Tools
When your computer runs at its optimum level, you can be more productive. When it does not, you can be faced with lost or corrupted data, and have to spend big chunks of time troubleshooting annoying problems. As someone who works mainly with the server end of things, we are familiar with advanced tools for determining whether computer systems are healthy or not. But we often asked by home users and home office workers, we will explain how to check your computer system using the following:
- Personal observation
- Windows XP Help and Support Centre
Start with obvious symptoms
Diagnosis starts first with the symptoms you observe. Only from there do you move on to more complex investigation. Let your senses be your first guide whether things are OK or something is wrong. Does your hard drive sound different than usual? Do applications seem to take longer to open than before? Do you smell something like burning rubber? Do you get a lot of dust on your fingers when you touch your PC's case? Does the Internet seem slower than usual when you download files to your computer? Does the fan make a grinding sound when you start your computer in the morning? Is Windows Error Reporting popping up more frequently than usual? Simple things like this can indicate your computer is not as healthy as it should be. They might be indications that it could possibly be about to fail or cause data loss. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should initiate a more systematic check of your Free PC's health Check......
Symantec Security Check tests your exposure to a wide range of online threats. It's free and efficient, and it helps you determine your Internet security needs.....Click here for a free scan or click the picture below for a free scan!
Anti-Virus
What Is A Virus?
Viruses are self-executing, self-replicating programs. They alter the way a computer operates without the knowledge or permission of the user. When activated, viruses may damage files, cause erratic system behaviour, or display annoying messages. The ability to self-replicate differentiates viruses from Trojan horses, worms, and other virus-like programs.
What Is A Worm?
A worm is a self-replicating virus that does not alter files but resides in active memory and duplicates itself. Worms use parts of an operating system that are automatic and usually invisible to the user. It is common for worms to be noticed only when their uncontrolled replication consumes system resources, slowing or halting other tasks.
What Is A Trojan Horse?
Trojan horses are malicious programs disguised as something benign. They've been known to pose as games, utilities, and email attachments. Once opened, Trojan horses act much differently than you expect. Some merely annoy, sending emails to everyone in your address book. Others do serious damage, to the point of stealing passwords and data files. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses are not self-replicating.
Active Trojan horses are an advanced type of Trojan horse. They use unprotected ports to open lines of communication with your computer, and they can ultimately give hackers control over your machine. Active Trojan horses are also called Remote Access Trojans.
Anti-Virus Products
Norton Anti Virus
Norton Anti Virus is designed to stop the virus attacking your PC and destroy your financical assets and steal your ID. This product is widely available. You will need to procure this product from the company; Sysmantec. They can be be found on the web site: www.symantec.com
Although they will give you a year of Anti-virus services after procuring their product. Please note; you will need to keep pay the subscriptions on yearly basis to contiune update the Anti-Virus database and protect your assets with the latest updates from their web site.
GriSoft Anti Virus - FREE!
GriSoft Anti-Virus is designed to stop the virus attacking your PC and destroy your financical assets and steal your ID. This product is widely available and most importantly and its free! You will need to get this product from the company; GriSoft. They can be be found on the web site: www.GriSoft.com The software can be downloaded from the web site.
Recent NEWS!
Antivirus protection is vital for computer users. Now with support for Windows Security Center in Windows Vista, using AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition and the latest commercial release is even more convenient. AVG products utilize a low level of computer resources. This feature is now even more important as personal computers and networks today run more and more different applications and services simultaneously, which can slow computer performance. Partners are a key component in Microsofts goal of providing robust security solutions for our customers for Windows Vista, said Ben Fathi, corporate vice president, Security Technology Unit, Microsoft Corp. GRISOFT has worked with us throughout the Vista release process, we are pleased to see the release of their Vista beta for our customers and look forward to continuing to work with them on future Windows releases. GRISOFTs Windows Vista-ready products include AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 and AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. These AVG products offer protection against a variety of computer and cyber threats like viruses, Trojans, adware, dialers, keyloggers and worms. These products also include automatic updates and a single, user-friendly interface. We are very excited to be working with Microsoft to provide their and our users with protection for the current Windows Vista beta program and upcoming launch of the new operating system, said Larry Bridwell, vice president for communications at GRISOFT. Our security programs are ready for the Windows Vista launch and making sure that users have the best security protection and great services available for their PCs.
