Xagenda: Philippines portal to Anime and Technology » jd

Softwares to help you to be safe

JD — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:40:14 +0000

After reading my article, you should already know that “safe browsing” comes first before softwares. You won’t bet entirely on security software to be safe. It is all up to you, what you browse, what you download and what you watch.

Now, what is the use of security softwares? Security softwares “HELPS” you to be safe. In the cases that you left your guard down or maybe you forgot to scan your flash drive before using it. With that here are some of the security softwares I recommend.

ANTIVIRUS

Avast – This is the AntiVirus I used. It has a free version for home use. The suite includes protections for, E-mails, Instant messengers, P2P programs and other more. You need to register it to use it for more than 30 days. You can check it out here.

Avira Antivir – This is what I use before moving to Avast. Lightweight compared to avast and has good reviews. I also recommend this one if you don’t like Avast. Of course it has a free version. Check the site here

AVG – This is the first AV I have used. Free, of course and and works decently. This is also highly recommended along with the two above. You can check it here.

AntiVirus is really a personal preference. All of them works fine, and almost all of them has free version for us home users. I only don’t recommend Norton. The program is “bloated” (meaning it consumes a lot of resources) compared to the ones I mentioned above. If you have a personal AV that you can recommend hit it up on the comments.

Also I want to inform you that before installing a new AntiVirus you must uninstall the old AntiVirus present in your system. You may need the uninstaller tool provided by the AntiVirus maker just to completely uninstall the AntiVirus. Also you don’t need two AntiVirus running on your PC. It can cause conflict and a serious computer slowdown because two scanners are trying to access the same file.

WEB BROWSERS

People tend to use internet explorer because they doesn’t know that there are safe and faster web browser that they can try. Here are some that I recommend.

Firefox – This is the one I recommend the most. It is fast and secure. It also has lots of add ons to choose from. To make it safer and more compatible to your needs. It is well supported by the makers and I believe it will be for the next decades or so. Use it now, you can download it here.

Google Chrome – Yes this web browser is made by Google. This new browser is getting positive reviews and now has extensions. (like add ons on firefox) Seems like this will be a tough competitor of firefox. It has an “incognito mode” which is more secure because it doesn’t allow script to run. Good for testing doubtful sites. I personally think firefox is safer but I can say this is an alternative. You can download this here.

Opera – I used this once and I find it good. While they are more incline with mobile web. Its desktop counterpart still does good compared to internet explorer. Another alternative for IE. Check it here

OTHER SCANNERS

The difference between an AntiVirus and an Scanner is that AntiVirus offers real time protection and the other one is on demand. While both detects and delete malwares, the latter has specific database mostly for new malwares. 30% of the time these scanners can scan malwares that your resident AntiVirus cannot. Now, you know why I don’t bet entirely on AntiVirus alone.

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware – This is the scanner I liked most. Simple and effective. It can scan your system, Detects infections, Deletes them and creates a log that a malware expert can examine. I strongly recommend you use this. You can download it here. Don’t forget to update first before scanning.

Spybot Search & Destroy – Another scanner that I use. Think of this as a second opinion. You can use along with MBAM, just don’t run them simultaneously. You can download one here.

Why can you have more than one scanner and not AntiVirus? AntiVirus offers real time protection. It means that if you have two AV both of them are running simultaneously. They are eating up your resources that cause slowdown and worst errors cause by them trying to access the same file. While Scanners are on demand task. You can let the one finish first before starting the other one. That is there difference.

There are also Online scanners that pretty much do the same. Here are some of them

SPECIAL TOOLS

There are some special tools that I do not recommend for everyday use. These are powerful tools use by malware experts to clean up your system. However these tools gives false positive result which makes them dangerous in the hands of an average user. The reason I include this is because I find that lot of people are using these tools and even promoting the use of them. Please do not use this tools unless instructed by a malware expert.

Here are some of them:

ComboFix
HiJackThis

How did I get infected in the first place?

JD — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:10:19 +0000

I was always asked by this question “What is the best AntiVirus out there?” ”What added security I can install on my system?” Maybe some of you has a suggestion of his/her own. Let me guess, Avira?, Avast?, NOD32? or maybe AVG?

Before it goes down to a heated conversation let me answer an entirely different question How do I(you) get infected in the first place?

I get the general idea here. I only included information that is suited for this topic

Email-Attachments – DON’T OPEN EMAIL ATTACHMENTS unless you know that the attachment is intended to you. Even if the message is from someone you knew. Not because it is sent by him/her doesn’t mean he/she is the one sending the message. Malwares can use email to spread. So, when you received an email like “See my wife naked!!! download attachment.” You know what to do. Hey who in the correct mind will post a picture of his wife naked?

Instant Messenger Links – DON’T CLICK LINKS FROM INSTANT MESSENGER. Like in email attachments. Instant Messenger can be also controlled by a malware and spread itself. To be sure that the link is intended to you just ask the sender. If he/she doesn’t the one you send the link you must inform him that he/she is infected. This also included links sent to you via networking sites. (Facebook, Friendster, etc..)

