Another Day With My PC

One of the ways by which malware could get in to your system without strict passport or visa filtering is via e-mail. Indeed, hackers don’t need to cut their way through firewalls by using this point of entry. They don’t even need to hope and pray for a security software glitch to get their creation inside one’s PC. All they have to do is cross their fingers and wish that the user is either gullible or careless.

There’s no hard and fast rule in detecting infected or malicious e-mails. Having the attachment scanned by an antivirus is the best way by which you could determine if the e-mail file is infected. However, an e-mail may have no attachment but it could still do damage. Some malicious e-mails contain links purporting to lead to clean and legitimate Web sites. Of course, the user would be lead to a bogus page where he could either be phished for information or be infected with various types of viruses or spyware through harmful ActiveX controls.

Putting a scarlet letter on filenames that are reported to be infected won’t do you too much good, either. No self-respecting hacker would give their creations on a silver platter to virus hunters. Malicious files mimic chameleons and change names all the time to escape detection.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t open your mails and resort back to your local post office like the good old days. What I’m stressing is that you shouldn’t rely on just one single malware-detection method. A combination of two or more of the means mentioned above would ensure that your computer won’t be possessed by unwanted applications through malicious e-mail attachments or links.

While faster PCs are not just about multi-core processors or RAMs the size of which rivals that of hard drives, there is no question that hardware specs are crucial in bringing out the cheetah in your system. Indeed, no matter how streamlined your programs or internal processes are, they won’t function in satisfactory speeds if the components that are running them lack stamina.

It’s already a rule of thumb that you shouldn’t scrimp on money when it comes to your PC’s processor and memory. Doing so would eventually make you feel that you bought an old unit. However, if you’re really on a very tight budget, then the hardware that you could be thrifty on is the processor. You cannot cut down on RAM. Your quad-core CPU would perform like a Celeron if it doesn’t have enough memory to carry out instructions or algorithms.

Of course, a multi-core PC that flaunts 10GB of memory would look like it’s running on old Cyrix chips if it’s laden with malware. You’ll be very surprised at how 500-KB applications could slow down monster PCs. Hence, you shouldn’t also sew your wallet when it comes to antivirus and registry cleaner programs. Believe me, you’ll eventually wish that you should’ve spent more when your PC drags you down with disappointing performance due to malware infection or hardware deficiencies.

SecuTech Solutions introduced a driverless software protection HID that promises to keep your USB storage safe. The UniKey Software Protection USB Key sports superb data encryption allowing you to keep data, files and even USB-based applications secured.

UniKey is a driverless dongle and is therefore easy to install and use. Your computer’s operating system will install the software automatically. Data is encrypted and stored with basic memory of up to 4K, and this is done with a CRC checked system.

Another amazing feature of the UniKey is its APIs. Users can choose UniKey APIs even they are totally clueless about programming. The software’s console dubbed as UniKey Consol can provide users with efficient management solutions.

Breaching UniKey’s wall of security may be very difficult. This is because of the UniKey copy protection dongle and application is encrypted with a noise. The protection dongle used a special security algorithm based on a 128-bits encryption.

The dongle works on all major operating systems such as the Windows Operating Systems, Linux and Mac OS X.

The company currently offers a free evaluation kit. One can avail this by simply going to esecutech.com. The company did not announce the retail price of UniKey, but it claimed that they are 50% cheaper compared to their competitors.

Source: TheOpenPress

Believe it or not, the number of people that are starting to think that malware attacks are loosing steam is growing. Many cite the fact that the incidence of hard drive wipe outs are diving to their lowest levels since the PC became a common household appliance.

While it is true that data wipe outs are not that rampant anymore, this doesn’t mean that malware infection is going down, too. Gone are the days when all hackers do is try to wreak havoc to your system by offering to reformat or clean your storage device for free. Aside from the fact that it isn’t fun to make somebody’s life miserable anymore, such deed also nets zero profit.

What hackers are trying to do right now is to get data rather than eradicate them. Indeed, information-gathering is a very profitable undertaking, especially if such data involves sensitive ones, such as bank account or credit card numbers.

So don’t be deceived by the seeming lack of hard drive wipe outs during the past few years. The danger hasn’t passed, and we’re not experiencing the calm before the storm either. The calm is the storm! The malware of old is very different from the ones that are trying to get into our PC at present. The unwanted applications that we’re fending off right now work discreetly, looking for data that could turn zeroes and ones to $1s with 0s.

How many times have Windows crashed on you? I bet it’s twice the digits of your favorite basketball player’s jersey number. While Microsoft futilely denies it, their operating systems are prone to seizures, leaving the user helpless and dumbfounded during attacks or glitches.

However, to its credit, Redmond is continuously trying to avoid painting your screen blue whenever its OS stumbles upon something that makes it cough. Patches are regularly issued, while malicious software removal tools are being shipped with the updates.

What Microsoft isn’t directly addressing, though, is its operating system’s inability to flush out the remains of outdated or deleted programs in the registry. The program’s ineptness to deal with the problem has caused it to sometimes carry bricks when the actual load should only be pebbles.

This is the reason why RegCure is essential. It fills in the holes left open by Microsoft. The fact that the registry is a very vital organ in your system makes a registry cleaner indispensable. With RegCure installed, you could ensure that the featured cartoon in this post remains funny.

Do you have that habit of clicking on “Next” whenever you install something on your computer?

