Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
August 24, 2008

Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.

Volume 4, Number 11 — Sunday, August 24, 2008

IN THIS ON-LINE ISSUE:

   1.   VIPRE - Reader Questions
   2.   Web Sites Being Blocked
   3.   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   4.   Password Attack on Wired and Wireless Routers
   5.   Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends

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Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.

 

  

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1.  VIPRE - Reader Questions

I wasn't going to write about VIPRE this week, after my articles the last two weeks, but I got a question from a reader or site visitor who wanted some further comparison comments. Phil wrote:

Terry, I have Nod32 and have been using counterspy. Have you any infected system comparison between the antivirus in vipre vs nod32? Any comparison between computer drag in nod32(none) and vipre? Thanks, Phil

I wrote back to Phil to say that I don't do any testing with viruses and other malware. I don't want them on my computers, even for testing purposes.

As long-time readers of my newsletter and site know, as does anyone who reads the introduction to the recommended secuity software article in my weekly online issue, my selection of recommended software is driven by my search for software for me to use. I only recommend programs that I like and that I use. I will sometimes suggest alternatives to my recommendations, but I clearly note if I no longer use them.

My personal experiences with CounterSpy+NOD32 versus VIPRE are that VIPRE has found more malware in email attachment files and that VIPRE is faster. I suspect that the additional malware catches are ones that the antivirus program assumes the antispyware program would catch, and that the antispywere program assumes the antivirus would catch. None of these malware files were live exploits of my system — they were email attachments, in Eudora's attachment directory, that had not been opened but had not been deleted yet. Some were in zip files and some weren't.

With regard to speed, I noticed that VIPRE is significantly less intrusive (less interference with my computer use) while it scans my computer. I wrote about that in my review of VIPRE, which was in my online newsletter several weeks ago. I didn't do a measured comparison of scan speeds (I uninstalled NOD32 and CounterSpy before installing VIPRE), so I can't say for sure whether VIPRE scans faster or slower than CounterSpy or NOD32 — but it's one scan versus a scan by each program.

VIPRE's quick scan on my notebook (my main computer), as shown in its history takes around 2 minutes when I'm not doing anything else, to about 4 minutes when I'm actively using the notebook as in this morning's 3:51 (min:sec) quick scan. Full scans have run 94-113 minutes, and are running in the middle of the night with no other activity. Obviously, the time for the full scans will vary based on how much disk space you have and how full it is.

VIPRE is $29.95 for a one-year, one computer license, with significant discounts for additional computers and/or additional years. If you currently run CounterSpy, you can upgrade to VIPRE for $9.95 — just scroll down to "Still use Sunbelt's CounterSpy?" section and click on the "upgrade to CounterSpy for just $9.95" link. The Unlimited Home Site License (which I have) is $49.95 for a year and is the best deal for four or more computers. You can download VIPRE for a 15-day free fully-functional trial here.

Click here for more information about VIPRE.

This week, I received a plea for help from reader Barbara, who asked:

Terry, I periodically cannot load various webpages (for weeks at a time), including CNN.com, google.com, and some microsoft pages. In the past, they have suddenly started loading again! HELP! Do you have any idea what is causing this. I REALLY miss CNN and Google the most! I have run every scan I have, but nothing fixed it. Barbara

Initially, I could suggest some things, but she had not given me some critical information. She didn't mention which web browser you're using and which operating system.

I suggested that, if she was using Internet Exporer 6, then she should download Firefox to test her Internet browsing capabilities with it.

If Firefox has the same problem, the she has an issue with internal Windows settings, possible malware invasion, and/or possible problems with her ISP.

If she was using IE 7, again, try Firefox just to be able to rule out it being something more significant (like the doctors do tests to rule out the bad stuff). Then, go to Tools > Internet Options v Advanced and click the "Reset... button" That will probably fix it.

You might check the c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file to see it some nut has added those into the hosts file. Not you, per se, but if you grab some of the "security recommendations" from the web that add things into the "hosts" file to block access to sites, occasionally some idiot gets cute and adds useful sites in those lists.

Barbara wrote back to say:

Terry, One of the pages I CANNOT load is the one to order Counterspy! Please Help. I have four computers on my wireless network and they all have this problem. Non of them can load CNN.com, WAFB.com, google.com, etc.

Then I suspect that one of the following has occurred:
1) you've downloaded and installed on all machinens some of the "host file" security changes from some site that an idiot had played with, or
2) all four have the same malware involved.
3) your ISP is messing up.

Try Firefox to see if it works.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Download and try the free trial (15 days) of VIPRE, which is from the makers of CounterSpy — it's their new combination antivirus+antispyware. I like it a LOT better than my previous combination of CounterSpy(antispyware) + NOD32(antivirus)

Terry,
Thanks for your reply! I actually figured out my problem! I bypassed my wireless router and connected directly to the Internet and ALL WebPages started loading again. I was about to buy a new router when I decided to update the firmware on my current one. And guess what?! The firmware update not only fixed the problem with some WebPages not loading, but it also made the Internet so much faster!! My router is 4 years old and I had not updated the firmware since right after I got it. When I goggled the problem I was having, I saw that lots of people have that problem. I never found where anyone came up with a solution. So you might want to make note of this in case you are asked again!

I will download VIPRE. I downloaded Counterspy after I updated my firmware and was able to get to their webpage. I really like it. So I will get VIPRE instead.
Thanks, Barbara

3.  My Computer Security Software Recommendations

Anti-Virus

I'm often asked about several other popular anti-virus or anti-virus combination packages. Yes, I realize that they are not in my recommendation list. "Enough said..."

For the last five years, my personal choice has been ESET's small, fast NOD32 anti-virus program, which offers a FREE 30-day evaluation license. I consider NOD32 one of the best in anti-virus protection. Unlike some of its competitors, ESET offers multiple-year licenses also, and includes program updates in the multiple-year license.

