Data Recovery Techniques

50 GB of Free Online Storage with ADrive

2012-01-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

One of the ways to ensure the safety of your valuable data is maintaining multiple backups in various locations. Keeping backups at home only might be insufficient as you may lose all the data in case of fire or natural disaster. Therefore, using online backup solution might be a wise portion of your strategy. Traditionally, in this section, we will overview exclusively free service offerings. However, you may want to think about paid solution as well. As you understand, the list of the options and volume of the free storage is usually limited. Besides, if service provider does not charge for the services, the commitment towards keeping your data forever are much lower.

In this post, we will present one of the services, offering free online storage for your files – ADrive. ADrive’s Basic plan offers individual users 50GB of online storage and backup for all file types including access to our basic service features, all for FREE. ADrive offers complete and secure solutions to store, backup, share, access, and edit files from virtually anywhere, at any time. ADrive serves as an online, centralized vault for all important file types including: music, videos, photos, documents, and more.

The account might be used also to share big files, or collections of your files, with your friends and family. After uploading a file, you will have several options when you right click on the file or view the options at the bottom of the page. One of them is “Share”. This will move the file to your "My Shared Files" directory and a unique web link will be generated that you can share with anyone on the Internet. The recipient of this shared file just has to click the link to download. You can also use our email-a-friend feature. Just right click on your shared file and click on the “Email A Friend” button, enter the email of your friend, and the email will be sent to your friend shortly including the link to download the shared file.

The free Basic plan is intended for individual or personal use. Business users can view our Signature and Premium plans for more security, storage, and access. Comparison table, showing the different accounts’ features and pricing is presented below:

Basic Plan Features:

Universal Access
50GB Storage Capacity (per account)
File Sharing
Folder/Directory Upload
File Download
Easy Search Tool
Remote File Transfer
International Character Support
Zoho Editor
No expiration date for uploaded data.

PING - Backup and Restore Disk Partitions

2012-01-11T14:21:00.001-08:00

PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost) is a live Linux ISO, based on the Linux From Scratch (LFS) documentation. It can be burnt on a CD and booted, or integrated into a PXE / RIS environment.

Several tools have been added and written, so to make this ISO the perfect choice to backup and restore whole partitions, an easy way. It sounds like Symantec Ghost(tm), but has even better features, and is totally free.

Main Features:

One of the best available Linux toolboxes for rescuing a system;
Backup and Restore partitions or files locally or to the network (MS Network Shared directory, NFS, FTP or SSHFS);
Backup and Restore the BIOS data as well;
Either burn a bootable CD / DVD, either integrate within a PXE / RIS environment;
Possibility to Blank local admin's password;
Create your own restoration bootable DVD;
Partition and Format a disk before installing Windows (so to make sure your unattended Windows installation will happen on the right partition);
PING’s OS is Linux. PING is often updated, and comes with a kernel full of recent drivers. Thus, PING should detect 99% of your hardware (network adaptors, IDE/SATA/SCSI drives).
PING is small, and loads fast. It is a fully-functional OS, and you’ll find plenty of useful system applications in it – fdisk, parted, ntfstools, samba, cmospwd, partimage, partclone, zsplit, testdisk…

Specific advantages PING brings you over DOS and Ghost:

Most network cards automatically recognized by the Kernel (unlike DOS);
Most CD/DVD readers automatically recognized by the Kernel (unlike DOS);
You don't have to run a Ghostcast server to receive images over the network;
More supported file systems;
You can store an image on several CD/DVD (CD/DVD-spanning);
You can backup and restore BIOS settings too;
Much smaller than WinPE / BartPE;
etc.

Developers’ website: http://ping.windowsdream.com/

Direct Download (ISO file): http://ping.windowsdream.com/ping/Releases/3.02/PING-3.02.iso

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition

2012-01-04T21:16:00.000-08:00

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition is an all in one free data recovery suite designed by MiniTool Solution Ltd. The free data recovery software supports 32/64 bit Windows Operating System including Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition includes five data recovery modules: Undelete Recovery, Damaged Partition Recovery, Lost Partition Recovery, Digital Media Recovery and CD/DVD Recovery. These data recovery modules could handle the most data recovery requests and help you to get files back for you.

Undelete Recovery

Undelete Recovery module works only with deleted files and allows user to "undelete" them. This data recovery module focuses on recovering deleted files and folders. By using Undelete Recovery module, you could recover deleted files emptied from the Windows Recycle Bin and even files deleted by using SHIFT+DELETE key.

Undelete Recovery module supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS file systems. And it supports hard disk, flash drive, memory stick, memory card and flash card.

Damaged Partition Recovery

Damaged Partition Recovery has the most powerful file recovery ability to help you recover damaged hard drive. No matter the hard drive is reformatted or becomes inaccessible with unknown reason.

Files could be recovered by using this data recovery module as long as the partition exists. And also, it could give you more chance to recover lost/deleted files when Undelete Recovery is not working. This data recovery module not only recovers data from hard disk partition, but also it could recover files from memory stick, memory card and flash drive. When you focus on recovering documents and archive files from flash drive, memory card and memory stick, this file recovery module could help you to get your data back.

And this file recovery module not only supports MBR-style partition, but also supports Windows Dynamic disk volume. For example: Simple Volume, Spanned Volume, Mirrored Volume, Stripped Volume and RAID-5 Volume.

Lost Partition Recovery

Lost Partition Recovery module is designed to recover data from lost/deleted partitions. This is the most common data lost reason. And also, this data recovery module could help you to recover your data when hard drive crashed, MBR corrupted, disk repartitioned (fdisk) and partition be overwritten when you use data backup software to restore the disk image.
In other words, if you cannot find out the partition you like to recover in Damaged Partition Recovery module, you need to use Lost Partition recovery module.

Digital Media Recovery

Digital Media Recovery module is a powerful data recovery tool that could help you recover lost data from digital media device. For example: flash drive, mp3 player, digital camera, memory stick, memory card, iPod. You should try this data recovery module first when you like to recover photo, music and video files from these digital media devices. No matter your memory card is formatted or the files is deleted. This data recovery module should be your first choice.

CD/DVD Recovery

CD/DVD Recovery module is the most easy-to-use CD/DVD data recovery tool that you could find on the internet. This data recovery module is designed to recover data from CD & DVD disk. It is designed specifically to recover lost and deleted files from damaged, scratched or defective CD and DVD disks. This data recovery module can recover files recorded by common CD/DVD writing software. It supports to recover data from all CD and DVD disc types (CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW), and from quick formatted RW discs. It also supports disc recorded with UDF packet writing software: DirectCD, InCD, packetCD.

Note that MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition is for private, noncommercial, home computer use only. Use of MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Version within any organization or for commercial purpose is strictly prohibited.

Another limitation of the Free Edition is limit on the amount of recovered data to 1 GB.

Website: http://www.powerdatarecovery.com/power-data-recovery-free-edition.html

Direct Download: http://www.powerdatarecovery.com/download/pdr6free.exe

AVZ Antiviral Security Toolkit

2011-12-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

AVZ utility is really one of the best freeware portable tools to fight multiple security threats on your computer. It offers the most efficient package for the computer treatment, and it might replace many individual programs, by offering all-in-one solution. Note that some modules require certain degree of expertise. So, while it can be useful for all operators on all levels of computer literacy, advanced users will benefit the most from this utility.

It is designed to detect and remove the following:

SpyWare and AdWare – these modules represent the most useful component of the utility.
Dialer (Trojan.Dialer) Dialer (Trojan.Dialer).
Троянских программ Trojans.
BackDoor модулей BackDoor modules.
Network and mail worms.
TrojanSpy, TrojanDownloader, TrojanDropper.

The utility can be considered as replacement or addition to the well-known programs as TrojanHunter, LavaSoft Ad-aware, or Spybot.

Main features of AVZ (besides the signature scanner model) are:

.Heuristic security system check. Security modules check for known SpyWare and viruses on circumstantial evidence - based on the analysis of the registry, files on hard disk, and memory records.
.Updated database of safe files. It includes signatures for tens of thousands of Operating System drivers and other files system requires for proper functioning. The listing of your files and processes is compared with the AVZ database of the safe files, and works on the principle of "recognized / unrecognized" – the safe files are not sent to the quarantine, their removal and replacement is blocked, and the database is also used by anti-rootkit modules, files searches, and other safety analyzers.
.Built-in Rootkit Detection System. Rootkit detection is achieved without signatures verification, but based on the research of their functions. Therefore, AVZ may not only detect Rootkit, but also block it properly on UserMode RootKit for particular process and on KernelMode RootKit at the system level.
.Keylogger and Trojan DLL Detector. Search for Keyloggers or Trojan DLL is not performed with standard signatures databases comparison, but through check of the suspicious functional performance, allowing detecting previously unknown Trojan DLL and Keylogger with high degree of confidence.
Нейроанализатор . Neuro-analyzer. AVZ also contains neuro-emulator, which allows exploring the suspicious files using the neural network, which is used in the keyloggers detection process.
.Built-in Winsock SPI / LSP settings analyzer. AVZ allows you to analyze the Winsock SPI / LSP settings, diagnose possible configuration errors, and perform automatic repair.
.Built-in processes, services, and drivers manager. The module is designed to investigate the running processes, loaded libraries, and active services and drivers.
.Built-in files search. The module allows you to search for a file using multiple criteria, offering the functionality far beyond the standard search capabilities of the system. Search results are available in a text protocol and as a table where you can select a file or group of files for later removal or quarantine.
. Built-in registry search. The module allows you to search for suspicient registry entries using multiple criteria, offering the functionality far beyond the standard search capabilities of the registry editor. Search results are available in a text protocol and as a table where you can select a file or group of files for later removal. .
Open ports TCP / UDP analyzer. The analyzer checks all open ports on your computer and verifies them against updated database of the known issues with ports utilized with Trojan and Backdoor programs, and other potentially dangerous processes. If any suspicious port is detected, you get warning, pointing out which Trojan program tends to use this particular port.
Built-in common resources analyzer.
Built-in Downloaded Program Files (DPF) analyzer.
.System recovery. AVZ allows restoring system settings for Internet Explorer and other system default settings, which were damaged by malware. Process of recovery is manual, so you can specify the particular settings and parameters you would like to restore.
Archives’ security check. AVZ supports for checking of multiple files types and archives. As of today, the following formats are supported: ZIP, RAR, CAB, GZIP, TAR; emails and MHT files; CHM files.
AVZ Guard. This is a special block, designed to combat hard-to-deal malware programs by prevention of the contamination. It can protect the AVZ itself from being disabled or modified, and other anti-spyware and antivirus programs as well.
Direct access to blocked files. AVZ allows the scanner to analyze the blocked files in the Operation System, and place them in quarantine as needed.

