Friday, December 4, 2009
Winsonar 2010 Ultimate Edition
Windows has a built-in task monitor, but the user will not be prompted for new-installed tasks and even using the task monitor he won`t able to distinguish normally running modules from new-added ones.
Winsonar is a process monitor that allows you to monitor which applications and background processes are currently running on your system. It detects new processes that install into memory and can alert you of such actions.The on-line status is also detected,asking then the user if an automatic termination of any unknown processes is desired This leads to an active protection against trojan spyware-infected e-mail attachments.
Features
• Customizable periodic scan for unknown processes
• Learning mode ( only for Windows XP / 2000 )
• Online /offline shield against unknown processes
• Tray-icon balloon tips ( only for Windows XP / 2000 )
• TCP/IP scan for open ports.
• Optional Web session logging.
• Port scanning tools, Registry scan, tech tools
WinSonar installs easily and doesn't seem to be a system resource hog.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Disable Writing to USB Drives in XP(SP2)
If your system is being used by multiple users, then there is a huge possibility of data being leaked from your system.They can simply plug in a USB device and copy sensitive data.If you are concerned about data security , you can disable writing to USB drives with a simple registry tweak.
To disable the writing of data to USB drives do the following
- Start>Run>type ‘regedit’ in the text box and press enter.
- Browse to the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MECHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/StorageDevicePolicies’ registry key.
- Right click anywhere on the right pane and select the ‘DWORD(32bit)Value’ option.
- Double click the newly created key and type ‘00000001’ in the ‘Value data’ field.
- Restart your system for changes to take effect
USB Locker is a small tool,which disable (when needed) writing to external USB flash drives to prevent unauthorized copying of your files from your computer
Download | Windows XP/Vista/7|Freeware
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Easy File Locker
Easy File Locker is a light-weight and easy-to-use software tool to protect and secure your files and folders.Users will not be able to open, read, modify, delete, move, copy the locked files/folders, or even not be able to see it. The hidden files/folders will be totally invisible to all users and to any program.So Easy File Locker provide the total of solution for protecting the sensitive data. In Windows Safe Mode also you can protect files/folders by this tool.
Users can enable or disable the files/folders restriction to be ‘Accessible’, ‘Writable’, ‘Deletable’ or ‘Visible’.It will not slow down the system speeds and it will never have the chance to destroy your data.
Features:
- Lock files, Lock folders : The locked files/folders are protected from accessing, users can not open, read, modify, move, delete, copy, rename the protected files/folders. Files and sub-folders in a locked folder are also protected.
- Hide files, Hide folders : You can hide your private files and folders, to make them completely invisible to users and programs.
- Password protected GUI and uninstaller : Once you set a password, no one can launch the application or uninstall the software without the correct password.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
How to Protect Your System From Keyloggers
Keylogger is small spy program or hardware device , that has the ability record everything you type on the computer.It either stores this information in a hidden place on your computer or sends it over the Internet to the person who infiltrated it.
Keyloggers can be used to monitor employee's activity or watch your computer while you are away. But some people abuse the program to steal others' passwords.They can violate user privacy for months and even years until the user will notice them. During al
Keyloggers can come in many forms, as emails, viruses, Trojan horses; from people who might try to invade your privacy .Most of them are invisible, so you won't know if they are running on your system.How can you know if such program has been installed on your computer?How can you protect your privacy?
Hardware Keylogger
1.Check the Windows Task Manager for all running tasks by hitting Control + Alt + Delete. You can verify all the tasks and research unknown tasks by Google Search.
2.Start >> Run >> type msconfig >> hit enter>> Start tab >> Verify all programs that are set to start up each time you boot the computer. Compare the programs listed and learn more about them on the internet to see whether they are legitimate startup programs or possible keyloggers
3.Check the cable connections of the keyboard and make sure there are not "extra connectors" on the end of it. The keyboard should have a single cable with no removable bit on the end and it should plug directly into a port on the back of the computer box. Hardware keylogger.
4.Check the services running in your PC.Start > Run >type services.msc.Check those items running automatically.If anything found suspicious stop those.
5. You would fist look in the add/remove programs to see if anything has been installed that can monitor keystrokes.
I recommend setting new passwords (good strong passwords are at least 8 characters long and use a combination of UPPERCASE, lowercase, numb3rs, and speci@l ch@racters) on all programs .
