Suspended
I do not like the idea of people or compainies gaterhing infomation about what I do online, or what files i have on my pc. At the end of the day its none of their god damn business. The fact they will then use my bandwidth to collect this information just adds insult to injury!.
On another note I do not want script kiddies gaining access to it either. Im sure some of you feel the same way so im going to list a few ways you can keep your pc exactly that....... a Personal Computer.
Windows
Keep Windows updated via Windows update! This is one of the most important steps in this article to keep your system secure.
There is also a number of suspect services in XP, as well as known ones that report back to Microsoft about what your upto. First port of call is XP Antispy . This free program disables a lot of nonsence that you certinally dont benifit from via a tick list that you have full control over. Each option is fully explained & reversible. Next go through BlackViper list of services (A great list that the chap explains very well so even the biggest n00b will understand) and disable ones you dont need. At the very least this will free up resources...... win win situation
Internet browser
More and more browser exploits are being discovered and abused at an ever increasing rate.
I've seen posts on this very forum praising other browsers and even tried a few, but always ended up going back to IE. That was untill I discovered Mozilla firefox
Faster, more customizable and safer.
As a side note Microsoft has vastly improved IE since the release of SP2 in my opinion & with firefox enjoying huge popularity it is now a bigger target than before.
Firewall
Get your self a firewall damnit! This will block unauthorised access to and from your PC. The most popular software firewalls at the moment are (and with good reason) Sygate & Windows XP SP2 built in
With windows vunrabilities being found and exploited all the time like the recent Remote Procedure Call hole that msblaster took advantage of.. In my opinion you would be mentally unsound to not use some sort of firewall.
If you are new to software firewalls dont be alarmed if you notice a few alerts per day..... theres lots of port scanning and simular going on all the time, your firewall will alert you of this. Alerts of this nature are not necessarly someone trying to hack your PC, and can usually be toned down or turned off so you dont see them.
I would personally reccommend Sygate persional firewall after trying many software firewalls. Windows SP2 firewall is also very good.
Anti Virus
A Trojan Horse virus is like giving an evil script kiddie your mouse. Not only will they be able to access files on your PC, they can use your PC to hack other peoples effectively covering their tracks. Get an AntiVirus package, keep them updated and run them regulary. This will stop trojans and a shed load of other nastys.
Some of the best Anti-Virus software:
NOD32 Excellent protection and very low resource usage.
Kaperspy Widely excepted as the best protection.
AVG Free!
Audio CD's
Yes Audio CD's!! Is nothing sacred these days!
Sony it has recently been revealed, has taken some rather extreme anti piracy measures in its latest Audio Cd's. They silently install a 'rootkit' via the Autoplay feature. (Rootkits hide files & Registry keys from view and security software. They are usually used by malware attempting to keep their existance hidden)
At no time are you asked or warned this software will be installed, and its incredibly difficult to remove it.
The rootkit also introduces several security holes into the system that could be exploited by others, such as hiding any executable file that starts with '$sys$'. This has huge implications, for example enabling game cheater's to go completely undetected by the likes of punk buster.
The scenario's for this piece of software (I could think of another word beginning with 'S' to use there!) to be misused are endless.
I for one will not be buying and Sony DRM protected disks. Shame on you Sony.
Temp files & general rubbish
Its a good idea to keep your computer clear of tempoary install files, old cookies & temp internet files etc... These can sometimes cause problems and pose a security risk. Most of all they just make a mess of things and are not needed.
You can use the windows built in app Disk Cleanup or a thrid party application like CCleaner . Crap Cleaner is a very good freeware proggie as it does pretty much everything in one hit, with the added bonus it cleans the very suspicious 'Index.dat' files. Index.dat files seem to do nothing but store your visited websites, the main worry being you can not delete or modify them yourself.
(You may need to download the Visual Basic Runtime files from microsoft to get this app working)
Cookies and Spyware
Just visiting a website can place a spyware cookie on your PC which will gather up infomation about you and report back to who ever. Installing shoddy software worsens the problem with other (usually nastier) spyware files and\or programs. This isnt nice for 3 reasons:
1) Mind your own business.
2) It will eat your bandwidth that you pay for!
3) You dont know what info they are taking, could be websites you browse upto personal infomation stored on your HDD, Who knows what they take.
Solution: download SpyBot. or MS Anti Spyware. These programs search for and kill spyware from cookies to .exe's.
The use of SpyBot and cleaning out your cookies\temp internet files\histroy regulary should keep you spyware free.
HiJack This Is another great Malware Identifier\remover.
File sharing software
Something related to the above point of spyware. Lots of popular p2p programs contain spyware, Kaaza for example is notorious for it.
Does my p2p program contain spyware?
Most people that use file sharing programs share illegal software, 'tis a fact. From .mp3's to gamez appz...........you get the idea. People have been prosicuited for sharing such files using programs like kazza etc... There are various agencies that can and do browse your shares, ranging from the FBI to music compinies. To stop this get Peerguardian 2 . Yet another free piece of software this one blocks the IP's of known Piracy related enforcement groups/Snoops from gaining access to your share while you use your p2p software.
Another side note. At the time of orginally typing this article, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) were to my knoledge the only group seeking out and suing file sharers. Being the RIA*A* it was only Americans going to court, with the rest of us just getting nasty emails from our ISP's. Now the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) That up untill now remained in the background, has started following in the RIAA's footsteps taking action against us Brits. Be warned.
Update & Use Regulary
Keep windows updated regulary using Windows Update, this will make sure all the security exploits microsoft know about are fixed..... Its a microsoft product remember
there will be lots.
Update Your anti virus and firewall regulary, to keep protected against an increasing amount of threats, same goes for SpyBot etc....