Software is portable and does not require installation on the hard drive. This feature makes it indispensable for the USB computer recovery kit, you can carry with you to treat affected systems.

Website: http://www.z-oleg.com/secur/avz/

Note that Website is in Russian, and there is no an English version so far. However, I have translated for you the most prominent features above, and the software itself has English interface, and works properly in all English-based Operating systems WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7.

Direct Download (latest release 4.37): http://z-oleg.com/avz4.zip

The tool is highly recommended!!! It actually recovered highly impaired customer computers in multiple occasions.

SlimDrivers Free Software for Automatic Drivers Update, Backup, and Restoration

2011-12-09T23:58:00.001-08:00

SlimDrivers is free Windows software that offers several ways for the Windows drivers’ maintenance, developed by Slimware Utilities. Software allows to automatically updating hardware drivers for your computer, which is especially useful, when you have installed hardware not included in the ongoing Windows Updates. In these cases, you may be needed to update drivers manually. SlimDrivers uses a cloud based database to find latest version of all drivers installed on your computer, and lets you install them easily. It can also backup drivers to your hard drive for further use and restore the as needed upon computer maintenance or operating system upgrade.

The limitation of the free software version is option to update the drivers one-by-one only in manual mode, while commercial version called DriverUpdate allows for "Download All" and advanced automation functionality.

SlimDrivers has user-friendly and simply to understand interface. For drivers’ backup and restoration, it populates a driver list, which somewhat reminds the list of the hardware devices, appearing in Windows Device Manager. One of the drawbacks is that SlimDrivers, however, does not have the option to select only non-Windows drivers, or third party drivers. Also, the software does not work on backing up drivers for the hardware components, which are not connected to the system at the time of the backup procedure performance.

Main Features:

Scans for Drivers
Displays All Driver Information
Updates Drivers
Downloads Updates For Drivers
Restores Drivers
Backs Up Drivers
Schedules Driver Updates

Latest version of SlimDrivers: 2.2.14607.20637
Release: September 1, 2011
File Size: 3.58MB
Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Website: http://www.slimwareutilities.com/slimdrivers.php

Download Page: http://download.cnet.com/SlimDrivers-Free/3000-18513_4-75279940.html?part=dl-0

Recover Passwords Stored by Web Browsers

2011-11-28T23:23:00.001-08:00

WebBrowserPassView is a password recovery tool that reveals the passwords stored by the following Web browsers: Internet Explorer (Version 4.0 - 9.0), Mozilla Firefox (All Versions), Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera. This tool can be used to recover your lost/forgotten password of any Website, including popular Web sites, like Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and GMail, as long as the password is stored by your Web Browser.

After retrieving your lost passwords, you can save them into text/html/csv/xml file, by using the 'Save Selected Items' option (Ctrl+S).

The utility is portable and does not required installation on your hard drive. To work with Chrome and Opera portable versions, go to 'options' and set the location of the portable browser folder. Select the user data folder in Chrome, and wand.dat for Opera.

System Requirements and Limitations

This utility works on any version of Windows, starting from Windows 2000, and up to Windows 7, including 64-bit systems. Older versions of Windows (Windows 98/ME) are not supported, because this utility is a Unicode application.
Currently, WebBrowserPassView cannot retrieve the passwords if they are encrypted with a master password. Support for master password will probably be added in future versions.
Currently, WebBrowserPassView cannot retrieve passwords from external hard-drive. Support for that might be added in future versions.
On Internet Explorer 7.0-9.0, the passwords are encrypted with the URL of the Web site, so WebBrowserPassView uses the history file of Internet Explorer to decrypt the passwords. If you clear the history of Internet Explorer, WebBrowserPassView won't be able to decrypt the passwords.
On Google Chrome - passwords originally imported from Internet Explorer 7.0-9.0, cannot be decrypted.

Using WebBrowserPassView

WebBrowserPassView doesn't require any installation process or additional DLL files. In order to start using it, simply run the executable file - WebBrowserPassView.exe

After running it, the main window of WebBrowserPassView displays the list of all Web browser passwords found in your system. You can select one or more passwords and then copy the list to the clipboard (Ctrl+C) or export them into text/xml/html/csv file (Ctrl+S).

False Virus/Trojan Warning

WebBrowserPassView is a tool that retrieves secret passwords stored in your system, and thus your Antivirus may falsely detect this tool is infected with Trojan/Virus.

Website: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/web_browser_password.html

Direct Downloading Link: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/webbrowserpassview.zip

8 Common MS Outlook Problems and their Resolution

2011-11-18T23:44:00.001-08:00

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular email clients, especially in the corporate environment. In this post, we will present several most common problems with the program, and some ways to resolve the issues.

Outlook not implemented

Users may receive this error message when they try to open Microsoft Outlook. It indicates that Outlook cannot open because it has been damaged. How you repair Outlook depends on which versions of Outlook and Windows you're using. If you're running Outlook 2010 on Windows 7, open the Control Panel and go to Programs -> Programs and Features. Select the Microsoft Office listing and then click Change. When the Office 2010 splash screen displays, choose the Repair option and follow the prompts

Outlook closing at random or not starting properly

When your email client is refusing to start properly, and you see that the program performance looks crippled or corrupted, you can follow the steps, recommended below, one by one. After each step completion check if performed action resolved the issue, otherwise continue to the next step.

Run scanpst.exe on your Personal Folder. The default location of scanpst.exe is:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\
Rename outcmd.dat to .old and restart Outlook to reset all the toolbars (a common Outlook problem). The file location is: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
You can try recreating the profile in Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles
Try running Outlook with the /safe switch: Start > Run > type: outlook /safe
In some cases you may have to enter the full path to Outlook: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Outlook.exe" /safe
Once Outlook is running, run Help > Detect and Repair
Start in safe mode again and disable individual add-ons in Tools > Options > Other > Advanced E-mail Options > Add-In Manager/COM Add-ins

Unable to send emails

The problem with complications to send emails is usually related to the address of the outgoing email message. If you encounter this message, check the To: address first. Some versions of Outlook will state that the destination email address is unrecognized. This error can also occur when there's a problem within HTML-based email messages. Changing the outbound message's format from HTML to other formats may resolve the issue.

Unable to delete emails

Outlook error can prevent you from removing unwanted messages from you inbox. The problem is usually attributed to corrupt file. As a result of this a copy of emails that have been removed already end up in the deleted folder of Outlook. This prevents your program to delete unwanted messages. To fix the problem, you can follow the below step:

Select all the messages of ‘Delete’ Folder and copy them to another folder.
Close Outlook
Set hidden files to be displayed by going to the Windows setting
Search for the file ‘Deleted Items.dbx’
Delete the file
Re-hide the files by going back to settings

Unable to receive emails

This Outlook error prevents new mails from being received by the program and could be quite frustrating as you will no longer have access to the received messages till the problem is fixed. Usually this problem is caused by overabundance of messages and therefore this error is easiest to eliminate. When you reach the limit of storage capacity of your email account, no more messages can be added. In order to have access to those messages again and start receiving new ones, you should do the following:

Delete older messages that you no longer need
Shift messages from Outlook to a different folder on your hard drive
Increase the disk space allotted for your email account

Common Outlook problems with reminders

Reminders represent very useful feature in the MS Outlook, helping you to survive in the fast pace modern environment. The common problems with reminders might be: not triggering any alarms, reminders not showing up, or “Cannot turn off the reminder” error.

Start Outlook and go to the “Tools” menu and select “Options”.
Go to the “Advanced Option” button and choose “Reminder Options”. Make sure that the “Display reminder” check box is highlighted and click “OK” (If the check box was not selected, enabling it will fix the problem). If it was already selected, continue fixing the damaged reminder files.
Close Outlook and click on “Start”, choose “Run”. Type the following command “outlook /clean reminders” in the “Open” box and choose “OK”.
Check whether your Outlook problems with the reminder are fixed. If not, let’s try something else.
Click the “Start” button and select “Run” and type “outlook/resetfolders” in the “Open” box and click “OK”.
Outlook should immediately replace the missing or corrupt files and fix your Outlook problems.

Error 0x800420CB

PC users simply loathe this cryptic error message and once you get this message, you would not be able to open or read your messages, which could be very frustrating. Most commonly this error is caused by a corrupt .dbx file associated with Microsoft Outlook. The real culprit behind the corruption of the file is not always known. The problem can be fixed in a few steps:

Click on ‘Tools’ in the main menu
Select ‘Accounts’
Click on ‘Mail’ from the tab options.
Select ‘Duplicate Mail Account’
Click on ‘Remove’

Following these steps, make copies of all the accounts and remove old ones. Most of the time this fixes the error but if the problem persists, try using the Windows Search Utility to locate the Microsoft Outlook .dbx file and rename it.

Mapi32.dll

Mapi32.dll, also called Windows messaging application programming Interface, is a critical file present on all versions of Outlook. Unfortunately, a lot of Outlook problems occur because of this important file, such as Mapi32.dll is missing, Mapi32.dll not found, Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook as MAPI32.DLL is corrupt or the wrong version…

There are some recommendations on how to solve the problem:

“Mapi32.dll is missing”: If you are getting this error message, use the “Fixmapi.exe” program to find a fix for such Outlook problems. This program was created by Windows to repair and replace missing files in Mapi32.dll.
“Mapi32.dll not found”: This error message occurs when you can’t use various mail or mail merge functions. As mentioned above, the best option is to better replace the Mapi32.dll file. But be careful while downloading the replacement file from the Internet. Outlook problems will pop up if you don’t download the right version from the right website.
Outlook problems due to viruses: Most Outlook problems happen due to viruses. So, it always better to scan for viruses regularly to avoid conflicts. Small .dll files are more vulnerable to virus attacks as compared to larger files. So keep your antivirus updated.
Registry cleaner can resolve Outlook problems: Registry cleaner is the easiest fix for a number of small issues. Whenever various files and programs get damaged in the registry, the registry cleaner gets initialized automatically to repair the issue.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.freeonlinepcsrepair.com/outlook-problems.htm

http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=285

http://www.howtooutlook.com/solutions/common-outlook-problems-with-reminders/

http://santillect.com/index.php?/archives/7-Common-Outlook-problems.html

http://www.howtooutlook.com/how-to-guides/outlook-problems-with-ox800ccc81-error-mapi32-dll/

Free MiniTool Partition Recovery

2011-11-09T21:42:00.001-08:00

Partition Recovery is a Free Partition Recovery Software for Windows, which can save your data and restore your drive functionality in the most disastrous conditions, when the drive is not physically damaged, but is inaccessible due to the lost or deleted partition.

