Internet security

What the ‘Internet doomsday’ virus is and how to fix it

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:25:00 +0000

By Hayley Tsukayama

Thousands could lose access to the Internet on July 9 due to a virus, DNSChanger, that once infected approximately 4 million computers across the world.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation first gave details about the virus last November, when it announced the arrest of the malware’s authors. The virus, as its name indicates, affected computers’ abilities to correctly access the Internet’s DNS system — essentially, the Internet’s phone book. The virus would redirect Internet users to fake DNS servers, often sending them to fake sites or places that promoted fake products. Once the FBI shut down the operation, it built a safety net of new servers to redirect traffic from those infected with the virus.

But that safety net is going offline next Monday meaning that anyone who is still infected with the virus will lose access to the Internet unless they remove it from their machine.

To see if you have the virus, you can head to any number of checker Web sites such as the DNS Changer Working Group or the FBI itself to either enter your IP address or simply click a button to run a check against addresses known to have problems. With any luck, you’ll be free and clear and won’t have to worry about the problem any further.

If you are infected with the virus, then you’ve got a longer — but not impossible — process ahead of you. According to the DCWG, those infected with the virus should first back up any important files. You can do that fairly easily with an external hard drive or even a thumb drive.

From there, you can run one of several trusted tools to get rid of the virus. Again, the DCWG has a list of them on its site, which includes programs such as Microsoft Windows Defender Off line, Norton Power Eraser and MacScan, all of which have updated their definitions to include this particular virus.

The group recommends that you use multiple tools to make sure you have a wider net of virus definitions to choose from.

Scanning your computer regularly for viruses is a good idea anyway, to make sure that your virus definitions are up-to-date. So even if you’ve scanned in the past few months, take this opportunity to run a check and avoid your own personal doomsday.

Internet Tips: Ultimate Network Security--How to Install a Firewall

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:31:00 +0000

By Scott Spanbauer, PCW Print

Connecting your naked PC to the Internet is like leaving your house unlocked--eventually, someone will wander in, rifle your underwear drawer, and empty the jewelry case. To make your system's points of entry more Net secure, install one of the many free software firewalls now available, and set up a hardware-based firewall for backup.

Firewalls are difficult to understand and configure, even for experienced computer users. If you've been putting off installing a firewall, or if you aren't sure how to determine whether your firewall is protecting you fully, I'm here to explain it all.

According to Merriam-Webster, the original meaning of fire wall was "a wall constructed to prevent the spread of fire." Computer firewalls are constructed to prevent unwanted intrusions from the Internet into your PC. But unlike fire, Net threats don't leap onto your machine through mere proximity. They arise when someone exploits a combination of your PC's unique IP (Internet protocol) address and one or more of the thousands of TCP (transmission control protocol) and UDP (universal datagram protocol) ports that serve as the door to your system.

Anytime you use a browser, an e-mail program, or other software to retrieve information from a Web site, ISP, or remote server, the data flows through one or more of these ports. Whether the malefactor is a teenage hacker trying to access your PC, a bit of spyware attempting to talk to a remote server, or a Windows XP Messenger Service spam pop-up, their strategy is the same: Find an open port leading into your PC, or trick your system into opening one.

Firewalls watch these thousands of ports--present in both dial-up and broadband Internet connections--and deny access to unauthorized traffic. Hardware-based firewalls are usually integrated into router and gateway products and sit between your PC and a cable or DSL modem.

Software-based firewalls run on your PC. Hardware firewalls are great for protecting a network of PCs that share a broadband connection.

More important than the router's actual firewall, however, is the fact that it usually incorporates an NAT (network address translation) server that hides your networked computers' IP addresses (and thus, their existence) from anyone outside the local network.

For this reason alone, a hardware firewall is a wise investment for broadband users, even those who have only one computer. You can obtain a four-port cable/DSL router such as Linksys's BEFSR41 or D-Link's DI-704P for just $40 to $50, and models that include a wireless access point cost only a bit more (PC World's Product Finder page lists a number of routers that are currently available ).

A Firewall on Every PC

Hardware routers are highly configurable: You can usually set them to block all incoming and outgoing traffic except through a few key ports you designate. Programming an external device to protect your PC is a lot of work, however.

Firewall software that runs on your PC is easier to set up and maintain. Besides blocking uninvited traffic at your ports, software firewalls can prevent programs that run on your computer (including such malefactors as Trojan horses, spyware, and backdoor software) from sending data to remote servers, and from accepting incoming connections.

If you connect to the Internet exclusively through a dial-up modem, an external, hardware-based firewall won't do you much good. A software firewall is perfect for protecting a dial-up connection. Windows XP users may be tempted to rely exclusively on the operating system's integrated Internet Connection Firewall. To enable it, click Start, Control Panel, Network Connections (in XP's Category View, first click Network and Internet Connections). Then right-click the Internet connection you want to protect, choose Properties, Advanced, put a check next to the option Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet, and click OK.

Withhold your sigh of relief, however. Though it's better than no firewall at all--and compatible with any others you may use--XP's firewall monitors incoming connections only. Should Back Orifice, NetBus, or any other backdoor program find its way onto your PC, XP's firewall will do nothing to stop it from granting scoundrels remote access to your system.

Pick Your Freebie

I've used four no-cost firewalls on various PCs: Kerio Personal Firewall 2; Outpost Firewall Free, from Agnitum Limited; Sygate Personal Firewall 5.1; and Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm 3.7. Though they differ in the features they offer and the help they provide, all of these programs will stoutly defend your PC . A software firewall is easy to install, but it requires a brief training period as the firewall detects your browser, e-mail, network, and other programs that attempt to connect with remote servers.

All four software firewalls pop up warning dialog boxes when a program attempts to connect for the first time. You simply click the button that permits or disallows the connection. Most also provide an optional check box so you can turn your choice into a permanent, automatic firewall rule. After you've gone about your usual online business for a day or two, creating firewall rules along the way, you may not need to interact with your firewall again until you add or upgrade an Internet utility.

The trick to responding appropriately to firewall warnings and creating effective rules is knowing which programs are safe and which are not. You'll easily recognize many of the more-common applications by name--Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Netscape, for example. Other programs, however, aren't exactly household names.

For example, many of Windows XP's networking features are handled by a program called svchost.exe, a fact that none of us should be expected to know (though you do now). Conversely, spyware and other unwanted pests may use safe-sounding or familiar names like "clever screensaver" that entice you to grant them network access. What's a firewall jockey to do? For starters, avoid the temptation to be lax. Instead, deny access to any program that you're at all unsure about--you'll have plenty of chances to change your mind later.

If your knowledge of which programs are safe is shaky, choose a firewall that provides more information about the program in question than just its file name. Kerio and Sygate don't offer many hints as to whether a detected program is safe, and they eschew nonfirewall bonus features. This arrangement may suit expert users, but novices will benefit from a more informative firewall.

ZoneAlarm offers a bit more information about detected programs, including a link in the warning dialog box to a description of the program in question on Zone Labs' Web site . ZoneAlarm also preconfigures itself by default to permit connections from Internet Explorer and Windows XP's svchost.exe component, minimizing the number of decisions you'll need to make about granting these applications Internet access.

Outpost's pop-up dialog box creates a permanent rule for you by default, but you can opt out of the rule by clicking the Allow once or Block once buttons instead. Despite being laden with nifty features such as ad and pop-up blocking and e-mail attachment protection, Outpost provides the same minimal information about the detected program as do Kerio and Sygate.

Fine-Tuning Filters

Once you've completed the basic firewall configuration, you may want to change, delete, or fine-tune the rules you created. All four of these firewalls maintain a list of rules or known programs.

Kerio: Right-click the program's system tray icon and choose Administration, Firewall, Advanced. In the list of known programs, select the program whose filter rule you want to modify, and click Edit to open the 'Filter rule' dialog box.

To switch the program's basic default status, select either Permit or Deny at the bottom of the dialog box. Other options let you restrict the remote server IP addresses and incoming and outgoing ports that the program uses. If you know what those are and why you'd want to specify them, you're probably reading this column just to see what errors it contains. The rest of us can live with the default settings. Click OK to save any changes.

Outpost: Right-click the program's system tray icon and choose Options, Application. Select a program in the list of blocked, partially allowed, and trusted applications, and click Edit. Choose Always block this app or Always trust this app to move it to the appropriate category. Your best step, however, may be to select a trusted application and move it to the partially blocked list (by clicking Edit and choosing Create rules using preset, Browser, for example); this maneuver grants the program Internet access, but under a constrained set of rules.

The browser rule set (Outpost also comes with rules for e-mail, instant messaging, and other programs) limits an app to the handful of inbound and outbound protocols (TCP or UDP) and ports needed by a Web browser, thereby minimizing the damage a malicious Web site or HTML e-mail message can do.

Sygate: To change program rules, right-click Sygate's system tray icon and choose Applications. In the list of known applications, right-click the program whose rule you want to modify, and choose either Allow or Block. Choosing Ask tells Sygate to prompt you to allow or deny Internet access every time the program seeks it.

