How to Locate the Top Registry Cleaner? These Tips Can Help You Pick the Best!

July 23rd, 2010 by blythe100

You have two options while downloading software for your needs. You can either obtain it for free or get if by paying for it. We usually prefer the one that is free as it does not cost much and is easily available online. However, such free software has a higher chance of being malware that may affect your computer. Malware is nothing but malicious software that may damage your computer. Hence it is considered best to buy a Registry Cleaner rather than downloading it. In case you are downloading it, make sure you download it from a website that is secure by all means.

The malware may not show off itself while you are downloading the program. It would be hidden in such a way that you can hardly detect its presence. However, once you download the program your computer gets infected. Most of them pose as beneficial parts for the computer and even miss being detected by the anti-virus program in your computer. This is a serious problem with free versions of Registry programs. Another problem with free Registry Cleaner programs is that they become obsolete soon as the developer does not have the motivation to keep updating it as it is available for free.

A good quality Registry Cleaner may cost you a little but you can be sure of getting regular updates from time to time so that your software does not become outdated soon. They are also very secure to use. You can take the help of user reviews from good websites that provide information on software before choosing one. It is advisable to consider the user reviews only from websites that are unbiased. They give the best information on the product and its utility.  

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How Safe Is Your Computer?

July 9th, 2010 by blythe100

If you surf the web, you can be sure that you face the ongoing risk of spyware or adware. It is time you updated your antispyware programs to keep your PC healthy. But first let us briefly examine the most common types of spyware.

Gone are the days when viruses were expected only via our email. Now we don’t even have to click a link to be infected. All we have to do is browse the Internet, and it’s an open invitation to spyware. Spyware constitutes those programs that are deliberately lodged in your computer without your approval or knowledge. You can never live without spyware and adware protection.

Types Of Spyware

Adware is the worst form of spyware. These programs lay in wait for you to connect to the Internet and then they send you popups that give you all kinds of offers. And while you are thinking how considerate those websites are, these fake popups are actually recording your viewing habits and smuggling them off to marketing companies who sell you junk.

Another irritating form of spyware is the browser hijacker. After installing themselves on your PC, they just change your default homepage and search engine. When you start your web browser, you’ll find that you are flooded with ads, porn and other stuff you don’t want. The scary part of this is that they mine data – which means they report your surfing habits to someone who uses the information unethically.

Keyboard loggers are thieves who steal your PIN number when you bank online. They get your passwords. This means, without spyware protection, your personal information and assets can be stolen. Then there are Diallers that enter your PC through a virus infection, adult websites, warez, or even MP3s. A dialler is software that dials numbers at premium rates when you are not around and you end up with bills for thousands of dollars.

If you use file-sharing programs, while installing it, spyware also gets installed, unless you read your end user agreements carefully or have antispyware software installed to keep these Trojans away. Imagine having every keystroke recorded, and your private instant messages, emails and other conversations being logged and reported elsewhere without you knowing about it! No – not the best situation to be in! So, never be without spyware protection.

Is There Freedom From Spyware?

The only way to escape spyware or at least minimize its effects is to install antispyware software on your pc. Some programs just remove the spyware but cannot prevent new spyware from coming into your pc. Get firewall software, if you use broadband or high-speed connections. Avoid clicking on links that promise you free movies, prizes, free software etc. Update your antispyware program and scan your PC regularly.

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Spyware Symptoms

June 29th, 2010 by blythe100

When we talk about spyware symptoms, we talk about both how you get spy-ware and what the symptoms of having it in your system are. Knowing this can help you in choosing an effective antispyware and adware removal tool.

Spying software is a major threat to security and privacy since it monitors your computer activity without you being aware of it and relays that information to someone who wants to use this information for commercial purposes.

How Spy Programs Comes Into Your Computer

Usually spy-ware shows up as irritating pop ups or spam that you obviously don’t want. The Trojans behave like viruses. You unwittingly allow unwanted spy software into your computer when you browse the web or through Peer to peer file-sharing programs where it is bundled within the programs you download. More surprisingly, though you could be installing legitimate software, and the spy-ware and adware would be incorporated in it, especially with free downloads like screen savers. You agree to an end user agreement that runs to several pages and when you consent to the download, you have already given permission to let all the spy program in!

