Great Tips for your PC » Security

Don’t Let Web Sites Track You

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:32:06 +0000

Cookies are small files that web sites store on your computer’s disk. They allow web sites to store information about your interaction with them. For example, they might store the data required for you to purchase items across the several web pages this involves.
However, cookies – originally called tracking cookies – can also be used to track your movement across the web. Depending on the software using them, this data could be used to create a detailed record of your behavior as you surf. The resulting profile might be used for innocuous purposes, such as targeted marketing, or for malicious reasons, like spying.

Most browsers accept cookies by default. To retain your privacy, set the browser not to accept any cookies other than exceptions you specify. Then only web sites you approve can set cookies on your computer. A few web sites won’t let you interact with them unless you accept their cookies — but most will.
You can also set most browsers to automatically delete all cookies when you exit. This allows web sites to set the cookies required for transactions like purchasing through the web but prevents tracking you across sessions.
To manage cookie settings in your browser, access these panels –

CookieCentral has more information about cookies and how to manage them. Other similar tracking mechanisms include web bugs, Flash cookies, third-party local shared objects. These are less common than
cookies and rather technical so follow the links and see the Appendix if they concern you.

Basic Computer Security Tips

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:21:21 +0000

•Back up your documents. It doesn’t matter if you use a USB drive, a CD, a ZIP disk, a floppy disk, or even another computer. Important data should be backed up on something, so if your computer crashes you won’t loose it.
•Make sure you have a firewall, especially on wireless connections at public wireless hotspots, and other connections in public places.
•Do not open email attachments unless you know the sender is and you know what the file is. Email attachments are one of the most common ways in which viruses spread.
•Use an email spam filter which filters spam email into a designated spam folder. Gmail does this automatically. Unless you recognize the sender of an email which is sent to the spam folder, do not open any emails in the spam folder. Delete them without opening them first.

Adware, Spyware, and Virus Removal

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:06:01 +0000

Documentation in this section covers adware, spyware, virus, and other malware removal. When removing hostile programs, there are two basic types of removal methods which are.

* Automatic Malware Removal
* Manual Malware Removal

Whether you remove the malware automatically or manually, caution is strongly advised and you should follow a set procedure in doing this.
Cautions and Recommended Malware Removal Procedure

It is wise to be cautious when removing malware because many times malware may modify your system so when you remove it, your system will be crippled. Not being careful could result in the necessary re-installation of your operating system. The following phases for the removal process are recommended.

1. Identification phase – During this phase, you only want to identify any malware or hostile software that may be running on your computer. You can run your anti-virus program, anti-spyware, anti-adware, or whatever product you choose to identify any infection on your computer. You must be sure to set the product to only identify malware on your system and not to remove, delete, or quaranteen it. You can also look through your process list to locate possible hostile malware. See the article called Processes to learn how to do this.
2. Information gathering phase – Gather information about any hostile software running on your computer. Determine whether the uninstall tool for that software may work (some adware or spyware is removable and written by somewhat reputable companies). Find out how the software changes your system. Does it change file associations or make your system require the software to run some executable programs? You can usually find information about processes running on your computer by doing one or more of the following:
* Search Gigablast or your favorite search engine for the name of the process, product name, or company that made the program
* Search your anti-virus manufacturer or anti-spyware manufacturer website to find more information about malware you have and possibly find removal instructions.
* Search your hard drive for the name of the file required to run the process and look at that file\’s properties to see who created it or to determine whether you should be more suspicious.
3. Removal phase – Based on information found in the last phase decide whether it is safe to remove the software manually or automatically.

Automatic Removal
If you choose automatic removal, it is reasonably easy. Just allow your removal program to do the work, but be sure your system is not dependant on the malware program you are removing.

Manual Removal
Follow any the removal instructions that you may have found during the information gathering phase. You may need to edit your system registry, rename files (Initial renaming is recommended in case you need to restore a file to get your system to boot), or manually kill processes. You may need to get an IT professional to do this depending on your level of expertise.

Processes
This page explains what computer processes are and how you can determine what processes are running on your computer. This skill can help you deternine whether you have malware operating on your system.

What is a Process?

A process is a computer program running on a computer. A computer program in simple terms is an executable set of commands for the computer to perform. A process is an actively running program which may or may not be running in the background. A program running in the background is one that the computer user may not be aware of, but it may be providing useful services such as an ability to connect to other computers.

Processes are usually associated with your operating system or a program that is installed on your computer.
Identifying Processes

It is useful to identify processes running on your computer to determine whether your system has any malware or other undesired processes running on it. Also some processes use up valuable resources and can be shut down.

Your operating system task manager is used to identify processes running on your computer for Windows 2000 or Windows XP systems. It can be actived using one of the below two methods:

* Press the combination of keys, CTRL-ALT-DEL, at the same time, then select the “Task Manager” button.
* Right click on an open area of your task bar at the bottom of your screen, then select “Task Manager”.

After the task manager is open, select the Processes tab. This provides a list of processes running on your computer.

In the process list, the ones called “System” or “System Idle Process” are of no concern since they are a normal part of the system. Processes should be associated with one or more.

* Your computer system such as a Microsoft operating system process.
* An application you installed such as your anti-virus software, your file editor, printer software, and other programs.
* An application that was installed without your knowledge (this is where trouble usually comes from).

