Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
February 26, 2006

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Volume 1, Number 37 — Sunday, February 26, 2006

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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New Web Hosting Section at Terry's Computer Tips

I've been rearranging and updating the web hosting information at Terry's Computer Tips.

Now, I have a web hosting companies summary page, with links to the hosting companies and to my pages about them.

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4.  Feedback on Microsoft Defender

Subscriber and reader Harold wrote about his experiences with the newly renamed Windows Defender (beta 2, the program formerly known as Microsoft Antispyware):

I recently downloaded WD and tried using it. It said that my definitions were 22 days old. I tried several things but could never get it to update the definition file. I also wasn't real pleased with what you were told or shown by the software. I gave up after going to Microsoft and trying different things to get it to update. I deleted it and am using counterspy.
Thanks,
Harold

Thanks for the comments, Harold. I'm not surprised to hear that others are having irritations (difficulties, in your case) with Windows Defender and turning to CounterSpy.

I imagine that I will continue to recommend Windows Defender for those people who are unwilling to pay for an anti-spyware/anti-adware program, but my choice and my recommendation continues to be CounterSpy.

Subscriber, reader and friend Sam Boggs wrote me that he, also, was having problems with Windows Defender:

Terry:
I have two security issues. But I think I will send them as two separate e-mails since they are quite different. One issue relates to downloading Windows Defender; the other to dealing with Symantec antivirus renewal, which I'll send in a separate e-mail.

I'll start with the new Microsoft Windows Defender (Beta 2), which you had mentioned in your newsletter. The installation is a bit tricky. In fact, it hasn't worked for me. Unlike most downloads which are one .exe file to download and then launch, this requires several steps. First is the Verification to assure MS I have an official version of Windows. That went ok.

Next is a small program I downloaded and launched; I don't remember the name. I assume it went well; there was no feedback about installation success or failure.

Next I had to choose between two version to download - windowsdefender.msi or windowsdefenderx64.msi, so I downloaded both. The x64 version balked (64 bit?), so I assume that meant the other one is what I needed. I launched windowsdefender.msi and checked the "Install definitions update only" selection.

I chose Complete download. Next, the "Installing Windows Defender" status box appeared, but the status bar never started. I tried three times. The first time I bailed out after one hour with no sign of activity. Then I let it run 25 hours, again with no appearance in the status bar. Then I bailed.

Next I tried deleting the .exe files and ran a new download. This time it appeared to remember the previous Verification and the installation of the small program. I launched the windowsdefender.msi executable file. Again, the status bar showed no progress after several hours.

Although I accomplished nothing productive, at least it didn't remove the original Microsoft AntiSpyware (Giant) program.

Any suggestions? Is this software worth the hassle? Thanks.

Sam had a couple of problems here. First, it appears he forgot what he was trying to do. He wanted to upgrade to Windows Defender, the new version of Microsoft Antispyware. But, he got an option to "install definitions update only" and he selected that.

Based upon his experience, it appears that Microsoft Defender beta2 does not bother to check to make sure that it was actually installed -- and, of course, it wasn't installed yet -- so it just "sat there."

The "small program" that downloaded and ran was, I think, part of the Windows validation process that makes sure that you have a legitimate copy of Windows. I know that downloading and running a validator program is a step in the Windows validation process.

If you are running a 64-bit processor and the new 64-bit version of Windows XP Professional for 64-bit processors, you should be well aware of that. If you are not, don't bother with the x64 version of anything. Either it won't install (which is a good thing) or it will (which may cause you grief).

I suggested to Sam that he use Add/Remove Programs to delete Microsoft Antispyware, reboot, and then install Windows Defender if he wants to use it.

Since his last question opened the door with "Is this software worth the hassle?", my answer was:

Get Counterspy. Free 30 day trial. As you know, I recommend it over Microsoft AntiSpyware / Windows Defender. But, I recommend Windows Defender over not having any always-running antispyware/antiadware. http://terryscomputertips.com/counterspy

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5.  Setting a Reasonable Temporary Internet Files (Cache) Limit

In the old days, we had dialup access and small hard drives. Microsoft chose a rather reasonable 10% of the hard drive for the size of the Internet Explorer "Temporary Internet Files" disk cache. When you request a web page, IE checks first in the Temporary Internet Files to see if you have a recent copy of the page, images on the page and related items.

In the world of 8 GB hard drives, this 10% was no longer a reasonable number, even for dialup users. In today's world of 200 GB hard drives and especially with high-speed Internet access via cable and DSL, 10% is totally unreasonable.

I recommend setting the Temporary Internet Files, also known as the cache, at 2 to 5 MB if you are using cable or DSL and 10 to 20 MB is you use dialup.

Firefox

Setting the size of the disk cache, which is the equivalent of the Temporary Internet Files setting in Internet Explorer, is pretty easy in Firefox.

From the menu line, select Tools, and then Options.

When the Options dialog box opens, select the Privacy icon and the the Cache tab. Enter the number of megabytes of disk space you want to use for the cache.Privacy / Cache.

 

Internet Explorer

Setting the maximum space allowed for temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer is done by one of the dialog boxes. First, you need to open the Internet Options dialog box. You can do this from Control Panel / Network and Internet Connections / Internet Options. Or, you can open Internet Explorer and then select Tools / Internet Options from the menu bar.

In either case, this opens the Internet Options dialog box. In the Temporary Internet Files section of the General tab, click on the "Settings.." button.

On this page,you can change the space in several ways: you can use the "Amount of disk space to use" slider, you can use the up/down buttons to change the space, or you can click on the number beside the up/down buttons and type in your own choice.

Then, click "OK" on the Settings dialog box and "OK" on the "Internet Options" dialog box.

 

Mozilla Suite's Browser

With the Mozilla Suite, the browser's cache is in an entirely different location.