There used to be a time when installing applications required having read the 50-page ReadMe file that comes with the pack. Worse, there were times when you’re even required to have certain applications in order to proceed with the process, such as ZIP programs. Needless to say, having a new resident in your hard drive back then wasn’t so easy.

It’s a good thing that hair-pulling installation processes are already things of the past. Installation wizards have practically reduced user participation in the procedure to a point that even a paralytic who could only move his finger could go through the steps and finish the installation.

Installation wizards seem so reassuring that we’re often beguiled into mindlessly clicking the Next button until the whole process comes to its conclusion. If you give a little thought about it, that practice of clicking through the whole procedure like an epileptic is dangerous. Introducing new programs into your computer means introducing changes into your system files. The changes may be unpleasant, especially if it tinkers with your system’s registry.

While it may seem tedious and sometimes needless, you should devote a sufficient amount of time in going through the installation process (meaning you have to read what the installation wizard is flashing on the boxes). Don’t take the procedure lightly. You may be inadvertently allowing or agreeing to drastic system changes or interferences by mechanically clicking Next or Yes to every prompt or query that you get whenever you plant something in your hard drive. The consequences might be harmless (but annoying) in some cases, like having an additional toolbar in your Web browser. However, the repercussions could also be debilitating, such as incessant pop ups.

If the claims and ads of antivirus software makers are to be believed, then all that separates us from a Trojan-free PC is $19.99 + VAT. Indeed, almost all security suites claim that they could prevent malware infection by up to 99.9%. However, as many of you might have already noticed, that .01% that’s unaccounted for almost always stands out.

I guess I’ve already told you a couple of times already that the battle against malicious programs should not be left to security suites alone. They can’t ward off all attacks, especially if the user is careless and gullible enough to click on every pop up or ad that tickles his fancy.

Every program must be conscripted in the fight against computer viruses. I’m not saying that Microsoft should include a virus-scanning feature on Excel or Powerpoint. That would be absurd (but somewhat cool, don’t you think?). Each application could contribute to the fight by keeping their fences intact, meaning that every hole or weak spot in their algorithms should be patched.

The most important application that should be patched well is the Web browser. We all know that browsers serve as our PCs gate to cyberspace, and we all know, too, that cyberspace has lots of tiny programs that bear crossbones tattoos.

Hence, when choosing a browser, pick the one that has an extra layer of cement on their wall. Mozilla and Opera have already acknowledged their products’ role and responsibility in the fight against malware by incorporating antiphishing functions, as well as anti-pop up features. Microsoft would also be photocopying the same features in the final version of Internet Explorer 8.

There used to be a time when OS X seemed too impregnable for viruses and other types of malware. Mac users used to pride their machines as something that doesn’t need an antivirus.

Things have changed since then. The Mac’s rapidly increasing popularity has made it the Apple of every hacker’s eyes. Indeed, the major reason why malicious programmers have focused on Windows is because it’s the most widely-used operating system.

It’s only a matter of time when OS X would become as troublesome and problematic as Redmond’s OS . I don’t know if Apple will be able to ward off attacks from all sides. Maybe it will. But this doesn’t mean that you should just lean on your OS X’s maker for security. Start building a wall on your Mac as early as now by installing the necessary security suites that commonly litter Windows-based PCs. Antivirus and registry cleaner software are must haves.

Once in a while, some of us install old applications to bring back a part of the good old days. I’m sometimes guilty of clearing a few megabytes in my hard drive for circa 1990 software, some of them even DOS-based.

Nostalgia isn’t the only reason why some people are resurrecting old programs. For those who abhor the clutter of options that software-makers litter in their creations, it is indeed not surprising why a good number of PC users are missing the old applications that are simpler and easier to use.

While it would seem that breathing life back to your outdated programs may be harmless, analysts are discouraging using old software. For one thing, installing them might just induce migraine as new operating systems don’t support obsolete applications anymore.

But the real reason why experts advise users not to reinstall old programs is because they could chisel a hole in your computer’s wall. Malware could easily exploit the security gaps that unpatched software creates. Although program makers regularly releases security patches or updates, they usually do so only to products that have been recently released. Very few would even bother putting a band aid on apps that were issued more than 10 years ago.

Be very careful then when reinstalling or running programs that are not supported by their makers anymore. If you’re bent on using old software again, try to look first on the Internet for patches or updates. If there are none, then don’t connect to the Internet whenever you’re using them as malware in cyberspace could smell unpatched software from thousands of virtual miles away.

Newegg.com will give a three-user license for Panda Internet Security 2008 for free, after rebate. The anti-virus software that is tagged at $40 will be made available for free if users “purchase” it thru a special URL.

Despite this new offer, not many appear to be excited. PC Magazine as well as other authority websites recently gave the software a not so enthusiastic review, calling the anti-virus as “a mixed bag of some really stellar features and some areas where the suite is simply ineffective.”

Sources indicate that the 2008 version of the Panda Internet Security poses not much difference compared to last year’s release. But despite the minimal chances, others are still happy with the 2008 model.

The software now sports many additional features such as Wi-Fi security and backup and performance tuning. The software now also uses TotalScan technology, Panda’s online security scanning system which many software reviewers such as Neil Rubenking really like.

Purchase of the anti-virus from Panda’s website instead of Newegg will cost you $69.95. That purchase includes upgrade to the Panda Internet Security 2009 for free.

Source: AppScout