Now, I'm in the process of changing from my long-time programs NOD32 (antivirus) and CounterSpy (antispyware) to Sunbelt's new VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware.

I've found that VIPRE puts even less load on my computer than the speedy combination of NOD32 and CounterSpy. I've also been impressed with the way its "deep scan" has found and eliminated risks that were stored in zip files, which is one of the latest malware email tricks.

Read more about anti-virus programs on my web site.

Related articles:

• Anti-Virus Programs and Online Scanners
• Free Online Antivirus Scan
• NOD32 Anti-Virus Review - A Look at NOD32
• VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Review

Firewall Software

While the Windows XP firewall is much better than no firewall at all, don't count on the Windows XP firewall to meet your needs. You need a two-way firewall, which the Windows XP firewall is not!. Microsoft woke up and supplied a two-way firewall with Windows Vista.

The Windows XP firewall does not control outbound communications originating from your computer — and you should want to have control if adware/trojans/spyware or even commercial products want to talk to the Internet. Whether they are calling home or spewing spam, you want to be able to control your computer.

Do you want Windows Media Player to call home every time you play something? It does! Do you use the Search function in Windows Explorer to find things on your hard drive? Did you know that every time you search, Windows Explorer talks to Microsoft?

I didn't know that when I ran ZoneAlarm, but the Sunbelt Personal Firewall flags that to me, and I can stop it or allow it to happen. Many other programs try to call home when you run them, too.

I recommend my choice for a firewall program, which is Sunbelt Personal Firewall.

You can try the full-featured "paid version" of Sunbelt Personal Firewall free for 30 days — after that, you can register it or, if you're using it on a home non-business computer, you can let it revert to the free, lesser-function license.

Sunbelt Personal Firewall is regularly $19.95 (with discounts for multiple computers and/or multiple years!) for a non-expiring license for the program and includes one year of their updates subscription.

Related articles:

• The Internet Versus You
• Do I Need a Firewall Program?
• Sunbelt Personal Firewall Review

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. It has been my personal choice for my PC's and my family's PC's.

In July, 2007, Sunbelt released v2.5 of CounterSpy, which again both improved CounterSpy's performance against malware and reduced its impact on system resources and responsiveness when its scanning.

Sunbelt continues to release updated program versions. Nicely, they do NOT install the updated programs automatically. You have to use the Update process in the program, which means that you'll know that something significant has changed.

Now, I'm in the process of changing from my long-time programs NOD32 (antivirus) and CounterSpy (antispyware) to Sunbelt's new VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware.

I've found that VIPRE puts even less load on my computer than the speedy combination of NOD32 and CounterSpy. I've also been impressed with the way its "deep scan" has found and eliminated risks that were stored in zip files, which is one of the latest malware email tricks.

Related articles:

• Fighting Against Spyware & Malware
• CounterSpy Review
• VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Review

Anti-spam Software

In today's Internet world, the question is not "if" you will get spam, but "how much will you get?"

I use and now I recommend POPFile as my first choice for handling spam. POPFile sits on your computer, between your email program and your ISP mailbox, and handles emial as it downloads.

POPFile uses a different approach to handle spam than some other programs do — it does nothing to reduce spam. It is designed as an email classification tool — you train it to recognize spam and any other type of email that you want to classify. These classifications can help you sort your emails into appropriate folders in your email program.

Sunbelt Software, who makes the anti-spyware program CounterSpy (which I use and recommend) and the firewall that I use and recommend (Sunbelt Personal Firewall) also has a well-regarded, award-winning anti-spam program called iHateSpam for Outlook and Outlook Express. Since I don't use Outlook or Outlook Express for email, I haven't tried iHateSpam.

Mailwasher Pro would be my first choice 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. Note: I found that PopFile generally meets my needs and stopped using Mailwasher Pro, even though PopFile works AFTER the emails have been downloaded. If I used a dialup connection, I would be more interested in Mailwasher Pro.

Mailwasher Pro can even bounce spam messages, as if your email address was not valid, although the usefulness and appropriateness of this is questionable. There is a free version called "Mailwasher," but it omits the functions that I consider critical for this purpose -- such as safely previewing the emails safely before they ever get to your email inbox.

Related articles:

• Spam Filtering
• Keeping spam out of your Inbox
• Getting Control of Your Inbox
• How Can I Prevent spam?

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.

For a wireless router, I recommend the Linksys WRT54G wireless router. I'm using the relatively new version 6 of this router.

If you don't want wireless, I recommend the Linksys BEFSR41 wired router, which I also use. Either way, based on my experience, I recommend Linksys routers for price, reliability and Linksys' habit of releasing updated firmware for their products..

See these related articles:

• Wireless Security
• Wi-Fi Hotspots and Computer Security
• Wireless Networking Problems & Wireless Networking Security

In this week's second article, Barbara had a problem that she could not connect to a number of specific secuity sites and other common Internet web sites. After she resolved that with a firmware update to her router, we continued to correspond.

I wrote back to Barbara to warn her of a password attack on wired and wireless routers. I told her to be sure to change the password on her router.

There is some active malware circulating on the Internet that checks for wireless or wired routers that still use their default passwords. If the malware manages to get executed on one of her computers, it would change her wireless router's Domain Name Server (DNS) settings to run all traffic through the bad guy's servers. Not a good thing.

I suspected that she have had that problem and, by updating the firmware, changed the settings back.

Barbara wrote back to say:

Terry! I had changed from the original password, but had not changed it again in 4 years. I did use a different password this time. I think I will go in and make it more difficult to be cracked. Thanks again for the advice. I LOVE your newsletter and all of the tips. My bookmark to your tips is always the first place I check for advice.
Barbara

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