Spybot Search & Destroy

Spybot Search & Destroy

One of my favorite computer security tools is Spybot Search & Destroy. As its name suggests, Spybot S & D searches your computer to detect spyware and malware, as well as proactively immunizes your system from spyware and malware attacks.

Spyware often infects computers when users open suspicious attachments or click links received in emails or on spyware inhabited websites.

Spyware can hide itself deep in the Windows registry, and can be very difficult to detect. Spyware "spies" on computer activity, such as what websites users visit and how often users visit them, often transmitting captured information to third-parties. Some spyware use what is called a "keystroke logger" to record the keystrokes a user makes in order to capture user passwords, which can be pretty scary if you bank online or make online purchases where you enter credit card or financial information.

Spyware can also use available memory or bandwidth without your knowledge, effectively making your computer a "zombie", and when used in concert with thousands of other infected computers, is part of a "DDoS"(Distributed Denial of Service) attack on web servers or large servers in a malicious attempt to bring a website or server down.

Spybot Search & Destroy features the "Search & Destroy" Tool, which runs a "bot-check" that scans suspicious entries on the system. Suspicious entries are then displayed and the user is presented with the option to fix or ignore the suspicious entries. There may be times an entry doesn't need to be fixed. Many times anti-virus programs show up on security scanners, because of their close involvement with the registry.

Spybot S&D also offers an "immunization" tool that detects weak points in browsers installed on a computer and proactively provides protection from possible attacks.

There is also the Spybot S&D "tea timer", which keeps an eye on the registry and notifies users by a system tray balloon when any registry changes are made. Any registry changes brought to your attention when you have not installed or uninstalled a program can be spyware or malware activity.

Spybot S&D provides updates weekly, and you should check for updates and immunize your system at least that often.

You can download Spybot Search & Destroy at www.safer-networking.org.

However, no matter how many anti-virus or anti-malware programs you run, your best protection is your behavior online. Never click links or open attachments in emails or allow websites to install add-ons that you don't absolutely trust.

A good practice is to reformat your hard drive once per year, as this will clean any malware off your system as well as clean off accumulated junk in your registry that accumulates after installing and uninstalling programs, and will return your operating system to its "out of the box" condition.

Always back up important data before making major changes to your hard drive.

--kb

CCleaner Drive Cleaner

CCleaner is one of the top free drive cleaners/utility tools available for Windows operating systems. As of January 2010, CCleaner boasted over 375 million downloads.

CCleaner drive cleaning tool works with IE, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari browsers. It removes temporary files, browsing history, cookies, download history, and password/form history. CCleaner can also be configured to wipe the entire free space on your hard drives, removing any random bits that get strewn out during program installations.

It also cleans Recycle Bin and clears your recent documents list.

What puts CCleaner ahead of other drive utilities are its tools beyond browser cleaning.

CCleaner also includes a registry cleaner that can remove missing .dlls and unused file extensions that accumulate after installing and uninstalling programs. The registry cleaner has a super simple user interface, with a one click "scan for issues" and one click "fix selected issues" button.

3 other great tools are found in the "Tools" section of CCleaner. You can uninstall programs directly from the CCleaner tools menu, and the interface is much easier than using Windows control panel.

You can also enable and disable programs that run during startup from the "Tools" menu. This is something you'd normally have to do using the "msconfig" command from the Windows command prompt. CCleaner makes this process much simpler, and does not require restarting your system.

There is also a "System Restore" option in the "Tools Menu" for more advanced users that can help diagnose Windows errors likely caused by faulty drivers or user error and will restore your system to its last successful restore point recorded in Windows.

CCleaners clean and simple interface along with its easy to use system tools is a great tool for everyday users to keep their system clean and running optimally.

--kb

51 Essential Programs For A Freeware Only PC

I was browsing online for a free audio converter and ran into this site, 51 Essential Programs For A Freeware Only PC at www.freewaremission.com. This page was published almost a year ago, but most links are still working. Here you can find media editors, partitioning utilities, anti-virus programs, and drive cleaners, all free!

Free software is great, and there are quality open-source tools out there, but always be cautious installing any software you're unfamiliar with to your PC, especially if you run a home network. Viruses and other mal-ware programs are often packaged as legit products.

Whenever I find free tools, I usually go to www.cnet.com and search for a review of the product before installing. CNet's reviews are very reliable and CNet also provides safer links for downloading free software.


--kb

Less Cluttered Desktop With QuickLaunch

Usually anytime you install new software, you're presented with the option to "create a desktop icon" during installation. As you add more programs your desktop can become cluttered and covered with icons, which make finding the icon you need a little harder, and it covers up that perfect picture of Myrtle Beach you combed Google for for two hours to use as wallpaper (ok maybe that's just me).

A good way to cut down on icons is to use the QuickLaunch option on your taskbar. With QuickLaunch you can choose the programs you use most often, and create shortcuts on your taskbar instead of your desktop.

Let's say the first thing you do when you sit down at your machine is open Internet Explorer. Instead of clicking your desktop icon, or clicking START then finding Internet Explorer in your programs list, we're going to move Internet Explorer to the taskbar as a QuickLaunch button.

First, right click on your taskbar. This will bring up a menu. Make sure that there is not a checkmark next to "LOCK THE TASKBAR".

Next, click and drag your Internet Explorer icon onto the taskbar. You should now see the IE icon next to your start button. From now on you can launch IE by clicking the QuickLaunch button on your taskbar. Creating QuickLaunch buttons for your favorite programs eliminates the need for a desktop icon,and allows faster access to your most often used programs.

--kb

Backing Up Your Work with Autosave in Office 2007

I was helping a college student a few days ago with a resume on which she'd spent several hours working. As Murphy's Law would have it, there was a total power flicker, only for a few seconds, but she lost all that work and had to start from scratch.

A great way of avoiding this kind of headache is to take advantage of the "autosave" feature in Microsoft Office 2007. With autosave you can configure Office to automatically save your projects as you create and edit them, without any extra effort from you.

From your document window, look to the top left corner of your screen, and you'll find the Microsoft Office button. Click once and you'll get a drop down menu. At the bottom right of your menu you will see a rectangular button labeled WORD OPTIONS.

Clicking WORD OPTIONS will open the word options window. In the menu on the left of the window click SAVE, this opens up a menu allowing you to configure all save options for Office 2007.

Near the top of the window you will see a checkbox with "Save Auto Recover Information" and a number box to the right. For example, if you enter a "5" into the number box, Office will automatically save your document every 5 minutes. So every five minutes, Office will save any changes or additions to your document automatically at that point.

Just below the Save Auto Recover Information line, you will see AUTO RECOVER FILE LOCATION. This location is where Office will auto save your files and where you would find your files should your computer crash, Office freeze up, or you accidentally close your document without saving.

You will see that the default "Auto Recover File Location" is located on a folder on the "C" or main hard drive. You can choose any folder, or create your own folder for the auto save location, or you may want to click the BROWSE button to the right to save to an external hard drive or usb drive, just in case a serious error on your hard drive occurs.

--kb