The Effects Of Spyware

How do you suspect you have spy-ware in your system? Here’s how:

Slow, Slower, Slowest: Your PC or network is slow, and it takes longer to shut down or boot. It takes longer to connect to the Internet and the connection speeds are significantly slower. Just a couple of adware programs can affect your pc drastically. Bandwidth is wasted since such malware use it to send its own info.

What’s that new toolbar: Some spy-ware hijacker programs just present you with toolbars you never asked for, that quietly spy on you.

A new desktop shortcut? Another irritating freebie from your spyware.

A brand new default homepage that’s up to no good: You certainly didn’t ask for it. And worse still, spy software wont let you change it. Or visit websites of your choice.

You didn’t look for it: When you browse and search, the spy program comes up with search results quite different from what you ought to have got, and then they direct you to websites of their own choice.

Error pages: When a particular URL you looked for can’t be found, error hijackers just show strange new error pages. Sometimes they show pages loaded with full page ads you just cant seem to close. Adware can really mess up your computer and make it barely functional.

Removing Spy-ware

Removing spy software is not easy and quite risky. The uninstallers do not completely uninstall and sometimes reinstall themselves. They rewrite your registry. So just install an antispyware solution that finds and removes all spy-ware and adware cleanly. Protect your pc.

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Clean The Computer Of Spyware Entries With Reliable Spyware Removal Software

June 24th, 2010 by blythe100

‘Spyware’ is a term that refers to a very wide category of malicious software that has been intentionally designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer’s operation without the consent of that computer’s owner or lawful user. When the term ‘Spyware’ is taken in a literal sense, it suggests that the software clandestinely monitors the activities of the user operating the computer, however, it has over the years, come to be known as software that hampers the operating systems efficient functioning for the benefit of a third party, usually the person who created the Spy-ware. By downloading onto a system the Spy program will also make entries in the system registry. While it is imperative to remove the Spying software from the computer it is as imperative to remove all traces from the registry as well. This can be achieved with the help of Adware Spyware removal tool.

How Does It Affect The Computer?

‘Spyware’ is candid software that downloads itself onto a person’s computer and constantly operates in the background and collects personal information of the user. For instance, it will record the entry from the keyboard every time the user enters a username and password or credit card details. The Spy program will monitor and record the information as well as which site the username and password was entered into. It will then mail this information to the host computer that the Spy program came from. In order to do this the Spy software must take over some processor time. It does this by delaying the operation of other programs or applications running on the system. This slows the system down drastically. The system can be revamped with free Adware Spyware removal utilities such as Quake removal Spyware tool.

Are Spyware Removal Utilities Not Enough?

Many Spy-ware removal utilities do remove the Spy softwares from the system but many of them cannot delve into the registry and remove all the entries therein. The registry will have to be scrubbed clean with special Spyware removal utility such as Quake removal Spy-ware utility software. Many of the Spy-ware entries will be associated with critical system files and so the anti-Spyware program will not delete them from the registry. Only a good Spy-ware removal utility such as Yahoo Spyware removal tool will scan the registry and detect the broken links and determine it they will hamper the efficient operating of the system if they are removed. If the Yahoo Spy-ware removal decides that they can be safely removed the entries will be deleted. If the entries are left in the registry they may link up to the site where they came from initially and download the Spy software again. This is why it is imperative to clean the registry with a reliable registry cleaner such as the free Microsoft Spyware Adware removal tool.

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A Quick Look at Kaspersky Internet Security 2010

June 10th, 2010 by blythe100

Installation and setup

Very easy and straightforward. Getting the application up and running is child’s play and the process is fairly automated, meaning very little user interaction is required during the installation procedure. I have a little bit of criticism against Kaspersky Lab going the opt-out route regarding the participation in the Kaspersky Security Network. With “opt-out” I mean that you need to explicitly opt out from participation and I would like to see this the other way around. But at least Kaspersky Lab gives you the option to opt out, unlike other software developers who never even inform you of participation in their usage data collection programs.

Updates

The software updates itself quite often, with definition updates released several times a day. The software checks for updates on an hourly basis, but certain users report that actual updates are published every three hours on average. Nevertheless, Kaspersky Lab stays up to date with the latest threats and outbreaks, to the benefit of every user of their software.

User Interface

It is quite easy to use the software, making it an attractive option for novice users. Most of the components work out of the box and customising them is no rocket science. However this can’t be said of all the components. The firewall component is the least user friendly and making changes to the firewall rules, to make it behave in a way that suit your needs, is an extremely frustrating and time consuming operation.

