How to secure your computer for free !!

[Stuartbe]

How to secure your pc †“ for free !!!

This may seem a bit scary at first but you can always get help and advice. The forum members will be more than happy to help you.



This is a quick guide I knocked up for users that want to secure there computer ( as everyone should ) but are a bit concerned about all the techie bits. I hope it is of help to people. This guide has been written to cover windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP home/pro. If you have any other operating system then please post on this thread for further adviceââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã ‚¦Ã¢ââ↚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¦ÃƒÆ’¢â‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã ‚¦Ã¢ââ↚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¦ÃƒÆ’¢â‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã ‚¦Ã¢ââ↚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¦ÃƒÆ’¢â‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã ‚¦Ã¢ââ↚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¦ÃƒÆ’¢â‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ÃƒÂ¢Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã ‚¦Ã¢ââ↚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚¦Ã ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¦

You can also download this guide from the link at the bottom of this post.




Step 1




You need to ensure that all your windows patches are up to date. You do this by visiting a site called windows update. You can get to this by clicking on the windows update link at the top of the start menu. If you donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t have the link donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t worry, you can get to windows update by clicking on this link :-

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsupdate

After a few moments you will be presented with a button marked scan for updates. Click this button and then select install updates now. After the updates have downloaded and installed you may have to restart your computer. When you have restarted go back to the above site and check again as some updates cannot be installed together.

Keep visiting the site until you see the critical updates count on the left hand side reads 0. You have now installed all the latest security patches for your copy of windows. This is the first step to securing your computer. Please Note You may be presented with a window asking if you trust this software during the update process. Check that the window states Microsoft and click yes. Do not tick the always trust tick box.






Step 2





Kill any nasty spyware. Spyware is software that monitors your activities on the pc and displays adverts. Some software needs spyware to run like kazza. If you look around you can usually find spyware free versions of the software.A great deal of spam comes from spyware sending your email address to marketing companyââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s on the sly. To remove the spyware you can use a program called adaware. Adaware is rather like a virus scanner but it removes spyware. You can download it by clicking on this link :-

http://www.lavasoft.de

Follow the instructions to download and install adaware. Once you have install adaware start it and select the check for updates button. This will download the latest patches and gives the program the best chance of finding the nastyââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s. Once the scan has completed you need to reboot the computer and run the program again. This will ensure that any spyware that was running in memory is killed of.




Step 3





You need to help keep the spyware out of your system. Many spyware programs get into your system via plugins. Plugins are the boxes that appear when you visit a webpage. The will ask you if you want to trust the program (like the one on the Microsoft windows update page †“ You can trust that one though) if you click yes you are giving the program the rights to install. Thatâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s a no no ! Spyware blaster is a program that will block the nasty plugins in the first place. I found it thanks to a Basa †“ a member of this forum (Thanks m8). You can download spyware blaster by clicking on this link :-

http://www.spywareblaster.org/spywareblaster.html

Once you have downloaded and installed spyware blaster you need to update it. Do this by clicking on the check for updates button on the bottom left hand side. Once the updates have downloaded click the small select all button at the bottom of the list. Then click on the †œ protect against checked items †œ button. Once this is done you are ready for step 4.



Step 4



You now need to protect your system against viruses. There are many antivirus software packages out there, some are better than others. The best free one is called avg. You can download it by clicking on this link :-

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php

You need to follow the instructions on the site to register and download as there is to much information to put in this guide. If you get stuck please post and we will be happy to help you. You are now ready for step 5



Step 5




Install a firewall. This is the step that you may get stuck on as firewallââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s can be problematic. Please post if you get stuck. You can download a free firewall from the following link. Again the install steps and setup steps are to detailed for me to run through (sorry but I want to keep this less than 500 pages) Click on one of the links below :-

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

The firewall basically protects you against the more unpleasant characters on the internet by controlling access to your computer. A correctly configured firewall would have stopped people catching msblast for example.


Now that have a well-protected computer †“ the Internet is a fantastic place to be but it can also be a risky place to be. Use your common sense.. Donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t download anything that you are not sure about or open emails from people that you donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t know or donââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢t trust.

Even though the programs listed here are free many of them are written by people in there spare time. This can be expensive. Please †“ if you can donate some of your hard earned cash to the developersââ ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¦ They deserve it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By stuartbe 16/01/2004

[Sociable]

Top Post stuartbe.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Stuartbe]

Top Post stuartbe.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Thanks Sociable

If there is anything I missed let me know..

Thanks for your comments :)

[Stuartbe]

I am going to write up the above for the .info site.

I am allso going to put a guide together for setting up an email server for home users. Can anyone sugest mail server software that I can cover in the guide. Free ones would be best though I will be including one for kerio as that is what I use and know the most about.

Throw your ideas in the melting pot. :)

[trebor]

Thanks Sociable

If there is anything I missed let me know..

Thanks for your comments :)

ok one small problem, your windows update link only works if you are using a version of internet explorer if anybody uses something different they will need to use http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en

[Stuartbe]

ok one small problem, your windows update link only works if you are using a version of internet explorer if anybody uses something different they will need to use http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en

Thanks Trebor...

I did not post the link as I thought that you needed microsoft's active x for windows update and that it would only run on MS IE.....

I will make sure that both links are in the guide.

Cheers.

[basa]

If you all want a link to virtually any software for virtually any utility software, check this (http://lists.gpick.com/) incredible page out !!

[ntluser]

Thanks Sociable

If there is anything I missed let me know..

Thanks for your comments :)

The list is very helpful, Stuart and as Sociable says thanks for doing that.

The free Sygate and Outpost firewalls can also be recommended. I use both to complement each other and it seems to work OK though I wouldn't recommend it for everybody.

