Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
February 11, 2007
Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.
Volume 2, Number 35 — Sunday, February 11, 2007
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
1. CounterSpy 2.0 Released - First Look
2. Updates Last Week
3. Killer Applications for PDAs and SmartPhones
4. ActiveSync Installation Problems
5. Mobipocket Reader - Read eBooks on your PC, PDA and Smartphone
6. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
7. Comments from Terry's Computer Tips Readers
8. Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
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1. CounterSpy 2.0 Released - First Look
My choice for AntiSpyware / AntiAdware
terryscomputertips.com/CounterSpy
NOD32 Anti-virus
My choice for Anti-Virus Protection
terryscomputertips.com/NOD32
Last Monday (February 5, 2007), Sunbelt Software released version 2 of their award-winning CounterSpy anti-spyware / anti-adware program.
I'd been waiting on the new version to upgrade. I had decided that I didn't want to run the beta version on my notebook, so I just waited... and I'm happy with the finished product.
First, one of the issues that Sunbelt was targeting with CounterSpy 2 was to reduce the memory requirements of CounterSpy. I see the difference, too. Version 1.5 could take drastically different amounts of memory -- I saw a low of 22MB to a high of almost 200MB. I suspect that CounterSpy had its spyware/adware signatures both significantly compressed and encrypted on the hard drive.
However, to try to speed up the constant processing, I also suspect that it had uncompressed the signatures in memory for faster checking. They were probably still encrypted so that other antispyware applications and antivirus applications
All this is simply my speculation of how it could have used that much memory.
Version 2, though, seems much more efficient. A quick Control-Alt-Delete pulls up the Windows Task Manager so I can click on the Processes tab. I see two files, SBCSSvc.exe and SBCSTray.exe.
SBCSSvc.exe is likely to be a new Windows service — the SunBelt CounterSpy Service. Simiilarly, SBCSTray.exe is likely to be the user-interface program that sits quietly in the Windows Status Bar.
In my case, after running CounterSpy 2 for four days, I see the SBCSSvc.exe taking 17,620 KB right now, while SBCSTray.exe is using 4,344 KB. That's much improved from the previous version.
So, what's in the new program?
According to Sunbelt Software, these are some of the highlights of the new version:
- Heavy duty antimalware protection that eradicates spyware, rootkits, trojans and blended threats, but uses so little system resources, you'll hardly know it's there.
- Provides broad protection against today's threats, so multiple antispyware programs aren't necessary to protect your PC.
- New hybrid antimalware engine combines Sunbelt's own VIPRE(tm) antimalware technology with CounterSpy's award winning spyware detection and removal.
- CounterSpy V2 is the only antispyware software with FirstScan(tm), scan and remove on-boot technology that, if triggered by a CounterSpy scan, eliminates the deepest rooted malware before Windows loads.
- Vista Compatible! Integrates seamlessly with the Windows Security Center.
- Still only $19.95! Undoubtedly the best value in antispyware software.
That last point surprised me — I expected to see the price bump upwards by $5 or $10, so this is great news.
Sunbelt has made an excellent choice on the update to v2. They're not shoving it down our throats. We can choose when to upgrade to v2. Until we do, our v1.5x versions will continue to check for signature updates to 1.5x.
How do you get CounterSpy v2?
- If you already have CounterSpy v1.5, just go to Sunbelt's CounterSpy page and download it.
- If you aren't running CounterSpy now, you can go to Sunbelt's CounterSpy page and download the same version as a current user. CounterSpy v2 will run as a fully-functional trial for 15 days. If you haven't purchased and entered your license by that time, it will be disabled. At that point, you can either purchase your license (only $19.95) or uninstall it.
By the way, Sunbelt has good discounts for multiple copies — if you need 2, 3 or 4 copies, you can save a lot by purchasing the licenses at one time.
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2. Updates Last Week
Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
No updates last week. Microsoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday.
Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
Versions 2.0.0.1 and 1.5.0.9 were released on December 19th. These are security fixes.. Current version 2.0.0.1. Latest v1.5 version is 1.5.0.9 -- Mozilla.org urges all users to upgrade to Firefox 2.
Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
New version! Version 9.10 was released December 18th. This release of Opera introduces "Fraud Protection" as well as user-interface and stability changes. Read the details.
Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
No update this week. Version 8.1.2 was released during the week ending September 30.
US-CERT issued a press-release on November 8th that recommended that Netscape users turn off JavaScript. (Mozilla Firefox, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird were subject to the same issues, but new versions were released on November 8th to solve the problem.) AOL has not updated Netscape to the new version of the underlying "Gecko" browser.
SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): Version 1.1 was released on January 18, 2007. What's new in SeaMonkey v1.1
Eudora (email, http://www.eudora.com, options: paid, sponsored or free/lite):
No update last week. Version 7.1.0.9 was released October 11, 2006. This was announced as to be the last commercial version before Eudora becomes open-source in the first half of 2007.
If you're running "Sponsored Mode" in a version before 7.1.0.9, you should update now to the current version. Sponsored mode in the earlier versions will expire on March 31st — and will revert to the less-functional "Lite" mode.
Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
Thunderbird version 1.5.0.9 was released December 19th.
OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free):
Version 2.1 was released during the week ending December 24th.
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Volume 2, Number 35 — Sunday, February 11, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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