ZoneAlarm: To modify program permissions, right-click the ZoneAlarm system tray icon and choose Restore ZoneAlarm Control Center (or just switch to it, if it's already running). Select Program Control on the left, and then select the Programs tab at the upper-right. To change one of the program's four settings (the ability to access remote servers or to act as a server itself in both the Internet and Trusted Zones), click the check mark (allowing access), the X (blocking access), or the question mark (instructing ZoneAlarm to ask you each time the program seeks access); then choose a new default action from the pop-up menu.

Working With Windows Networks

Another setting you may want to change, or at least check, is how your firewall works with networks of Windows PCs:

Kerio: By default, this firewall disables Windows networking because enabling it would allow other PCs on the local Windows network to access your shared folders and printers only after you entered their IP addresses. To allow access to a particular PC, right-click Kerio's system-tray icon and choose Administration,Microsoft Networking. To enter a single trusted address, click Add, select Single address in the 'Address type' list, enter the allowed IP address in the 'Host address' field, and click OK.

If your Windows network is shielded from the Internet by a router-based firewall that blocks the Windows Networking UDP ports (137-139), you can safely allow any computer on the local network to access your shared files and printers, by unchecking From Trusted Addresses Only and clicking OK.

Outpost: Right-click Outpost's system-tray icon, choose Options,System, check Allow NetBios communication, and click OK. If your computer connects directly to the Internet, leave this option unchecked to avoid broadcasting your PC's existence beyond the firewall.

Sygate: By default, Sygate allows other PCs on a Windows network to browse--but not access--your files and printers. To enable sharing, right-click the firewall's system tray icon and choose Options,Network Neighborhood. From the drop-down list, select the network interface you use to connect to the Windows network, check Allow others to share my files and printer(s), and click OK. Sygate's default setting allows only PCs on the local network to browse and access your files and printers (choose the Security tab to view this and other settings).

ZoneAlarm: This firewall grants file and printer sharing access to trusted computers by default--all you have to do is fill in the IP addresses of those machines. To do so, right-click the ZoneAlarm system-tray icon and choose Restore ZoneAlarm Control Center (or just switch to it, if it's already running). Select Firewall on the left, and then choose the Zones tab at the upper-right. Click Add,IP Address, enter the IP address of the system you want to add to the Trusted Zone, and click OK.

Revision Control: Firewall Free-for-All

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, you should install one of these free firewalls on your PC.
Kerio Personal Firewall 2: The perfect firewall freebie for power users, Kerio Personal Firewall 2 lets you fine-tune application rules to restrict access to and from specific IP addresses and ports; 2MB.

Outpost Firewall Free: Agnitum's no-cost firewall brims with extra features, including ad and pop-up blockers, Web site content filtering, mail attachment filtering, and a surf-speeding DNS cache; 2.5MB.

Sygate Personal Firewall 5.1: Sygate's no-frills interface provides fine-grained control over how and when applications can connect to remote servers; 5.2MB.

ZoneAlarm 3.7.202: Zone Labs' novice-friendly firewall includes a mail-scanning feature that quarantines dangerous Visual Basic Script (.vbs) attachments; 3.6MB.

Send your questions and tips to nettips@spanbauer.com. We pay $50 for published items. Click here for more Internet Tips. Scott Spanbauer is a contributing editor for PC World.

What You Need to Know about IPv6

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:16:00 +0000

By Curtis Franklin, PCWorld

The Internet promises unlimited connectivity, but such connectivity requires that computers and devices find one another through a common address plan. The current plan, in place since the late 1970s, is running out of open addresses, and a new scheme called IPv6 is being put in place to power the Internet's next stage of growth.

For small businesses that plan ahead, this shift can enhance computing security and application reliability and performance. But waiting until the last minute could leave you scrambling for costly equipment updates, missing an opportunity to turn a necessary change into a business boost.

IPv6 has been around and touted by the networking industry as "coming soon" for many years, yet there is no grand, worldwide launch date. Some parts of the world, notably Asia, and some Internet service providers (ISPs) and related companies, are leading others in the transition. Now, though, it's widely recognized that a day of reckoning is coming within the next couple of years as an increasingly critical IP address scarcity forces widespread changeover.

What Is IPv6?

In 1981, the only computers with Internet access were part of military or research organizations. In this 8-bit environment, the 32-bit address space offered by Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) seemed unlimited, allowing nearly 4 billion possible addresses (2 to the 32nd power) for connected devices. Fast-forward nearly 30 years and millions upon millions of Internet users later, and the end of available addresses is in sight. Once all the addresses are assigned, then, in theory, no new device can be attached to the Internet.

A variety of creative, if not always legitimate, fixes for limited address space already exist. Some large Internet carriers are beginning to "hide" a large network behind a small number of public IP addresses, using the Network Address Translation (NAT) scheme, as consumers and small businesses do. While this workaround provides Internet access for more devices, its complexity can hurt network performance. Other carriers, especially in developing countries, are conducting "black market" auctions of IP address blocks to desperate companies and carriers.

IPv4 formats Internet addresses in a quartet of numbers, such as 70.42.185.10. This is distinct from URLs, such as www.pcworld.com, that are converted to numeric IP addresses by a Domain Name System (DNS) server. A single URL may be tied to multiple IP addresses, or multiple URLs may point to a single address.

In 1998, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ratified a new Internet Protocol, IPv6. It shifts to a 128-bit IP address space (each broken into hexadecimal groups), which means around 340 undecillion (340 times 10 to the 36th power) possible addresses, or billions of addresses for every living person. This expanded space is critical for the continued growth of the Internet.

IPv6 Benefits

IPv6 benefits will include a level of security baked into the protocol. IPv4 was designed for an "age of innocence" with a small Internet population. IPv6 is for a bigger, more cynical age, so it carries capabilities for verifying addresses and known identities, and establishing trust between routers. It should become harder, for example, for criminals to use "address spoofing" attacks, where Websites or e-mail messages misrepresent where they come from.

IPv6-era routers and firewalls will provide greater protection against anonymous attacks, with much simpler and more reliable, secure connections for business computers moving financial and other sensitive data among servers and back offices.

Also, IPv6 will allow greater security and performance for business-critical applications, such as those that automate order placement and maintain customer billing and supplier relationships.
The greater control with IPv6 in how information is routed between computers could help small businesses and their ISPs to develop network performance and reliability that larger organizations and carriers now enjoy.

In addition, IPv6 will enable finer control of how rich media and critical applications perform on a network, and allow faster transactions over virtual private networks (VPN). IPv6 can boost VoIP or unified communications services because it improves quality of service (QoS), which allows certain types of network traffic, typically those sensitive to interruption, to get priority during heavy network use. A VoIP conversation or video Webcast on your network, for example, would get priority over a file transfer.

First Steps

As with the lead-up to Y2K (remember that?), vendors and service providers will do most of the heavy lifting. ISPs will lead consumers, while large corporations will have teams dedicated to the change. A small business will have to ensure that all network equipment and software is ready, updated, and switched over at the same time when IPv6 comes. Planning ahead will help prevent interruptions to the critical connections that take place via the Internet. It will also allow you to buy equipment and services at negotiated, well-reasoned prices rather than on an emergency, cost-is-no-object basis.

Building a checklist of every piece of network equipment and researching its IPv6 capability is a solid first step. Be especially vigilant when noting those systems with IPv6 "transition" capabilities versus those with full, built-in IPv6 compliance that you'll want for the long run.

If your small business uses the Internet mostly for e-mail and instant messaging, then making sure equipment is IPv6-compatible should suffice. If, on the other hand, your business has begun building cloud applications; has ties to supplier, partner, or customer applications over the Internet; or has relationships with large suppliers and customers--then planning now might prevent business-endangering Internet outages later.

In moving your business to IPv6, the major points of concern are your ISP; your network infrastructure; and the server, workstation, or device that is in the hands of the user. Issues at the ISP are important but largely out of your hands. When the ISP and network infrastructure are IPv6-capable, the workstations and servers will largely hop on board. Issues at the server, workstation, or device level are largely already dealt with by current Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems, which can work with IPv6 addresses and networking. Windows 7, for example, includes IPv6 as a basic protocol that is set up and configured just as IPv4 is. It's the network infrastructure where most businesses will find the major issues.

Support an Internal IPv6 Infrastructure

As more carriers and ISPs begin offering IPv6 addresses and services, it will become easier to justify making the move to IPv6, and it is at this point that infrastructure issues will begin to loom large.

If, within the last two years, your company purchased equipment for its network, including routers, switches, security devices, printers, photocopiers, or fax machines, it's very likely to be IPv6-capable. If the equipment is between two and five years old, it may have some IPv6 capabilities. If the gear is more than five years old, however, then its readiness is a crapshoot, and the switch to IPv6 is a strong reason to upgrade that equipment.

Unfortunately, there's no "IPv6-ready" sticker program in place for hardware. You'll have to check a product's administration program and look for IPv6 features, or ask each vendor about existing or upgraded IPv6 capabilities and, if necessary, begin to plan software or firmware updates.

