First of all, I hope everyone knows the first rule in basic security (and I mean really basic) such as always staying up to date with your Antivirus Definitions as well as your program patches that are needed, unfortunately this means the dreadful long process Windows Updates too, and always staying in touch with your common sense, that if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t, it could range from a simple program file to a website, meaning to get online street-smart to protect yourself into being tricked by phishing websites or downloading trojan horses.

Now sure, you might do everything above and a little more, this goes for the non-technical people as we all know, that people like myself (the geeks), can well protect ourselves online, but what happens when you still feel insecure even staying up to date with everything? Well with a move from basic security tips to advanced security tips, you will be able to protect yourself better online with of course, please remember, that security is all about trade-offs. With most of these tips, what you gain in security, you lose in convenience, and believe me when I say that.

Knowing What Programs You Still Use, and Verify That They’re Up to Date

When I say know what programs you use, this means everyday use to once or twice a week, what ends up happening when you install and a program and forget about it, you forget not only that you have it but that program you downloaded will stay there and after a few years it may be nothing more than a security hole today. If you don’t use a program, uninstall it from your PC! To remove unwanted apps, visit the Windows Install/Uninstall section of the Control Panel. Bottom line, if you’re not using a program, lose it. From a security perspective, every program, especially popular applications, is just another path that hackers can use to break into your system. A useful security tool is the Secunia Online Software Inspector, which scans your PC for out-of-date software. Really useful for the less technical users.
This goes the same for browsers, if you notice that your browser is acting slow, you might want to consider removing plugins, and also updating plugins all the time since they are the most vulnerable when surfing the net.

Brute Force Passwords

Stronger Passwords!

Okay When I say brute force, I simply mean creating and using stronger passwords, I seriously doubt that the password “ballon12″ would do the trick, Hackers will be more than happy to use that against you, Often they steal a person’s password and user name, most likely via a phishing attack, they try that combination on other popular services–Facebook, Gmail, PayPal, Yahoo, to see if it works there, too.
How do you protect youself? Luckily there are free and simple password management tools, such as KeePass Password Safe, that are available to manage your passwords for you. But a note, using this is a bit more work, you may tire of constantly jumping between a password manager and your browser every time you want to log into a Website, but remember that security always involves trade-offs.
Consider using stronger passwords that use a symbol or upper and lowercase characters. And make one that YOU can REMEMBER, don’t make one that’s “!DF)xJSsl@” and hard to remember later on.

Back Out of Rogue Antivirus Offers

Rogue Antivirus

There’s about several popular antiviruses out there, but sometimes they might disguise themselves or act like an antivirus, it’s good to have a sharp eye into paying attention to the small details. Far too many users have had this experience recently when you’re surfing the net on a totally legitimate site when a scary-looking warning message pops up suddenly and alerts you that your computer is infected. You try to get rid of it, but more windows keep popping up, urging you to scan your computer.

If you do allow the website to do this, the scan always finds security problems and offers to sell you software that will take care of the problem. This is an example of 100%  rogue antivirus software. The only thing the software does is put money into the pockets of criminals.

These type of issues, especially rouge antiviruses have become one of the most annoying security threats in todays internet. Every time you try to close those websites, another popup appears. So next time that does happen or before it does, here are a few tips:
First of all, never buy the rogue antivirus software. It will never work and more than often it will trash your system. If the website keeps on nagging at you, either press Alt-F4 to close your browser directly or press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to open your system’s task manager and shut the browser down from there. Closing the browser generally puts an end to the pop-up problem.
Another way to steer clear of these attacks is to be careful when reading a popular story. Often hackers follow Google Trends and Twitter’s Trending topics, and they can quickly promote one of their malicious Web pages to the top of Google search results.

Avoid Scripting

You might ask yourself what avoid scripting is, let alone what scripting itself is. This piece will be the most important because mainly JavaScript is what hackers use to target and load malicious software onto your computer, so steer clear of JavaScript, especially the ones from websites you don’t trust.

For those who don’t know, JavaScript is very popular, and for good reason because it works in almost all browsers, and it makes the internet a lot more dynamic. But like I said, the bad comes with the good. JavaScript can also enables bad guys to trick your browser more easily into doing something that it shouldn’t. The deception could be something as simple as telling the browser to load an element from another Web page. Or it could involve something more complicated, like a cross-site scripting attack, which gives the attacker a way to fool the victim on a legitimate Web page.

This is a tough security threat to dodge since JavaScipt attacks are everywhere. For example, if you use Facebook, you may have seen one of the latest ways that scammers use to lure in users. Scammers have set up fake Facebook pages offering things like a free $500 gift card if you cut and paste some code into your browser’s address bar, this is a big no-no. That code that they want you to insert is JavaScript, and you should never add it to your browser. Scammers are currently using this technique to open up unwanted surveys, fill your social networking profiles with spam or even to send you to phishing pages.