Softwares to detect keyloggers:Spyware protection software or keylogger remover is the easiest way to remove spyware and keeping it away. It detects and removes all pieces of spyware and adware automatically. Spyware is extremely difficult to remove manually and should only be removed with effective and advanced keylogger or spyware protection software. Protect your computer from these malicious spywares and enjoy peace of mind.
- XoftSpySE Anti-Spyware
- Lavasoft's Ad-aware
- Elite Anti Keylogger v3
- Spybot Search & Destroy
- Webroot's Spy Sweeper
- Anti-Keylogger Elite 3.3.3
- SpyHunter,
- eTrust PestPatrol
- a2-squared free 4.5
- SpywareDoctor
- Advanced Anti Keylogger
- Unlogger
- KL-Detector
Are you sure that your security software is capable of identifying keylogging activities? Here is a simple test software available from Zemana, which lets you simulate a keylogger on your computer. It is a free download which can run it on your computer. If your security software is able to detect it, then you may be confident about the effectiveness of that against keyloggers, otherwise it is time to have a second look at your choice of security software. Check :http://www.zemana.com/KeyLogger_Test.aspx
Monday, July 27, 2009
Security Checklist for a PC
Here is a checklist which helps in protecting Windows, applications, browser and hardware.
| SECURING WINDOWS:
| EMAIL ACCOUNT WITHOUT
|
| PROTECTING APPLICATIONS:
| HARDWARE HACKERS:
|
| MORE SECURITY FOR THE BROWSER:
| IN NUTSHELL
|
Saturday, July 25, 2009
How Safe is Your PC?
Web browsers are the most common target of an attack. Malware and Spyware is get into the PC through modified websites which trigger buffer overruns for instance; hackers can thus crash the browser.
Following are some of the most common ways users are fooled .
- Links can lead you to malicious material such as hidden drive-by downloads that attempt to silently install software onto your computer without you doing anything or knowing about it.
- Links can also lead you to a phishing site designed by scammers to trick a user into revealing confidential information such as account passwords for banking or social networking sites.
- There are downloads that seem perfectly safe, such as a video, screensaver (screensavers are the most notorious) or some even offer to give you security protection, but they are actually malware.
- A link from a friend might not be safe either. Your friend’s computer could have been infected and now is part of a botnet being used to send malware and dangerous links.
- Tweeters often use URL shortening services such as tinyurl.com to obtain a shorter URL that fits within the 140 characters restriction. This means you don’t know what site your are really going to until you are there.
Here are some utilities to test your browser and other securities
BrowserCheck is another online utility to check whether your Web browser secured or not.It will tell you the browser's encryption strength.
Popup test is the most complete way for you to test your popup blocking software. Your popup blocker will be given a series of tests that range from your standard popup to very complex popups that will slip by most popular ad blockers
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Stop Trojan Infections
A simple way to disable any virus,worm or trojan from entering your USB drive, is to create a folder by the name of ‘autorun.inf’.Once this is done, right click on the folder ,navigate to properties ,hide the folder as well as write protect it.This works as well with a text file of the same.This ensures that even if a virus,trojan or worm does get into the USB drive.It does not being to operate as soon as the drive is connected to my computer.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Use scr.im to Get Less Spam
Scr.im converts your email address into a short, and safe link you can share on the web,twitter, blogs, forums, Craiglist or anywhere.It is a very simple service that creates small, custom URLs for sharing your email with real people
To view the email, the other person had to pass a simple test that other automated scripts and bots cannot pass.
Friday, June 5, 2009
'Gumblar' PC Malware is Targeting Google Users
Gumblar is currently targeting users of IE and Google search, delivering malware through compromised sites that infect a user's PC and subsequently intercepts traffic between the user and the visited sites. This means that once infected, anything the victim types could be monitored and used to commit identity theft, such as stealing credit card numbers, passwords or other sensitive data. Visitors encountering the compromised website also risk having their subsequent search results replaced with links that point to other malicious websites. The malware can also steal FTP credentials from the victim's computer and use them to infect more sites, thus increasing the spread of this threat.
Gumblar was first detected in March and has spread more quickly since then, against the expectations of security experts.The scripts attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in Adobe's Acrobat Reader and Flash Player to deliver code that injects malicious search results when a user searches Google on Internet Explorer
How to protect and remove?
If you are running ZoneAlarm® ForceField™ browser security technology you are already protected. If you are running ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, you must turn ON ForceField virtualization (Open ZoneAlarm Extreme and go to 'browser security', 'settings', 'advanced' and click 'enable virtualization'
Read more
Thursday, May 21, 2009
How to Block Any Installed Application From Lunching on Your Computer?