MiniTool Partition Recovery can recover lost and deleted partitions from different types and verities of the drives: as IDE disk, SATA disk, SCSI disk and Removable disk. The operation can be performed fast and easily, with not much technical knowledge of the users on the professional secrets of the computers configuration. Software supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 file systems.

MiniTool Partition Recovery can run under 32/64bit Windows 2000 Pro./XP/Vista/Window 7. It is must-have partition recovery software, and it is totally free for home users.

Sequence of Operations

The full process of the partition recovery from start to finish can be outlined by 7 simple steps.

Launch the software:

Click Next to recover partition:

Select a disk you which contains the lost partitions, and then click Next button to continue.

There are three scanning rage modes:

· Full Disk

· Unallocated Space

· Specified Range

In general cases, it is recommended to choose "Full Disk" as your option for simplicity. Then click Next button.

There are two scanning methods and you can choose one according to your need and click Next:

Usually, MiniTool Partition Recovery could find your lost or deleted partitions in a few minutes.

Then you could choose the recovered partitions and click Finish.

License

MiniTool Partition Recovery is for private, noncommercial, home computer use only. Use of MiniTool Partition Recovery within any organization or for commercial purpose is strictly prohibited.

Website: http://www.minitool-partitionrecovery.com/recoverymore.html

Download: http://www.minitool-partitionrecovery.com/download.html

All-in-One Free Portable Windows Repair Package from Tweaking.com

2011-10-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

Tweaking.com - Windows Repair is an all-in-one repair tool to help fix a large majority of known Windows problems including registry errors and file permissions as well as issues with Internet Explorer, Windows Update, Windows Firewall and more. Malware and installed programs can modify your default settings.

With Tweaking.com - Windows Repair you can restore Windows original settings.

Main Features

Reset Registry Permissions
Reset File Permissions
Register System Files
Repair WMI
Repair Windows Firewall
Repair Internet Explorer
Repair MDAC & MS Jet
Repair Hosts File
Remove Policies Set By Infections
Repair Icons
Repair Winsock & DNS Cache
Remove Temp Files
Repair Proxy Settings
Unhide Non System Files
Repair Windows Updates
Repair CD/DVD Missing/Not Working
and more...

Using Tweaking.com - Windows Repair

When you first run the program you will be introduced to 4 steps before the repair options. These steps are highly recommended to do before attempting any repairs.

Step 1: Clean your System of Infections

Trying to fix a system that is currently infected is obviously a very bad idea and can make things worse. An infection can hijack a machine and keep part of the repairs from running correctly. Since only part of a repair will work the other part that failed could end up causing problems. Rule of thumb before working on a system is to make sure it is clean. Even if you think your system is clean doing a scan before hand is a good idea.

Step 2: Check File System

Doing a check disk on the hard drive is a good idea. This will have Windows check the file system on the drive fixing any problem it finds. Corrupt files can break a lot of things, including the repairs. So making sure the file system is good is a must.

Step 3: System File Check (SFC)

The built in Windows system file checker is a tool that checks that the Windows files are intact, the correct versions and not corrupted. This is a good idea to do before doing repairs as if a file is corrupt and we try a repair that needs that file then the repair will fail.

Step 4: System Restore

Doing a system restore point is a great idea to do before doing any repairs. If any unforeseen problems happen after any repair than a system restore can put the system back to the way it was before the repairs. This is highly recommended.

Start Repairs

In this final step you can choose between 3 modes:

Basic Mode: This will run only the most basic, safe repair options. Extra advanced repairs are disabled.
Advanced Mode: Runs more advanced repairs while leaving a few disabled.
Custom Mode: Every repair is available. The program will remember your repair choices the next time you choose custom mode.

Website: http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/windows_repair_all_in_one.html

Direct Download (portable version): http://www.ziddu.com/download/17095242/tweaking.com_windows_repair_aio.zip.html

NirLauncher - 145 Free Portable Computer Monitoring and Maintenance Utilities in One Package

2011-10-19T22:06:00.001-07:00

Whenever possible, as you may noticed, I am trying to use portable software utilities. Stored on the portable USB thumb disk, they can be shared among multiple computers, and serve as mobile computer monitoring, troubleshooting, and repair toolkit, which is always with you.

In this post, I would like to present All-In-One package NirLauncher, consisting of more than 100 small, but useful utilities, compiled by Nir Sofer (Israel), one of the most respected young programmers in the World of the portable freeware design. All the programs in the package were developed for NirSoft Web site during the last few years, and have been updated in the last 1000 days.

NirLauncher Features

NirLauncher can be used from USB flash drive without need of any installation.
NirLauncher and all the utilities in the package are completely freeware, without any Spyware/Adware/Malware.
NirLauncher package includes variety of tools that you may need for your daily computer use, including utilities to recover lost passwords, to monitor your network, to view and extract cookies, cache, and other information stored by your Web browser, to search files in your system, and more...
For every utility in the package, you can easily run it, view the help file, or jump to the Web page of the utility.
When using it from USB flash drive, the configuration of every utility is saved into .cfg file on the flash drive.
On x64 systems, NirLauncher automatically run the x64 version of the utility, when there is a separated x64 version.
NirLauncher also allows adding more software packages in additional to the main NirSoft package.

System Requirements

NirLauncher works on any version of Windows, starting from Windows 2000 and up to Windows 7. NirLauncher also works on x64 systems. Some the NirSoft utilities have a separated version for x64, and NirLauncher automatically run them when you're in x64 system.

Using NirLauncher

In order to start using NirLauncher, simply extract all files in the package into your flash drive, or any other disk you want. You must extract the package with full folder names, so all NirSoft utilities will be add into NirSoft Subfolder. After you extracted the package, simply run the executable file - NirLauncher.exe

Note

Due to the character of some utilities in the package, you may experience certain False Positive issues – your Antivirus program may display false alerts, saying that the utilities are infected with Trojan/Virus/Malware. Based on my personal experience, and the experts reviews, there is no danger in any of the parts of the software, and you can simply disregard warnings if appear.

List of Utilities with brief description

The following utilities are included in NirLauncher package. This list is automatically updated when a new NirLauncher package is released.

1. AlternateStreamView - Find all hidden alternate streams stored in the file system.

2. AltStreamDump - Dumps the list of NTFS alternate streams.

3. AppCrashView - Displays the details of all application crashes occurred in your system.

4. Asterisk Logger - Reveals the passwords stored behind the asterisks ('***') boxes.

5. AdapterWatch - Displays useful information about your network adapters.

6. ActiveXHelper - View essential information about ActiveX components installed on your computer.

7. BatteryInfoView - Displays battery information on laptops and netbooks.

8. BlueScreenView - Show information about blue screen crashes occurred in your system.

9. BluetoothCL - Show bluetooth devices list.

10. BluetoothView - Monitors the activity of Bluetooth devices around you.

11. BulkFileChanger - Change date/time/attributes of multiple files.

12. BulletsPassView - Reveals the passwords stored behind the bullets.

13. ChromeCacheView - Chrome Browser Cache Viewer.

14. ChromeCookiesView - Alternative to the standard internal cookies viewer of Google Chrome.

15. ChromeHistoryView - View the browsing history of Chrome Web browser.

16. ChromePass - Password recovery tool for Google Chrome Web browser.

17. CleanAfterMe - Clean files and Registry values in your system.

18. Clipboardic - Small and simple clipboard manager.

19. CurrPorts - Displays the list of all currently opened TCP/UDP ports on your computer.

20. CurrProcess - Displays the list of all processes currently running on your system.

21. CSVFileView - CSV/Tab-delimited file viewer and converter.

22. CustomizeIE - Add/delete toolbar buttons and menu items in Internet Explorer.

23. CustomExplorerToolbar - Add Copy/Cut/Paste buttons to the Explorer toolbar of Windows 7.

24. DeviceIOView - Watch the data transfer between a software or service and a device driver.

25. DevManView - Alternative to the standard Device Manager of Windows.

26. Dialupass - Recovers Dial-Up passwords in all versions of Windows.

27. DiskCountersView - Show disk drive read/write counters.

28. DiskSmartView - Retrieves S.M.A.R.T information from IDE/SATA disks.

29. DLL Export Viewer - Lists DLL exported functions and their memory addresses - for debugging.

30. DNSDataView - Retrieve the DNS records (MX, NS, A, SOA) of the specified domains.

31. DomainHostingView - Displays extensive information about a domain.

32. DotNetResourcesExtract - Extract embedded resources from .NET applications.

33. DownTester - Test your Internet download speed.

34. DriveLetterView - View and change drive letter assignments.

35. DriverView - Displays the list of all device drivers currently loaded on your system.

36. FastResolver - Resolves multiple host names into IP addresses/MAC Addresses and vice versa.

37. FavoritesView - Displays the list of all your Favorites/bookmarks in a single page.

38. FileTypesMan - Alternative to the 'File Types' manager of Windows.

39. FirefoxDownloadsView - Displayed the list of downloaded files in Firefox.

40. FlashCookiesView - View Flash cookies stored in your computer.

41. GDIView - Displays the list of GDI handles opened by every process.

42. HashMyFiles - Calculate the MD5/SHA1 hashes of your files.

43. HeapMemView - View the content of all memory blocks allocated in the heap.

44. HTMLAsText - Converts HTML documents to simple text files.

45. HtmlDocEdit - Simple HTML designer/editor.

46. IconsExtract - Extract icons and cursors from executbale files (EXE, DLL, OCX, CPL, etc.)

47. IECacheView - List all files currently stored in the cache of Internet Explorer.

48. IECookiesView - Displays the cookies that Internet Explorer stores on your computer.

49. IEHistoryView - Displays the list of Web sites that you visited with IE Web browser.

50. IE PassView - Recover passwords stored by Internet Explorer (Versions 4.0 - 8.0).

51. InsideClipboard - Displays the content of all formats stored in the clipboard.

52. InstalledCodec - List Codec drivers and DirectShow filters installed on your system.

53. IPInfoOffline - View country information about IP addresses.

54. IPNetInfo - Easily find all available information about IP address.

55. LiveContactsView - View the details of all contacts in your Windows Live Messenger.

56. LSASecretsDump - Dump the LSA secrets from the Registry.

57. LSASecretsView - Displays the list of all LSA secrets stored in the Registry on your computer.

58. MACAddressView - MAC address lookup tool.

59. Mail PassView - Recovers email passwords.

60. MonitorInfoView - Displays essential information about your monitor.

61. MozillaCacheView - List all files currently stored in the cache of Firefox/Mozilla browser.

62. MozillaHistoryView - Displays the list of visited Web sites in Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape Web browsers.

