October 29, 2004
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I was reading a couple of articles similar to one linked below this week and thought I’d post my occasional blog on computer security.
Most Home PC Users at Risk for Attack
“The bulk of home PC users are largely open to attack through the Internet, with nearly half of all broadband connections running without a firewall, nearly 70 percent without updated antivirus protection, four in five users with spyware or adware on their machines, and nearly 90 percent of those victims unaware of the compromise.”
Listed below, in several catagories, are some programs I personally use to protect my computers and some free programs you can use to protect your computer if you are not already using some type of anti-virus, fireall, and spyware removal software. If you are unsure about any of the listed programs, do a google search and find some user comments to assist you in your evaluation.
Free Antivirus:
I use Norton Antivirus, which I get free at work, but the following two programs seem to have excellent reputations:
“Even though viruses have now grown very numerous, one thing hasn't changed: our commitment to provide you with all-round protection. The reliability of AntiVir is demonstrated in numerous comparison test and references featured in independent trade journals….The AntiVir Personal Edition offers the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and private use on a single PC-workstation…support is free of charge via AntiVir Bulletin Board .”
“AVG Anti-Virus FREE Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Anti-Virus FREE is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Anti-Virus FREE is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).
(Note: I recently read where they are discontinuing support for some existing versions of AVG Anti-Virus so be sure you download the newest version. I am not certain if this applies only to the paid version or to the free version as well.)
Free Firewall:
I use the free version of ZoneAlarm though there are additional features available in their paid versions including anti-virus protection. Be aware that Windows XP has it’s own firewall built in which, in SP2, appears to have been improved over the original. (I’ve yet to update to SP2 and have been completely satisfied with ZoneAlarm since its inception years ago and see no reason, at this time, to change.)
“ZoneAlarm is free for individual and not-for-profit charitable entity use (excluding governmental entities and educational institutions)….Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats….Intrusion Blocking systematically identifies hackers and blocks access attempts….Stealth Mode automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.”
“FREE for personal use, Sygate Personal Firewall 5.x provides best of breed security in a user friendly interface, protecting your PC from hackers, trojans and DoS attacks. New features include full-ICS support, protocol driver level protection, enhanced logging, and more. Sygate Personal Firewall is the first FREE personal firewall to offer protection from malicious code intrusions, keeping the information on your PC safe and private.”
Free Spyware Removal:
I use both of the following programs as it seems that they both will catch items that the other misses. Be sure you read and understand the instructions before allowing the programs to remove any spyware. It’s scary the first couple of times you do so But in the years I’ve been using the programs, I’ve never had any problems with them removing anything my computer needs to run.
Spybot - Search & Destroy
“Spybot – Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too.”
“Ad-Aware is designed to provide advanced protection from known Data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components. With the release of Ad-Aware SE Personal edition, Lavasoft takes the fight against Spyware to the next level.”
Free Web Browser:
I’ve included Firefox as it seems to be the new up and coming software fad and offers a good alternative to Internet Explorer. I’ve been using it, off and on, for several months now as it goes through it’s various beta versions and haven’t had any problems though I still return to I.E. at least half the time, especially when posting here. Firefox’s greatest attribute is it’s blocking of pop-up windows which comes in handy especially when reading news sites, though I’ve read that XP SP2 also updates IE with a pop-up blocker..
“The Firefox Preview Release empowers you to browse faster, more safely, and more efficiently than with any other browser. Join more than 6 million others and make the switch today - Firefox imports your Favorites, settings and other information, so you have nothing to lose.”
Free Computer Help:
If you do have computer problems, the following two sites are excellent places to ask others for advice. I’ve included a link to Hijack This which is a program you can download that will give you a list of all operating processes on your computer which you can, in turn, cut and paste into your posting at the help sites. My only word of caution is that, from experience, you can occasionally come across people on these sites that aren’t as knowledgeable as they’d like you to think but be persistent and someone will, in most cases, be able to help you.
“If you're looking for free technical support, you've come to the right place. This site is run completely by volunteers and paid for completely by donations and sponsors. There is no charge to you (although we do appreciate donations).”
TomCoyote
”This site has been created for you, the user, to help with the removal and solution of computer problems….The problems encountered today require skill and experience to remove fully and without damaging the Operating System. This website has been in existence for over two years and many of its staff and members have been in this field for much longer. We have many experienced people working with users to help them remove problems from their computer. The focus is to restore the computer back to normal functioning, without the annoyances of viruses, spyware, malware, browser hijackers and so forth….Many of our methods will use freely available applications that are on the internet and which have been used and approved by the TomCoyote staff.”
(Tom and his wife were early xangans!!)
“HijackThis examines certain key areas of the Registry and Hard Drive and lists their contents. These are areas which are used by both legitimate programmers and hijackers. It's up to you to decide what should be removed. Some items are perfectly fine. You should not remove them. Never remove everything. Doing that could leave you with missing items needed to run legitimate programs and add-ins. This Page will help you work with the Experts to clean up your system. For those of you needing instructions on how to Copy and Paste the contents of a text file into a Forum Post, please look at the Table of Contents. A link to the instructions is included.”
Final Notes:
So there, you now have no excuse if your computer is not secure. I’d again advise you to read the instructions for any of these programs you may intend to use so as not to introduce any new problems into your computer. Also do a google search for more info if needed. I’d also remind you regularly empty your browser cache and defragment your harddrive (or PC maintenance) to keep it running efficiently.
God IS Good!
Go Ahead! Say It! Believe It! Confess It!
You're Invited!!
Go to The Prayer List , don't forget the others in need!
"Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." - D.L. Moody
Due to some confusion as to where to send prayer requests I want to clarify that you can use the email link at Isaiah56 (The Prayer List). Please include your xanga address so I know who you are!
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