Even if your infrastructure or ISP is not IPv6-capable, it may begin working with IPv6 addresses from workstations or servers using one of the IPv4-to-IPv6 transition protocols (including 6to4, Teredo, 6over4 and ISATAP) available on major operating systems. Each of these "dual-stack" protocols will, in one form or another, wrap IPv6 addresses within IPv4 packets; that's fine for a transition, but it's not a long-term solution because of security and stability concerns.

If you keep a piece of IPv4-only equipment, someday it won't be able to talk to the rest of the network because two different addressing schemes are at play--kind of like trying to use a telephone number to send a piece of paper mail.

You must check firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, DNS servers, and other security and service appliances for IPv6 compliance, as well. A firewall can easily blGoogle (ipv6.google.com) and YouTube (ipv6.youtube.com), for example, are available for new protocol searching and surfing now and make easy-to-remember test cases for IPv6 capability from your network.

While the transition will not be free or smooth for every company, the benefits of an IPv6 Internet outweigh the costs. Begin now, taking inventory, and then build a plan for the switch; that way, your company will be in position to take the next IP step without a major stumble.

How to Encrypt Your Email

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:06:00 +0000

By Eric Geier, PCWorld

Even if you never email sensitive information--social security numbers, banking info, business secrets, and so on--you should consider using encryption. Aside from capturing your email content and attachments, a miscreant could hijack your entire email account if you failed to secure it properly. In this article, I'll discuss what you need to encrypt and how to get started, regardless of the particular email service you use.

What to Encrypt

To secure your email effectively, you should encrypt three things: the connection from your email provider; your actual email messages; and your stored, cached, or archived email messages.

If you leave the connection from your email provider to your computer or other device unencrypted while you check or send email messages, other users on your network can easily capture your email login credentials and any messages you send or receive. This hazard typically arises when you use a public network (the Wi-Fi hotspot in a coffee shop, say), but an unencrypted connection can also be pose problems on your work or private network.

Your actual email messages are vulnerable as they travel over the Internet, after leaving your email provider's server. Bad guys can intercept a message as it bounces from server to server on the Internet. Encrypting your messages before sending them renders them unreadable from the point at which they embark on their journey to the point at which the intended recipient opens them.

If you leave your saved or backed-up email messages (from an email client program like Microsoft Outlook) on your computer or mobile device, a thief or snoop might be able to gain access to them, even if you've password-protected your email program and your Windows account or mobile device. Again, encryption renders them unreadable to the intruder.

How to Encrypt Email Connections

To secure the connection between your email provider and your computer or other device, you need to set up Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption--the same protection scheme that you depend on when checking your bank account or making online purchases.

If you check your email with a Web browser (whether on a desktop, a laptop, a smartphone, or a tablet), take a moment to ensure that SSL/TLS encryption is active. If it is, the website address (URL) will begin with https instead of http; depending on your browser, you should see some additional indication, such as a notification next to the address bar or a small yellow padlock icon on the status bar at the bottom of the browser window.

If you don't see an 'https' address and other indicators after logging into your Web-based email program, type an s at the end of the 'http' and press Enter. If your email provider supports SSL/TLS, that instruction will usually prompt it to encrypt your current connection. Then browse your account settings to see whether you can activate encryption by default for future logins, and whether you can create or modify bookmarks or shortcuts to your email site using the 'https' address. If you can't force the encryption, check with your provider as they may not support SSL/TLS.

If you use a desktop client program like Microsoft Outlook to check your email, or if you use an email app on your smartphone or tablet, you should still try to use SSL/TLS encryption--but in such situations, encryption is harder to verify or to set up. To do it, open your email program or app and navigate to the settings menu; there, your account will likely be labeled as a POP/SMTP, IMAP/SMTP, HTTP or Exchange account. Look for an option to activate encryption; it's usually in the advanced settings near where you can specify the port numbers for incoming and outgoing connections.

If you use an Exchange email account for work, for example, you'll find a designated area for security settings where you can clearly see whether encryption/security is enabled for the incoming and outgoing connections and for your Exchange account. If it isn't enabled, check with your email provider to see whether the provider supports encryption, and consider switching to a service that allows SSL/TLS encryption.

How to Encrypt Email Messages

You can and should encrypt your individual email messages during transit, but both you and your recipient must do some work ahead of time to make the protection work properly. You can use encryption features built into your email service, or you can download encryption software or client add-ons (such as those that use OpenPGP). In a pinch, you can use a Web-based encryption email service like Sendinc or JumbleMe, though doing so forces you to trust a third-party company.

Most forms of message encryption, including S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) and OpenPGP, require you to install a security certificate on your computer and to give your contacts a string of characters called your public key before they can send you an encrypted message. Likewise, the intended recipients of your encrypted message must install a security certificate on their computer and give you their public key in advance.

Support for the S/MIME standard is built into many email clients, including Microsoft Outlook. In addition, Web browser add-ons, like Gmail S/MIME for Firefox, support Web-based email providers as well. To get started, you can apply for a security certificate from a company such as Comodo.
The OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) email encryption standard has a few variants, including PGP and GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). You can find free and commercial software and add-ons, such as Gpg4win or PGP Desktop Email, that support the OpenPGP type of encryption.

How to Encrypt Stored Email

If you use an email client or app on your computer or mobile device, rather than checking your email via a Web browser, you should make sure that your stored email data is encrypted so that thieves and snoops can't access your saved messages if you lose the device or someone steals it.

It's best to fully encrypt your laptop or mobile device, since the portability of such devices puts them at special risk of being lost or stolen. For more information on encrypting your Windows computer or laptop, see "How to Encrypt Files With Your Windows PC." For mobile devices it's best to use an operating system that provides full device encryption by setting a PIN or password to protect your email and other data. BlackBerry and iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) devices have offered this type of encryption for years; Android supports it only in version 3.0 and later. For older Android devices, consider obtaining a third-party email app, like TouchDown for Exchange accounts, that provides encryption.

For desktops and laptops, you can encrypt just your email data files if you prefer not to encrypt the whole computer. The encryption features of email clients vary, so check the documentation for your particular program and version. If your email client doesn't offer trustworthy encryption, consider selectively encrypting the directory where your email records are stored.

If you use a Professional, Business, or Ultimate edition of Windows, for example, you can encrypt email records--no matter what email client you use--through Windows' built-in Encrypted File System (EFS) feature. First, find the file(s) that your email client uses to store your email messages; Microsoft Outlook uses a .PST file to store messages, or an .OST file for Exchange accounts. In Windows XP, you'll find the file at C:\Documents and Settings\yourusername\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. In Windows Vista and 7, it's at C:\Users\yourusername \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

Once you've determined where your email client stores your data, right-click the file(s) or the folder that contains them, select Properties, click Advanced, and select Encrypt contents to secure data.

That's all you have to do. The EFS feature will open and automatically decrypt file(s) when you're logged into your Windows account. Remember to disable encryption before reinstalling Windows or changing your Windows account, or you'll risk being unable to decrypt the files later.

How Do I Configure Windows Firewall in Windows Vista or Windows 7?

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:59:00 +0000

By Justin Phelps, PCWorld

Between your computer and the Internet (or any other external network) stands a firewall. Designed to allow legitimate traffic into your computer and keep unauthorized traffic out, a properly configured firewall protects you from the thousands of attackers and malicious programs trying to gain access to your PC. Both Windows Vista and Windows 7 include a firewall called Windows Firewall, which is turned on by default; you should turn it off only if you are using another (third-party) firewall. In this article, I explain the basics of configuring Windows Firewall in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Understanding these basics will reduce your vulnerability and allow you to tweak Windows Firewall to suit your needs.

In both Vista and Windows 7, you can access Windows Firewall settings by clicking Start and opening the Control Panel. Click System and Security in Windows 7 or Security in Vista, and then click Windows Firewall.

Step by Step: Configuring Windows Firewall in Windows 7

Step 1 You can configure two types of networks: private (home and workplace networks) and public (airport, library, or other networks open to the public). You will see status and settings reports displayed for both types of networks here. Begin by clicking Change notification settings in the left pane so that you can turn Windows Firewall on or off for each network type.

Step 2 To change how the firewall alerts you when it blocks a program, check or uncheck Notify me when Windows Firewall blocks a new program. Finally, you can stay really safe by checking Block all incoming connections, including those in the list of allowed programs. I'll talk more about allowed programs below.

Step by Step: Configuring Windows Firewall in Windows Vista

Step 1 After enabling the Windows Firewall control panel, you will see a window with Windows Firewall status and settings. Begin by clicking Change settings on the right.

Step 2 In the next window, you will see three tabs. Within the General tab, you can turn the firewall on or off, as well as check the Block all incoming connections box. Checking this box instructs Windows Firewall to ignore your list of exceptions (more on exceptions below).

Step 3 Within the Advanced tab, you will see a list of the networks to which you connect. To enable Windows Firewall protection, ensure that the box next to each network is checked.