63. MessenPass - Recovers the passwords of instant messenger programs.

64. MUICacheView - Edit/delete MUICache items in your system.

65. MetarWeather - Decode METAR weather reports, and display them in a weather report table.

66. MyEventViewer - MyEventViewer is an alternative to the standard event viewer of Windows.

67. MyLastSearch - View your latest searches with Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

68. MyUninstaller - Alternative utility to the standard Add/Remove applet of Windows.

69. MozillaCookiesView - Alternative to the 'Cookie Manager' provided by Netscape and Mozilla.

70. Network Password Recovery - Recover network passwords on Windows XP/2003/Vista.

71. NetResView - Displays the list of all network resources on your LAN.

72. NetRouteView - GUI alternative to the standard route utility of Windows.

73. NetworkTrafficView - Displays network traffic statistics on your network adapter.

74. NirCmd - Do many useful tasks from command-line.

75. NK2Edit - Full NK2 (AutoComplete) editor for Microsoft Outlook.

76. NTFSLinksView - View the list of NTFS symbolic links/junctions in selected folder.

77. OfficeIns - Displays the details of all installed Microsoft Office add-ins on your computer.

78. OpenedFilesView - Displays the list of all opened files on your system.

79. OpenWithView - Disable/enable items in the 'Open With' dialog-box of Windows.

80. OperaCacheView - Cache viewer for Opera Web browser.

81. OperaPassView - Password recovery tool for Opera Web browser.

82. OutlookAttachView - Extract multiple attachments from Outlook.

83. OutlookStatView - Display a general statistics of your Outlook emails.

84. PasswordFox - View passwords stored in Firefox Web browser.

85. PCAnywhere PassView - View passwords for PCAnywhere.

86. PingInfoView - Ping multiple host names and IP addresses.

87. ProcessActivityView - Show the file activity for selected process.

88. ProcessThreadsView - Displays information about all threads of the process that you choose.

89. ProduKey - Displays the CD-Keys of MS-Office/Windows installed on your computer.

90. PstPassword - Recover lost password of Outlook PST file.

91. Remote Desktop PassView - Reveals the password stored by Microsoft Remote Desktop utility.

92. RecentFilesView - Display the list of recently opened files.

93. RegDllView - RegDllView is a small utility that displays the list of all registered files.

94. RegFileExport - Export offline Registry file to .reg file.

95. RegFromApp - Creates .reg file according to Registry changes made by application.

96. RegScanner - Scan and find values in the Registry.

97. ResourcesExtract - Extract resources from dll/ocx/exe files.

98. RouterPassView - Recover passwords from router config file.

99. RunAsDate - Run a program with the specified date.

100. RunFromProcess - Run a program from another process that you choose.

101. SearchFilterView - View the search filters installed on your system.

102. SearchMyFiles - Alternative to the "Search For Files And Folders" module of Windows.

103. SeqDownload - Download sequence of images from the Web, and create animation.

104. ServiWin - Displays the list of installed drivers and services on your system.

105. ShellBagsView - Displays the list of all folder settings saved by Windows.

106. ShellMenuNew - Disable/Enable items in the New submenu of Explorer.

107. ShellExView - Displays the details of shell extensions installed on your computer.

108. ShortcutsMan - Lists all shortcuts on your desktop/start menu.

109. ShellMenuView - Disable/enable static menu items in context menu of Explorer.

110. SiteShoter - Save a screenshot of any Web page into a file.

111. SkypeLogView - View log files created by Skype.

112. SmartSniff - Captures TCP/IP packets, view the captured data as sequence of conversations.

113. SniffPass - Capture the passwords that pass through your network adapter.

114. SocketSniff - Watch the Windows Sockets (WinSock) activity of the selected process.

115. SpecialFoldersView - Easily jump to special folders in your system.

116. SysExporter - Grab the data stored in list-views, tree-views, list boxes, and combo boxes.

117. TableTextCompare - Compare tab-delimited or comma-delimited (csv) files.

118. URLProtocolView - View/disable/enable the URL protocols installed on your system.

119. URLStringGrabber - Grab URL strings of Web sites from Internet Explorer.

120. USBDeview - Lists all installed USB devices that you previously used.

121. UserAssistView - This utility decrypts and displays the list of all UserAssist entries.

122. UserProfilesView - View user profiles information on your system.

123. VideoCacheView - Extract Web site video files from the cache of your Web browser.

124. VNCPassView - Recover the passwords stored by the VNC tool.

125. Volumouse - Adjust the volume of your speaker with the wheel of your mouse.

126. WakeMeOnLan -Turn on computers remotely by sending Wake-on-LAN (WOL) packet.

127. WebBrowserPassView - Recover lost passwords from your Web browser.

128. WebCookiesSniffer - Captures Web site cookies and displays them in a simple table

129. WebSiteSniffer - Capture Web site files and save them on your hard drive.

130. WebVideoCap - Capture Flash Video files and RTSP streams, watching them in a Web browser.

131. WhatInStartup - Disable/enable/delete programs that are loaded at Windows startup.

132. WhatIsHang - Get information about Windows software that hangs.

133. WhoisCL - Get WHOIS information about a registered domain from command-line.

134. WhoisThisDomain - Get information about a registered domain from WHOIS server.

135. WhosIP - Find all available information about an IP address from command-line.

136. WinCrashReport - Displays a report about crashed Windows application.

137. WinFontsView - Display sample of all fonts installed on your system.

138. WinLister - This utility displays the list of opened windows on your system.

139. WinPrefetchView - View the Prefetch files (.pf) stored in your system.

140. WirelessKeyDump - Dumps the list of all wireless keys stored by Windows.

141. WirelessKeyView - Recovers lost wireless network keys (WEP/WPA) stored in your computer.

142. WirelessNetConsole - View wireless networks information (console application).

143. WirelessNetView - Monitor the activity of wireless networks around you.

144. Wireless Network Watcher - Shows who is connected to your wireless network.

145. WinUpdatesList - Displays the list of all Windows updates (Service Packs and Hotfixes).

Developer’s website: http://launcher.nirsoft.net/

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/16683644/nirsoft_package_1.11.26.zip.html

Compressed package is only 11 MB!!! Highly recommended for advanced users and simply recommended for all others!

4 Free Password Crackers from Appnimi

2011-10-03T22:53:00.000-07:00

Appnimi is a trusted source for several utilities, designed to resolve your problems with lost or forgotten passwords to some widely used computer utilities, as Excel Passwords from MS Office, PDF Passwords from Adobe Acrobat, and two formats of archives (ZIP and RAR).

Appnimi Excel Password Recovery

Appnimi Excel Password Recovery is designed to let you search for passwords of protected Excel documents using Brute Force algorithm. This program guarantees the most complicated Excel passwords recovery in reasonable amount of time. It can be used by both a normal user who has forgotten his/her password or even forensic engineers.

Link: http://www.appnimi.com/file/excel-password-recovery

Appnimi ZIP Password Unlocker

Appnimi ZIP Password Unlocker is designed to let you search for passwords, embedded to protect ZIP archives using Brute Force algorithm. After recovering the password it will extract the files to a destination folder.

Link: http://www.appnimi.com/file/zip-password-unlocker

Appnimi RAR Password Unlocker

Appnimi RAR Password Unlocker is designed to let you search for passwords on protected RAR archives using Brute Force algorithm. After recovering the password it will extract the files to a destination folder.

Link: http://www.appnimi.com/file/rar-password-unlocker

Appnimi PDF Unlocker

Have you lost your PDF password or are you a forensic engineer? In both cases you will need a tool to remove the protection on the locked PDF file. PDF Unlocker will do the job, allowing you to perform document edit or other sort of internal data manipulation. It unlocks the PDF for you using a Brute Force algorithm. PDF Unlocker saves the unlocked file separately leaving the original file as it is. With an elegant GUI the user can set the parameters easily before starting the unlocking process. It will work in all Windows platforms.

Link: http://www.appnimi.com/file/pdf-unlocker

Main Features (for all programs)

All programs are free to use.
Easy to use.
Support Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and Win 7 Systems.
Brute-Force algorithm is used to recover the passwords.
Utilities are portable and do not require installation on you Hard Drive.
With an elegant GUI the user can set the parameters easily before starting the recovery process.

USB Guard - Extra Protection from Malware

2011-09-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Just think, how most of the unwanted malicious utilities (viruses, Trojans, malware, keyloggers, etc.) get to your computer. There are the two primary sources: Internet and network contaminants, and portable data storage devices. Since most of the portable data storage devices are USB-based, would not that be nice if we can safeguard the computer from any danger, coming with the attached portable devices, like external or thumb drives?

Free USB Guard is an ultimate freeware utility, helping to protect USB drives from viruses, malware, spyware, Trojans and scripts. It is lightweight, not demanding any significant resources and can be used with your real-time antivirus software at the same time. It is not a valid replacement for the antivirus utility you have, but it provides reliable additional protection to prevent your USB and computer from dangerous infection.

Main Features:

It assures 100% protection on offline computers and almost 100% on online computers with regular antivirus installed.
Lightweight, doesn't slow system performance.
Doesn't conflict with other antivirus programs.
Absolutely Free, and doesn't require any formal registration. No strings attached or trial gimmicks.
No Updates needed, it can detect latest viruses without their proper definitions, just by detecting the dangerous code traces.
The software is in the early stages of development, and more useful features will be implemented in the further releases, like USB Lock.

