Archive for Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials & Safety Scanner
Posted by: | CommentsI wrote about Microsoft Security Essentials as a new product back in October, 2009. Since then, Microsoft has released a newer and better version of Security Essentials. Check here for information and download of Microsoft Security Essentials.
It’s still a free download for anyone with a licensed copy of Windows and over the last couple of years has gotten some great reviews. Here’s one from Ars Technica that compliments the simple interface and clean style of MSE.
There are just four tabs at the top, so not a lot of clutter or hard to understand settings. When you pull it up, you’ll either see green (protected), yellow (caution) or red (watch out!). Pretty simple.
I really like that it’s not bloated like Symantec & Norton. I refuse to run either of these on my systems. I have used both the free AVG and the fee-based Nod-32 by Eset. Both have worked well for me, but I decided to switch over to this product because to me it makes sense to have a security suite by the same people who made my OS.
Here’s a screen shot of a protected computer – green is good!
There are tabs to check out for fine-tuning your system. The settings tab has many options on it for configuring when, where and how to handle whatever the scan might find.
Microsoft Safety Scanner
Microsoft recently came out with a new tool called Microsoft Safety Scanner. It’s a free download that works with any existing antivirus software. Download and run the tool, choosing either the short or full scan. It doesn’t replace your current antivirus software, it’s just another tool to use. Sometimes things get past some security software, that’s why it’s a good idea to use these other tools from time to time.
The Microsoft Safety Scanner expires 10 days after being downloaded. This is because new viruses come out so frequently that the tool becomes obsolete after this short period of time, but you can download it and run it as often as you like.
Here’s the complete list of security tools from Microsoft if you’d like to check them out.
Microsoft Security Tools
Who Can You Trust–Security Software & Downloads
Posted by: | CommentsThe Rant
Something I despise is when I go to a site to read up on what I was searching for and get handed a bait-and-switch. In this case, I searched for ‘spyware removal software’. This site came up and before I could get to the subject matter, I was blasted with this misleading ad (in the yellow circle below), asking me to download and run a program to speed and clean up my PC! Someone who’s stressed out about a potential infection, might not take the time to read all the fine print and click and download and get who knows what on their computer.
The actual information I wanted to read is below the image. Notice the double underlined words in the paragraph. I hate these too as they are simply linked to an ad that most likely has nothing to do with what I’m reading about.
Read and Click Carefully!
The author also put in a windows icon to make the article look more respectable and believable (in my opinion). He goes on to list some advanced software people can use to get rid of spyware. This writer is probably an honest person with useful information on the site. But the ads and the double underlines seem smarmy to me and my trust factor automatically goes down at sites like these.
Even the big name sites, like CNET and Computerworld do this same thing. If you’re referred to one of these sites for downloads, be very careful that you’re at the right spot and clicking the right link, otherwise, you’ll be getting something you don’t want – it’s probably (hopefully), not a malicious program, but it’s not what you came there for and it takes time to read and sort everything out.
Who To Trust
If you’re a regular (not advanced), computer user, you know the most common names, such as Norton and McAfee. I really don’t recommend them because you have to pay for them and they’ve had a reputation of being resource hogs. There are some very good free anti-spyware/malware programs out there too. Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, Spybot Search & Destroy are trustworthy programs. You can get trusted links to all of these and more at Kim Komando’s site. Her site has hundreds of tips, downloads and how-tos for the beginner computer user. Remember not to run more than one anti-virus program at a time – they don’t like that!
Below is a hyperlinked picture that will take you to AVG’s most current Rogue’s Gallery of the bad software out there. This is updated continuously. You could also visit any of the above mentioned software websites (make sure you’re at the right one), as just about all of them have a warning page alerting you to new threats.
When you’re searching for information and/or looking to download a new program, take your time to read and click carefully: make sure you’re on the real page for downloads, start at trusted sites, like Kim Komando or Download.com.
Microsoft Security Essentials & Bitlocker Tip
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s a new anti-virus/anti-spyware product on the market. This one’s from
Microsoft and it’s free to anyone with a licensed copy of Windows. It’s called Microsoft Security Essentials. It replaced Microsoft’s fee-based One-Care software and was released September 29, 2009.