Internet Security
Key Features
- Automatically detects and blocks viruses, spyware, and worms.
- Advanced phishing protection identifies and blocks fraudulent websites.
- Rootkit Protection finds and removes hidden threats in the operating system.
- Smart firewall blocks hackers and stops spyware transmitting unauthorized information.
- Intrusion Prevention automatically shields newly discovered security vulnerabilities.
- Network protection configures security settings when logged on at home, or on public networks
- Full System Scan performs a deep scan to remove existing viruses, spyware and other threats.
- Norton Protection Center provides a central place to easily check overall security settings.
Screenshot for Internet Security
Includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the renewable service period **
** With this service you receive the right to use this product on one PC or on the specified number of PCs during the service period, which begins upon initial installation. This renewable service includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the service period, subject to acceptance of the Symantec License Agreement included with this product and available for review at www.symantec.com. Product features may be added, modified or removed during the service period.
Personal Firewall
Key Features
- Automatically blocks intruders and thieves
- Hides your computer from hackers
- Automatically detects Internet attacks, like the CodeRed and Blaster worms
- Monitors and regulates all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic
- Gives you the power to decide which programs connect to the Internet
- Shields you from being attacked through security holes in unpatched software
- Prevents confidential information from being sent without your permission
- Blocks banner ads and popup windows, so you can surf faster
- Sets up easily on your home network
- Continues to protect when you connect your laptop to a different network
Firewall is a good tool to have to hide your PC from the potential hackers. FireWall configuration and protocols will help you to prevent...and it protects you from...
- There are many creative ways that unscrupulous people use to access or abuse unprotected computers: Remote login - When someone is able to connect to your computer and control it in some form. This can range from being able to view or access your files to actually running programs on your computer.
- Application backdoors - Some programs have special features that allow for remote access. Others contain bugs that provide a backdoor, or hidden access, that provides some level of control of the program.
- SMTP session hijacking - SMTP is the most common method of sending e-mail over the Internet. By gaining access to a list of e-mail addresses, a person can send unsolicited junk e-mail (spam) to thousands of users. This is done quite often by redirecting the e-mail through the SMTP server of an unsuspecting host, making the actual sender of the spam difficult to trace.
- Operating system bugs - Like applications, some operating systems have backdoors. Others provide remote access with insufficient security controls or have bugs that an experienced hacker can take advantage of.
- Denial of service - You have probably heard this phrase used in news reports on the attacks on major Web sites. This type of attack is nearly impossible to counter. What happens is that the hacker sends a request to the server to connect to it. When the server responds with an acknowledgement and tries to establish a session, it cannot find the system that made the request. By inundating a server with these unanswerable session requests, a hacker causes the server to slow to a crawl or eventually crash.
- E-mail bombs - An e-mail bomb is usually a personal attack. Someone sends you the same e-mail hundreds or thousands of times until your e-mail system cannot accept any more messages.
- Macros - To simplify complicated procedures, many applications allow you to create a script of commands that the application can run. This script is known as a macro. Hackers have taken advantage of this to create their own macros that, depending on the application, can destroy your data or crash your computer.
- Viruses - Probably the most well-known threat is computer viruses. A virus is a small program that can copy itself to other computers. This way it can spread quickly from one system to the next. Viruses range from harmless messages to erasing all of your data.
- Spam - Typically harmless but always annoying, spam is the electronic equivalent of junk mail. Spam can be dangerous though. Quite often it contains links to Web sites. Be careful of clicking on these because you may accidentally accept a cookie that provides a backdoor to your computer.