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/freeusbguard/

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/16494996/USBGuardSetup.exe.html

Rising PC Doctor – Freeware Security Program

2011-08-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Rising PC Doctor is a professional and smart security tool to computer users. With its seven key functions of automatic malware analysis, immunization of USB storage devices, ability to repair Microsoft Internet Explorer & Windows, Trojan Behavior Detector & Blocker, protection against malicious websites, Internet Explorer protection and Trojan Download blocker, Rising PC Doctor will greatly enhance your protection against malware and cyber threats.

Main Features

Trojan Behavior Detector & Blocker

Rising PC Doctor can detect the majority of Trojans and a even great number of other malware upon startup before they can execute their malicious function. This function will significantly increase your protection from cyber threats.

Trojan Download Blocker

After successful infection, many viruses automatically start to download large numbers of Trojans and other malware. The Trojan blocking technology of Rising PC Doctor ensures that even an infected computer will not download any other viruses and stop the spreading of whole families of Trojans.

Automatic Malware Analysis

AT boot, Rising PC Doctor can automatically scan for potentially unknown malware. When permitted by the user, possible malware is automatically transferred to Rising’s Automated Malware Analyzer (RsAMA) for detailed analysis. The user is informed about the result of the analysis and can quickly react to new threats for which conventional protection is not yet available. Analysis metadata collected by the community of Rising users (Rising Cloud Security) will be stored in the Rising Security Database (RsSD), providing up-to-date information about cyber security.

Completely Redesigned Vulnerability Scan

The completely redesigned Vulnerability Scan of Rising PC Doctor can detect vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, its security settings and third party software from many manufacturers. With the easy to use interface, even inexperienced users can handle potential vulnerabilities in the operational system and a lot of other major software applications.

Strong Ability to Repair Microsoft Internet Explorer & Windows

Rising PC Doctor can fix the Internet Explorer on many computers whose homepage has been changed by malware, which are permanently displaying adware or which are plagued by many other problems. On such computers, Rising PC Doctor can help you to repair the system registry, system settings and the host file.

Powerful Process and Startup Management

This function gives you better control over drivers, programs loaded at boot, Active X controls and other important software influencing the operation of your computer.

Advanced Tools for Experienced Users

Rising PC Doctor provides additional tools for experienced computer users such as Disk Cleanup, System Startup Management, Service Management, Network Application Management, LSP Repair, File Shredder, and Special Virus Removal Tools which are designed to eliminate only a limited number of viruses.

Website: http://www.rising-global.com/products/rising-pc-doctor.html

Direct Download: http://down.rising-global.com/for_down/09globalver/RPCDOC.EXE

PC Inspector File Recovery

2011-08-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

PC INSPECTOR™ File Recovery 4.x is a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems.

Here are some of the new features in PC INSPECTOR™ File Recovery 4.x:

· Finds partitions automatically, even if the boot sector or FAT has been erased or damaged.

· Recovers files with the original time and date stamp.

· Supports the saving of recovered files on network drives.

· Recovers files, even when a header entry is no longer available. Competition products cannot recover such files. The "Special Recovery Function" supports the following disk formats:

ARJ | AVI | BMP | CDR | DOC | DXF | DBF | XLS | EXE
GIF | HLP | HTML | HTM | JPG | LZH | MID | MOV | MP3
PDF | PNG | RTF | TAR | TIF | WAV | ZIP

PC INSPECTOR™ File Recovery 4.x is unconditional FREEWARE. This means that the software does not cost you a single penny.

As any other data recovery software, PC INSPECTOR™ File Recovery 4.x cannot help if you have mechanical problems with the disk drive. If the hard disk is no longer recognized by the BIOS or is making unusual noises, you should contact the specialists.

Operating Systems: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP

Author: CONVAR Deutschland

Website: http://www.pcinspector.de/default.htm?language=1

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/16112663/pci_filerecovery.exe.html

Boot Builder from Roadkill

2011-07-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

Does not matter if the data on your hard drive is alive or not, without valid boot sector, you will not be able to access it. Like you cannot get inside your house, when the door is locked, and the key is lost or damaged. The freeware utility, developed by the respectable Roadkill.Net, Boot Builder, allows you to create your own custom boot sector from scratch. You get an opportunity to recreate or restore boot sectors lost due to virus or other damage to a drive. Boot sectors can be imported to a disk (and exported from there), or created from available template.

This program supports FAT and NTFS boot sector types for Windows operating systems Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7.

Screenshot:

Access website and download the operating file: http://www.roadkil.net/program.php?ProgramID=3

MiTeC Windows Registry Recovery

2011-07-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

MiTeC Windows Registry Recovery is a strong utility, intended to help for registry configuration data recovery on crashed computer. However, it works differently than most of the software programs presented in this category. This application does not perform automatic registry fixes, but allows reading files containing Windows registry hives, extracting a lot of useful information about configuration and Windows installation settings of host machine.

That will allow recovering the crashed computer to the working condition, but might require more advanced computer skills from the user. Registry hive can be exported into REGEDIT4 format. Every topic data can be saved to CSV.

The software is designed in Multiple Document Interface.

Here are described individual explorers:

File Information
In this explorer you can see basic file properties and checksums.
Security Record Explorer
Displays all security records used in registry. Usage counter, owner SID, group SID, list of affected keys and list of SACL and DACL is displayed for every record with flags and permissions enumerated. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry hives.
SAM
Displays Machine SID and part of SYSKEY. Enumerates local user and group accounts and some of their properties. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SAM hive.
Windows Instalation
Displays Windows name, ID and key, install date and user registration info. Enumerates installed software with descriptions and install date and list of installed hotfixes wih description. This explorer is available only SOFTWARE registry hive (Product ID and key are extracted in SYSTEM hive too).
Hardware
Displays quick overview (CPU, Monitors, Video and Sound card and Network cards) and full device map of configured devices that worked on host machine. They are displayed in "like Device Manager" tree with some properties. This explorer is available for SYSTEM registry hive.
User Data
Displays user and machine name and tree based Start menu for selected USER hive. This explorer is available for USER registry hive.
Startup Applications
Enumerates applications that are registered to be run after startup. This explorer is available for SOFTWARE registry hive.
Services and Drivers
Enumerates all installed services and drivers with properties. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SYSTEM hive.
Network Configuration
Displays all installed network clients, protocols and services. Enumerates all defined network connections with its TCP/IP configuration. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SYSTEM hive.
Windows Firewall Settings
Displays settings (rules) for Windows Firewall. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SYSTEM hive.
Environment
Displays all environment variables. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SYSTEM hive.
Shell Folders
Displays shell folders (folders known to system). This explorer is available only for NT based system registry SYSTEM hive.
Outlook Express
Digs out all Outlook Express accounts and their settings. This explorer is available only for NT based system registry USER hive.
Raw Data
This explorer displays whole registry in known tree format. Contains powerful searching and data interpreter.

License: Free to use for both private and commercial users.

Developers’ website: http://www.mitec.cz/wrr.html

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/15658426/WRR.zip.html

DriveImage XML – freeware backup and recovery software

2011-07-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

DriveImage XML – a freeware but still feature rich disk backup and recovery software, having some advanced features, usually not available in free utilities, such as ability to schedule the disc backup tasks. Among other attractive features are:

The disk images can be created while the drive is in use.
Similarly, the images can be restored without requiring rebooting the system.
The program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS.
You can also initiate the imaging process from the command line.

DriveImage XML is an easy to use and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives.

Image creation uses Microsoft's Volume Shadow Services (VSS), allowing you to create safe "hot images" even from drives currently in use. Images are stored in XML files, allowing you to process them with 3rd party tools. Never again be stuck with a useless backup! Restore images to drives without having to reboot. DriveImage XML is now faster than ever, offering two different compression levels.

DriveImage XML runs under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista and Windows 7 only. The program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS.

Private home users are allowed to use the Private Edition of DriveImage XML without charge. You are allowed to install DriveImage XML on your home PC. You must not use DriveImage XML commercially.

Main Features

Backup logical drives and partitions to image files.
Browse images, view and extract files.

Restore images to the same or a different drive.
Copy directly from drive to drive.
Schedule automatic backups.
Run DriveImage from WinPE boot CD-ROM.

For the fans of portability, there are instructions from http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=496 on how to make the utility portable (and that is quite easy):

Download the installer and install to the default folder.
Copy all files (except Uninstall.exe, INSTALL.LOG and install.sss) to a folder of your choice.
Uninstall the program.
Launch dixml.exe.

Developers’ website: http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

Direct Download: http://www.runtime.org/dixmlsetup.exe

Back4Sure – Comprehensive solution for all your Data Backup needs

2011-06-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

We have already discussed earlier that there is no way to safe guard your valuable data on you of your storage devices. No matter how careful and thoughtful you are, the Hard Drive may crash anytime, in some cases without early warning signs. USB and DVD also cannot guarantee secure long-time operations, whatever you do. Therefore, having backup or backups is the only way to ensure you will not lose your most valuable information. Back4Sure offers you convenient solution.

Back4Sure is a freeware program for making backup copies of your documents, pictures, music, videos and anything you find valuable. The files to copy may be distributed all over your computer, even on different drives. Back4Sure will gather all the files you've selected for backup and make a copy of them into a specified target directory. The folder with the drive letter of the source drive and the directory structure will be automatically created in the target directory, so all your files will be stored correctly and easy to find. In this process, Back4Sure will only copy files that have changed since the last backup, so even a large number of files can be backed up as fast as possible.

You can use a USB flash drive, a second hard drive or a network share as backup target. With the built-in compression of Back4Sure you can save space and especially on flash disks lots of time when you make a backup of thousands of files.

Back4Sure does not use a proprietary file format to store your data. All files are simply copied or alternatively stored in standardized Zip or 7Zip archives. This way you don't need Back4Sure to get your files back, your file manager will do the all necessary recovery operations.

Additionally, Back4Sure has an option to clean up the target directory. With this option you can remove orphaned files, that only exist in the target directory, but do not have corresponding source files anymore. This backup mode helps to keep only the data that you really need.