And it gets worse, even though a site might be popular or known, hackers can add JavaScript to hacked or malicious Web pages, too. To avoid attacks there, you can use a free Firefox plugin called NoScript that lets you control which Websites can and cannot run JavaScript in the browser. NoScript goes a long way toward preventing rogue antivirus programs or online attacks from popping up when you visit a new Website.
And better yet, by blocking scripting everywhere and then using NoScript to build a whitelist of trusted sites, you can eliminate most of the so-called Web drive-by attacks that currently plague the Internet.

If you don’t use Firefox, you still have some options for disabling scripting. Just like Firefox users, Google Chrome users can disable JavaScript universally and then build a whitelist of sites where it’s permitted.
Unfortunately, neither Internet Explorer nor Safari has a NoScript equivalent (aww how sad), but IE users can adjust their Internet Zones security settings to require prompts before scripting. And IE 8 includes new cross-site scripting protection to protect you from some attacks.

Bottom line, some of these tips might seem somewhat a little of out place for some non-technical users, but this can save you a lot, and make you  immune to some new attacks not known out there. Stay stay, surf safe!

Windows 7 was confirmed to be released sometime around 2010 at the earliest or possibly 2011, according to engadget. While some geeks might be eager to try out the new Windows 7, some of us (including myself) still think that Windows 7 is being brought out too fast, and anything that is brought out too fast is expected to have problems, if you want some proof, just take a look at your Windows Vista desktop (if you’re using it, that is).  I for one, think that Windows 7 should be given more time despite it “fantastic view” of its improved desktop effects and more shortcut features, Windows 7 should have been given more time to work out its full issues (oh yeah, it has issues) before it hits the market.

A security flaw not too recent ago that has been getting some attention even though the situation has been somewhat fixed by Microsoft’s security research team which involved a bookit that allowed hackers to fully control your Windows 7 operating system, scary at first, but it was actually gone quite fast when Microsoft security researchers released a fix, but if Microsoft is going to be acting like Windows 7 is going to be the s*** when it comes out, why are cracks are already starting to show in Windows 7?

Others don’t even think that’s not really the case here, they think the case is that many of who have just have gotten Windows Vista or have been hyped about Windows Vista since its first release, it comes to mind about “What will happen to Vista after Windows 7?” And that indeed a good question, was Microsoft just trying to milk Vista? I don’t know exactly what will happen to Vista, but I am pretty sure that XP will sure survive longer than we expected beacuse Microsoft has committed to continue selling Windows XP Home to netbook makers for at least 12 months after the launch of Windows 7, or through October 2010.

Something that also gets me, is that there will also be different versions of Windows 7 just like Windows Vista. Not as much, but there will be a Home Premium,  Professional, and Ultimate version of Windows 7. Prices are also half price on some retailers if you preorder, but I don’t know about Windows 7 yet….

Windows 7 Improved GUI

Windows 7 might be too early to release but there have been some good outcomes from it. There are some upsides to Windows 7, the GUI (Graphical User Interface) has been modified to suit our needs (especially those of us who have like 100 windows open all the time), it was quite a mess in XP and somewhat in Vista, but the new GUI doesn’t show the title (mainly the icon), and it just takes a few days before we start remembering what each icon is.

The Aero feature also has been made…. pretty…er on Windows 7. Allowing you to view many windows in one just like in Windows Vista thumbnail preview feature on your taskbar. I wouldn’t be too surprised if all of us have to go through another hardware upgrade just to see those beautiful graphics in Windows 7 and to get the speed we want using the operating system. But the system requirements don’t differentiate too much from Vista system requirements.

While many users might not agree 100% on the release of Windows 7 (there will always be two opposing sides no matter what of course), do you think that Windows 7 could be released a little early to the market? I would like to see some comments from current Vista users on what would happen to Vista after the release of Windows 7, it’s only a matter of time before the time comes Vista users…..

An issue I keep reading online is about how many users online get their identities and also their Credit Card numbers or account logins stolen from Phishing websites. I recently been reading online about how some users still have security issues or still fall for emails, website, even phone calls from fraudulent people pretending to be from your bank, company, etc. I will explain some useful and common tips in catching these fraudulent websites, some are my own personal viewpoint on also seeing how to figure out if a website or person is truly who they say they are.For those who don’t know what phishing means, phishing is when someone or a website operated by a hacker (most likely) makes a fraudulent process of trying to act as a target (as your bank for example) to steal sensitive information such as your usernames and/or passwords as well as credit card details pretending to be someone their not, this usually happens online, rarely you get phone calls or in person which eventually leads to fraud.