It's worthwhile testing your system at sites like PC pitstop, PC Flank and Steve Gibson's "Shields Up" site. Running any leak tests to make sure that your firewall protects against unwarranted outbound connections ( which many firewalls don't protect against) is also a good idea.

[Stuartbe]

The list is very helpful, Stuart and as Sociable says thanks for doing that.

The free Sygate and Outpost firewalls can also be recommended. I use both to complement each other and it seems to work OK though I wouldn't recommend it for everybody.

It's worthwhile testing your system at sites like PC pitstop, PC Flank and Steve Gibson's "Shields Up" site. Running any leak tests to make sure that your firewall protects against unwarranted outbound connections ( which many firewalls don't protect against) is also a good idea.

No problem. I was planning a section on leak test for the guide anyway.

Thanks for your ideas !! :)

[luftys]

Thanks Stuartbe :wavey: found the info very helpfull

"top man"

[DrAwesome]

No problem. I was planning a section on leak test for the guide anyway.

Thanks for your ideas !! :)

Do you run xp with firewall and Zone Alarm aswell?

[Stuartbe]

Do you run xp with firewall and Zone Alarm aswell?

Nope - I run Kerio Personal Firewall for app level control only.

I have a hardware firewall.

[DrAwesome]

Nope - I run Kerio Personal Firewall for app level control only.

I have a hardware firewall.

and has the software firewall reported any intrusions since install?

[Stuartbe]

and has the software firewall reported any intrusions since install?

No - it does not block anything. All the trafic it handles is safe as it is behind the firewall. I only use it control any programs that want to go out to the default gateway.

[Theodoric]

One small point. If you have XP then, before downloading any Windows update I'd create a System Restore point. Most times I have had no problems, but once it caused the File command in Windows Explorer to malfunction. I eventually found out that it seemed to be a clash with the Roxio software pre-installed by Dell. In the end I had to restore back to before the patch; fortunately the patch was not essential to my PC.

[Sociable]

One small point. If you have XP then, before downloading any Windows update I'd create a System Restore point. Most times I have had no problems, but once it caused the File command in Windows Explorer to malfunction. I eventually found out that it seemed to be a clash with the Roxio software pre-installed by Dell. In the end I had to restore back to before the patch; fortunately the patch was not essential to my PC.

That's a known issue with the Roxio and the update should be fine as long as you apply the roxio updates first Theodoric.

Fun bit is the conflict was due to roxio having done the software for the built in CD write in XP but made it incompatable with their own version. :)

If you ever need to re-install the older version of roxio you now have to run the update before any reboot to avoid issues still.

[Stuartbe]

That's a known issue with the Roxio and the update should be fine as long as you apply the roxio updates first Theodoric.

Fun bit is the conflict was due to roxio having done the software for the built in CD write in XP but made it incompatable with their own version. :)

If you ever need to re-install the older version of roxio you now have to run the update before any reboot to avoid issues still.

Thanks both of you. I will make sure that is in the guide.

I have never had the problem since I am strictly a Linux and win2000 man. + I only use nero :)

[Theodoric]

That's a known issue with the Roxio and the update should be fine as long as you apply the roxio updates first Theodoric.

Fun bit is the conflict was due to roxio having done the software for the built in CD write in XP but made it incompatable with their own version. :)

If you ever need to re-install the older version of roxio you now have to run the update before any reboot to avoid issues still.
Thanks. The problem that I had was with Windows Update patch 821557. I did browse around the Roxio site, but I couldn't find the answer. It was actually MS who gave me the lead to resolving the problem. Interestingly, it was then that I discovered that MS will actually give you free help (via email) if you have problems with a Windows update patch.


I have got one Roxio update that I downloaded a while ago when I was finding that files (avi ones in this case) larger than about 40MB were unsavable.

[MadGamer]

Thanks. The problem that I had was with Windows Update patch 821557. I did browse around the Roxio site, but I couldn't find the answer. It was actually MS who gave me the lead to resolving the problem. Interestingly, it was then that I discovered that MS will actually give you free help (via email) if you have problems with a Windows update patch.


I have got one Roxio update that I downloaded a while ago when I was finding that files (avi ones in this case) larger than about 40MB were unsavable. Glad you sorted the problem.

[Sociable]

snip:

it was then that I discovered that MS will actually give you free help (via email) if you have problems with a Windows update patch.

I have got one Roxio update that I downloaded a while ago when I was finding that files (avi ones in this case) larger than about 40MB were unsavable.

Yep for all our complaints MS do help out that way I have used the same service a few times.

BTW one very useful "tweak" for anything to do with avi's is to disable the property handler for the files in the registry:

1. Open up regedit (Start "Run" then type regedit)

2. Go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shel lex\PropertyHandler

3. Delete the "Default" value which should be "{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}"

Use modify and delete that value after making a copy in a text file so you can restore the setting later if needed.

This will enable you to work with part AVI's without getting the annoying file in use messages when you try to move rename or delete the files. This will also help speed up the system as it stops XP trying to resolve the proprties of part files which can't be resolved till they are complete.

[MadGamer]

Yep for all our complaints MS do help out that way I have used the same service a few times.

BTW one very useful "tweak" for anything to do with avi's is to disable the property handler for the files in the registry:

1. Open up regedit (Start "Run" then type regedit)

2. Go to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shel lex\PropertyHandler

3. Delete the "Default" value which should be "{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}"

Use modify and delete that value after making a copy in a text file so you can restore the setting later if needed.

This will enable you to work with part AVI's without getting the annoying file in use messages when you try to move rename or delete the files. This will also help speed up the system as it stops XP trying to resolve the proprties of part files which can't be resolved till they are complete. You would be good on Millionaire.