While offering lots of options for the backup process, Back4Sure is still handy and flexible: It occupies less than 4 MB of storage space and can easily be run from a flash disk without installation. It does not leave any traces on the host system and does not install any kind of extensions or services.

The program was tested under the MS Windows versions 2000, XP, 7 and 7 64-bit.

Some features of Back4Sure

Freeware: Back4Sure is unlimited freeware for private and commercial use.
Easy folder selection: You can easily select multiple folders from the directory tree to include them into the backup set. Just as easy you can exclude certain folders from the backup.
Full Unicode support: Back4Sure can handle Unicode filenames. They are shown correctly in the directory selection tree and will be copied without errors. That is an important feature for multi-language data structure on your PC.
Long paths support: Even very large and deeply nested directory structures (path length up to 32000 characters) are no problem for Back4Sure.
Efficient filter system: You can easily create filter set to determine which files to include in or to exclude from the backup. And this not only for the whole backup, but also for individual folders.
Compression option with adjustable directory depth and encryption: Backups may be stored in a compressed format. If you choose to enable compression, you can specify the directory depth from which on all files are packed into a single archive file. This way you can avoid very large archives and improve overall safety of you backup process. Compressed backup archives can also be encrypted. If you choose the 7Zip format, even the filenames can be hidden.
Cleanup the target directory: After larger restructuring of your file organization, lots of files in the backup target directory do not have corresponding source files anymore. Using the cleanup function of Back4Sure you can easily remove those orphaned files from the target directory.
Logging of the backup process: All actions performed during backup may be logged into a plain text file. You can choose between two different formats of the log file: either an easy to read version or version in INI format optimized for automated analysis.
Executing actions before and after the backup: If you are an advanced user you may engoj an opportunity to specify actions to execute before and after the backup process, e.g. running programs or scripts or sending a mail with the log file of the just finished backup job.
Shutting down the computer after backup: Back4Sure can be instructed to shutdown the computer after all backup tasks have finished.
Creating desktop links to backup jobs: You can easily create a desktop link to a backup job from within the program, from which the backup job can be directly started by just double clicking it.
Support for command line parameters: Back4Sure supports some useful command line parameters. This offers the possibility to control Back4Sure via scripts and also allows fully automated execution.
Portable use or fixed installation: Besides the normal setup file for a fixed installation, a zipped version for use from a USB drive, not requiring installation on the Hard Drive, is also available.
No backup scheduler
Why is this a feature? Well, Back4sure can be fully controlled via command line parameters so you can easily use the built-in task scheduler from Windows. Thus you save another unnecessary background service.

Developers website: http://www.ukrebs-software.de/english/back4sure/back4sure.html

Downloading page: http://www.ukrebs-software.de/english/back4sure/download.html

VirusTotal - Free Online Virus and Link Scanner

2011-06-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

VirusTotal is a service developed by Hispasec Sistemas that analyzes suspicious files and URLs enabling the identification of viruses, worms, trojans and other kinds of malicious content detected by antivirus engines and web analysis toolbars.

This is a free online service, which does not require users to register for the site or login in any way. The operation is simple and straight-forward:

If you have file on your computer, which looks suspicious, you can submit it to the service for review and assessment. Submission can be performed in real-time through web form, via email or using VirusTotal's public API. Note the maximum file size is 20 MB.
You also can submit suspicious URL for review through the same web form or using VirusTotal's public API.

VirusTotal's main characteristics are:

Free, independent service.
Runs multiple antivirus engines.
Runs multiple file characterization tools.
Real time automatic updates of virus signatures.
Detailed results from each antivirus engine.
Runs multiple web site inspection toolbars.
Real time global statistics.
Analysis automation API.
Online malware research community.
Desktop applications (VTUploader, VTzilla) for interacting with the service.

Developers’ website: http://www.virustotal.com/

USB Immunizer against autoran-based malware

2011-05-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

For years, Autorun-based malware has been atop of the worldwide e-threat landscape, with notorious representatives such as Trojan.AutorunInf, the Conficker worm (Win32.Worm.Downadup) or Worm.Autorun.VHD.

Introduced back in the Windows XP era to facilitate software installations from CD-ROM media for non-technical computer users, the Autorun feature has rapidly become the infection vector of choice for cyber-criminals.

The USB immunizer is BitDefender's response to this growing issue. This small utility is divided in two sections.

The Immunize option allows you to immunize your USB storage device or SD card against infections with autorun-based malware. Even if your storage device has been plugged into an infected computer, the piece of malware will be unable to create its autorun.inf file, thus annihilating any chance of auto-launching itself. It is done by replacing any autorun file on the drive with a special one that can’t be deleted or modified by malware anymore.

The Immunize Computer slider allows you to toggle the autorun feature On or Off for any removable media (except for CD/DVD-ROM devices). If you accidentally plug in an infected USB drive that has not been immunized, the computer will not auto-execute the piece of malware located on the USB storage device.

Limitations:

· Runs advertisements for Bitdefender products. To be ignored.

· Asks for your email on exit for their mailing list. To be ignored.

· The created protection file can be manually deleted or renamed, stripping the intended protection. Be aware.

Developers’ website: http://labs.bitdefender.com/?page_id=108

Direct Download: http://labs.bitdefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BDUSBImmunizer1.zip

What is Computer Firewall, and why do you need one?

2011-05-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

A Firewall is a computer program that monitors the flow of information from the Internet to your computer. There are two different types of firewall available for you to use - Hardware Firewalls and Software Firewalls.

Hardware Firewall

A Hardware Firewall is a physical piece of equipment that sits between the Internet and your computer. An example of a hardware firewall is a broadband router, a common form of Internet connection. The benefit of using a hardware firewall, is that it has the ability to protect multiple computer systems that are connected to it at the same time. This makes it an effective firewall for use in businesses that have multiple computers connected to the Internet, as well as in homes that have more than one computer system.

However, it is not sufficient to have only the hardware firewall, because router-based firewalls only provide protection from computers on the Internet, not from computers on your home network. For example, if a mobile computer or guest computer connects to some other network, becomes infected with a computer worm, and then connects to your home network, your router-based firewall won't be able to prevent the spread of the worm. Therefore, a firewall running on each computer on your network can help control the spread of worms.

Note that running more than one firewall program on your computer at the same time could cause conflicts. It's best to just use one firewall program, in addition to a router-based firewall.

Software Firewall

Software Firewalls work in the same way as a hardware firewall, by monitoring and blocking information that comes to your computer via the Internet, however software firewalls must be installed as a program on your computer. These software firewalls can either be installed from a computer disk that you have purchased, or downloaded over the Internet. Software firewalls are the most common type of firewall. Programs such as Norton 360, Norton Internet Security, ESET Smart Security, and Kaspersky Internet Security all have a firewall bundled within them.

If you have Windows Operating System, the Firewall program is installed already by default. It is also set to active operations from the beginning. To make sure it hasn't been turned off, follow these steps:

Open Windows Firewall by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type firewall, and then click Windows Firewall.
In the left pane, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Below each network location type, click Turn on Windows Firewall, and then click OK. We recommend that you turn on the firewall for all network location types.

What a Firewall does?

Regardless of what type of firewall you choose to use, having one on your computer is a really good idea. A firewall helps to prevent computer hackers from accessing your computer through the Internet, and stealing sensitive information or infecting your computer system with some form of computer virus. A hacker can gain access to your system by “back doors” or open ports that connect your computer to the Internet. With a firewall in place these ports are blocked from inbound traffic, effectively closing the door in the hackers face.

Of course, damage can also be done to your computer from outbound traffic as well. Say for instance a hacker was able to slip by you with a Trojan, virus, spyware or phishing scheme that went undetected. The next time you booted up your computer and connected to the Internet, information on your computer could be sent out to the hacker. Many firewalls also block outbound traffic that will help prevent this from happening.

There are basically two ways that Firewalls work. Generally, data that comes in is analyzed by the firewall to determine the IP address it is coming from and the content that it contains. The firewall system then checks to see if this information is compliant with rules that you are able to configure. It can also analyze information at the application level. The firewall program will determine whether or not the application should be able to send or receive data through the port you are connected by.

Firewall programs are extremely important to the protection of not only your computer system, but you personal information as well. Many anti-virus programs come with firewall protection. Firewall protection should be considered an essential part of any computer's security strategy.

What are some of the things that a firewall can't prevent?

E‑mail viruses

E‑mail viruses are attached to e‑mail messages. A firewall can't determine the contents of e‑mail messages, so it can't protect you from these types of viruses. You should use an antivirus program to scan and delete suspicious attachments from an e‑mail message before you open it. Even when you have an antivirus program, you should not open an e‑mail attachment if you're not positive it's safe.

Phishing scams

Phishing is a technique used to trick computer users into revealing personal or financial information, such as a bank account password. A common online phishing scam starts with an e‑mail message that appears to come from a trusted source, but actually directs recipients to provide information to a fraudulent website. Firewalls can't determine the contents of e‑mail messages, so they can't protect you from this type of attack.

Should you replace Windows Firewall?

If you are obsessed with your computer security, you may consider replacing our Windows Firewall with alternative solutions. Free and commercial software is available on the market for your evaluation. The default Windows firewall (Internet Connection Firewall) that is installed on Windows operating system has limitation of security protection or less user-friendly compares to third party firewall software.

Two major disadvantages to using default Windows firewall:

1. Default Windows Firewall does not restrict outgoing traffic from your computer or restrict applications from using your Internet connection. This means that if have a virus, Internet connection firewall will allow your applications to send data to the Internet without your permission.

2. When you boot your computer, Windows will enable your Internet connection before it enables the built-in firewall. This means that if someone attempts to hack your computer or port scan you while your computer is booting, your computer will be available on the Internet before the firewall starts up. This creates a limited opportunity for your computer to be hacked. Though this risk is mitigated by the short length of time between your Internet connection being active and the firewall starting, it is still a risk to take into consideration.