So what can you do to protect yourself? There are many ways to protect yourself, if you hear a lot of tips online saying not to do this or do that, it is recommendable that you listen because if you do get phished, your information can be sold on the Internet and then you start facing problems that lead to weeks even years of work to clean up the mess created by phishers (because of fraud).

Look At The Source

Many of us who are very protective of their data or seem very suspicious of your bank asking for some information (like all of us should be like) and also on what happens on their computer, the most common way for a phishing site is the source code, many times phishers steal images from the real legitimate website and the url you’re on is:

http://www.phshingwebsite.com

and the images might come from:

http://www.realwebsite.com

Usually you can tell straight off that the website is a phishing website, because if the images, even login form comes from the real website, why would that website need a complete different URL to host its own images? So that would be a phishing website.

Domain URL

Sometimes we receive emails and click on links we just don’t know (some users are like that). Or sometimes your computer gets infected and you might be redirected to phishing websites. The best way to see if the website you’re on is a phishing website is to closely to the domain url. Now you ask yourself (or some do) why would I like to look at the domain every time i go on a website? It is only important for those accounts that are most important to you and also important nonetheless such as your bank accounts, paypal, emails, business administrator backends, and account login pages. Some phishers try to hide the real domain name from a real legit website like this:

Original URL:  http://www.chase.com

Phished URL:  http://www.chasee.com

Sometimes when making a phished page, phishers try to find the best possible domain to make it look like the real one, adding extra letters at the end or making it look like the URL for the login of the real website it is targeting. Look at the domain url, some browsers such as IE8 (Internet Explorer 6) have domain highlighting to make it easier to know what URL you’re actually on.

Phishing Detections For Emails

It always begins with a simple email. An email that could link you to a phishing website and then start to cause major problems such as identity theft and so fourth… all because of a click of a button. Some of the most easiest ways to know if a email is a phishing email from ANYWHERE such as your bank, paypal, email, business is:

• If the email asks you to enter any personal information such as your bank account number, an account password, credit card number, PIN, mother’s maiden name, or Social Security Number and email it back to them
• If the email Fails to address you by your name and uses Dear Madam or Account holder
• Or is the email fails to confirm the company does business with you, such as referencing a partial account number
• If the email warns that your account will be shut down unless you reconfirm your financial information – scare tactics are often used to get the recipient to act on the request and send it by email or clicking on a link to login (to a phishing website), it is completely fake
• If the email warns that you have been the victim of fraud (pay careful attention to these)
• Most phishing emails have spelling or grammatical errors
• And the most common way is if the sender asks you to send payment information via email

These are the most common way to figure out if a email is fake. Phishers try using Fraud Warnings, Cancellation Warning, and Capital Letters to get the recipients attention and most likely to respond.

Emails From Friends

Sometimes your friends cannot be trusted at all when it comes to Online Networking, many users who use Outlook instead of a free service have a huge security risk, some worms spread themselves by sending themselves in an email automatically to your first 50 to 100+ (depending on the worm) and sends it to your friends that could end up getting a worm and have their system infected that could modify many things to make any site you visit a phished site (or install a keylogger on your computer which is way worse).

To prevent this, make sure that you have an antivirus, AVG Free Edition has a email scanner for outlook, So does Norton Internet Security 2009 (which I trust more) due to its virus definitions. Make sure not to download any attachments that are .EXE (Executable) that range from 1KB to 1000KB. If you expect a file that small, I would recommend to scan it at Virus Total since it is a small and easy file to upload that won’t take more than a minute. This will ensure that the file you have isn’t detected as a susupicous file or virus by any Anti Virus Provider.

Remember that many phishing emails and websites can be very stupid in a way, while the creators might be sophisticated in technology, their creations and emails can be easy to spot many times, even if you’re not very experienced. Grammar mistakes are very common, as well as subjects to lure you in the phished link. Remember to NEVER give out your personal information such as your Address, Phone Number, Bank Account Logins or Passwords, and avoid the emails that start asking for your SSN (Social Security Number), those are the ones to spot and ignore very easily, regardless of who its from. Stay Safe!

Much panic that has lead many users to leaving their computers off and even disconnecting their Ethernet cables from their computers from the recent Conficker Worm going around, but has this worm stopped going around or has it barely begun it destruction to infect many users? This called for many fast released patches by companies such as Microsoft Operating System(s) and also mostly all AntiVirus vendors such as Symantec, AVG, Kaspersky, Trend Micro, etc. But before you think about the virus, how do you know if you haven’t been infected by it already?Finding out if you are infected can be really easy, because the worm does a lot of system changes that prevent you from seeing certain keywords in sites. This is a detailed list of the Conficker Worm:

Name of Security Risk:

Summary of what it does:

Conficker US Infection

Win32/Conficker.D is a variant of Win32/Conficker. Conficker.D infects the local computer, terminates services, blocks access to numerous security related Web sites and downloads arbitrary code. Conficker.D can relay command instructions to other Conficker.D infected computers via built-in peer-to-peer (P2P) communication. This variant does not spread to removable drives or shared folders across a network (as with previous variants). Conficker.D is installed by previous variants of Win32/Conficker.