Removable Storage – It is common to us to lend our flash drive to others. This is one way of getting infected. I am not saying that you don’t lend yours. I am just saying that be careful to whom you gonna lend. If you are lending your flash drive, keep in mind the following:

Scan first the flash drive before using it.
Do not use the Autorun function because it maybe a malware and not a legitimate file.

It is a good practice to have a personal flash drive. For your own safety and privacy.

Porn Sites – Well a lot of you maybe bothered by this, stay away on porn sites. Some (I am not saying all) porn sites are infected will malwares and can infect your system by visiting the site.

Warez/P2P/Downloading – Be careful on what you download. There is a high possibility that what you are downloading is a malware. Especially when it comes to piracy. Wheter it is games, applications, audios and videos. Before you comment like “Dude it is a false positive. I can download movies that are malware free.” Yeah, You’re right sometimes there are pirate audio, video and software that are malware free but it is still illegal and we do not advocate piracy. If you want the software/audio/video please buy it.

After reading this article, you tell me. What is the best antivirus out there?

I want you to remember that “Safe Computing” comes first. I am not saying you don’t need security software, You do. It just that you don’t rely so much on those software to keep you malware free.

On my next article, I will give you tips and suggestion on what security software to use to HELP you to stay malware free.

Joining the Crew but not New

JD — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:24:14 +0000

Hello

Today I am joining this site (Aside from Tech Rant podcast) and will be posting interesting articles about technology. We (me and Solidad) will give you tips and information that will help you enjoy more the technology that we have today SAFELY.

Also we will be making a review of the gadgets that we use in our everyday life. Maybe you can get tips on how to effectively use the gadget you own (Assuming we also use what you use) or help you decide if you will buy that same gadget.

That is all, watch out for my second post entitled “Why do I get infected in the first place”.

Bye

How did I get infected in the first place?

Tech Rant 16 – The most pirated show of 2009

Solidad — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:02:54 +0000

I got a very weird episode for you this week. I, JD, JP, and Lester wander around in skype and talk about the latest happenings in technology. Sure, we are just clearing some backlog, thanks to my trustee who is so busy in spite of being a egotistical bastard bum. Anyway, I wont be able to do the show without him. So i better make up for what i have.

Download Here (82MB / 124Min)

We mainly talk about games, thanks to lester. This has become my last starw. So I’ll be cooking up a show just for him. I am starting to notice that, every time he’s with me we ended up talking about games. Granted he plays most of the time. Hence, I’ll have to give him a dedicated game podcast. I’ll be doing console gaming (PS3 gaming), and he’ll do the ailing PC games. We’ll just see if this will be a good move. Hope you listen to it.

Okay, the tech topics are placed on my delicious site here. So check it out if you want to have the full details on what we are talking about.

Our Tech Question comes for Field Marshal Reborn

I have a question, which one of these is better, Radeon or NVIDIA GEFORCE?? Because when I play Modern Warfare 2 in my PC using Radeon 2000 w/ 1.5 GB RAM the graphics are bad, I tried to update my DirectX from 8 to 9 but nothings change. I remove the Radeon and I use the NVIDIA GEFORCE… There you go, the graphics are good now… So I’m just curious which of these two are better.

Our follow up question from Jazzon

Ano ba magandang video card para sa desktop? Para malaro ko na din ng maayos yung mga bagong lalabas na games.

The intro for this show is, The lab with leo.

Tech Rant 10:China Quality

Solidad — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:59 +0000

We got a good show for you today. JD and lester are here to discuss various issues (Actually it’s only me and JD. Since Lester went out to fetch water). Were sorry if it took so long for this show to come up. If you ever wonder where is episode 9; my reason would be is, i forgot the episode count. So, my apologies for that.

Download Here (100min/79MB)

So, Among the thing we discussed. We talked about Lester’s Upgrade to Windows 7 (His Laptop came with vista. But it was eligible for a free windows 7 upgrade). We also talked about CEL, or the Consumer Electronics Live 2009 at the world trade center last Sunday. HTC HD2, which is a phone that is more awesome than the IPhone.

Aside from that. here are some of the net stories we disscused:

Intro is of course, The lab with leo. Outro is Me/lody from Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

Tech Rant 8 – The end of PC gaming

Solidad — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:39:39 +0000

We have a long, yet very informative show for you this week. One of my buddies, and gamer lester, has joined us from LA to give us his wisdom, on gaming. Of course JD is with us for good opinions and to keep the show ball rolling.

Download the show here (125min/56MB)

Show this week is all about gaming. Most of our talks are about Nvidia halting it chip development, Project Natal, Nissan Robots, PS 3 Slim and a couple of insights for RE5, HTC HD2 a phone worth dying for and more.

This podcast is hosted using jollyworks hosting. For shared web solutions for as low as 1$ a month, go to jollyworkshosting.info for more info.

The shows intro is grabbed from the defunct show The Lab with Leo.