You are currently browsing the archives for the Security category.
7. November 2008 by Rob.
In the last few weeks I have found another really good product for cleaning spyware. This product does have a free version and a really good blog on their web site which explains which products they clean and which ones they do not. The product has helped me clean several bad infestations of Antivirus 2009.
Posted in Spyware, Security | No Comments »
17. May 2008 by Rob.
Personally I like Windows XP SP3. It is basically a roll-up of all the security patches since XP2. Their are enhancements for Wireless security in it as well. WPA-2 is now supported.
I have been running it all week on my home desktop, gf’s laptop and my work laptop and I have had no major issues.
Posted in XP, Security, Microsoft | No Comments »
11. May 2008 by Rob.
The install went painless for me. It took about 30 minutes to do the install. So far everything is running fine:)
Posted in XP, Security, Windows | No Comments »
29. January 2008 by Rob.
A member of my girlfriend’s family had a computer tech in today because she is so concerned about her laptop and that it can be hacked. Better a tech than me because I would not go near this one with a 2 mile pole.
The first thing the tech did was take Zonealarm off and just use Windows firewall. What he forgot is the Windows Firewall in XP is one direction and proper security measures require a BI-DIRECTIONAL firewall. For interest sake Vista has a BI-DIRECTIONAL firewall.
Problem number 2 - The tech did all the Windows updates. This includes all the Outlook Express Updates. One of the features in the new Outlook/Outlook Express updates is that Outlook will not allow you to click on a web site directly. The reason for this is to protect the end user of Outlook from Phishing sites. By copying and pasting the URL there can not be anything behind it masking itself.
Phishing is the act of tricking someone into giving them confidential information or tricking them into doing something that they normally wouldn’t do or shouldn’t do. For example: sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.
This is so funny because this person claims she is paying all this money to protect herself from identity theft. How some people can be so gullible.
Rob
Posted in Phishing, Firewall, Security | No Comments »
21. January 2008 by Rob.
Many people have asked me over the years what I use for computer protection. Well I use a pile of free utilities plus one paid utility to do my yearly backups.
The following is what I use:
Virus Scanner - AVG Free
Firewall - Zonealarm free.
Spyware Scanners - Adaware/Spybot - both free.
Spam Blocking - Gmail - all ,y accounts are forwarded to Gmail and it’s spam filters are great.
Backup - I use Carbonite - $50 US per year.
I run Windows updates on a regular basis.
Plus I use a lot of common sense. Do not be on sites you should be on. Be careful of the attachments you open.
Rob
Posted in Spam, Backup, Spyware, Virus, Security, Firewall, Windows | No Comments »
17. January 2008 by Rob.
Today’s tip is for a website called Secuina. This site is neat because it does a scan of your computer (with your permission first) and then tells you which programs you need to update for security purposes. The site will also give you list of all programs which need to be upgraded and the versions to be upgraded to.
Posted in Security | No Comments »
13. January 2008 by Rob.
Steve Gibson is a man in the computer industry who I have the utmost respect for. He is an expert in the field of computer security and computer technology. He is a genius when it comes to great ideas on how to protect your system. Steve can make the most complicated topic basic so the average user can understand or talk at a higher level for someone like me.
Steve has written several utilities over the years including the hard drive savior utility, Spinrite. Below are a couple links to his podcasts and his own web site so that you can learn more from him.
http://www.grc.com/intro.htm - Steve’s own site.
http://www.twit.tv/sn - For the security now podcast with Leo Laporte
Posted in Leo Laporte, Steve Gibson, Security, software | No Comments »
12. January 2008 by Rob.
I have as of now pulled my old The-Techshop.com web site. Going to www.the-techshop will bring you here. What I found is most people wanted information and links to free programs to help them with their computer security. The blog format will be easier for me to help people stay informed.
If you look on the right hand side, their is a links section which lists links to the most popular free ware and low cost commercial programs for computer security. This replaces the links section on my original page.
If anyone has any comments or requires more information, please email me at webmaster@the-techshop.com
Rob
Posted in Changes, Security | No Comments »
12. January 2008 by Rob.
Well I have decided to make one more web presence change. I am switching my security site to a blog format. I was going to rebuild the web site but have realized this is just as informative and easier to keep current and maintain on a daily basis. I will be adding links under the right side to point to the best free security software on the market. I will also be constantly pointing to updated articles and features for the technology field. As of Saturday, I will be re-rooting www.the-techshop.com to blog.the-techshop.com .
Besides these change, nothing else changes. All my email accounts and other web sites will stay the same.
Posted in Changes, Security, software | No Comments »
5. January 2008 by Rob.
Backups are always something that every computer user should be doing. I have a couple of methods which I use depending on the types of files. For day to day files, I use a product called Carbonite. I will back up any files you specify with the default being the My Documents directory.
The program backs up your files to a secured site when you are not using your PC/Internet connection.
The product even comes with a 15 day free trial. Cost per year is $50 - a cheap insurance policy.
Posted in Recommendations, Backup, Security, software | No Comments »