Other variants of Win32/Conficker infect computers across a network by exploiting a vulnerability in the Windows Server service (SVCHOST.EXE). If the vulnerability is successfully exploited, it could allow remote code execution when file sharing is enabled. It may also spread via removable drives and weak administrator passwords.

System Changes

Users may not be able to run applications containing the following strings:

Users may not be able to browse certain security-related Web sites with URLs that contain any of the following strings:

Users may experience a Web browser time-out error when attempting to access URLs containing the following strings:

If you are unable to access any websites such as Symantec or Microsoft’s Website or even the Windows Update on your desktop, chances are that you are infected by the Conficker Worm.

Removing the infection can be really tricky, you can visit different vendors to your liking (if you so happen to like Symantec over Kaspersky, or Kaspersky over TrendMicro, etc, etc.). Here are some links where you can get removal programs to get rid of the worm, however you will have to visit with an uninfected computer, if you are reading this you shouldn’t be infected due to certain words I’ve used in this post that the Worm blocks:

• Symantec Conficker Removal Tool
• Microsoft Removal Tool
• Sophos Removal Tool
• TrendMicro Removal Tool
• Kaspersky Removal Tool

You should use these removal tools to take off Conficker Variants, especially made for the Newest created one, off your computer. You would have to download this tool using an uninfected computer, then apply it on infected computer.

Why has the Conficker Worm been so “important” to pay attention to over the past few days? Because of several things:

• It avoids detection, it is “evolving” as we speak
• It uses P2P to update itself from its creators
• Mass infection has already occurred
• Encryption on the worm is very strong and hard to crack

With so much talk going around with the Conficker Worm, it has been already detected by most anti viruses, but the threat is still going on and on and still infecting more users online. There has also been rumors online about a possible conspiracy with the virus. Since Microsoft was pretty quick with a patch for their system after the virus went global, it raised some suspicious about Microsoft’s possible plan to take down pirated versions of Microsoft Windows. Whether that is true or not? You decide.

With the Conficker already detected on most anti viruses, many IT researchers haven’t been able to block all incoming traffic from Conficker. If conficker is updated or recieves further intructions, that capability could pass between infected machines without the need of a server or website. This is done with P2P (Peer-to-Peer) networking instead which allows to file share faster than if they had to communicate with a main server. This makes the Conficker Worm update much faster on the infected machine and makes it harder to block and remove off your system.

Many of you shouldn’r worry. Conficker is only a threat if you computer does not have the latest security patches from Microsoft and is up-to-date with an antivirus program. Stay safe everyone!

Security has become an important factor today when it comes to the Internet. Back then when viruses and exploits and such were still new, it wasn’t as bad as it is today with online security. Mostly everyone with a computer in this technology era has been hit with a security risk, whether you know it or not, or if you haven’t, it will happen someday. The one question has always risen a lot, which is: How do i protect myself? While there is no 100% way you will be to protect yourself, there is software and tips to prevent getting infected and also methods to remove such security risks should you face one. It is very important to get some type of security software on your computer, and I say this a lot because there is still a lot of users online today that don’t have security software installed on their PC.Now what is security software? Security software can range from different functions, whether it’s an Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Rookit, Keylogger Remover, etc, etc. Existing and popular names of security software are products such as Norton (Symantec), AVG (Grisoft), CA (Computer Associates), McAfee, and many more. With so many security products going around, and saying they do better than each other, which one do you pick? There have already been tests to compare each other between speed, reliability, scanning capabilities, and features which is important overall.

Now to go over some of the Security Software Providers, some you might be familiar with or never heard of:

• Aladdin (eSafe)
• ALWIL (Avast! Antivirus)
• Authentium (Command Antivirus)
• Avira (AntiVir)
• Bit9 (FileAdvisor)
• Cat Computer Services (Quick Heal)
• ClamAV (ClamAV)
• CA Inc. (Vet)
• Doctor Web, Ltd. (DrWeb)
• Eset Software (ESET NOD32)
• ExpLabs (Link Scanner)
• Fortinet (Fortinet)
• FRISK Software (F-Prot)
• F-Secure (F-Secure)
• AVG Technologies (AVG)
• Hacksoft (The Hacker)
• Ikarus Software (Ikarus)
• Kaspersky Lab (AVP)
• McAfee (VirusScan)
• Microsoft (Malware Protection)
• Norman (Norman Antivirus)
• Panda Security (Panda Platinum)
• Rising Antivirus (Rising)
• Secure Computing (Webwasher)
• Softwin (BitDefender)
• Sophos (SAV)
• Sunbelt Software (Antivirus)
• Symantec (Norton Antivirus)
• VirusBlokAda (VBA32)
• VirusBuster (VirusBuster)