Alternatives for Windows Firewall

While we do not target in this post reviewing the available freeware firewall solutions, I would like to propose for your consideration the following utilities:

Comodo Internet Security, the latest Comodo Internet security that combines firewall and antivirus software can secure your system against internal attacks such as Trojans, viruses, malicious software and external attacks by hackers. Meanwhile, Comodo Internet Security run a multi-layered security application that protects you against identity theft hackers, Trojans, scripts and other unknown threats. Plus more, the Comodo firewall easy to understand and configure.
ZoneAlarm firewall is designed to protect your cable or DSL-connected computer against unauthorized access by hackers, hijackers and malicious software. It also blocks threats already on your pc from communicating with the malefactor or a third party so that hackers can’t gain access to your computer or personal data.
Private Firewall integrated desktop firewall and multi-layered intrusion prevention technology to protect your computer. This free private firewall delivers signature-less, real-time protection from known or new spyware, viruses, hacking techniques, and other intrusions on Windows desktops and servers. Meanwhile, it also offers network security features like port tracking, URL and packet filtering and application/system behavior modeling and anomaly detection components to protect both inbound and outbound traffics of user PCs.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.antivirusware.com/articles/what-is-firewall.htm

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Firewall-frequently-asked-questions

http://www.techmixer.com/free-firewall-software-list-to-replace-windows-firewall/

http://www.firewallguide.com/

Soluto - Anti-Frustration Software

2011-05-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

When you buy a new computer, it loads fast, but little-by-little the boot-up process slows down, and eventually you find it painfully sluggish. With freeware Soluto utility, you can get a full understanding on what is going on during the computer start-up and how can you optimize your Operating System boot-up. The software counts down for you how long startup is taking and gives you a beautiful graphical interface for turning off extra programs you don't need to load at first, or at last delay them so your startup goes a little faster.

The Soluto patent-pending low level driver technology detects when the user actually gets frustrated by his/her computer performance, and tells exactly of which application is causing the unnecessary delays.

The system requirements are:

1. Windows XP (service pack 2 and above)/Vista/7 (32bit & 64bit).
2. 512MB of RAM and above.

3 Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (Soluto will install if not present).

Developer’s website: http://www.soluto.com/

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/14812919/solutoinstaller.exe.html

27 Malware Types and Their Characteristics

2011-04-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

What is malware? Malware is exactly what its name implies: mal (meaning bad, in the sense of malignant or malicious rather than just poorly done) + ware (short for software). More specifically, malware is software that does not benefit the computer's owner, and may even harm it, and so is purely parasitic.

Software is considered to be malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, scareware, crimeware, most rootkits, and other malicious and unwanted software or program. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of several U.S. states, including California and West Virginia.

Let’s review the most common types of malware:

Adware

Adware is any type of advertising-supported software that will play, display, or download advertisements automatically on a user's computer once the software has been installed on it or while the application is in use. Some adware can also be spyware due to its privacy-invasive characteristics.

BackDoor

A backdoor in a computer system (or cryptosystem or algorithm) is a means of circumventing regular authentication, securing remote computer access, accessing plaintext, etc., while remaining to be undetected. A backdoor may appear to be an installed program or a modification to a program or hardware device that's already installed.

Baiting

Baiting uses tangible media and relies on the curiosity or greed of the victim. Baiting involves an attacker leaving a malware infected media such as a CD ROM or USB flash drive in a public place where it is likely to be found, appearing to be legitimate and appealing, and waits to be used by the victim. Baiting is easy to perform as in this example where an attacker might create a malware loaded CD with a company logo on it, and the words "Company Reorganization Plan" on the front. The media is left on the lobby floor of the targeted company. An employee could find it and then insert it into a computer to satisfy their curiosity. By inserting the CD into a computer to view its contents, the user unknowingly installs malware on it, allowing the attacker access to his computer and possibly, the company's computer network. If there is no mechanism to block the malware, then computers set to "auto-run" inserted media could be immediately compromised when the CD is inserted.

Botnet

Botnet is a collection of software robots, or bots, that are automatic and self-directed. Botnet is often associated with malware but can refer to the network of computers using distributed computing software.

Botnet generally refers to a group of compromised computers called zombie computers running software that is usually installed via worms, trojans or backdoors, under a common command-and-control infrastructure.

Browser plugin

A browser plugin is a software program that extends the capabilities of your Internet browser in a specific way. Not all browser plugins are harmful and some may be helpful. This category contains mostly dubious browser plugins such as "Search Assistant", toolbars, etc. that have been known to transmit user data to their creators or have been installed using covert means.

Crimeware

Crimeware is a distinct type of malware designed to automate financial crime by performing identity theft to access online accounts of users at financial institutions and online retailers for the express purpose of stealing funds from those accounts or performing unauthorized transactions to the benefit of the thief controlling the crimeware. Crimeware is often used to export private information from a network for financial exploitation. Crimeware is viewed as a growing concern in network security as this type of threat seeks to steal confidential information.

Computer virus

A computer virus is computer software that has the ability to replicate itself and infect a computer without the informed consent or knowledge of the computer user. Certain malware, adware and spyware have been incorrectly termed as a “virus” because they lack the ability to copy themselves. A real virus spreads from one system to another through an executable code when its host is transferred to a target computer; such as being sent over a network or the Internet, email or transported via removable media such as a CD, DVD or USB drive. Infected files residing in a network file system or any instance where a computer can be accessed by another one increases the chances of spreading a virus infection.

The term "computer virus" is considered to be malware, a much broader term which also encompasses several types of malicious software including worms, trojans, and others. Although technically different, viruses are often confused with computer worms and trojans. Unlike a virus, a worm can take advantage of security holes in order to spread itself among other systems, while a trojan appears to be harmless but has an underlying plan. A worm, trojan or virus, once executed, can endanger a computer’s data, operation, or network ability. User awareness of some computer viruses and other malware may be readily apparent while many other types go unnoticed.

The increasing number of computers being connected to local area networks and the Internet is creating an environment for computer viruses to spread. Increased use of email and instant messaging are additional ways computer viruses spread.

Computer worm

A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program that sends copies of itself within a computer network and it can do so without any involvement by the user. A worm doesn’t need to attach itself to an existing program in order to spread. Worms typically cause some harm to the network, most notably by consuming bandwidth.

Data miner

A data miner's primary function is to gather data about an end user. Some adware applications may employ data mining abilities.

Email bomb

An email bomb is a form of network abuse by sending enormous amounts of emails to an address in an attempt to overflow the mailbox or overwhelm the mail server where the email address is hosted in what is called a denial-of-service attack.

Email spoofing

Email spoofing is a fraudulent email activity in which parts of the email header and the sender address are modified, appearing as if the email was sent from another source. This technique is commonly used for spamming and phishing to conceal the origin of an email message. By altering certain properties of the email header, such as the From, Return-Path and Reply-To fields, fraudulent users can make the email appear to have been sent from someone other than the real sender.

Sometimes the source of the spam email is indicated in the Reply-To field. If the initial email is replied to, it will be delivered to the address specified in the Reply-To field, which might be the spammer's address. But most spam emails, especially malevolent ones carrying a trojan or virus, or those advertising a website, falsify this email address, sending the reply to another potential victim.

Exploit

An exploit is a portion of software, data, or string of commands that take advantage of a computer bug, glitch or vulnerability disrupting normal behavior on computer software, hardware or other electronic device. Usually this includes seizing control of a user's computer system or attacks that allow privilege escalation or a denial of service.

Fast flux

Fast flux, DNS technique, is used by botnets to conceal phishing and malware distribution sites behind a continuously changing network of compromised host systems utilized as proxies. Fast flux can also refer to a combined peer-to-peer network, distributed command and control, web-based load balancing and proxy redirection to make malware networks less detectable and more resistant to counter-measures.

Fast flux may be seen by Internet users in phishing attacks linked to crime organizations, including attacks on social networks.

Fraudulent dialers

Dialers are used to connect computers to the Internet but fraudulent dialers are designed to connect to premium-rate numbers. Fraudulent dialers are often installed through security holes in a computer's operating system and will change the computer settings to dial up through the premium-rate number. The additional monies are collected by the provider of the fraudulent number. Some dialers inform the user of benefits for using the special number to access special content which is usually illegal materials or downloads.

Users that have DSLs or other broadband connections are usually not affected since a dial is dependent on regular phone lines. But, if an ISDN adapter or additional analog modem is installed, the dialer may be able to connect.

Malicious dialers can be identified by:

A download popup opens when a website is opening.
The website may or may not discreetly display a price.
The download initiates even if the cancel button has been clicked.
Without any notice, the dialer installs as a default connection.
The dialer perpetuates unwanted connections without any user action.
No notice about the price is presented before dialing in.
While connected, the high price of the connection is not shown.
The dialer cannot be easily uninstalled if at all.

Hijacker

Hijacker is an application that attempts to take control of the user's homepage and replace it with one that the hijacker chooses. It is a low security threat, but is annoying. Most hijackers use stealth techniques or trick dialog boxes to perform installation.

Browser hijackers commonly do one or more of the following:

Change your "search" page and passes all searches to a pay-per-search site
Change your default home page to the company page. Sometimes the software changes them to a portal featuring porn sites.
May transmit URLs viewed toward the company server

Keylogger

A keylogger is surveillance software capable of recording all the keystrokes a user makes and saving that to a log file, which is usually encrypted. A keylogger recorder captures information entered on a keyboard including instant messages, email and any other type of information. Some keyloggers record email addresses the user uses and URLs that are visited. The log file created by the keylogger can then be sent to a designated receiver.

As a surveillance tool, keyloggers, are often used in the workplace by employers ensuring work computers used by employees are for business purposes only. However, keyloggers can be embedded in spyware allowing the user's information to be sent to an unauthorized third party.

Loyaltyware

Loyaltyware is a sub-form of adware. Loyaltyware is a type of software that works around the concept of user loyalty by providing incentives in the form of cash, points, airline miles, or other type of goods while shopping.

Parasiteware

Parasiteware is the term for any adware that by default overwrites certain affiliate tracking links. These tracking links are used by webmasters to sell products and to help fund websites. The controversy is centered on companies like WhenU, eBates, and Top Moxie, popular makers of adware applications. These companies release their software to assist users in getting credit for rebates, cash back shopping, or contributions to funds. To the end user, parasiteware represents little in the way of a security threat.

Phishing

Phishing is a criminally fraudulent process of collecting sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by pretending to be a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications supposedly from well known social networks, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are common fronts to bait the unsuspecting computer user. Phishing is commonly performed by email or instant messaging, directing users to enter details at a fake website that mimicks a legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may not be apparent that it is a fake website. An example of social engineering techniques, phishing is used to trick users, exploiting the weaknesses of web security technologies. The rising number of phishing scams has prompted and increase of legislation, training for the user, public awareness, and technical security procedures.

