automatically download and install updates, you will get any and all updates and patches, both good and bad. By default, the automatic settings will check for updates at 3:00 in the morning, every morning. If you turn your computer off at night, it never has a chance to check for updates so if you want to keep the automatic settings, you should change the settings to a time when you know the computer will be on. To change the settings, open the Control Panel and double click on Security Center. At the bottom, you can choose to manage settings for Automatic Updates.

My recommendation is to change the setting to the second option, which is to download the updates but let me choose when to install them. What happens then is that the updates will download and there will be a yellow shield down on the right by the clock. When I double click on it, I will have the option for an “Express Install” or a “Custom Install”. I always choose the custom install. That choice lets me pick which updates and patches to install.

I will always install security patches and program patches, but I never install new service packs when they’re first available. I’ll uncheck those and install the rest. I’ll continue to uncheck them until I know they are safe to install.

Just to be clear, when I see that shield, I will always check what’s downloaded and install what’s appropriate. The bad guys out there wait for the patches to come out also so they can create programs that hit all computers that aren’t patched. Lately, that attack will come the day after the patches are released so it is very important to install them.

Every so often, you will get a notice from another program, such as Adobe, that it has an update available. Should you install those as well? I’d say yes, since virus writers look for holes in most of the popular programs that people will have on their computers and will attack those programs as well.

I know it’s a hassle to do these updates, but do them since it’s more of a hassle cleaning an infected computer.

NOTE: One other important matter; create a system restore point before doing any updates. That way, if an update messes up the computer, you’ll be able to restore it to the point just before you did the updates. For instructions on creating a restore point in Vista, click here, For XP, click here. You can download a great document from Microsoft for securing your Vista computer here.

Filed under: Instructional, PC Maintenance, PC Security, PC Tips and Tools, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Great Tool for Sending Notes to Yourself

Posted on October 31, 2008 by wjimenez275

Here’s a tool I use when I’m out-and-about and need to remind myself of something or if I want to send a reminder to someone else. For example, someone tells me something and I have nothing to write on but I don’t want to forget what I was told. I’ll call an 866 number and call a service called Jott (http://jott.com).

Jott makes sure you stay on top of everything. With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, depending on which plan you choose. There is a free version that works fine for most needs but the other options are pretty reasonable as well. You can read the differences here: http://jott.com/jott/get-started.html.

Simply call Jott and tell it where or to whom you want your message to go. Jott captures your voice, turns it into text, and sends it to the destination you chose. You’ll get a notice in your e-mail and can read the transcribed message or click on the attached sound file to hear the message that was left. You can log onto the Jott site and view all of the messages you’ve left for yourself.

I’ve setup a speed dial on my cell phone so it’s easy to call Jott whenever I hear or think of something I need to remember when I’m driving or nowhere near a pen or paper. Give it a try.

Filed under: Internet Items, PC Tips and Tools, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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