Now this list is only the few that is out there, there could be some new ones we have haven’t tested yet. Hopefully some of you guys (and gals) have tried different antiviruses on your PC, but I will talk about some of the reliable and best antivirus I have used. I will go over each security software and talk something about them below:

Norton Internet Security 2009

NIS 09

I have used this only for a while, I first tested it with a 30 day trial then got a 90 day trial with a new laptop I got, now Norton Internet Security 2009 (NIS09) has been really reliable and fast on scanning and detection than its previous versions. Some of the features I like about NIS09 is its integration with Norton Confidential which allows you have one click logins on Firefox and Internet Explorer and at the same time, your passwords are secured. The speed and detection rate on NIS09 is much faster than other antiviruses I have used. NIS09 comes with features such as a firewall that is very flexible and allows to set custom rules on programs, the update is very easy, literally one click update, toolbar that handles both one click logins and prevent you from stumbling upon exploited sites (like siteadvisior and roboform but 3x better). One of the most important features I see on NIS09 is the Wireless Protection it comes to prevent others seeing you on your network or prevent other in your network to try to enter your PC’s data. Overall NIS09 is very useful and faster and this still remains my #1 choice for an antivirus.

AVG Internet Security plus Firewall

AVG Internet Security

AVG is very feature rich and useful but there is some goods and bads about AVG, it still remains as a useful and top Antivirus but there’s a reason for it being #2 on my list. AVG Internet Security has the basics that a good antivirus products should have, AVG has an Anti-Virus (of course), Anti-Spyware, Anti-Rookit, Firewall, and the previous Linkscanner is integrated into the AVG Editions. AVG also has routine scans you can set (every 4 hours is the default) to update and scan your computer. While the program and scan is very heavy on the system, it can do a slow, auto, and fast scan depending on how fast the user wants it to scan. The neat thing about AVG Internet Security plus firewall is it installs a toolbar (optional) to protect you from stumbling on exploited sites that can give you nasty spyware and trojans. The toolbar has a “Active Surf-Shield” and a “Search-Shield” to scan you searches you do on google, msn, and yahoo. Very useful unless your searching for things you not suppose to search for .

Linkscanner Pro

Explabs

While this is already integrated with AVG Editions, it is very useful in protect in single situations alone, if you a security researcher like me, you want to make sure that every time you stumble on exploited sites, the security risk is blocked. In this case, exploits always hit you and start to make your computer into a zombie, but Linkscanner Pro allows you to scan links manually before you goto them and also scans link automatically when you search up terms on google, msn, and yahoo. Linkscanner is a stand alone security product for anti-exploit solutions. A good example to use this is if you run a web directory (like I do), you want to make sure that users aren’t submitting nasty infected sites into your web directory. If you’re a big web surfer like many people are, it is recommendable to use a security solution with anti-exploit features to prevent anything infecting your computer from websites.

Comodo Internet Security (Free)

Internet Security

If you’re not into buying security products (which I recommend you do because paid security products are better and have more features to protect you and your data), you can always combine a firewall and a free anti-virus. Anti-virus for the inside area, and a firewall for outgoing connections (as well as incoming connections) to prevent a virus (should you get one) to connect the Internet and download more security risks onto your PC, but luckily for those who don’t like paying, Comodo has introduced a new security solution that combines both their Free version of their firewall and their antivirus into one, making it very easy to protect yourself with such good freeware products. It includes their firewall (which I think is great and better with Zonealarm because of its compatibility with Vista), and their antivirus which also is great for free security.

AVG Free Edition

AVG Free Edition

The free edition of AVG is also useful but not very feature rich if you have very sensitive data on your computer. You should only use AVG Free Edition if you use locally on your PC and for surfing websites. AVG Free is very useful if you don’t have a paid security solution otherwise, it has the necessary functions to make your computer survive from attacks, its features has a Anti-Virus, Anti-Exploit (Linkscanner Integrated), And the AVG Security toolbar, which is about it that it has for free basic protection. What I would recommend in doing so with this is to install a free firewall and combine it with a free Anti-Virus only if you know how to use firewalls. AVG is good in basic protection but not really giving you what other free providers give you and what really need.

Overall these are so far the ones I have found really useful and best in free and paid solutions. If you have another antivirus that you think is great, let me know, and I will add it to the list and test it out myself. Security is very important today, I try to advise my friends and co-workers to let them know security online is become very tight with more security risks going into action and spreading quick. It is important that you also (if you don’t have any security on your PCs) to get something at least to protect yourself from online attacks and security risks. If you think Windows Firewall and Windows Defender will keep you safe, you better think again because those only do so much for security. Your better off using a free edition of AVG, Comodo or any trusted antivirus provider. Let me know your experiences you had with antiviruses listed here. Stay safe my friends!

