PreparedPC
Your PC. Prepared for Anything.
Sandboxie – Laugh (Cautiously) at the Next Browser Vulnerability
Dec 25th
What’s a Windows user to do? Between the most recent zero-day exploit to affect Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox recently named as the most vulnerable application on the Windows platform, even with all Windows updates installed, virus protection and the current version of your browser, you can still end up with a nasty malware infection.
That’s exactly what inspired developer Ronen Tzur several years ago. He wrote an application called Sandboxie which protects your computer by using the “sandbox” concept. Basically, More >
Has AVG AntiVirus Made Your Windows XP PC Unbootable? Here’s the Fix
Nov 25th
AVG Antivirus 8.0′s recent set of antivirus definitions broke Windows XP by quarantining XP’s user32.dll as a bad file.
There are 2 ways to fix this:
Windows XP CD – If you have a Windows XP installation CD handy, follow these steps.
No Windows XP CD – Grisoft has created a bootable .ISO or bootable flashdrive image. Follow these steps to repair your PC. (Need to burn a CD from that .ISO? Use the free utility ImgBurn.)
Patch Windows Now – Critical For Windows 2000 and XP
Oct 26th
Microsoft typically releases updates for Windows on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (aka Patch Tuesday), but this week, they released an important patch outside of their normal schedule.
The security bulletin describes the details. An issue with the “server service,” part of the Windows operating system, could allow your Windows computer to be taken over in a “worm attack” similar to the SQL Slammer attack that occurred in January, 2003.
This issue is considered “critical” for Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 and “important” for Windows Vista and Server 2008. Check if your system is up-to-date at the Windows Update site.
What Every Computer User Must do Now – Round up your data
Oct 19th
Corporations have disaster recovery plans, and so should you. If you want to minimize your own computers’ downtime due to hard drive failure, operating system corruption (i.e. the “Blue Screen of Death”), and the like, there are a number of solutions that you can use that can help you get back up and running quickly. More >
Adobe’s Workaround for “Clickjacking” Issue, and What You Can Do Now
Oct 15th
UPDATE: Adobe released Flash Player 10.0.12.36. Look-wise, it’s an improvement. Take a look at the 3-D effects that Flash Player 10 supports at Alternativa’s demo site.
New versions usually mean new vulnerabilities. Protect yourself with Firefox + the NoScript add-on.
———————————————————————————————-
Adobe recently acknowledged a critical issue with its Flash Player. Named “clickjacking,” this occurs when a user visits a legitimate site, then clicks on a link or Flash content on the site. But actually, they are clicking on an invisible control (perhaps a button) placed there by a malicious person.
Adobe considers this critical. Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman, the researchers who discovered this vulnerability, will release specific details after Adobe fixes the issue.
In the meantime, Israeli researcher Guy Aharonovsky demonstrated how clickjacking can be used to reset Adobe Flash Player’s privacy settings, then surreptitiously turn on a computer’s microphone and webcam. Adobe published a workaround to protect users from this issue right now.
Adobe plans to release an updated Flash Player at the end of October, 2009. Be the first to know by signing up with Adobe’s security notification service.
A great way to protect yourself now is to use the Firefox browser with the add-ons Flashblock and/or NoScript. NoScript has recently been updated specifically to prevent clickjacking.
Photo: PiPiWa
Gmail: Prevent those “Oh no!” moments with Mail Goggles
Oct 9th
We’ve all been there. You’ve hastily dashed off an email, then hit the “Send” button, only to feel the pangs of regret. You wrote something that you really didn’t want to say. But it’s too late–the damage is done. If only you could have a second chance to stop that email from going out… Well, you can!
If you’re a Microsoft Outlook user, you can set up a rule to defer sending your messages for a specified number of minutes. Whichever accounts you’ve configured Outlook to use can take advantage this feature.
If you enjoy using the access-anywhere convenience of Gmail’s web interface, you can enjoy a similar feature that will make you think twice (actually 5 times) before you can send an email.
Mail Goggles is a new experimental feature released by Google labs. Enable it after you log into your Gmail account by clicking on Settings > Labs, then scroll down till you see Mail Goggles listed)
Mail Goggles
Once you’ve enabled Mail Goggles, it is active by default on Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 PM to 4 AM. (You can adjust these settings at Settings > General.) During the times that it’s active, when attempting to send an email, you’ll be presented with 5 math problems that you must answer before the message can be sent.
If you’re a Gmail user looking for a way to help you consider if you really want to send that email (especially during certain time periods), consider enabling Mail Goggles.
Photo: Cooperis
LunarSoft’s Anti-Malware Toolkit: One-Click Download of Many Utilities
Oct 6th
If your family and friends turn to you for help, especially when their computer’s been infected, Lunarsoft can help you.
Their Anti-Malware Toolkit will download the latest versions of a suite of applications, definitions and utilities. Armed with this arsenal, you can be out the door and on your way to helping your friend in just a few moments.
You can find useful how-to information, such as which order to install and run these anti-malware applications, at the Lunarsoft PC Cleanup wiki.
A tiny download (394 KB for installer, a mere 60 KB for the zipped version), the Anti-Malware Toolkit can be a useful tool to have on hand before you answer your next distress call.
Photo: Holeymoon
New PC? Clean up the “Extras” with PC Decrapifier
Sep 23rd
Have you unboxed a brand new Windows computer and plugged it in, only to find a desktop full of “trial-ware” installed? Perhaps the browser’s home page has been hijacked redirected to the computer vendor’s website?
The situation is getting better. In early 2008, Sony began offering a “Fresh Start” option when you are purchasing a computer from their site, which lets you opt out of trial-ware. Initially they charged $50, but after a public backlash made this a free option.
Dell also lets you opt out of trialware (such as anti-virus, “productivity” software, etc). If you have an Inspiron or Dimension PC, check out the 3rd-party software-removal tool (Start > All Programs > Dell > Dell Software & Utilities > Product Documentation).
If your new computer does have these software applications preloaded, take a look at the free utility, PC Decrapifier. More >
Firefox Add-on|NoScript
Sep 18th
Since mid-August 2008, users have been reporting “malvertisements,” maliciously-designed Adobe Flash banner advertisements that copy text to the clipboard in Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
While this “hijacking attack” does not infect computers directly, it copies the URL of a website offering bogus “security software.” Apparently the bad guys’ hope is that you would mistakenly paste their URL in an email to a friend, for example, to unwittingly trick someone to go to their website, putting your friend at risk of getting infected if they visit the bad guys’ site. More >
Before Your Laptop Is Stolen, Check out Adeona
Sep 10th
It’s a situation no laptop owner looks forward to–their laptop gets stolen. With a little planning (and hopefully, the thief’s unwitting assistance), the free service Adeona can help track down your laptop.
Currently, Adeona may be used on laptop/desktop/server type computers, but the developers are researching how to make this available for mobile devices, like iPhones. The Adeona client is available for Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
Private, Reliable and Open-Source
Adeona is an open-source utility that uses a client which you install on your computer. From that point on, your information is kept private through the use of encryption techniques described in the developers’ 2008 paper. Location updates are transmitted about every 30 minutes to the community-run OpenDHT site. This information is retained for one week. More >