Step by Step: Setting Up Allowed Programs in Windows 7

In Windows 7, Windows Firewall protects you by blocking your programs from accepting connections from the Internet (or your network). Allowed programs are applications that you tell Windows Firewall not to block. For example, you may want to allow an instant messaging program or a multiplayer video game to accept incoming connections in order for those applications to work properly.

Step 1 To allow a program in Windows 7, click Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall on the left pane.

Step 2 On the new screen, click the Change settings button that appears at the top. Find the program you wish to allow in the list, and check the box next to the name of the program, as well as the box under the type(s) of network(s) through which you want to allow the program to communicate. If the program you want to allow is not listed, click Allow another program and find it in the list that appears; you may have to click Browse and navigate to the program.

Step by Step: Setting Up Exceptions (Allowed Programs) in Vista

Step 1 Select the Exceptions tab and choose the program you wish to allow by checking its box on the list.

Step 2 If you cannot locate the program on the list, click the Add program... button and select it from the list that appears. If you still cannot locate the program, click Browse to navigate to the program.

Protect Yourself From DNSChanger

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:41:00 +0000

By Alex Wawro, PCWorld

In July the Internet Systems Consortium will permanently shut down DNS servers deployed to serve as temporary surrogates for rogue DNS servers shut down as part of Operation Ghost Click, an FBI operation that brought down an Estonian hacker ring last year. If your PC is one of the more than 1 million computers infected that carry DNSChanger you might unknowingly be relying on one of the FBI's temporary servers to access the Internet, and if you don't eliminate DNSChanger from your PC before the FBI pulls the plug on its servers, you'll be left without Internet access. Read on to learn how to discover whether you're infected with DNSChanger, and what you can do to eliminate it from your system.

How to Tell Whether DNSChanger Has Infected Your PC

To figure out whether you've been infected with DNSChanger, just point your Web browser to one of the (admittedly amateur-looking) DNSChanger Check-Up websites that Internet security organizations maintain across the globe. The link above will take you to a DNS Changer Check-Up page in the United States that the DNS Changer Working Group maintains; if you live outside the United States, you can consult the FBI's list of DNSChanger Check-Up websites to find an appropriate service for your region.

Unfortunately, if your router is infected, those websites will think that your PC is infected, even though it may be clean; worse, if your ISP redirects DNS traffic, your PC may appear to be clean even though your DNS settings may have been maliciously altered. If you want to be certain that your PC is free of DNSChanger malware, you need to manually look up the IP addresses of the DNS servers that your PC contacts to resolve domain names when browsing the Web.

To look up which DNS servers your Windows 7 PC is using, open your Start menu and either run the Command Prompt application or type cmd in the Search field. Once you have a command prompt open, type ipconfig /allcompartments /all at the command line and press Enter. A big block of text should appear; scroll through it until you see a line that says 'DNS Servers', and copy down the string(s) of numbers that follow (there may be more than one string here, meaning that your PC accesses more than one DNS server).

It's even easier for Mac OS X users to determine the IP addresses of the DNS servers that their PC uses. Open the Apple menu (usually located in the upper-left corner of the screen) and select System Preferences. Next, click the Network icon to open your Network Settings menu; navigate to Advanced Settings, and copy down the string(s) of numbers listed in the DNS Server box.

Once you know the IP addresses of the DNS servers that your PC is using, head over to the FBI DNSChanger website and enter those addresses into the search box. Press the big blue Check Your DNS button, and the FBI's software will tell you whether your PC is using rogue DNS servers to access the Internet.

What to Do If Your PC Is Infected by DNSChanger

If your PC is infected with DNSChanger, you'll have to do some intensive work to get rid of it. DNSChanger is a powerful rootkit that does more than just alter DNS settings; if you've been infected with DNSChanger, your safest course is to back up your important data, reformat your hard drive(s), and reinstall your operating system. For more information, consult our guide to reinstalling Windows.
If you're leery of reformatting your entire PC, you can try rooting out the DNSChanger rootkit with a free rootkit removal utility such as Kaspersky Labs' TDSSKiller. As the name implies, Kaspersky released the program to help PC owners seek and destroy the TDSS rootkit malware, but it also detects and attempts to eliminate DNSChanger and many other forms of rootkits.

If the infected PC is on a network, you'll have to check every other PC on the network for signs of infection, and then check your router's settings to ensure that it isn't affected (DNSChanger is programmed to change router DNS settings automatically, using the default usernames and passwords of most modern routers). To do this, copy down your router's DNS server IP addresses (located in your router's settings menu; read "How to Set Up a Wireless Router" for more information) and check them against the FBI's IP address database mentioned above. If your router is infected, reset the router and confirm that all network settings are restored to the manufacturer's defaults.

When you're done, repeat the steps outlined above to verify that your PC is no longer infected with DNSChanger. With all traces of this vicious malware eliminated, you should have nothing to fear when the FBI shuts down the ISC's temporary DNS servers in July.

How to Remove Malware From Your Windows PC

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:01:00 +0000

By Eric Geier, PCWorld

Is your computer running slower than usual? Are you getting lots of pop-ups? Have you seen other weird problems crop up? If so, your PC might be infected with a virus, spyware, or other malware--even if you have an antivirus program installed on it. Though other problems, such as hardware issues, can produce similar symptoms, it's best to check for malware if you aren't sure. But you don't necessarily need to call tech support or the geek across the street to scan for malware--I'll show you how to do it yourself.

Step 1: Enter Safe Mode

Keep your PC disconnected from the Internet, and don't use it until you're ready to clean your PC. This can help prevent the malware from spreading and/or leaking your private data.

If you think your PC may have a malware infection, boot your PC into Microsoft's Safe Mode. In this mode, only the minimum required programs and services are loaded. If any malware is set to load automatically when Windows starts, entering in this mode may prevent it from doing so.

To boot into Windows Safe Mode, first shut down your PC. Locate the F8 key on your PC's keyboard; turn the PC on; and as soon as you see anything on the screen, press the F8 key repeatedly. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu; there, select Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter.

You may find that your PC runs noticeably faster in Safe Mode. This could be a sign that your system has a malware infection, or it could mean that you have a lot of legitimate programs that normally start up alongside Windows.

Step 2: Delete Temporary Files

Now that you're in Safe Mode, you'll want to run a virus scan. But before you do that, delete your temporary files. Doing this may speed up the virus scanning, free up disk space, and even get rid of some malware. To use the Disk Cleanup utility included with Windows, select Start, All Programs (or just Programs), Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup.

Step 3: Download Malware Scanners

Now you're ready to have a malware scanner do it's work--and fortunately, running a scanner is enough to remove most infections. If you already had an antivirus program active on your computer, you should use a different scanner for this malware check, since your current antivirus software may have not detected the malware. Remember, no antivirus program can detect 100 percent of the millions of malware types and variants.

There are two types of antivirus programs. You're probably more familiar with real-time antivirus programs, which constantly watch for malware. Another option is on-demand scanners, which search for malware infections when you open the program manually and run a scan. You should have only one real-time antivirus program installed at a time, but you can keep a few on-demand scanners handy to run scans with multiple programs, thereby ensuring that you're covered.

If you think your PC is infected, I recommend using an on-demand scanner first and then following up with a full scan by your real-time antivirus program. Among the free (and high-quality) on-demand scanners available are BitDefender Free Edition, Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool, Malwarebytes, Norman Malware Cleaner, and SuperAntiSpyware

Step 4: Run a Scan With Malwarebytes

For illustrative purposes, I'll describe how to use the Malwarebytes on-demand scanner. To get started, download it. If you disconnected from the Internet for safety reasons when you first suspected that you might be infected, reconnect to it so you can download, install, and update Malwarebytes; then disconnect from the Internet again before you start the actual scanning. If you can't access the Internet or you can't download Malwarebytes on the infected computer, download it on another computer, save it to a USB flash drive, and take the flash drive to the infected computer.

After downloading Malwarebytes, run the setup file and follow the wizard to install the program. Once installed, Malwarebytes will check for updates and launch the app itself. If you get a message about the database being outdated, select Yes to download the updates and then click OK when prompted that they have been successfully installed.

Once the program opens, keep the default scan option ('Perform quick scan') selected and click the Scan button.

Though it offers a full-scan option, Malwarebytes recommends that you perform the quick scan first, as that scan usually finds all of the infections anyway. Depending on your computer, the quick scan can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, whereas the full scan might take 30 to 60 minutes or more. While Malwarebytes is scanning, you can see how many files or objects the software has already scanned, and how many of those files it has identified either as being malware or as being infected by malware.

If Malwarebytes automatically disappears after it begins scanning and won't reopen, you probably have a rootkit or other deep infection that automatically kills scanners to prevent them from removing it. Though you can try some tricks to get around this malicious technique, you might be better off reinstalling Windows after backing up your files (as discussed later), in view of the time and effort you may have to expend to beat the malware.