Sometime in life (or online life at least) you will face a virus, trojan, spyware, and much more. But when you face an exploit, things tend to get a little harder even though overall it is a security risk, but like everything else, there are different ways to remove security risks. So what are exploits? Exploits can range from different functions, some can drop a trojan on your computer, some take advantage of certain programs installed on your computer to gain computer control. Exploits are a different matter, instead of downloading an infected program and installing the program yourself, exploits can be dropped without you knowing at all. Then the fun begins (well, not for the infected user at least).Exploits can be real nasty, and very annoying as well. They can drop rookits, trojans, viruses, and spyware especially, which for me has been the most common one when I am dealing with clients computers. Exploits can also affect programs that have vulnerabilities in them, which is why many companies release updates and patches to close those holes up in their software. Some of the ways you can prevent exploits from entering your pc is:

Updating

While many of us dislike updating software, it is very important to stay up-to-date especially when it comes to networks because if one security hole is found in a network, every computer in that network will be affected. Updating your software makes sure that your programs are patched up to prevent exploits that can come from websites and even documents that you open up from the web.

Updating can also make some software function better with compatibility issues that can usually crash and lead to your computer having software conflicts. If you have an anti-virus, you wouldn’t leave it with old virus definitions, having the most up to date virus definitions is important for your security, else your anti-virus won’t be able to detect known viruses by your anti-virus provider! Same idea with updates with software, patch it up to keep those pesky exploits away from entering your PC.

Security Software

Some users that I have assisted in the past had never had an anti-virus installed and if they did have one, it was either expired or out of date. Software that I have used because of the features included (as well as exploits protection) are:

• Norton Internet Security 2008 & 2009
• CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2009
• AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall
• LinkScanner Pro (Part of AVG, but focuses mainly on Exploits)

Now this is just what I trust, there are others that I have had experience with, such as McAfee, Trend Micro, and Avira, but none of these really gave me the features I needed for my computer(s). Having a good anti-virus will make sure that you are protected with known exploits. What you use and what you want to use is up to you, it is just recommendable that you at least have a (whether free or paid) anti-virus installed!

Browser

Browser have some security features themselves, while everyone already uses Firefox and Internet Explorer the most, it is very hard to choose one depending on speed, reliability, and security. Such popular browsers are:

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer

While many of us like Internet Explorer now, due to its reliability with Windows XP/Vista (since they are both created by Microsoft and are meant to work together smoothly), and its new features that have been included in the still-in-beta version of Internet Explorer 8, many new security features to prevent exploits have been added that have surprised us a lot since older versions, new features that Internet Explorer has are such as:

• SmartScreen Filter – A security tool to prevent you from stumbling upon a malicious site or a phishing site. It is very effective because it is like a community neighborhood watch, you see something suspicious, and you report it, same concept. This feature also helps because it also filters out and blocks any potential malicious software that could be a security risk (virus, trojan, worm, etc).
• Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Filter – Not only are phished websites and malicious websites filtered, but this new feature can prevent exploits from web servers and web applications taking over your computer and/or lead to information disclosure, cookie stealing, account/identity theft (which is the worst in my opinion), and more.
• Data Execution Detection (DEP) – If you use Vista, this is already integrated by default in Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) and prevents any website or security risk from writing any malicious code to executable memory space.

• Domain Highlighting – This is for the users who never pay attention to the sites they are redirected to. This new feature highlights the domain in the address bar so users will pay more attention on the domain they are on.

If you use Windows Vista, the UAC (User Account Control), where the screen turns transparent Grey and shows the Allow or Deny button for Administrator usages, it is something very useful when it comes to Vista, while it nags us a lot and pops up for almost every software installation or action that requires administrator privileges, its is a added layer of security to prevent exploits from entering your system, equipped with Internet Explorer’s somewhat security features, it makes a good layer of security for your system.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is still a popular browser today, it is used by millions of users, but I, myself, have to say that Firefox has been doing very bad ever since I switched to Windows Vista, has it planned by Microsoft to fail? Maybe not, there are still some things (bugs) that arose from Firefox since, but the security on Firefox has been very well, and being a very secure and overprotective person myself, security is very important to me, and Firefox has shown that to me by several features that was added since version 3:

• Anti-Malware & Phishing – A updated list of sites prevent you from stumbling upon them, as well as to prevent any phished sites to prevent you from entering you credit card in the wrong site and if you do, I quote the Mozilla site “a browser message—big as life—will stop you.”
• Instant Web Site ID – Whenever you are checking online (for example a store) and you try to buy something, the Web ID will be checked to avoid Web forgeries and make sure a site is what it claims to be.
• Password Manager – Store your passwords securely so you don’t have to manually type it every time you go on a site to login your account. This is very effective against keyloggers so they won’t log down what you typed… because your password manager types it without using your keyboard. The only flaw? Someone can easily see your accounts stored if they actually sit down at your computer, very hard to keep away from relatives or your annoying brother.
• Automated Update – We always want to stay up-to-date with our updates so we can have the latest protection and software (to fix those bugs as well), all the time. An automatic update is very useful for us who forget. When the update is ready to install, all you have to do is click install, restart firefox, and continue your work.