When you are sharing your computer with others or you do not want that other persons run all installed applications in your PC.For example you want to disable web browsing 
AppLocker a freeware provides a complete solution to block any programs from being executed on a target computer.The application will display a list of popular programs including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer or Nero Burning Rom at startup.
These applications will be displayed even if the programs are not installed on the system. A click on a checkbox will block the software on the computer system.
AppLocker can be used in single PC and multiple PC’s. If you are intended for multiple machines, it should be installed on one machine, then the target folder is to be copied to a shared location and the executable file should be run from that location. By doing so, AppLocker does not have to be installed on each machine individually.
You can lock the programs by clicking the “Configure” button to open the configuration window. Type the caption you want displayed on the ‘Lock application list’. Then, type the programs executable file name and click the ‘Add’ button to add new applications.
The drawback of the software blocker is that there is no protection of the application itself.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Protect Your PC Using Windows Steady State
If you’ve used a PC at a library or internet café, you’ve probably discovered that it’s been ‘locked down’. In all likelihood,Windows will have barred you from installing new programs, launching the Run dialogue and fiddling about in Control Panel. It’s understandable, of course – no administrator wants to deal with a Windows installation trashed beyond redemption by a vandal or inexperienced user.
Many shared, public PCs are configured using Microsoft’s Steady State . This provides administrators with an easy method of implementing user restrictions. It’s suited not only to commercial and institutional environments, but is also perfect for the home. If you’re setting up a PC for a child, for instance, Steady State will give you almost total control over what they can and can’t do.
![Sparksspace0[4]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3wdj_7zDrbUz43FKhFV58hwLVOk11HNXx8MnpV3W3mfKEzUsSAPlNASiQhCn5tq_wSrY6fsu9z_zM5hm8YkHwPpq7d4DrnD3i18xD8dEiiaSONRnTtucTZMzGFtBX3PSJMbyHNK6zMNr/s1600-h/Sparksspace0%5B4%5D%5B4%5D.jpg "Sparksspace0[4]")
There are 2 settings available there,Global Computer Settings and User Settings. Most of the action will take place in the latter.
Features
- Set Computer Restrictions (Computer Restrictions).
- Schedule Software Updates. (Allows you to specify whether SteadyState automatically applies Windows Updates. This is recommended, since it handles dealing with Windows Disk Protection for you, and also updates the signatures of several popular Antivirus programs.)
- Protect the Hard Disk (Windows Disk Protection).
- Add User (User Account Manager).
- And Microsoft gives it away for free!
By using Windows SteadyState, you can more effectively: Defend shared computers from unauthorized changes to their hard disks; Restrict users from accessing system settings and data; Enhance the user experience on shared computers.With Windows SteadyState, Windows administrator can minimize the windows corrupting rate and protect their windows shared computer in better management.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Get Into Free Sites Without Registering
ARE YOU TIRED of having to register on a free Web site just to read a news article or view some pictures of your relatives? Rather than registering on such sites (and risking a barrage of annoying spam), many people forget about the news item or put off seeing how their nieces and nephews are doing until their next vacation.
But here is an easy way to get members-only content without enduring the hassle of signing up for an account.Whenever family and friends send me links to registration required sites, just turn to Bug-MeNot (www.bugmenot.com ) to slip past most of these requirements. BugMeNot is a site that helps web users get around website registration roadblocks, is back up after disappearing for several days because of server hosting issues.
BugMeNot holds pre-made user names and passwords so that visitors can use them to read content on thousands of registration-only news sites.It also encourages users to use such fake e-mail account services as Mailinator and Spamgourmet to create such accounts. However, it does not allow them to add accounts for pay websites, as this could potentially put BugMeNot in legal trouble. BugMeNot also claims to remove accounts for any web site that requests that they do not provide accounts for non-registered users.