If Malwarebytes' quick scan doesn't find any infections, it will show you a text file containing the scan results. If you still think that your system may have acquired some malware, consider running a full scan with Malwarebytes and trying the other scanners mentioned earlier. If Malwarebytes does find infections, it'll bring up a dialog box warning you of the discovery. To see what suspect files the scanner detected, click the Scan Results button in the lower right. It automatically selects to remove the ones that are known to be dangerous. If you want to remove other detected items, select them as well. Then click the Remove Selected button in the lower left to get rid of the specified infections.

After removing the infections, Malwarebytes will open a text file listing the scan and removal results; skim through these results to confirm that the antivirus program successfully removed each item. Malwarebytes may also prompt you to restart your PC in order to complete the removal process, which you should do.

If your problems persist after you've run the quick scan and it has found and removed unwanted files, consider running a full scan with Malwarebytes and the other scanners mentioned earlier. If the malware appears to be gone, run a full scan with your real-time antivirus program to confirm that result.

Step 5: Fix Your Web Browser

Malware infections can damage Windows system files and other settings. One common malware trait is to modify your Web browser's homepage and/or connection settings to reinfect the PC, display advertisements, prevent browsing, and generally annoy you.

Before launching your Web browser, check your homepage and connection settings. In Internet Explorer, click Start, Control Panel, and open Internet Options. Find the Home Page settings, and verify that it's not some site you know nothing about.

Step 6: Recover Your Files If Windows Is Corrupt

If you can't seem to remove the malware or if Windows isn't working properly, you may have to reinstall Windows. But before wiping your hard drive, copy all of your files to an external USB or flash drive. If you check your email with a client program (such as Outlook or Windows Mail), make sure that you export your settings and messages to save them. You should also back up your device drivers with a utility such as Double Driver, in case you don't have the driver discs any more. Remember, you can't save installed programs. Instead, you'll have to reinstall the programs from discs or redownload them.

If Windows won't start or work well enough to permit you to back up your files, you may create and use a Live CD, such as Hiren's BootCD (HBCD), to access your files.

Once you have backed up everything, reinstall Windows either from the disc that came with your PC or by using your PC's factory restore option, if it has one. As when accessing Safe Mode, you must press a certain key on the keyboard in order for the system restore screen to load. If you have a factory restore option, your PC should tell you what key to press in the first few seconds after you turn it on.

Keeping Your PC Clean

Always make sure that you have a real-time antivirus program running on your PC, and see that it stays updated. If you don't want to spend money on yearly subscriptions, you can choose one of the many free programs that provide adequate protection, such as Avast, AVG, Comodo, and Microsoft Security Essentials.

For more information on these options, read "Top 5 Free Antivirus for 2011."

In addition to installing traditional antivirus software, you might consider using the free OpenDNS service to help block dangerous sites. And if you frequent shady sites that might infect you with malware, consider running your Web browser in sandboxing mode to prevent any downloaded malware from harming your system.

Some antivirus programs, such as Comodo, offer sandboxing features, or you can obtain them through a free third-party program such as Sandboxie.

When you think that you've rid your PC of malware infections, double-check your online accounts, such as for your bank, email, and social networking sites. Look for suspicious activity and change your passwords--because some malware can capture your passwords.

If you have a backup system in place that automatically backs up your files or system, consider running virus scans on the backups to confirm that they didn't inadvertently save infections. If virus scans aren't feasible, as is the case with online systems, consider deleting your old backups and resetting the software to save new backups.

Keep Windows, other Microsoft software, and Adobe products up-to-date. Make sure that you have Windows Update turned on and enabled to download and install updates automatically. And if you receive any pop-ups messages from Microsoft or other legitimate companies to update your system's software, do it immediately.

Eric Geier is a freelance tech writer. Become a Twitter follower to keep up with his writings. He's also the founder and owner of NoWiresSecurity, which helps small businesses easily protect their Wi-Fi network with Enterprise-class security (WPA2 with 802.1X).
Source

Pop-Up Stopper Free

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:39:00 +0000

Very few of us have a warm place in our hearts for browser windows that pop up in front of the screen without permission.

The free Pop-Up Stopper prevents them (and pop-under windows) from displaying. You can have sounds notify you when a pop-up has been blocked. The program also allows you to briefly disable the blocking by double-clicking the system tray icon or by pressing Shift or Ctrl when following a new link.

This version features a new ad-blocking technology, an improved interface, and more sound and visual options to play when an ad is blocked. This free version is one of four versions offered. Check the at comparison chart the vendor website to determine which one best suits your needs.

Version: 3.1.1014
Downloads Count: 4,685,272
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Jan 20, 2007
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows XP
File Size: 511.0 KB
Author: Panicware

Download Now

Advanced Spyware Remover

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:35:00 +0000

Evonsoft Advanced Spyware Remover is a highly performance malware and spyware removal program that detects and removes the deepest infections from your PC.

Advanced Spyware Remover has the ability to block over 100,000 known spyware and Internet threats from ever being installed in your computer, block thousands of malicious websites to protect your online privacy and improve computer security.

With the advanced and smart scan engine, Advanced Spyware Remover can detect the most malicious and complex spyware and malware in fast and efficient way. Advanced Spyware Remover is a foolproof anti-spyware tool that removes spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, bots, worms, malware, hijacker programs and immunizes them to block future spyware threats that may invade your privacy and even steal your credit card numbers or personal information.

Moreover, Advanced Spyware Remover is developed to work with all antivirus for a superior PC security. It upgrades computer system performance and creating a secure computer that runs reliably. Advanced Spyware Remover is a all-in-one application. With additional tools such as hijack scan, passive defense and etc, Advanced Spyware Remover helps protect and clean your computer and remove various of potential spyware and malware from your PC easily and effectively.

Advanced Spyware Remover is a 100% freeware, it helps you remove spyware from your computer within 5 minutes and block future spyware threats with one-click!

Version: 2.0
Downloads Count: 39,444
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Jan 14, 2010
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP
Requirements: Processor: Intel Pentium 300 MHz processor (or equivalent) or better; RAM:256 MB of RAM; HDD: 30 MB
File Size: 9.547 MB
Author: EvonSoft

Download Now

ID AntiPhishing

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:31:00 +0000

ID AntiPhishing is a security program designed to protect your system against scam sites by blocking popup windows from showing on your computer's screen while you navigate over the Internet. It also permits you to choose which popup you wish to see.

Main Features:
- Protects against scam sites
- Deletes unsolicited pop-ups
- Detects scam sites using advanced algorithms
- Searches for scam sites using various engines
- Uses an updated phishing-sites list Detailed features:
- Alerts you whenever you are about to view a scam site. Based on an updated list of phishing sites and using an advanced detection algorithm, ID AntiPhishing detects insecure sites and prevents your from viewing them.
- Enables or disables the possibility of popup windows appearing on your screen. By simply changing this option, you can have all pop-ups removed or you can decide which ones to open.
- Automatically removes popup windows it has previously encountered . It tracks all of the pop-ups it has blocked before and memorizes them for future blocking.
- Filters and scans in search for scam websites. Using various search engines, ID AntiPhishing searches for any potentially dangerous popup window that can harm your computer.
- ID AntiPhishing can be operated by the use of a single button. On click is enough to decide whether you want protection using phishing monitoring, or not.
- Blocking popup windows, ID AntiPhishing protects your computer against some pop-up hacker attacks by preventing them from entering your computer's system.
- ID AntiPhishing has a simple, easy to use graphic interface, requires a minimum of space on your disk and scans quickly and efficiently for all threats.

Version: 1.2
Downloads Count: 40
License Type: Shareware
Price: $47
Date Added: Jan 31, 2008
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP
Requirements: Internet Explorer 5, 20 Mb free RAM
File Size: 631.0 KB
Author: Fastlink2

Download Now

Reasonable Anti-phishing

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:27:00 +0000

Phishing attacks have become a deluge in recent years, and Reasonable Anti-Phishing Toolbar aims to help fix that problem by warning you when you might be victimized.

In a phishing attack, you receive an email, directing you to a site such as PayPal or your bank. The site looks real but isn't; if you type in your personal information, it is stolen, and you could become the victim of identity theft.

Reasonable Anti-Phishing Toolbar installs as a toolbar in Internet Explorer. It works by checking the site you browse to and warning you if any are known phishing sites.

Note that when you install the toolbar, it may not show up in Internet Explorer immediately. To make it appear in IE7, click the Alt key, select View, then Toolbars, and select Reasonable Anti-Phishing 2.0.

When you use the toolbar, be careful not to confuse your normal IE Address Bar with what appears to be the toolbar's Address Bar. In fact, the toolbar's Address Bar is linked to a search engine, and you won't get to an address if you type it into the bar.

Given that annoyance, and the fact that Internet Explorer 7 already includes a built-in anti-phishing tool, there doesn't seem to be much reason for using this toolbar.

Note: This program is donationware. It is free to try, but the author accepts and encourages donations towards further development.

