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21. October 2008 by Rob.
I thought I would do a special blog on talking quickly about some ways to secure your personal computer. This Blog is directed at Windows 2000/Windows XP or Windows Vista users. I am going to focus on some free security tools and a low cost option to secure your pcs at home. This will focus on everything with the exception of WI-FI security which I will talk about in my next blog.
I personally do not believe in running any of the build in suites which ISP’s provide. They provide some protection which is fine and dandy but their are better low cost alternatives if not free ones which will give you as much protection that you require. The ISP suites are also pretty locked down which means you can not configure them to meet your needs.
At least every user should run a virus checker to prevent you from the most common viruses which are designed to bring down, steal your data and even use parts of your pc without you knowing it is happening. At work the hospital I work at uses the MCafee Anitivirus system. It runs great but I use a free one at home. On my home computers I am currently running AVG free by Grisoft. I have run this virus checker for over 3 years and never have had an issue. The thing I really like is the resource requirement is low. This means it does not use much system memory and that the package does not require a lot of CPU processing power to run.
Avast also provides a free virus checker which also runs very well and is less resource intensive.
Personally I would stay away from running Norton Antivirus. It is very resource intesnive and even slows a new pc down running 4 GB of Ram. Not good at all.
Spyware is becoming one of the most common reason’s computers slow down and get infected. Most of today’s spyware is either designed to steal information from you or to use part of your system to hack other systems. I use 2 free spyware checkers called Spybot and Adaware.
One thing that should be set on your pc is the Windows Firewall turned ON. This Setting can be done via your system control pane and clicking on Windows Firewall.
Speaking of firewalls, everyone should run a router even if you only have one pc. For a description of what a router is please see below:
The cost of a router is about $30-40 dollars.
The last thing that should be done is have automatic Windows updates turned on. This will automatically install all the latest security patches for Windows. Security patches are generally put out once a month by Microsoft but sometimes more often as the need exists.
That is it for now. I will do two more posts in the next 2 days on Wi-FI security as well Backups. These two topics play into the security mix as well.
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Posted in Spyware, XP, Virus, Firewall, Vista, Windows | No Comments »
29. September 2008 by Rob.
My computer situation at home is getting better these days. I have bought a refurbished E-Machine AMD machine. This is a new one for me because I always purchase Intel chip set based processors. Well this machine is fast and flies.
I have managed to get most of my core software installed. I need to solve an email issues as well as get a few utilities installed that I use on a Semi regular basis as well as setup some virtual machines
I have discovered the key to Vista - purchase a machine thats primary operating system is Vista. Do not upgrade an existing machine to Vista it will be a pain.
I am taking my existing home pc with a new Hard Drive and setting it up for my GF Kelli. Her old pc I will be setting up as a print server.
All in all it is coming along great:)
Posted in home, Vista | No Comments »
17. April 2008 by Rob.
After a year of running Vista on my Sony Dual core laptop, I am about to reinstall it and put Microsoft Windows XP back on the laptop. I have had more issues with crashes and software not doing what I wanted so I am removing Vista. What most people forget is Windows XP Pro is now a mature operating system that has been around a long time. The bugs are long out and the security is working real well.
Vista still has bugs even after SP1 and a lot of drivers seem unstable. Their does not seem to be an end to this coming soon.
Posted in Vista, Microsoft | No Comments »
4. April 2008 by Rob.
As many of you know I decided to back out Windows Vista on my home desktop. As a result, I have not be en posting much this week since I have not had much spare time. The good news is my home pc is running great.
I ran into more vista issues this week. I have a Sony Viao laptop that I use for work. On it I had Windows Vista Service Pack 1 running as well as my works remote client for VPN (Aventail). Well it turns out that our version of Aventail is not compatible with Vista Service Pack 1. It is only compatible with native Vista.
I had to run system restore and take my laptop back before Vista Service Pack 1 then reinstall SP1. I have decided to run Vista on a XP Virtual machine.
Total time to fix this mess - 2hours of troubleshooting plus 3.5 hours to undo changes and reisntall.
Posted in Vpn, Vista, Microsoft | No Comments »
28. March 2008 by Rob.
Well I have decided that the Vista Experiment on my desktop is over. I will be backing up all my files this weekend, reinstalling my operating system and reverting back to XP. One thing doing this will allow is me to clean up my system. I really prefer the speed of XP plus it seems to be better on some gaming.
Posted in Vista, Microsoft | No Comments »
27. March 2008 by Rob.
Since my laptop has been running great, I decided to upgrade my desktop to Vista Service Pack 1. After an hour of working the software told me I could not upgrade and backed itself out. This is better then leaving my system hung but still……
I have a Intel Network card and the service pack has issues with some Intel cards. I am going to leave it till the weekend then its off digging for me.
Posted in Vista, Microsoft | No Comments »
21. March 2008 by Rob.
I upgraded my laptop to Vista Service Pack 1 today. It went really well. One thing is time and patience. Time to upgrade on my laptop is about an hour once you have downloaded the file. Also be prepared for reboots. The upgrade takes 3 reboots.
Now to try my desktop later.
Posted in Vista, Microsoft | No Comments »
21. March 2008 by Rob.
Windows Vista p SP1 is now available from the Microsoft Download Site. The download is a huge 434.5 Meg Download. This is the biggest service pack that Microsoft has released.
With Vista SP1 their are several issues that will cause SP1 not to be installed. Their are issues with certain sound cards and certain network cards. Below is a blog on ZDNET which outlines these issues.
If you chose not to download Vista Sp1, Microsoft will start releasing the service pack via Windows Update in Mid April.
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10. March 2008 by Rob.
After all the dust has settled it seems I am having one issue still. It turns out my backup Carbonite is having an error. I have emailed technical support and they are working on it - their product is Vista compatible. Not bad one issue out of a major upgrade.
Posted in Carbonite, Cloud Computing, Vista | No Comments »
8. March 2008 by Rob.
Well I managed to complete my Vista Upgrade. I have my last 2 printers and Carbonite(my backup software) reinstalled.
As a result of this exercise I will be working on a guide to how to do a Vista Upgrade . This should be out within the next week.
Sometime today I will also be updating my pdf for which software I use. It will be available soon for download.
Posted in Vista, Uncategorized | No Comments »