From the menu bar, select Edit, then Preferences.

Once the Preferences dialog box shows up, select Advanced and then Cache.

Now, enter the amount of disk space you want to use for cache, in megabytes (MB), and click OK.

 

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6.  My Computer Security Software Recommendations

Anti-Virus

For your anti-virus needs (and, yes, you do have anti-virus needs!) I recommend anti-virus software from Trend Micro, Panda Software, Kaspersky or ESET.

Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 offers anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall for your PC and PDA. TrendMicro provides an easy-to-use product that is from one of the big names in the anti-virus world.

Panda Software's Platinum 2006 Internet Security offers anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall and more.

The Kaspersky Personal Security Suite is a program package specifically developed to provide comprehensive protection from all types of malicious programs for personal computers running under the Windows operating system (Win98, WinMe, 2000, XP). This solution prevents the infiltration of viruses, worms, spyware, adware and other malicious programs via potential penetration paths, provides protection against unauthorized access attempts, and includes anti-spam components. Kaspersky claims the industry leading virus detection rates and the fastest virus updates. Kaspersky offers a 30-day free trial on its products.

Each of the above companies also offers a stand-alone anti-virus program.

My personal choice is the ESET's small, fast NOD32 anti-virus program, which offers a FREE 30-day evaluation license. Read more about anti-virus programs on my web site.

Firewall Software

If you get either the PC-cillin Internet Security or the Panda Software Internet Security package above, you are covered from a firewall point of view. Just don't count on the Windows firewall to provide your needs — while it's better than nothing, you need a much better firewall than that.

The Windows firewall does not control outbound communications from your computer -- and you want control if adware/trojans/spyware or even commercial products want to talk to the Internet (do you want Windows Media Player to call home every time you play something? It does!)

If you don't get either of the above, ZoneAlarm Pro or the ZoneAlarm free firewall are two of my recommendations. ZoneAlarm has been (read below) my choice for a firewall for a long time. Read more about firewalls in The Internet Versus You at my Terry's Computer Tips web site.

Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall is another good choice and gets the "ok" from me. I'm using it now and like some things, but don't like some others. See the review in this issue. If you have a notebook computer, be aware that SKPF currently will set any network to which you connect via Ethernet (and perhaps wireless, I'm not sure yet) as "Trusted." I've given them a bug report on this.

SKPF is available in two different licenses — free (personal and/or non-commercial use only) and paid, which also includes additional features. Either way, the download file is the same. You can try the full-featured "paid version" of Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall free for 30 days -- after that, you can register it or it loses the special functions of the paid version. The paid product has an introductory price of $14.95 through March 31. The regular price is $19.95.

Anti-Spyware / Anti-Adware Software

CounterSpy, from Sunbelt Software, has received many kudos from the computer press for its always-running and periodic full system scans. I use CounterSpy on my notebook, my wife's computer and my son's computer. I highly recommend this program.

Panda Software's Platinum 2006 Internet Security also includes anti-spyware. Anti-spyware is one situation where more than one scanner actually is better. Only let one program provide the real-time, always-running protection, but doing periodic scans with two different programs are a better solution to adware & spyware than only one scanner. No one anti-spyware program catches everything. Also, different companies differ in their criteria for classifying programs as adware and/or spyware.

Anti-spam Software

In today's Internet world, the question is not "if" you will get spam, but when and how much. I recommend Mailwasher Pro, or the free version of Mailwasher (www.mailwasher.net) to handle spam before it ever gets into your computer's Inbox. Mailwasher Pro uses on-line Realtime Black Lists mail servers sending spam recently, "training" by you of what you think is spam, and your own "friends" and "blacklist" lists. Mailwasher Pro can even bounce spam messages, as if your email address was not valid, although the usefulness and appropriateness of this is questionable. While "Mailwasher" can do many of the same things, it puts a line of sponsoring ads in the Mailwasher window.

Mailwasher also has less functions than Mailwasher Pro. "Mailwasher Pro" also has "learning filters," can handle multiple email accounts, can access the Realtime Black Lists (Internet sites that maintain lists of which email servers are sending spam now, has technical support, accesses the "FirstAlert! global spam database," and can access IMAP, Hotmail, MSN and AOL email accounts.

PopFile (www.popfile.org) uses a different approach to spam — it does nothing to reduce spam but does a good job, after training, of identifying and segregating spam. PopFile, in my opinion, is not a good choice unless you are an advanced PC user.

Cable/DSL Router

If you have a cable modem or a DSL modem, you need to have another layer of inexpensive protection between you and the Internet. A cable/DSL router isolates your computer from direct connection to the Internet. Your computer can easily request your email, web pages, etc. through the router. The responses come back to the router and are smoothly routed to your computer. But, someone on the Internet side of the router can not initiate a connection to your computer — they can only respond to your request.

Even if you only have one computer to connect to your cable or DSL modem, I recommend that you purchase and use a cable/DSL router because of the protection it can give you against attempts to attack through some flaws in Windows itself.

A router isolates your local network, whether it is only one computer or several, from the Internet by actually making it a separate network. The router gets the "public" IP address and handles all your outbound communications and the responses to them. But, it blocks computers on the Internet side from being able to initiate communications with your computer! This will prevent you from falling prey to many worms that try to attack security holes in Windows itself.

My pick is the Linksys WRT54G 802.11g wireless router. If you don't want wireless now, or at any time, the function is easily turned off in the router's menu. You may be able to find a wired (that is, non-wireless) Linksys router on sale. Either way, based on my experience, I recommend Linksys routers. Read more on my Wireless Security web page.

Note: Many of the above links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy these products, please buy them via my these links to help support my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter and web site.

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Volume 1, Number 37 — Sunday, February 26, 2006
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Copyright © 2006 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.