Version: 2.1.1
Downloads Count: 720
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Mar 19, 2008
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista
Requirements: Microsoft .Net framework 1.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer
File Size: 934.0 KB
Author: Reasonable Software House

Download Now

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:02:00 +0000

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition was PCWorld's top pick in April 2012's Free Antivirus You Can Trust. It performed well in virtually all of the tests we ran.

In our real-world malware detection tests, which evaluate how well an antivirus package will block brand-new threats, AVG's freebie blocked 85.7 percent of the samples, tying for the best result among the programs we tested. It detected 98.7 percent of the more than 129,000 samples of malware from the past four months in our malware "zoo" test. That's a good score, although a bit short of the best results we've seen.

AVG was at the top of its class in disabling active malware infections: On our test PC, it detected and disabled all malicious software, and removed all traces of malware two-thirds of the time.

AVG also scans a PC relatively quickly. When we directed it to check 4.5GB of data, it sped through the job in 1 minute, 35 seconds, the third-fastest time in this test and only 4 seconds slower than the fastest. Its on-access scanner--which runs when you open or save a file--took 4 minutes, 55 seconds to go through the same amount of data, about average for the programs we looked at.

I like AVG's main interface, though its advanced settings could intimidate some users. Apart from that caveat, if you're looking for solid, fast PC protection, look no further than AVG.

Version: 2012
Downloads Count: 5,994,419
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Apr 18, 2012
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP
File Size: 3.87 MB
Author: AVG Technologies

Download Now

avast Internet Security

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Extra protection for your on-line banking and e-commerce, complemented by new remote assistance, web-based management portal, and cloud-based technologies that include file-reputation warnings and 18x-faster streaming updates. avast! Internet Security version 7 provides complete antivirus, anti-spyware, antispam, sandbox virtualization, built-in firewall protection, and avast! SafeZone™ – for the best defense against any type of malware in 2012.

Version: 7.0.1426
Downloads Count: 45,085
License Type: 30 Day Trial
Price: $60
Date Added: Mar 7, 2012
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Requirements: 32- or 64-bit OS, Pentium 3 processor, 128MB RAM, 444MB free hard disk space
File Size: 35.54 MB
Author: AVAST Software

Download Now

Norton AntiVirus

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:56:00 +0000

As the Internet continues to evolve, cybercriminals are getting more creative in ways to target your computer with the very latest viruses and spyware. Norton AntiVirus 2012 provides our most powerful virus, and spyware protection so you can do more without disruption. The latest upgrade of Norton AntiVirus offers:

*Ranked #1 in performance
*Industry-leading protection
*Easier to use Control Center and features.

Award-winning speed, performance and protection just got better. Norton Protection System includes 4 layers of rock-solid protection designed to proactively protect against the very latest threats – so you can do more on your PC without disruptions. Insight Technology protects you from download dangers no matter which browser, instant messenger or file sharing program you use.

Customizable Control Center gives you the option to choose your preference between a simplified screen or the traditional detailed view.

Bandwidth Management limits Norton's processes and updates when you have limited bandwidth or monthly downloads. Download Insight 2.0 now tells you how stable a download is before you put your computer at risk for crashes or other bad things to happen. Norton Recovery Tools help remove threats that can be deeply buried in a PC's operating system.

Version: 2012
Downloads Count: 112,012
License Type: 60 Day Trial
Price: $40
Date Added: Apr 25, 2012
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP
Requirements: 32- or 64-bit OS, 300MHz or higher processor, 256MB RAM, 250MB available hard disk space
File Size: 119.73 MB
Author: Symantec

Download Now

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 (5 licenses)

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:51:00 +0000

Three protection technologies against new and unknown threats: 1) Hourly automated database updates, 2) Preliminary behavior analysis, 3) On-going behavior analysis. New! Protection from viruses, Trojans and worms Protection from spyware and adware Real-time scanning for email, Internet traffic and files Protection from viruses when using ICQ and other IM clients Protection from all types of keyloggers. Improved! Detection of all types of rootkits. Improved! Automatic database updates

Version: 7.0
Downloads Count: 89,755
License Type: Trial
Price: $140
Date Added: Jan 24, 2011
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP
Author: Kaspersky Lab UK Limited

Download Now

Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:46:00 +0000

Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is a reliable free antivirus solution, that constantly and rapidly scans your computer for malicious programs such as viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, hoaxes, worms, dialers etc. Monitoring every action executed by the user or by the operating system and being able to react promptly when a malicious program is detected. Actions include repair, delete, block, rename and quarantine programs or files.

Version: 9.0.0.394
Downloads Count: 326,639
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Jul 6, 2010
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP
Requirements: At least 133 MHz; at least 196 MB RAM; 30 MB of HDD; 25 MB of free main memory; IE 5 or higher.
File Size: 29.0 KB
Author: Avira GmbH

Download Now

Remove XP Internet Security 2011 to Save Your PC Performance and Security

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:38:00 +0000

By Elisa Lead

XP Internet Security 2011 is similar to other rogue anti-spyware programs. It only attacks on computers that use XP operating system. It is not only dangerous for system performance but also for system security. This fake anti-virus program gets into user's computer without any privileges and performs several malicious actions to harm system security and performance.

This fake program can steal personal information from user's computer that is further used by author of this program for malicious purpose. It advertises commercial messages and reports fake security alert messages. It appears as pop-up on screen of infected system and mislead user's to purchase full version of it to remove virus from your system. But this claim is not true and it doesn't perform any positive action for user.

You must remove this rogue anti-spyware from your system as soon as possible. This program is a trick of cyber criminals to trap users. It is designed to make money by illegal way.

Some harmful effects of XP Internet Security 2011:

· Creates harmful files in infected system

· Modifies registry entries

· Corrupts system files and programs

· Creates duplicate system files

· Continues appear on screen as pop-up with fake security alert messages

· Steals personal information and sensitive data

· Slows down system performance and internet speed

· Interrupts users to perform any internet activity

This rogue anti-spyware program is dangerous application that appears in middle of November. You should avoid this program in order to safe your system and data. You should not follow any instructions provided by this program and remove it instantly after identifying. If you are an expert computer user and have deep knowledge on registry and DLL files then follow manual steps to remove XP Internet Security 2011. But before taking any steps, backup system program and files.

How to remove XP Internet Security 2011:

· Close all opened tabs on your system and restart it in safe mode

· Locate and delete all files associated with XP Internet Security 2011

· Remove corrupted system files and programs

· Open registry editor and remove registry entries

· Restart your system in normal mode and see the changes that you have made

These changes can delete XP Internet Security 2011 from your system but perform it only if you are technical. Any mistake while removing corrupted files may crash your system. It is better to use an advance anti-virus tool to remove it automatically. Anti-spyware tool is available with advance scanning system that automatically detects and removes this fake program from your system. You may further use PC health maintenance program to correct registry entries and repair damage created by XP Internet Security 2011. This registry cleaner program will also enhance your system performance and prevent any further virus attack on your system. Use always an updated version of anti-spyware tool for sure and effective result.

Elisa lead is an expert software engineer who have worked a lot to solve malware problems in systems. She has a detail knowledge about malicious spy wares and computer hijackers program. Here you can get a part of her research work to remove XP Internet Security 2011 program. You can get her work details on XP Internet Security 2011 by visiting http://www.howtofixerror.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elisa_Lead

PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition Software

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 06:33:00 +0000

by Erik Larkin

PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition does a remarkably poor job of keeping a PC safe, largely because it holds to a now-archaic distinction between spyware and other forms of malware. It came in at number five (out of six contenders) in our rankings of free antivirus software.

In an age when a single baddie might spread like a worm, steal passwords like spyware, and allow backdoor-style remote control of an infected PC, most security vendors recognize that labels such as "Trojan horse" or "spyware" are secondary to the idea of keeping everything bad off PCs. Hence today's use of malware as a catch-all term for attack software.

However, PC Tools says that its free program will not detect what it deems spyware (a critical point not emphasized on the company's Web site). And that limitation may account for its awful detection and blocking results: The app left the door wide open for about half of the malware in our tests.

And while the app purports to protect against Trojan horses, a common malware type, it detected only 46 percent of such software in AV-Test.org tests. It did better in detecting worms, but its catch rate of 83 percent for the self-spreading malware still didn't compare with the detection results we saw from Avira AntiVir Personal, the overall leader among the free antivirus software we tested.

Unsurprisingly, the poor performance carried over to AV-Test.org's heuristic tests, which use two- and four-week-old signature databases to simulate how an app will handle new and unknown malware. PC Tools Antivirus came in last, with respective results of 33 percent and 36 percent (in contrast, Avira, the best app we tested, scored 52 percent and 45 percent, respectively). It was decent in detecting and removing existing infections, missing only one out of ten--but most of the tested antivirus apps got them all.

While the program installs smoothly and looks relatively good, it doesn't schedule a scan by default, nor does it automatically update. The software will notify you once a day (by default) if an update is available, but to make it do the updating by itself, you will need to turn on the Smart Update feature.

In short, there's no reason to choose PC Tools Antivirus when other free apps can truly keep your PC safe. Fortunately, the behavior-based PC Tools Threatfire supplemental utility is as good as Antivirus Free Edition is bad.

