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Showing posts from February, 2010

12 Free Security Software Tools

12 Free Security Software Tools

Use OpenDNS to surf safely with these tricks

Use OpenDNS to surf safely with these tricks

Drive-by Downloads: What They Are and How to Defend Against Them

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Microsoft's Mark H. Walker wrote a classic article that still holds true today.  With the amount of trojans and malware that I keep seeing on customer computers, I think right now is a good time to share most of Walker's article here about the dangers of drive-by downloads.  Although the article has been around for quite a while and refers mostly to features found in IE 7, it is still pertinent today:  Drive-by downloading is a catch-all name for software downloaded on your computer without your knowledge or intervention. Drive-by downloading is different than phishing, which misleads users by using authentic-appearing sites that deceive users into entering sensitive information, and different than pop-ups, which fool users into agreeing to download software. Drive-by downloads sneak onto computers without the user’s knowledge or permission. Some of the most common drive-by download carriers are songs from free music share sites, free screensavers, etc. Many of these instal

Rogue Security Programs: What You Need to Know

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The Problem It's an epidemic. Computers are coming in for repair at an alarming rate. The culprit: Rogue security products are tricking normal computer users into installing a trojan disguised as legit anti-virus or anti-spyware software.  Antivirus 2010 (shown above) is one example of this.  There are products that will help you remove these infections from your computer, such as the ones detailed in this PC Magazine article. How and Why?...from Microsoft But how and why does this phenomenon happen? Microsoft has this article that explains the situation and reasoning behind it.  It adds quite a bit of insight into the hows, whys and what-fors. Anti-Trojan.org: The Ultimate Rogue Software Resource Since most of these rogue programs drop malicious trojans onto unsuspecting computers, leaving an ugly mess behind, it is very helpful to read up on what trojans are and discover the ultimate anti-trojan Web site.  This is it .  Everything you ever needed to know about trojans, ro

PCHelpware: Easy and Secure Remote Access from Anywhere

PCHelpWare http://www.uvnc.com/pchelpware/index.html For a wonderful step-by-step PDF, click here . This could be the answer to any small computer business's prayers.  I have not tried it yet, but I plan to soon.   Here is what we know about it:  PCHelpWare is a free alternative to the various paying remote assistance services that can be found on the net PCHelpWare is a powerful remote support software that allows you to control (right from your own PC) a distant PC connected to the internet. It is the ideal solution to provide quick remote assistance and help your customers, colleagues, friends and family members, even if they are on the other side of the world PCHelpWare is customizable : you can create your own server package with your logo and -company- name The individual you want to remotely assist only has to download and execute your customized package. That's all No router/modem/firewall configuration is needed to access a remote PC even when i