Falcon1986

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Posts posted by Falcon1986

  3. Urgent Security Advice Needed

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    For what it is worth I have found these free ones:

    Comodo Firewall Pro

    Outpost Firewall Free

    GhostWall Firewall

    R-Firewall

    Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall

    ZoneAlarm Basic

    Unfortunately, I have never used any of them, but you can always check out their system requirements. I find that the Windows XP Firewall is all I need.

    I agree with the other posters, however. No one is 100% secure, although that doesn't stop us from taking precautions to begin with. These precautions require a change in attitude towards internet activity, one of which is being more responsible.

    Some things you can do:

    1. Start using a different browser - Internet Explorer 7 may be more secure than IE6, while at the same time bing faster than other 3rd-party browsers, but more attacks can get through. Firefox is one good alternative and even allows you to add extensions such as NoScript and AdblockPlus, which greatly reduces your vulnerability.

    2. Install, update and run antispyware application scans. The most common ones are Spybot S&D, Adaware and A-Squared. Spybot S&D and SpywareBlaster also have the ability to block bad sites by default and perform various "immunizations" on your PC.

    3. Get a good antivirus. Keep the subscription updated, but most importantly, keep the definitions updated.

  6. Trend Micro Security System

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    Even if 2 or more antivirus software are installed and not running scans at the same time they can still conflict with each other.

    Antivirus software usually need to "wrap" themselves deeply into the OS and one feature that many also install is background monitoring, i.e. they are always scanning some part of the disk(s) as a low priority process. If you get two of them running in the background, you can see that they would conflict with each other the same way if they were performing manual scans simultaneously.

    Is there a specific reason that you want to remove Avast? If it has been good at its job in protecting you from viruses and other forms of malware, I see no reason why you should dump it. Of course, if your experience is to the contrary, then by all means try Trend Micro. Otherwise, save the Trend Micro license for a later time; you may find better use for it later.

  7. Building A Computer/choosing Upgrades

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    Is there a difference between 1stick of 1GB or 2sticks of 512MB?

    Only if your motherboard requires RAM modules to be installed in pairs (mainly for the dual channel feature) or if you plan to add more modules later (higher density per slot leaves more slots for upgrades later).

    Tomshardware.com usually publishes a "best gaming graphics card for the money" article now and then, with recommended graphics cards for various price categories.

    If all you needed to do was to add a graphics card, I would probably go for a Radeon X1950 or 3850, but I do agree with the others that you will need to also consider upgrading the PSU in the process. However, you can go ahead and add more RAM now (maybe 2x 1GB) and leave the graphics card + PSU upgrade for a later time when you get more funds.

    xtremesystems.org has a good list of recommended and not recommended PSUs if you are concerned about quality.

  12. Lan Connection Issues

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    1. Have you tried accessing web pages through different web browsers on the Dell?

    2. Are any of your browsers configured with proxy connection settings? If so, disable it.

    3. Try running the Internet Connection Wizard through Network Connections. It will be labelled as "Create a new connection" from the left-column menu.

    4. Go back to the Command Prompt, type in ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter. Wait for 30 seconds and enter the final command ipconfig /registerdns and press Enter. Try accessing some web pages.

    5. What happens when you try to ping google.com? Go to the Command Prompt, type in ping google.com and press Enter. Are packets being sent and received? What is the response time in ms?

  13. Need Feedback On Security Article

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    Warnings like this come out many times; a few make it to news articles like the BBC, etc.

    You shouldn't have anything to worry about if you practice safe internet activity in the first place. Be careful of websites you visit, never fall for pop-up/ad promises and stay clear of installing various pieces of software through your web browser.

    From the get-go, the article mentioned that the vulnerability affects Internet Explorer ("Microsoft's browser"), so you can be proactive by using another browser such as Firefox or Opera. Secondly, keep your antivirus and antimalware software definitions up to date. Run scans frequently so you can detect any problems early. Although the article mentions that this rootkit cannot be cleared while the OS is booted, running periodic scans will help in early detection so you know what actions to take.

    Symantec alluded to a fix at the bottom of their article, but this requires rewriting the MBR. I have never seen an option to write-protect the MBR in the BIOS, but if you find it that would be a good feature to enable.

  15. Windows Xp Sp3 Rc

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    SP3 is now available at the Microsoft Download Center as a 336MB download.

    I have been reading that SP3 delivers a slight performance boost. Does this apply to scenarios where the user is updating over a vanilla version of Windows XP, Windows XP SP1 or Windows XP SP2? I have been keeping up to date with both critical and recommended hotfixes over at Windows Update for all my PCs.

    I read your previous posts on SP3 and I must say thanks for the information! Just one last question: when the "gold" version of SP3 does roll out, will one who has already been using the RC1 need to completely uninstall it, or will the SP3 installer just update what needs changing to get it to the "gold" state?

  18. Time Have Changed

    in The Comedy Club

    Posted

    So true!

    I grew up between that era and the new "iPod" era, but I'm glad I got a bit of the ol' stuff! Definitely enjoyed the times my dad allowed me to step on the gas as we cruised down desolate island roads when I was only 12. Learned to build kites and even play around with electrical equipment. Before I even knew about portable games I would be shooting marbles with primary school friends outside the principal's office and run for our lives whenever she came around. I even played in cemeteries both during the day and at night (especially liked the night-time; friends and I would scare the crap out of passers by).

    Good times...

  19. Good Easy To Use A/v

    in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP

    Posted

    For ease of use and user-friendliness for the not-so-PC-savvy-amongst-us, I find that it is best to get a commercial product over something that is free. Although I'm not a big fan of all-in-one PC security suites, I'll admit that it from a functional standpoint, it is pretty much simpler than using separate free security applications that you need to run and keep updated independently. Don't get me wrong, there are good free alternatives such as Avast for an antivirus, which can be configured to keep itself updated, but for someone like your boss who just wants to be protected and not have to worry too much about it, the best route may be a security suite.

    Some of the top commercial antivirus applications that I have heard about are BitDefender, Kaspersky and ESET NOD32 (the latest versions, of course). I believe BitDefender also provides an Internet Security Suite which includes a firewall, antivirus, antispyware, web filtering through parental controls and even performance tune-up software. Check out a review here. As you can see, the interface is very simple. So the only thing your boss would have to worry about is renewing the subscription after every expiration and ensuring that her security suite keeps its definitions updated.

    If your boss doesn't play a lot of games or applications that demand a lot of CPU power, the slight performance hit of using a security suite shouldn't be very noticeable. With today's fast PCs, it is highly unlikely that she will notice any slowdowns. It's a small price to pay if you just need dependable protection. Just a reminder: if a security suite is your choice, realize that a part of it being effective is the ability to monitor in the background. Therefore, any other applications similar to itself that also run in the background may result in further slowdowns. Pre-configured PCs usually come with trial security/antivirus software so fully and properly uninstalling these before installing your new security/antivirus software is absolutely necessary to avoid conflicts.