Features
If you use Internet Explorer,go to the BugMeNot Web site and type in the URL of the site that you’d like to log in to. BugMeNot will return a list of user names and passwords that you can use to log in successfully.The BugMeNot Firefox Extension automates the service for Firefox users.After you install the BugMeNot extension, the next time you encounter a required log-in prompt for a free site, right-click the username or e-mail address box and select Login with BugMeNot. Re peat the process if the initial attempt doesn’t work; the plug-in might have used old information the first time around. Otherwise,
you should slide into the registration-required content without a hitch.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
PC Tools Privacy Guardian - FREE License
Privacy Guardian guarantees your privacy by ensuring all traces of your online Internet and computer activities are permanently erased and unrecoverable on your PC. Information 
Privacy Guardian feature highlights
- Completely cleans all traces of online Internet activities on your computer including cache, cookies, index.dat and history
- Permanently deletes recycle bin contents, temporary files, document history, plus many more PC tracks
- Bleaches free space and deleted files using Department of Defense standard (DoD 5220.22-M) making them unrecoverable using regular methods
- Restores valuable hard drive space and improves system performance
- Plug-ins to clean the history of 100+ third-party programs, including chat, image viewing, P2P applications and more
- Supports Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla Firefox and Opera web browsers
To Get a FREE copy of PC Tools Privacy Guardian , please do the following
1. Go here > PC Tools Promotional Offer . Ensure to provide a valid email address.
2. PC Tools Privacy Guardian License key will be sent to the email address that you specified .
3. Download PC Tools Privacy Guardian from here.
4. Install the software and apply the e-mailed license key to activate your software.
Current Version: 4.1.0.37|Size: 3,875 KB|Platforms: Windows® Vista™ 32-bit, XP, Me, 98 and 2000
Monday, April 20, 2009
Privacy Tools
When you go online, you leave tracks all over the place. You could be hanging out with friends on IM, checking out websites, or downloading music.There are various ways that information about you or your activities can be collected without your knowledge or consent:
- Cookies
- HTTP
- Browsers
- There may already be information about you published on the web
- Downloading freeware or shareware
- Search engines
- Electronic commerce
- E-mail and cryptography
- Spam
- Dangers of Internet Relay Chat
Tracing on the Internet
The best way to cover your tracks on the Internet is to surf on a proxy cascade, a pool of hundreds of servers. This will give you a new IP address, and the connection between your PC and the website would also be heavily encrypted. Using Firefox with an Add-on such as Torpark, or Foxy Proxy is the way to go, or you may use the anonymization service JAP/JonDo.In contrast to normal Firefox operation, Torpark starts without any installation whatsoever
Tor is an abbreviation for The Onion Router.It prevents somebody watching your Internet 
Protection from Trojan Spying
To encrypt your hard disk use TrueCrypt.It is a free open-source disk encryption software
BitLocker Drive Encryption is a full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft's Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 Ultimate Beta operating systems designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes.
Protection from: Telephone Tracing
ZfoneTM is a new secure VoIP phone software product which lets you make encrypted phone calls over the Internet. It encrypts your call so that only the other person can hea r you speak.The Zfone software detects when the call starts, and initiates a cryptographic key agreement between the two parties, and then proceeds to encrypt and decrypt the voice packets on the fly.
OtherTools
CookieCooker is a tool that enables you to protect your behavior and your interests from being spied on on the internet.It also protects your email and postal mail account against spam by using trash mail serives and marking your postal adresses. By a report function user community create a database of address sellers. CookieCooker changes the cookies set by web servers on the own home computer to falsify the user profiles collected by the web servers
Steganos Locknote is the open source software enables users to quickly and easily
Exif Tag Remover allows you to easily delete the Exif tag and other metadata tags. By doing so before publishing an image you take an active step toward protecting your privacy 
Analyze your internet connection with 
The test does the following:
- Checks for pop-up windows
- Shows the browser “headers” which is the hidden information your web browser sends a web site.
- Checks to see if port 80 and 16771 are open to see if your browser shows images and if you have a firewall blocking traffic on port 16771.
- Checks your web browser version and determines the capabilities from a database.
- Checks for browser plug-ins that re installed.
- Traces your IP address.
- Determine who owns the domain associated with the IP address of your Internet connection.
- Looks up your the servers that handle mail for the domain associated with the IP address of your Internet connection.
- Determine who manages the IP address of your Internet connection.
- Lists the installed fonts on your computer.
Check 
Visit Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools : http://epic.org/privacy/tools.html
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Conficker Worm's Copycat Neeris Spreading Over IM
Conficker infected millions of computers and now another threat called Neeirs Worm is copying the same infection strategies of Conficker.
The latest variant of Neeris which has been in the wild since 2005, is mimicking all of Conficker’s spreading techniques, including the exploitation of MS08-067 and the AutoRun spreading tactic.These worms spread via MNS Messenger and may contain backdoor functionalities.According to Friday blog post from researchers Ziv Mador and Aaron Putnam , new Neeris variant began popping up last week.
The Neeris Worm is now updated using the same methods of Conficker to spread by using the autorun.inf file.To protect against the worm, you should take the same steps as they did with Conficker, . That includes installing MS08-067 and disabling AutoRun, if possible.