Rogue security software

Rogue security software uses malware or malevolent tools to advertise or install itself or forces computer users to pay to remove nonexistent malware. A trojan is often installed by rogue software when downloading a trial version, or it will run other unwanted actions. Rogue software makers want users to install and purchase their product. A common tactic to install their program, is to display fake Windows dialog boxes or other browser pop-up with messages that entice the user to click on them. Usually a message is displayed such as "WARNING! Your computer is infected with Spyware/Adware/Viruses! Buy [software name] to remove it!", another message is "Click OK to scan your system" without asking to buy the software. Yet another example is "Computer/Internet Connection/OS is not optimized and to Click Here to scan now". Once the user clicks the OK button ing the dialog box, he will be directed to a malicious website, which installs the program. Sometimes, clicking close window or X button in an attempt to close the dialog box will have the same effect. (To circumvent that trick, Press Alt+F4 or use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to access the Task Manager). Some rogue software will download the trial version automatically without any user interaction. In addition to rogue programs being installed, many sites now use a technique to install multiple trojans at once by downloading a dropper first, loading various malware to the unsuspecting user's computer.

Rootkit

A rootkit is a software system containing one or more programs designed to show no indication that a system has been compromised. A rootkit is used to replace essential system executables, which can then conceal processes and files installed by the attacker as well as rootkit itself. A rootkit's intention is to control the operating system. Rootkits obscure their presence on the system through by evading standard operating system security mechanisms. Rootkits can also be trojans, tricking the user into thinking they can be safely run on their systems. This can be achieved by concealing running processes from monitoring programs, or hiding files or system data from the operating system. Rootkits are also capable of installing a "back door" in a system by changing the login mechanism (such as /bin/login) with an executable that accepts a secret login combination, allowing the system to be accessed by an attacker, even if changes are made to the actual accounts on the system.

Originally, rootkits may have been normal applications, designed to take control of a faulty or unresponsive system, but more recently have been produced as malware allowing attackers to gain access to systems undetected. Rootkits exist for a variety of operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Solaris. Rootkits often install themselves as drivers or kernel modules or modify parts of the operating system, depending on the internal elements of an operating system's mechanisms.

SmiShing

Smishing is a criminal activity that utilizes social engineering techniques similar to that of phishing. The name originated from "SMs phISHING". SMS or Short Message Service, is the technology behind text messaging on cell phones. Like phishing, smishing uses text messages on cell phones to lure a user into revealing personal information. The method used to actually "capture" user's information, or "hook", in the text message could be a website URL, although it is more typical that a phone number is displayed that connects to an automated voice response system.

Smurf attack

The Smurf attack is a means of producing a large amount of traffic on a computer network. This is a type of denial-of-service attack that overwhelms a target system via spoofed broadcast ping messages. In this case, an attacker sends a large volume of ICMP echo requests, or pings, to IP broadcast addresses, all having a spoofed source IP address of the targeted victim. If the routing device that delivers traffic to those broadcast addresses sends the IP broadcast to all the hosts, then many of the hosts on that IP network will take the ICMP echo request and send an echo reply, thus multiplying the traffic by the number of hosts that respond. Hundreds of machines on a multi-access broadcast network could reply to each packet.

Spamware

Spamware is software designed by or for use by spammers. Spamware can include the capability to import thousands of email addresses, generate random email addresses, insert fraudulent headers into messages, use multiple mail servers at once, and use open relays. Spamware can also be used to locate email addresses to build lists for spamming or to sell to spammers.

Spyware

Spyware is computer software that is installed on a user's computer without the user's express consent with the purpose of collecting information about the user, their computer or browsing habits.

As the term implies, spyware is software capable of secretly monitoring the user's behavior, but can also collect various types of personal information, including web surfing habits and websites visited. Spyware can also impede the user's control of his computer by installing additional software, and redirecting web browser activity. Spyware is known to cause other interference by changing computer settings that slow connection speeds, load different home pages, and lose Internet connectivity or program functionality.

With the proliferation of spyware, an antispyware industry has sprung up. Use of antispyware software is now a widely accepted practice for the security of Microsoft Windows and desktop computers. A number of anti-spyware laws have been passed, targeting any software that is surreptitiously installed with the intent to control a user's computer. Due to its privacy-invasive characteristics, the US Federal Trade Commission has placed a page on their website advising consumers on how to lower the risk of being infected by spyware.

Trojan horse

The Trojan horse, or trojan, is a type of malware that appears to have a normal function but actually conceals malicious functions that it performs without authorized access to the host system. A Trojan can allow the ability to save their files on the user's computer or monitor the user's screen and control his computer.

A trojan is not technically a virus but can be easily and unknowingly downloaded by the computer user. One example might be a computer game, when executed by the computer user, allows a hacker to control the user's computer. In this case the computer game is a trojan.

Wabbit

Wabbits are in fact rare, and it's not hard to see why: they don't do anything to spread to other machines. A wabbit, like a virus, replicates itself, but it does not have any instructions to email itself or pass itself through a computer network in order to infect other machines. The least ambitious of all malware, it is content simply to focus on utterly devastating a single machine.

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.spywareterminator.com/support/what-is-spyware.aspx

http://www.abestweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65416

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

http://www.pccleanup.net/malware-protection/what-are-different-kinds-of-malware

Recovering damaged or corrupted DOCX Word 2007 documents

2011-04-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

If you’ve used Microsoft Word enough in your lifetime you’ve likely encountered a document that was fine yesterday only to find out today it’s completely trashed. Word documents, more than any other binary file type in my experience, have a propensity to become corrupt and generally unreadable to the user. Rarely can the cause of the corruption be identified but some theorize that modifying the document with many different versions of Word, even though they are all supposedly compatible, uncovers the potential problem. This theory carries some weight because different versions of Word often handle a corrupt document in different manners. For example, a corrupt document may cause one version of Word to crash open opening of it, while another will display a mixture of text and binary characters. Nevertheless, the contents of the document are not easily usable which, needless to say, can be quite devastating if the document is of any importance and the backup is non-existent.

In such situations of damaged and corrupted documents, the user has just a few options. One option is to attempt to recover portions of the text contained in the document by opening it in Notepad. This process is often tedious because you are forced to filter through portions of garbage to pull out the relevant bits. Secondarily, this is not something recommended for lengthy documents – again, because of the extra formatting contained in a typical Word document must be parsed.

Another option is leveraging the free Windows application Damaged-DOCX2TXT. At its simplest explanation, Damaged-DOCX2TXT somewhat automates the process a user would be forced to undertake using the Notepad situation above. The interface is minimalistic with just a typical File->Open where you pass the file that you want recovered. After processing, you are presented with just the text of your document – the initial formatting and fonts will be unfortunately lost. With the plain-text in hand, it can be copy and pasted into Word where all the extra flair can be reapplied.

While Damaged-DOCX2TXT isn’t a miracle worker, sometimes the recovering of the actual text content is sufficient when previously you felt all was lost. One other limitation of the portable software is its requirement that the initial Word document be in the Word 2007+ .docx file type. However, this software is free, and might save a lot of time in some cases.

Damaged DOCX2TXT requires the Microsoft .Net version 2 framework. Using a GUI front end and a Perl coded back end, Damaged DOCX2TXT will extract the text even from damaged or corrupted Word 2007 docx files where Word 2007 itself fails to salvage text. It can also be simply used as a viewer of the text in a docx file without having Word 2007.

Website: http://www.s2services.com/

Reviewed by HowInTheTech

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/14553458/dd2txt-1.03b.zip.html

Powerful folder comparison and synchronization utility - FreeFileSync

2011-04-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

This open source folder comparison and synchronization tool will compare files by scanning their contents or by file size and date; it can synchronize files and subfolders, process multiple pairs of folders at once, load/save folder comparison sessions, create batch jobs that can be run from the command line, and can handle cloned files (i.e. symbolic links or junctures). It also allows for custom syncing rules and command line option.

The utility has easy to understand, intuitive, interface with the two-pane “visual comparison” abilities.

Key Features

Compare files (bytewise or by date) and synchronize them.
No limitations: An arbitrary number of files can be synchronized.
Unicode support.
Network support.
Built-in support for very long filenames (more than MAX_PATH = 260 characters).
Synchronization database for propagation of deleted files and conflict detection
Support for multiple folder pairs with distinct configuration
Full support for Windows/Linux Symbolic Links and Windows Junction Points.
Lean & easily accessible UI: Highly optimized for speed and huge sets of data.
Algorithms coded in C++ completely.
All progress indicators optimized for maximum performance!
Create Batch Jobs for automated synchronization with or without GUI.
Focus on usability:

Only necessary functionality on UI: no overloaded menus or icon jungle.
Select all folders via drag & drop.
Last used configuration and screen settings are saved automatically.
Maintain and load different configurations by drag & drop, load-button or commandline.
Double-click to start external application (e.g. show file in Windows Explorer)
Copy & paste all grid data as text
Delete superfluous/temporary files directly on main grid.
Right-click context menu.
Comprehensive status information and error reporting
Sort file-lists by name, size or date.

Support for filesizes larger than 4 GB.
Option to move files to Recycle Bin instead of deleting/overwriting them.
Ignore directories "\RECYCLER" and "\System Volume Information" with default Filter. (Windows only)
Localized versions are available for many languages.
Delete before copy: Avoid disc space shortages for large sync-jobs.
Filter functionality to include/exclude files from synchronization (without requiring a re-compare!).
Include/exclude specific files from synchronization temporarily.
Automatically handle daylight saving time changes on FAT/FAT32 volumes.
Portable version available (selectable via installer).
Native 64-Bit version.
Check for updates from within FreeFileSync automatically.
Copy locked files using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service. (Windows only)
Create regular backups with macros %time%, %date% within directory names
Copy file and folder create/access/modification times when synchronizing
Advanced locking strategy to allow multiple synchronization processes (e.g. multiple writers, same network share)

Screenshots (Click to Enlarge):

Website: http://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/

Direct Download: http://www.ziddu.com/download/14418671/FreeFileSync_v3.14_setup.exe.html

The utility is highly recommended. After checking its capabilities, I switched to use it, replacing the previously used GoodSync utility for my personal needs.