14-Nov-06

Here's my approach to spyware/adware protection and

system security. I use the following settings and programs

and install them in the following order:

 

Virus Detection:

Make sure you have a relatively up to date virus

detection program installed on your system and

make sure it has the latest signature updates insta

lled with it. Signature updates are released at le

ast weekly by most

major software vendors and more often when there is

a known outbreak of a newly discovered virus. Mos

t virus

detection programs can be set to automatically upda

te but that feature has tended not to be the most r

eliable feature in

virus detection, so it’s best to check that your vi

rus detection is actually up to date, especially wh

en you know there is a

new virus on the loose. You can check most virus d

etection programs release dates by right clicking o

n the little logo

icon in the system Tray (now called the “Notificati

on Area” in Windows XP) which is the area located a

djacent to the

clock display on the right end of the Task Bar (usu

ally the lower right hand corner of the display are

a). Notrton Anti-

Virus from Symantec is

Not

my favorite choice for virus detection. A better

choice is available for Free at

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/products-avg-anti-virus-free-edition/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

I personally use this product

on my system at home and it has served us very well

.

Windows Updates:

In "My Computer" (right click, "Properties" "Aut

omatic Updates" and choose “Keep My

Computer Up to Date . . .” and select the top choi

ce to notify when Windows updates are available

and

then to notify

again when they are ready to install. That way the

user knows when their system is downloading or ins

talling so they

know that there is a reason that their system is ru

nning slowly (or if they’re busy they can postpone

the download or

install until they’re not busy using the system).

You can

manually

check for Windows updates by launching Internet

Explorer browser and choosing "Tools" from the Menu

Bar and then "Windows Updates" or go to

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com

 

Note:

SP2 (Service Pack 2) has been out for a few years

now and proven to be a Tremendous improvement to t

he

security of Windows XP as well as a significant imp

rovement to the Windows XP operating system in gene

ral, not the

least of which is the improvement it provided for w

ireless networking on the operating system. More a

bout \sP2 will

be covered later in this document. Se also http:/

/support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=windowsxpsp2

    

Microsoft Office Updates:

Microsoft Office updates are also important to sy

stem security and have to be checked for,

downloaded and installed manually. A hyperlink to

the Office update page at Microsoft can be found ne

ar the upper

edge of the Windows update page or go to

http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=ES790020331033&Origin=HH011277401033&CTT=5

 

Spyware/Adware Blockers & Scanners:

I use six programs to block and clean spyware.

I probably do the updates

and then scan about once per month. I also run a

full virus scan

on my whole hard drive once a month and then run a

 

defrag

. By using this approach and being selective in wh

at things you download and install from the web it

is probably

possible to run your system for a year between majo

r cleanups. However, this will be very dependent u

pon how careful

the user is when browsing the web.

Toolbars, files sharing services such as Napster, WinMX, and Kazaa, and free

software on the web are notorious sources of spyware and viruses.

The

only

file sharing program we use and I

think

it

might

be clean is LimeWire

www.limewire.com

The new Microsoft “Windows Defender” final release:

  

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-

f7f14e605a0d&displaylang=en

Windows Defender is a free program that helps you

stay productive by protecting your

computer against pop-ups, slow performance and secu

rity threats caused by spyware and other potentiall

y unwanted

software.

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/res/ie-spyad.exe

Start Here~~

IESPYAD: IE-SPYAD is a Registry file

that adds a long list of known advertisers, markete

rs, and junkware pushers to the Restricted sites zo

ne of Internet

Explorer. Once IE-ADS is "merged" into your Registr

y, most direct marketers and malware pushers will n

ot be able to

resort to their usual "tricks" (e.g., cookies, scri

pts, popups, et al) in order to monitor and track y

our behaviour while you

surf the Net. IESPYAD covers over 30,000 sites and

is well worth using.