Read
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Protect Your USB Drive With AutoRunExterminator
Ever wonder why your Anti Virus detects a virus in your autorun.inf whenever you insert your removable disk (USB, flash drive, et.) but it can’t disinfect it nor delete it or if you’re having a hard time accessing drives? Tried deleting it manually but you can’t find the file?
AutoRunExterminator is a small free utility , which monitors all logical drives and prevent autorun.inf file from being executing itself.If it finds a file with this name in the root of any drive, will exclude it.The software will not block the autorun of CD/DVD as it is not writable.The utility appears in Windows system tray and continually monitors your system.
SysReq:
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Detect Registry and Disk change with SpyMe Tools
SpyMe Tools is very useful in detecting Registry and Disk changes. If any application installs spyware, adware, dlls, programs, files, or any other type of file, picture, or program, etc. or changes the Registry's content, you will be able to see exactly where the modification occurred so you can take measures. It seems like more and more programs are attempting to install spyware, advertisements, or other garbage without your knowledge, but with this software you will know everything that is added or removed.
After you install the program, you run a system sweep with SpyMe Tools and save the results. After installing new applications or making system changes, you can compare the previous system state to the current one, and SpyMe Tools will show you all the changes.
Features
· Take a Registry/Disk Snapshoot
· Save a Registry/Disk Snapshoot to a Dump File
· Open a Registry/Disk Dump File
· Compare two Dump Files
· Save a Registry/Disk Comparison Dump to a Text File
You can also use the program to backup your Registry. The program can restore old states of Registry keys using the data in the Dump files..SpyMe Tools is a great application, very useful and certain situations and a must-have application for your computer.
SysReq: 98/ME/NT3/NT4/2000/XP|Freeware|1.02MB| Download SpyMe Tools
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Make Your Web Browsing Safer
Internet Fraud is the fastest growing threat to personal safety. It is estimated that every day more and more people fall victim to internet based scams. Stay safe and don't become a victim ,use some utilities mentioned below to stay away from fraud sites.
CallingID safe browsing toolbar automatically shows whether sites visited are real and safe to login, submit personal information to or deal with. It displays the site owner information of the website you are currently visiting. It includes the physical address, company name and a risk assessment, based on a variety of verification tests. CallingID checks if the site owner is actively conducting business.The program can protect you from phishing scams, and other online dangers.
- Which site will you really visit
- Which company stands behind the site
- Is it safe to deal with the site
- Are there any known risks visiting the site
SysReq:Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server, Mozilla Firefox and/or Microsoft Internet Explorer|freeware
Similar to the above, this add-on performs real-time site scanning in search of active attacks. You can scan a given URL on demand, and you can use LinkScanner side-by-side with filtering software.It integrates with Google, Yahoo and MSN to check the search results and can warn you of exploits, hacked pages, malicious sites and phishing/fraud scams.
Hold your cursor over the icons and a description will appear, click the icon and you will be taken to a definition page giving further information about the site and the reason for the rating.One of four color-coded icons will appear next to each result. It provides the most accurate analysis of the safety of Web search listings.LinkScanner Lite is free for personal use.
SysReq: Windows 2000, XP Home and XP Professional, Vista
Finjan SecureBrowsing is a security extension for your browser that scans and classifies web addresses to provide you with safety rating of URLs before you visit them. Proactively alerting you to potentially malicious web addresses in links of search results, ads and other selected web pages, SecureBrowsing protects you from webpages that could be used to compromise your privacy and identity.
- Sites are scanned in their current form, so potentially harmful recent changes are always detected.
- Visiting unknown sites from search results becomes a lot safer with SecureBrowsing installed.
- Code analysis is a more efficient method than most alternatives for detecting malicious behavior.
- Some warnings contain rather detailed information about the nature of the threat at hand.
- SecureBrowsing does not depend on static URLs or blacklists, giving it a more dynamic approach.
SysReq: XP Home (SP 2)/ 2000 (SP 4) | I E 6.0 or 7.0 | Firefox 1.5 or 2.0
WOT is a free Internet security addon for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky website. It's easy and it's free.
WOT's color-coded icons show you ratings for 21 million websites - green to go, yellow for caution and red to stop – helping you avoid the dangerous sites. Surf safer and add WOT to your Firefox/IE now
SysReq:Windows (all), Mac OS X, or Linux| Fire Fox| IE 6.00 /7.00 | Freeware
Also Read:SiteAdvisor for Internet Explorer