Theres no point in using such software if it isnt kept upto date and used regulary!!!!!!!!!!
On another note I do not want script kiddies gaining access to it either. Im sure some of you feel the same way so im going to list a few ways you can keep your pc exactly that....... a Personal Computer.
Windows
Keep Windows updated via Windows update! This is one of the most important steps in this article to keep your system secure.
There is also a number of suspect services in XP, as well as known ones that report back to Microsoft about what your upto. First port of call is XP Antispy . This free program disables a lot of nonsence that you certinally dont benifit from via a tick list that you have full control over. Each option is fully explained & reversible. Next go through BlackViper list of services (A great list that the chap explains very well so even the biggest n00b will understand) and disable ones you dont need. At the very least this will free up resources...... win win situation
Internet browser
More and more browser exploits are being discovered and abused at an ever increasing rate.
I've seen posts on this very forum praising other browsers and even tried a few, but always ended up going back to IE. That was untill I discovered Mozilla firefox
Faster, more customizable and safer.
As a side note Microsoft has vastly improved IE since the release of SP2 in my opinion & with firefox enjoying huge popularity it is now a bigger target than before.
Firewall
Get your self a firewall damnit! This will block unauthorised access to and from your PC. The most popular software firewalls at the moment are (and with good reason) Sygate & Windows XP SP2 built in
With windows vunrabilities being found and exploited all the time like the recent Remote Procedure Call hole that msblaster took advantage of.. In my opinion you would be mentally unsound to not use some sort of firewall.
If you are new to software firewalls dont be alarmed if you notice a few alerts per day..... theres lots of port scanning and simular going on all the time, your firewall will alert you of this. Alerts of this nature are not necessarly someone trying to hack your PC, and can usually be toned down or turned off so you dont see them.
I would personally reccommend Sygate persional firewall after trying many software firewalls. Windows SP2 firewall is also very good.
Anti Virus
A Trojan Horse virus is like giving an evil script kiddie your mouse. Not only will they be able to access files on your PC, they can use your PC to hack other peoples effectively covering their tracks. Get an AntiVirus package, keep them updated and run them regulary. This will stop trojans and a shed load of other nastys.
Some of the best Anti-Virus software:
NOD32 Excellent protection and very low resource usage.
Kaperspy Widely excepted as the best protection.
AVG Free!
Audio CD's
Yes Audio CD's!! Is nothing sacred these days!
Sony it has recently been revealed, has taken some rather extreme anti piracy measures in its latest Audio Cd's. They silently install a 'rootkit' via the Autoplay feature. (Rootkits hide files & Registry keys from view and security software. They are usually used by malware attempting to keep their existance hidden)
At no time are you asked or warned this software will be installed, and its incredibly difficult to remove it.
The rootkit also introduces several security holes into the system that could be exploited by others, such as hiding any executable file that starts with '$sys$'. This has huge implications, for example enabling game cheater's to go completely undetected by the likes of punk buster.
The scenario's for this piece of software (I could think of another word beginning with 'S' to use there!) to be misused are endless.
I for one will not be buying and Sony DRM protected disks. Shame on you Sony.
Temp files & general rubbish
Its a good idea to keep your computer clear of tempoary install files, old cookies & temp internet files etc... These can sometimes cause problems and pose a security risk. Most of all they just make a mess of things and are not needed.
You can use the windows built in app Disk Cleanup or a thrid party application like CCleaner . Crap Cleaner is a very good freeware proggie as it does pretty much everything in one hit, with the added bonus it cleans the very suspicious 'Index.dat' files. Index.dat files seem to do nothing but store your visited websites, the main worry being you can not delete or modify them yourself.
(You may need to download the Visual Basic Runtime files from microsoft to get this app working)
Cookies and Spyware
Just visiting a website can place a spyware cookie on your PC which will gather up infomation about you and report back to who ever. Installing shoddy software worsens the problem with other (usually nastier) spyware files and\or programs. This isnt nice for 3 reasons:
1) Mind your own business.
2) It will eat your bandwidth that you pay for!
3) You dont know what info they are taking, could be websites you browse upto personal infomation stored on your HDD, Who knows what they take.
Solution: download SpyBot. or MS Anti Spyware. These programs search for and kill spyware from cookies to .exe's.
The use of SpyBot and cleaning out your cookies\temp internet files\histroy regulary should keep you spyware free.
HiJack This Is another great Malware Identifier\remover.
File sharing software
Something related to the above point of spyware. Lots of popular p2p programs contain spyware, Kaaza for example is notorious for it.
Does my p2p program contain spyware?
Most people that use file sharing programs share illegal software, 'tis a fact. From .mp3's to gamez appz...........you get the idea. People have been prosicuited for sharing such files using programs like kazza etc... There are various agencies that can and do browse your shares, ranging from the FBI to music compinies. To stop this get Peerguardian 2 . Yet another free piece of software this one blocks the IP's of known Piracy related enforcement groups/Snoops from gaining access to your share while you use your p2p software.
Another side note. At the time of orginally typing this article, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) were to my knoledge the only group seeking out and suing file sharers. Being the RIA*A* it was only Americans going to court, with the rest of us just getting nasty emails from our ISP's. Now the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) That up untill now remained in the background, has started following in the RIAA's footsteps taking action against us Brits. Be warned.
Update & Use Regulary
Keep windows updated regulary using Windows Update, this will make sure all the security exploits microsoft know about are fixed..... Its a microsoft product remember
there will be lots.Update Your anti virus and firewall regulary, to keep protected against an increasing amount of threats, same goes for SpyBot etc....
Theres no point in using such software if it isnt kept upto date and used regulary!!!!!!!!!!
see below)