Again, Many crashes have increased and decreased at the same time, while I’m not sure if it happens to you, hopefull it doesn’t. Firefox is great and all, but like everything in this world… nothing is perfect.

Opera Browser

Opera Browser

Opera is also very popular online. While I haven’t used it as much as Firefox and Internet Explorer, it still is a good browser. The security features are very useful and work very well in protecting your identity online. Some of the security features in opera are:

• Fraud Protection – The fraud protection is very simple and doesn’t nag a lot. It does prevent you from viewing the page, but it also shows on the right of the address bar in a red box saying “Fraud Site”, however, a Web site with valid security certificate will display a lock on the right side of the address bar and show that it is trusted and safe.
• Private Data Deletion – While some browsers keep some data left behind, Opera deletes you data safely and secure, as well as everything is 100% gone to prevent other users on your computers (family) from viewing your personal surfing.

To me, Opera seems to be more of a social browser, which is very useful for almost all the bloggers and website owners to market our sites, the security side of Opera (in my personal opinion) isn’t as well as Firefox and Internet Explorer. Opera is still very useful and contains good security (though not as good), but it’s better than nothing.

Many of these tips can hopefully educate you a little bit, going deep into exploits isn’t something everyone can understand. Being safe is something that is really required more than ever today since hackers and security risks are getting tougher than ever to block. Though some anti-virus companies make it seem that your safe, we will never be 100% safe online. What do you think of some of these browser? Which one would you use more and hwat security product would you recommend to use?

Stealing Others Wifi?

Some of us who have no Internet and don’t like to fuss up cash to pay monthly for Internet bills always try to find other ways to access the Internet. It can be going to a friend’s or relatives house and always check your email or log onto your Myspace, but sometimes when we have wi-fi capable laptops, would you take time to go over a friend’s house who has Internet? Many times we rather do something that is very easy to do and requires only a few clicks….. stealing wi-fi from other routers around you, it might seem easy and good to know that you are getting free Internet, but at the same time, is it really worth it? Now with several laws and even neighbors that are fed up seeing some of their other neighbors outside in the car with their laptop, arrest and felony charges have stepped in with “wi-fi stealing”.Back in the day, we could do it very sneaky as many of us could find several unprotected wireless networks and just click “Connect To This Network” and boom, you’re connected. But with many several issues arising with hackers and unknown users logging into networks and using it for illegal purposes, many of the owners of that Internet service have gotten in trouble since unauthorized users have logged onto the unprotected network and either hacked, downloaded illegal files from the Internet, and so fourth using someone Else’s Internet. Some of the worst cases is unauthorized users who steal wi-fi and hack or download child pornography, and since they are using the IP’s of someone else, the owners take the fall while the bad guy simply walks away.

Wifi Stealing = Arrest

You’d be amazed on how many people have gone to jail and have been fined for using unprotected networks without the owner’s consent. Some do it from their car, or some do it from their house, nevertheless, someday they are caught, and they can be given either:

1) Jail Time (or prison if they were using it for illegal purposes)

2) A pretty big fine

3) Both (the worst)

It kind of bothers me to know that many people can get arrested for stealing wi-fi, it is of course, rude and incorrect, but at the same time, the owners should do more to protect it, if they simply can’t or don’t know how to protect their network, they are many online resources or CD’s that should come when buying a router to setup your router and security. Using a password for logins onto your Internet is the best way to secure your Internet and also preventing from broadcasting your SSID. But not too many are tech-savvy about adding WPE/WPA (most common) encryption and security and hiding your network name onto a network.

I know some who are against this because, of course, the owners are paying for their Internet service and some come by and steal, its not right, but also should owners at least do something about their networks and protect them? What do you think?

Paypal

Paypal is a commonly used payment system for online transactions (Hosting, Domains, Bills, etc.), but what many of us don’t realize is that a lot of scams have occurred due to Paypal. Lets face it, Paypal is still great for paying online bills or any legit company that we all know of, but many of these scammers on the loose have been getting away with a feature on Paypal known as a “Chargeback“. What is a Chargeback? A Chargeback is when you get paid on Paypal and then the buyer who paid you will get his money back saying that it was an “unauthorized transaction” and therefore you would lose the item you sold and get no money.