New Trojan Threat Emerges

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 05:58:00 +0000

By Ross O. Storey, MIS-Asia

Internet security specialist BitDefender has warned about the dangers of a new spying Trojan it describes as "a serious enemy" that can be used as a corporate spying tool.

In a statement, BitDefender says that Trojan.Spy.YEK sniffs for critical data and archives that may hold private information and sends them back to the attacker.

BitDefender Malware Researchers Doina Cosovan and Octavian Minea say that because Trojan.Spy.YEK has both spying and backdoor features, it is a serious enemy.

"A spying malware in the local network of a company means danger and unfortunately the number of such threats is constantly increasing," the researchers said.

"With an encrypted dll in its overlay, this Trojan is easily saved in windows\system32\netconf32.dll and once injected in explorer.exe nothing can stop it from connecting (whenever necessary) to a couple of meeting spots with the attacker," the researchers said.

Backdoor Spyware

"The backdoor component helps it register itself as a service so as to receive and follow instructions from a command and control center, while the spyware component sends away data about files, operating system, while also making screenshots of the ongoing processes."

Some of the commands Trojan.Spy.YEK is supposed to execute are: sending the collected files using a GET request, sending info regarding the operating system and computer, taking screenshots and sending the results, listing the processes that run on the system and sends them away, finding files with a certain extension.

"Shortly put," the researchers said, "it uploads all the interesting data on a FTP server without the user's consent.

"The fact that it looks for all that it is linked to archives, e-mails (.eml, .dbx), address books (.wab), database and documents (.doc, .odt, .pdf etc) makes Trojan.Spy.YEK a prime suspect of corporate espionage as it seems to target the private data of the companies".

Cosovan and Minea say that the Trojan can run, without problems, on all versions of Windows from Win 95 to 7.

"If you haven't done that already, this should be a good time to try an antivirus," they said.

Stuxnet Follow-On

This latest warning comes in the wake of a new breed of e-threats called Stuxnet, a malicious worm that emerged in July 2010. Stuxnet is one of the first malware Trojans that targets Siemen's widely-deployed Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA, systems which are used to monitor automated plants - from water treatment and distribution to power generators.

At the Govware conference in Singapore in September, the Lion City's Senior Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, warned of the "catastrophic implications" should control of such industrial systems fell into the wrong hands through the use of Stuxnet".

In October, BitDefender released a free removal tool that allows users infected with Win32.Worm.Stuxnet.

See more like this:
trojan horses,
online security

Top Security Predictions for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 05:44:00 +0000

By Tony Bradley, PCWorld

E-mail is one of the most widely used forms of communication today. Estimates from May 2009 suggest that around 250 billion--with a "B"--e-mails are sent every day. That equates to more than 2.8 million e-mail messages per second, and some of them are not even spam.

E-mail is faster and cheaper than traditional postal mail, but at least when you seal that envelope and stick a stamp on it, you can have some confidence that only the intended recipient will open it. With e-mail, however, your message could be intercepted midstream, and you might never realize it.Copies and remnants of your message stored on your PC could be compromised as well. You have to take steps to secure and protect your e-mail messages.

Prying Eyes

Your PC provides easy access to your e-mail communications--both for you and for others. Anyone who happens to walk by your system--whether you're in the middle of using it or have stepped away from your desk--could potentially see e-mail messages you are in the process of writing or have already sent, or your incoming e-mail messages. You need to take steps to minimize the opportunity for passing bystanders to snoop on your e-mail.

For starters, don't leave your e-mail client open--or at least not maximized on screen. Whether you use a client application such as Microsoft Outlook, or a Web-based e-mail system like Google Gmail, you should minimize or close the e-mail window when you are not actively using it.

You also need to make sure that snooping eyes can't see what's on your screen when you walk away from your PC for an extended period of time. Many people know to lock or shut down the PC when leaving for the day, and perhaps even when going to lunch, but they might step out to discuss something with a coworker without thinking about it.

ReadMore

BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:38:00 +0000

by Nick Mediati

BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 ($40 for a one-year, three-PC license as of 11/23/2010) ranks second in our roundup of 2011 paid antivirus software. In our tests, it did a good job at detecting malware, and was the top performer at removing infections from a PC, which pushed it up the leaderboard, but it had some trouble blocking live malware attacks, preventing it from climbing any higher.

BitDefender's installation process is a bit longer than that for most of the antivirus products we looked at, as it takes you though not just installation, but various setup options as well. BitDefender comes with three interface "tiers"--a Basic interface, an Intermediate one, and an Expert one. The idea is that you can use an interface that fits your expertise level; the higher up you go, the more options you'll have access to.

I have mixed feelings on this approach: I like the basic interface for its simplicity and directness, and the Intermediate interface isn't bad either, but the Advanced interface is a convoluted mess of tabs running across the top and along the side of the window. If you're looking for set-it-and-forget-it simplicity, stick with the Basic mode. If you like toggling knobs and buttons and aren't intimidated by lots of tabs and controls, give the Intermediate and Advanced modes a try.

While BitDefender wasn't the all-around winner in malware detection and removal tests, it still put up some very good scores. When detecting malware using scanner-based detection methods, BitDefender Antivirus Pro detected 97.5 percent of samples--a solid score, although the top performers in this test detected over 99 percent of samples. This particular test mainly determines how well a product can detect known malware.

BitDefender has an Achilles' heel, though: Antivirus Pro didn't do a great job at blocking actual, live malware attacks. It fully blocked 68 percent of attacks, and partially blocked an additional 20 percent of attacks.

BitDefender wasn't the worst performer in this test, but it was definitely below average; most other paid antivirus products we looked at fully blocked at least 80 percent of attacks. This indicates that it may have some difficulty catching brand-new malware for which a signature file doesn't yet exist.

On the other hand, Antivirus Pro was one of the best performers at cleaning up an infection once it gets into a PC; it detected all infections on a test PC, removed all active components of infections in 80 percent of the cases, and fully removed infections 70 percent of the time--the best score among the products we looked at. In addition, it was one of the few paid antivirus products we reviewed that didn't flag a "safe" file as possible malware.

Malware scan speeds were around average: It scanned 4.5GB of files in 2 minutes, 6 seconds using the on-demand scanner that kicks in when you manually initiate a malware scan. The on-access scanner that checks files for malware as they're opened or saved to disk was somewhat slower than average; it scanned 4.5GB of files in 5 minutes, 27 seconds.

Antivirus Pro had a moderate effect on PC performance in our tests. The test PC booted in 46.4 seconds with BitDefender Antivirus Pro installed, versus 40.1 seconds with no antivirus software installed. But this is around average when compared to the other paid antivirus products we looked at. This trend continued in other tests that show how antivirus software impacts overall PC performance--BitDefender scored either a little above or slightly below average for products we looked at in most of the PC speed tests.

Every product has its strengths and weaknesses. BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 is a pretty solid package, with a healthy set of features. But while it did a very good job in most malware detection and removal tests, you should bear in mind that it may not block brand-new malware attacks very well.

Comodo Internet Security Premium

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:36:00 +0000

by Nick Mediati

Comodo Internet Security Premium came in fifth in our late 2010 roundup of free antivirus products. Although it was last among the products we tested, it did a very good job at blocking brand-new malware. Its detection of known malware lagged behind top performers, though, and it tied for the most false positives.

Comodo Internet Security is reasonably well designed and easy to use. Its installer takes several more steps than is becoming the norm for antivirus software, but it was perfectly usable otherwise. Once it's installed, you'll be greeted by a well laid out Summary screen that uses the familiar green/yellow/red status indicators for your PC's protection status, although some of the wording could have been better. The scan window, however, doesn’t give any indication as to its status--no progress bar, nothing--so you'll be somewhat in the dark as to how long you'll have to wait for scans to complete.

Unlike many free products, Comodo Internet Security has a firewall--thus the product's "Internet Security" moniker. We didn't test the effectiveness of the firewall, however.

Internet Security Premium's malware detection and blocking is a mixed bag. Its 92.4 percent detection rate in traditional scanner-based detection tests--which indicate how well a product can identify known malware--was the lowest score of any product we looked at. In addition, Comodo missed several samples in what's known as the WildList test. This test by itself isn't a good measure of an antivirus product's effectiveness--we don't include it in our scoring for this reason--but any security product worth its salt should be able to detect all its samples.

It also did a middling job at cleaning up infections on a test PC: It detected all test infections, and removed active components of malware infections 60 percent of the time, in a tie for the lowest score among the free antivirus products we reviewed. That said, no product we looked at achieved higher than an 80 percent removal rate.

False positives was another concern: Internet Security Premium tied with Avira AntiVir Personal for the most false positives (six) in traditional malware detection, and it was the only product among the antivirus packages we tested to flag safe files as possibly malicious in dynamic malware detection tests (dynamic malware detection technology attempts to identify malware based solely on how it behaves--a good way of identifying brand-new malware for which no signature file exists). While as a percentage, the number of false positives is low, even one false positive can cause problems.