Information and download of Microsoft Security Essentials
Why is this free, we all ask? Some think Microsoft is trying to make amends for its spotty history of delivering operating systems that continually need patching and updating. We’re all familiar now with ‘patch Tuesday’ – the second Tuesday of every month when there’s usually patches to be pushed out to users.
Some feel that since Microsoft developed the OS, they should take responsibility for providing the tools to keep us safe. The software seems to be working great on my system. It’s lean and fast. It installed in minutes, updated itself and did an initial scan of my computer.
I really like that it’s not bloated like Symantec & Norton. I refuse to run either of these on my systems. I have used both the free AVG and the fee-based Nod-32 by Eset. Both have worked well for me, but I decided to switch over to this product because to me it makes sense to have a security suite by the same people who made my OS.
Here’s a screen shot of a protected computer – green is good!
There are tabs to check out for fine-tuning your system. The settings tab has many options on it for configuring when, where and how to handle whatever the scan might find.
There aren’t a whole lot of reviews out yet, but here’s one by Computerworld that will give you a more technical, in-depth assessment of the software.
Use Bitlocker on a USB Drive
Bitlocker is a premium feature found only on Windows 7 Ultimate & Premium (it’s on higher-priced Vista systems too). It’s an easy-to-use encryption tool to encrypt your entire drive, an external drive or usb thumb drive.
For those of us who’ve downloaded Windows 7 for the free test drive, we all received the Ultimate version of Windows 7, which has Bitlocker installed on it.
For those of us who will be ‘downgrading’ to Home Premium, we should be able to put Bitlocker on any thumb or external drives now and it should continue to work. I haven’t been able to test this yet, but I have encrypted a thumb drive.
To encrypt a removable drive, insert it into your usb drive and then go to the Start button and type in Bitlocker, then manage bitlocker encryption. It takes several minutes to encrypt the drive, especially if it’s large. You will be prompted to enter and verify a password. It’s very important to save it to a file on your computer or print it out. When finished, then move files, folders, etc. over to the drive.
Now, you’ll want to verify that your data is encrypted. Take it to a different computer and try to access the thumb drive. You should get a notice that a password is needed.
I tried this with my encrypted drive on my daughter’s computer, running Vista (without Bitlocker), and I was able to enter in my password and view the files on it. Microsoft says that you can take the drive to a computer without Bitlocker, running either Vista or Windows 7 and enter your password and view your files. I haven’t tried it on an XP machine. I’ve read reviews of folks using the Beta Win 7 and this feature didn’t work, but it’s working with the RC version of Windows 7.
Bitlocker can be turned off if you decide not to use this feature later on. If you routinely carry thumb drives around with your or customer data, why not take advantage of this free feature. If the drive is lost or left somewhere, at least it won’t be accessible to prying eyes.
Computer Security – Protect Your Computer
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So you’ve got a new computer and are wondering what you need to do to be secure while on-line. Computer security is a Big Thing – there’s lots of ‘bad guys’ out there trying to get in your computer, infect it or make it part of a bot-net.
Here’s what to do – in order:
1. Run Microsoft Update on a new or newly acquired computer – you want to be sure to have all the latest patches and fixes. Then turn on automatic updates.
2. You need a firewall. Vista has a pretty good one – turn it on. XP’s isn’t as robust. You could download the free version of Zonealarm and install it. I’ve used it and found it does interfere quite a bit with going about my normal business.
3. Next, install an Antivirus program. I strongly discourage Norton and McAfee. Although they have a strong brand reputation, they are memory and resource hogs and will gradually choke your system down to a crawl. I’d go with the free Microsoft Security Essentials or Nod32 from Eset (costs around $30). They do a great job and aren’t resource-hungry. Remember to install only ONE Antivirus program as they don’t play well together.
4. Then you’ll need some Anti Spyware protection. Again, there are many great free programs out there. It is OK to install more than one of these programs. I recommend and use Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad Aware. When you do your searches for these, make sure you select the listed programs. There are other programs with similar names that are out there.
5. Secure your network. If you’re wireless, be sure to set up WPA or WPA2 encryption. WEP is worthless. Directions should be with your router, or check out www.komando.com for great step-by-step information on this topic.