Paypal allows 3 types of chargebacks:

• Item not received. Buyer pays for an item but never receives it.
• Item significantly different. Buyer pays for an item but receives item significantly different than expected.
• Unauthorized use. A buyer’s credit card number is stolen and used fraudulently.

Paypal has already had many disputes from Paypal users that had been scammed but always end up saying that they will “investigate” the issue but then again, ends up that they can’t help you or some other lame excuse. So the question here is: Can you really trust Paypal? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, because you can do faster transactions with legit companies and people you know and no, because if you use Paypal to pay for domains on Domain Forums to Buy, Sell, or Trade Domains, you must do your homework on who you are dealing with.

Stealing?

Another issue is that Paypal doesn’t even seem to try to fix the problem. From my perspective and others who have been scammed, they are saying that Paypal (in a couple of days or so) always report back that it was an “unauthorized payment” and even with evidence, they still won’t help you! For example, If you sold a domain for $200 and got the money then in the middle of the night, got notified that there was a Chargeback, and you talk to Paypal and show evidence it was a scam and want back your domain, they will tell you to talk to your registrar. The only chance you have now is just trying to get your domain back.

I just hope that these sellers will be more careful and not jump the gun on selling. Always check the name, email, or if possible the IP on other places to see if the member/user is a known scammer. And try using something else for huge transactions besides Paypal, unless you want to remain with no money and no domain. Using services such as escrow can be a lot more safer and prevent scammers from taking your money and/or domain that belongs to you.

Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox

Browsers today have gotten really popular (some have at least), but some have been proven to help a blogger and actually become really more than just a browser to a blogger. With the new release of Firefox 3, a good things has been shown by Firefox 3 and has proved itself that it has increased in Speed, Reliability, and Security. Blogging has really increased around the internet world, with many new blogs opening and getting popular there is nothing stopping these bloggers, except maybe lags and security. With Firefox 3, your post typing speed will increase and so will your visitor rate if you are able to complete more and more posts. How does this help you? Well, we will point out a few things to you.

I’m not sure if a blogger has ever told you that they missed a day’s post because of the lag or a browser/computer crash that sometimes they experience. Mainly the CMS (Content Management System) such as WordPress has been blamed a lot for the lag, but sometimes it really isn’t the CMS or the Database (which sometimes it can be), but really, your browser plays an important role in blogging.

How are browser important? Well, for example, if you use Internet Explorer 6 (which some users still do, believe me), and that becomes your default browser to edit, upload, and add things onto your blog, chances are that somewhere along the road, Internet Explore will crash and lag many times which will cause many of us bloggers to go crazy. On the other hand, if you use a fast browser such as Firefox 3, the loading speed has increased in Firefox 3, the memory used by Firefox 3 has been decreased, and security has gotten better since the Version 2 of Firefox. This is really important to a blogger because

1) Security

With many exploits and being implemented into sites, Firefox 3 can prevent malware and exploits from going onto your computer and also prevent it from disturbing you while you are working on your blog or even typing up a post. This will allow you more time and patience on writing posts without having to bother with a pop-up that shows every single minute or so.

2) Speed

Speed is another really important feature to a blogger, nobody will wait 13 minutes for a post (unless it’s a long one) because some browsers will give you a connection error and you will have to restart, losing all your information, but Firefox 3 with JavaScript 1.8 (and other tech words you guys won’t understand), Javascript that now includes expression closures, generator expression and array reduce. Means that pages, website, just about any media online is loaded faster for you, and with more speed comes more faster page load. To make this more understandable, it is like using Dial-up to download a 300MB file online instead of Cable.

3) Reliability

I know that there is a bloggers who are reading this post that have either yelled, kicked, or tossed their computer out the window because of some program errors and/or crashes. Many users today need a reliable browser that can save their work in time of a crash, load pages without showing a error every second, and a browser that doesn’t take much space. New features in Firefox 3 that increases the reliability of Firefox 3 is features such as the One-Click Bookmarking which can be useful to us who need fast bookmarking when reading a site. Even the Firefox 3 session restore is important because if Firefox 3 crashes anywhere in typing a post or even an email, you’ll pick up where you left off, even down to the last word you typed with Session Restore.

These are very important to regular users and bloggers because all these can affect not only them, but their blogs as well. If security was crappy in a browser, chances are that a hacker would be able to get to your computer via browser then to your account and passwords. If speed was slow, the amount it would take to save pages or even load them would turn many of us mad. Without reliability, we would have 30 different programs installed on our computer instead of Firefox 3 (which has it all). As you can see, these are very important, if you want to test drive the new Firefox 3 and see just how serious and dramatically Firefox 3 has increased, goto Mozilla and download Firefox 3!