Despite this issue, Comodo Internet Security Premium did an excellent job at blocking brand-new malware. In tests for blocking real, live malware, Comodo completely blocked 96 percent of attacks, and partially blocked the other 4 percent. No other product was able to fully block more than 80 percent of new malware attacks.

Scan speeds were a mixed bag as well. Its on-demand scan speed (how long it takes to scan 4.5GB of data for malware in an manually initiated scan) of 2 minutes, 9 seconds was solid, though it trailed the fastest scan time of 87 seconds. An on-access scan of 4.5GB of data took 5 minutes, 4 seconds, which was slightly longer than the average. The on-access scan test determines how quickly a product can scan files as they're opened or saved to disk.

In other speed tests, Comodo Internet Security Premium had a relatively slight impact on PC performance. It added less than 1 second to startup times when compared to a PC with no antivirus software installed, though some file copy and download tests took longer than the average for the products we tested.
Comodo Internet Security Premium is by no means a bad product, but its mixed detection scores make it hard to recommend. It may be worth considering on the strength of its detection of brand new malware, but you can find security products that are more well rounded.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 05:34:00 +0000

by Nick Mediati

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 takes fifth place in our roundup of 2011 antivirus software, closely trailing fourth-place finisher G-Data AntiVirus 2011. It did a great job at stopping brand new malware attacks, and a reasonable--though not top-notch--job at detecting known malware, and it sports a well-designed interface. On the downside, its impact on PC performance was worse than average.

Kasperky features a highly streamlined installation process: You have to click through only two screens before installation begins. Once you install, you'll be given the option to activate it or run it in 30-day trial mode.
I found the main Kaspersky interface to be very well designed. The main window is clean, easy to read, and attractive, complete with a big, clear status indicator at the top of the window. The scan tab not only shows a progress bar for a scan, but also an estimate of how long the scan should take--a feature surprisingly absent from a number of antivirus programs I looked at. The scan tab also includes a "hot spot": Drag a file you want to scan to the hot spot, and Kaspersky will scan it for you.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 ($40 for one year on one PC, as of 11/23/2010) was an all-around solid performer in our malware detection, blocking, and cleanup tests. It detected 95.7 percent of known malware samples in tests that rely largely on malware signature files. This is a decent score, but the top performers on this test managed to detect over 99 percent of samples.

Kaspersky performed a little better in tests against live malware attacks designed to determine how well antivirus products can block brand-new malware. In this test, Kaspersky completely blocked 88 percent of samples, and partially blocked an additional 4 percent of samples. This is an above-average score, but not quite up to frontrunner status--the top scorer was able to fully block 96 percent of attacks.

When it came to cleaning up malware infections, Kaspersky held its own: It detected all infections on the test PC, and removed active malware components in 80 percent of cases, which ties the high score in this test. In addition, it removed all traces of infections in 50 percent of cases--a solid score.

Kaspersky was one of the better performers running running manually initiated on-demand scans: It scanned 4.5GB of files in 1 minute, 40 seconds. This trailed the fastest performer by only 13 seconds, and was well above the average scan time of 2 minutes, 21 seconds.

Tests for on-access scans--which determine how quickly antivirus software can scan for malware when files are opened or saved--were another story. There, Kaspersky completed the scan in 5 minutes, 10 seconds, which was slightly slower than average.

In addition, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 caused a somewhat larger hit on overall system performance than most other antivirus packages we looked at. The test PC started up in 54 seconds with Kaspersky installed. This put it well behind the average startup time for the test PC with antivirus software installed (46.5 seconds), and it represents a nearly 14-second increase over the startup time with no antivirus software installed (40.1 seconds). Kaspersky slowed file copy and download tasks more significantly than other suites as well.

If system performance isn't a major concern for you, Kaspsersky Anti-Virus is well worth considering on the strength of its malware blocking capabilities and great interface. Otherwise, consider another product with a smaller impact on your PC's performance such as Avast Pro Antivirus 5.

Avira AntiVir Personal: Great Malware Protection

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:31:00 +0000

by Nick Mediati

Avira AntiVir Personal ranked second in our late 2010 roundup of free antivirus products. AntiVir has strength where it counts most: It did a great job at detecting and blocking malware. That said, its interface needs some improvement.

From the outside, AntiVir Personal is nearly identical to its paid counterpart, AntiVir Premium 2010: The two products have nearly identical interfaces and installation processes, so the real difference between them is the feature set. The interface is reasonably straightforward, but some areas do need improvement.

The Status tab gives a basic overview of whether you're protected and up-to-date, though it doesn't really give too much detail. Most buttons are not labeled, and the button icons are not always immediately recognizable, so you'll have to mouse over them for a tooltip describing what they do (some of the tooltips are more useful than others). Avira is a German import, and some of the wording in dialog boxes feels awkwardly translated. The overall feeling I got from AntiVir Personal's interface is that, while it's serviceable, it feels geared toward more advanced PC users.

Avira put up very good scores for malware detection. AntiVir Personal detected 99 percent of malware samples in scanner-based detection tests that predominantly rely on malware signature files, which was one of the better showings in this test among the free antivirus products we tested. And in the blocking of actual, real-world malware attacks, AntiVir personal completely blocked 80 percent of attacks, which puts it slightly above the average of the products we tested. It partially blocked an additional 5 percent of attacks.

Avira also but up decent scores for malware cleanup. It detected all infections on the test system, and was successful in removing all active components of an attack 70 percent of the time (right around average), and removed all malware components 30 percent of the time (also about average).

On the negative side, AntiVir Personal, along with Comodo's free Internet Security Premium, had the most false positives--six--of the free antivirus products we looked at. As a percentage, this number is still low--it was .004 percent of files scanned, and they were all non-operating-system files, but any false positive can be a hassle. That said, only one free product we tested--Avast Free Antivirus--achieved a perfect false positive score.

AntiVir Personal's scan speeds were impressive as well--it completed an on-demand scan of 4.5GB of data in 87 seconds, the best finish of the free antivirus products we looked at. Its on-access scans were also quite fast: It finished the test in 4 minutes, 7 seconds, well below the average time of 2 minutes, 50 seconds. The on-access scan is a good indicator of how quickly an antivirus program will be able to scan files for malware as they're opened or saved to disk. In addition, AntiVir Personal's impact on overall system performance was low, and it added a mere 2.5 seconds to system startup in our tests--the average product added over 4 seconds to startup time.

AntiVir Personal, like Avira's other products, has been a strong contender in the past, and this latest version continues that trend. But we'd like to see Avira make some improvements to its user interface.

Norton Antivirus 2011

noreply@blogger.com (chris4302) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:29:00 +0000

by Nick Mediati

Norton Antivirus has been a strong performer in recent years, and this year is no exception. Norton Antivirus 2011 ($40 for a one-year, single-PC license as of 11/23/2010) comes in first in our roundup of 2011 paid antivirus products. It does a very good job at detecting and removing malware, and it has a smooth interface.

Installing Norton Antivirus 2011 is a breeze: The well-designed installer requires you to click through only two screens before it begins installing. Norton's products also check to see if you have any incompatible security utilities installed beforehand, so you don't end up with a problem later--a thoughtful touch.

Norton Antivirus has an attractive, polished interface: The main screen shows on-off toggles for its various protection features, as well as a map showing the global cybercrime activity over the last 24 hours. I found the map to be a little gimmicky, and the on/off toggles may be a little confusing at first glance to less-experienced users (though tooltips appear as you mouse over the setting names). One nice interface touch: When your PC is at risk for whatever reason, Norton will put up a "Your Computer is at risk" warning in red text, with a large "Fix Now" button next to it.

In malware detection and removal, Norton Antivirus put out strong all-around scores. It detected 98.7 percent of malware samples in traditional scanner-based detection tests (these tests rely heavily on signature-based malware detection). This is a very good score, but it trails the $50 Panda Antivirus Pro 2011, which detected 99.8 percent of samples.

Norton also put up strong scores in the blocking of real-world malware attacks (a measure of how well a product can block actual malware): Norton completely blocked 24 of the 25 samples thrown at it, but it did miss one sample completely. No paid antivirus application we looked at fully blocked all samples, and only one scored higher than Norton on this test (Comodo Antivirus Advanced completely blocked 24 attacks and partially blocked one attack).

Norton detected all active malware infections in our tests; it removed the active components of an infection 80 percent of the time, and was able to completely remove the infections 60 percent of the time--both above-average scores.

If there's one area where Norton Antivirus could improve, it's speed. Norton put up good scores in our speed testing, but not top-notch results. It completed an on-access scan of 4.5GB of files in 4 minutes, 32 seconds. This is better than the average of 4 minutes, 59 seconds, but behind the top-performing product, which completed the test in 3 minutes, 35 seconds. Its on-demand scan speed of 2 minutes, 1 second is also above average, but again, it's below the top-performers in this test.

All things considered, Norton Antivirus 2011 is a great all-around package, and is worth considering if you're in the market for new antivirus software.