NOTE

: It’s updated every week by the

---

14-Nov-06

author. Download the updated version and run the i

nstall. One of the options is to uninstall the cur

rent installation and

then run a new install which will insert the update

d site blockings.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

SpywareBlaster (an updateable blocker)

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-

aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Ad-Aware ~ Popular, effective, updateable, & free.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

SpyBot Search & Destroy ~ Popular, effective,

updateable, & free.

http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php

SpySweeper ~ Very effective. Can only be updated

in the 'paid-for' version. You can use it for a pe

riod of time for an initial cleanup. For about $20

per year it’s well

worth the money.

Popup Protection:

My experience is that a clean system using the tech

niques listed above will probably result in an

almost total absence of pop-ups. Additional protec

tion can be gained from using PanicWare’s “Pop-Up S

topper”

http://www.panicware.com/popupstoppercompare.html

or Google’s http://toolbar.google.com/

or MSN’s

http://g.msn.com/0US!s5.31472_315529/37.c6845/1??cm=IconNav

browser toolbars (yes, we

think

these are safe

from spyware~ ;) which have pop-up blockers built

in. Personally, however, I don’t care for (or trus

t) the various

‘toolbars.’ I’m not convinced that they don’t actu

ally install their own variety of spyware. Microso

ft’s latest service

pack (SP2) for Windows XP adds a pop-up blocker to

Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s FireFox browser (wh

ich will be

covered more thoroughly later in this article) also

has

very

effective pop-up blocking built-in.

Firewalls:

   

Because broadband Internet users' systems (i.e. roa

drunner, DSL, etc.) are connected to the Internet f

or extended

periods of time they are more vulnerable to outside

intrusion than dial-up users whose systems connect

to the Internet

at irregular intervals. Because of this, broadband

users should have a firewall protecting their syst

em from outside

intrusion. There are two types of firewalls: Hard

ware & Software. I recommend a hardware firewall

such as one of

the Linksys routers

http://www.linksys.com

, either in wireless or non-wireless. They are mu

ch easier to configure

than the software variety of firewalls, probably mo

re effective, and don't require any system resource

s like the software

variety which are actually a program running on the

computer itself. Many of the hardware firewalls a

re also network

hubs that allow the user to connect more than one c

omputer to their home network in order to share res

ources, printers,

etc. and they also allow for the sharing of the Int

ernet service between all the computers in the home

.

For dialup users using Windows XP there is a firewa

ll feature (software) that has been built into Wind

ows operating

system and is probably adequate for the average use

r. However, in version SP1 (Service Pack 1) it nee

ds to be turned

on to put it into use because the default setting i

s “Off.” In SP2 (Service Pack 2), which |Everyone

should be upgraded

to, the much improved version of this firewall is t

urned on as the default setting.

ZoneAlarm from Zonelabs

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp

is an

excellent Free version of software firewall that do

es a somewhat more thorough job of securing the sys

tem compared to

the firewall built into Windows XP (even SP2’s upda

ted version) It does require a little more knowled

ge & tweaking

by the user and on occasion can experience conflict

s with Microsoft’s Windows security updates (ask me

how I

know~~ ;) I used it for quite awhile but after it d

isabled my Internet service after I ran a Windows u

pdate I decided to

just depend on the Windows XP SP2 firewall in combi

nation with my Linksys router.

Alternate Web Browser & E-mail clients (readers):

One of the Most Effective defenses against spyware and viruses

has come from using an alternate web browser and a

n

alternate e-mail reader (client). The results are

remarkable! The

FireFox

browser and the

Thunderbird

e-mail client

---

14-Nov-06

from

Mozilla

can be downloaded at

http://www.mozilla.com

There are also copies on this CD in folders call

ed

“FireFox” and “ThunderBird.”

 

Here are a number of links where many of these resources can be found:

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

Link to the free edition of AVG anti-virus softw

are from Grisoft

  

http://www.drcolburn.com/Tech/Pages/Virus.htm

Virus, spyware, & firewall info on my web site:

 

http://www.drcolburn.com/Tech

My computer resource site:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/

Microsoft’s main security web site:

http://www.drcolburn.com/colburncomputer/

How to get in touch with me~

315.524.9513 Home

315.524.1134 Work (voice mail 3750)

dcolburn@wayne.k12.ny.us

 

Dave@DRColburn.com