- Redirect bombs - Hackers can use ICMP to change (redirect) the path information takes by sending it to a different router. This is one of the ways that a denial of service attack is set up.
- Source routing - In most cases, the path a packet travels over the Internet (or any other network) is determined by the routers along that path. But the source providing the packet can arbitrarily specify the route that the packet should travel. Hackers sometimes take advantage of this to make information appear to come from a trusted source or even from inside the network! Most firewall products disable source routing by default.
Some of the items in the list above are hard, if not impossible, to filter using a firewall. While some firewalls offer virus protection, it is worth the investment to install anti-virus software on each computer. And, even though it is annoying, some spam is going to get through your firewall as long as you accept e-mail. The level of security you establish will determine how many of these threats can be stopped by your firewall. The highest level of security would be to simply block everything. Obviously that defeats the purpose of having an Internet connection. But a common rule of thumb is to block everything, then begin to select what types of traffic you will allow. You can also restrict traffic that travels through the firewall so that only certain types of information, such as e-mail, can get through. This is a good rule for businesses that have an experienced network administrator that understands what the needs are and knows exactly what traffic to allow through. For most of us, it is probably better to work with the defaults provided by the firewall developer unless there is a specific reason to change it. One of the best things about a firewall from a security standpoint is that it stops anyone on the outside from logging onto a computer in your private network. While this is a big deal for businesses, most home networks will probably not be threatened in this manner. Still, putting a firewall in place provides some peace of mind.
If you're interested to procure this product, Please click the image below for for more information for system specifications to ensure the product will operate with in your client PC specifications....
Windows Defender - FREE from Microsoft!
Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected and minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive. Now with 2 free support incidents for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Windows Defender detects and removes known spyware from your computer, which helps make your Internet browsing safer. The software uses automatic definition updates provided by Microsoft analysts to help detect and remove new threats as the threats are identified.
Improvements in Windows Defender
- Enhanced performance through a new scanning engine
- Streamlined, simplified user interface and alerts
- Improved control over programs on your computer using enhanced Software Explorer
- Multiple language support with globalization and localization features
- Protection technologies for all users, whether or not they have administrator rights on the computer
- Support for assistive technology for individuals who have physical or cognitive difficulties, impairments, and disabilities
- Support for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
- Automatic cleaning according to your settings during regularly scheduled scans
Benefits of Windows Defender
Helps detect and remove spyware
- Spyware detection: Quickly and easily finds spyware and other unwanted programs that can slow down your computer, display annoying pop-up ads, change Internet settings, or use your private information without your consent
- Straightforward operation and thorough removal technology: Eliminates detected spyware easily at your direction. If you inadvertently remove programs that you actually want, it's easy to get them back
- Scheduled scanning and removal: Runs these processes when it's convenient for you, whether it's on-demand or on a schedule that you set
Improves Internet browsing safety
- Helps stop spyware before it infiltrates your computer: Offers a continuous safeguard designed to target all the ways that spyware can infiltrate your computer
- Works without distracting you: Runs in the background and automatically handles spyware based on preferences that you set. You can use your computer with minimal interruption
Helps stop the latest threats
- Expertise you can rely on: A dedicated team of Microsoft researchers continuously searches the Internet to discover new spyware and develop methods to counteract it
- Stops new threats quickly: A voluntary, worldwide network of Windows Defender users helps Microsoft determine which suspicious programs to classify as spyware. Participants help discover new threats quickly and notify Microsoft analysts, so that everyone is better protected. Anyone who uses Windows Defender can join this network and help report potential spyware to Microsoft
- Automatically stays up to date: To help protect your computer from the latest threats, you can choose to have updates that counteract new spyware automatically downloaded to your computer
Windows Defender detects and removes known spyware from your computer, which helps make your Internet browsing safer. The software uses automatic definition updates provided by Microsoft analysts to help detect and remove new threats as the threats are identified...............
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