Processes on the list that you do not recognize can be found using several methods:

* Use one of the following websites to look up the process to determine what kind of process it is.
o Task List Processes
o Windows Process Library
o Do Something about computer crashes
* Search your favorite search engine such as Gigablast to get some clues about what the process is. You can do a web search or a groups search on google and sometimes find discussions that may answer the question about the origin of the process.
* Use the search function on your computer to search for the process name on your hard drive. This may identify the folder the process executable file is in which may give you additional clues.
Once found, navigate to the folder the file is in.

Right click on the file you are checking to open the properties window for the file. Click on the “Version” tab.

What is “Phishing”?

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:24:59 +0000

It is like fishing in the sense that criminals send out mass emails “bait” hoping someone bites. The bait is an e-mail out falsely claiming to be a legitimate organization like a bank, credit card company, online payment service, or any service, company or website they think people will trust in an attempt to trick people into giving private information that can be used for identity theft, theft from your bank, online account, etc.

The e-mail will direct the unsuspecting person to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as user names, passwords, credit card information, and bank account numbers, which the legitimate organization already has.
This Web site, however, is spoofed and was set up only to steal information.

Link manipulation/spoofing
Most methods of phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an email (and the spoofed website it leads to) appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of sub-domains are common tricks used by phishers. Another common trick is to make the anchor text for a link appear to be a valid URL when the link actually goes to the spoofed site.

Website forgery/spoofing
Some phishing scams use JavaScript to alter the address bar to make it seem legitimate. This is done by placing a picture of the legitimate company’s URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one containing the legitimate URL.
In another method of phishing that is quite popular, an attacker uses a trusted website’s own scripts against the victim. These types of attacks (cross-site scripting) are particularly nasty, because they direct the user to sign in at their bank or service’s own web page, where everything from the web address to the
security certificates appears correct. This attack is very hard to spot as it is the link to the website is crafted to carry out the attack.

Damage caused by phishing – The damage ranges from loss of access to email and other online accounts to loss of money, investments, etc. Phishing is becoming more popular, because of the number of unsuspecting people who are easily tricked into divulging information to phishers. The collected information includes credit card numbers, social security numbers, and mothers’ maiden names. It is also possible that identity thieves can add more information to what they have gained through phishing simply by accessing public records. Once this information is acquired, the phishers may use a person’s details to create fake accounts in a victim’s name, ruin a victim’s credit, or even prevent victims from accessing their own accounts. As you can surmise the result can be a destroyed life. That is why it is extremely important everyone learns to recognize phishing and avoid being caught.

10 tips for securing your computer

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:15:50 +0000

1. Update / patch ALL your software every now and then!

2. Check / adjust ALL your settings so they are safe, since they ARENT by default!

3. Use firewall, like ZoneAlarm!

4. Use good passwords: at least 13marks long, containing both letters and numbers. Remember to chance your password every few months atleast!

5. Get a good antivirus program: F-Secure or Norton Antivirus and keep it updated!

6. Don’t open or execute files that you are not 100% sure are absolutely safe nomatter where or how you get them.

7. Wipe your historyfiles (like cookies, internet history and temporary files, etc.), logs and personal files, with specific wiping program (like Eraser) instead of just deleting them.

8. Use encryption to enhance your privacy! Use encrypted email (like Hushmail or Ziplip) and encrypt sensitive files on your computer (PGP).

9. Don’t use public computers for anything you need to type in your logins, they usually have Trojan horses that capture your passwords.

10. Don’t assume anything. If you don’t know, find out! If you cant or don’t understand, ask someone who knows! There’s nothing more dangerous than doing something you don’t really know anything about. That’s the best way to cripple your system or get a Trojan horse on your computer.

How to Change Column Settings in Windows Explorer

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:19:12 +0000

This article describes how to change the column settings in Windows Explorer. To change which columns are displayed, or change the width or order of the windows and folders in Windows Explorer:

· In Windows Explorer, click the folder, and then click Choose Details on the View menu.
· Click to select the check box of each item that you would like to add to the current view, or click to clear the check boxes of items that you do not want.
· To reorder your columns, click the item (but do not clear the check box), and then click Move Up or Move Down until the items are in the order that you want. Click OK.
Note: You must click Details on the View menu in order to display the details of the files in the selected folder.

To change the width of the columns, use the appropriate method:
Method One
· On the View menu, click Choose Details, and then click the name of the column that you want to adjust. In the Width of selected column (in pixels) box, enter the size that you want, and then click OK.

Method Two
· Widen columns manually by positioning the mouse pointer between two border buttons of the column headings, the pointer turns into a double arrowhead.
· Click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the column to the desired width.

Slow Start-up When Using Norton Internet Security 2002

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:32:54 +0000

If you are using Norton Internet Security 2002, and are experiencing slow start-up of XP, (i.e. you can see the desktop with icons etc. but it takes 30-60sec before you can start using the computer), this fix might help:

· Click on Start button.
· Select Control Panel.
· Open “Network Connections”.
· Under “LAN and High-Speed Internet”, right-click on your “Local Area Connection” and select “Properties”.
· Under “General” tab, select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and select “Properties”.
· Select “Use the following IP address:”.
· Under “IP address” enter following : 192.168.0.1
· Under “Subnet Mask:” enter following : 255.255.255.0
· Click “Ok”.