Performance

You won’t need a monster PC to run Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, but you need at least 1 GB of RAM and an 1GHz processor to run the security suite on Windows XP, without compromising the overall performance of your computer (for Vista and Windows 7, double these figures to 2GB of RAM and a 2GHz processor). Off course you will notice a slight decrease in performance, but nothing major. With the processing power of today’s standard office computers, you shouldn’t have any trouble running the software on one of these.

Real-time Protection

This is where Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 packs the punch. This security suite brags with a whopping 13 different security components, each one of them providing tailor made protection against specific types of threats. You are basically protected against malware (viruses, spyware, trojans, rootkits, etc.), network attacks, spam, phishing attacks, intrusive advertising through banners and even your kids are protected against inappropriate content on the Web. There is more to Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 than meets the eye and only a look under the hood can reveal the different levels of protection provided by this world class security suite.

Threat Protection Tests

This is the core of every security software review, in other words, can the software protect me when the pawpaw hits the fan? Malware tests were satisfactory, although it missed a couple of threats. Malicious files are isolated properly and accidental execution of a known threat is nearly impossible. The heuristic scanner is fairly clever too and the software defended itself perfectly when I tried to disable it by force.

The firewall fared well against the couple of leak tests I threw at it, but I was able to determine the computer’s MAC address and the fact that it was up and running, with a simple port scan from another computer. The proper behaviour of a firewall in this case would be to hide the computer completely from an unauthorised computer, connected to the same network. The firewall detected and blocked the port scan, but it did not blacklist the offending PC, because it assumed that its IP address was spoofed. I would have liked an option to block the attacking computer completely, but hey, this is not a perfect world.

The spam filter is the only component in Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 that did not do so well during this review. At first I had loads of issues getting it to work in Thunderbird 2 and secondly, I discovered that there is no support for Thunderbird 3 at all (perhaps in the future?). The spam filter operates quite well in Outlook Express but the actual spam filtering left me wanting. I have to mention though, that the accuracy of the spam filter improved, after training it with more or less 150 spam e-mails, but even after all that training it still allowed obvious spam e-mails to come through. So it is disappointing to see a spam filter, with so much potential (Heuristic analysis, GSG technology for image recognition, analysis of RTF files and self-training text recognition with iBayes), struggling so much when it comes to actual spam filtering.

Value Added Protection

Like I mentioned earlier, during the discussion of the real-time protection, you also get a parental control and anti-banner component with Kaspersky Internet Security 2010. These components are disabled by default, because not everyone will have use for them. However, these simple tools are really impressive in terms of functionality, they do exactly what you would expect from them. The parental control component is easy to configure and very little configuration is needed, because it relies heavily on heuristic detection of inappropriate websites. Heuristic analysis is often something that delivers either a lot of false positives or false negatives, but the heuristic analyser of the parental control component is totally different, it is successful at detecting inappropriate sites, with very few false positives.

People with a vendetta against banner advertising will find the anti-banner component very helpful. Once again it relies on heuristic analysis to detect common banner sizes. The parental control and the anti-banner components, each has a white-list and a black-list, which can be used to explicitly allow (white-list) or block (black-list) specific websites.

Conclusion

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, is a well rounded Internet security package. There is most certainly some room for improvement in the firewall and spam filtering division, but apart from its faults, it still remains one of the leading Internet security suites in the market. I highly recommend it for home and office use.

To win the battle against cyber crime we need comprehensive protection against online threats. We need to take the necessary precautions to keep our computers free from malware and unauthorised access. In order to achieve this goal, we need the necessary protection on our computers BEFORE an attack strikes. An Internet security suite like Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 can help you achieve this goal.

One golden rule applies to computer security, prevention is better than cure!

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Download Freeware Registry Cleaner For Free

June 3rd, 2010 by blythe100

Are you sceptical about the freeware that are available over the internet? Be absolutely sure of the fact that a freeware registry cleaner can only do you good without causing any harm to your computer. Registry cleaner is an effective tool for the Windows PC users as it can better the performance of your computer and save you from threats of malicious programs.

Registry is used by the Windows operating system to store hardware and software configurations and system setting information. Microsoft adopted this technique of storing the system configuration through a registry from the Windows 95 version. Earlier these details were stored through the INI files were stored throughout the hard disc in a scattered way, making the system inefficient and slow. Windows registry generates an entry for every change that you make to your hardware or software configuration. That means whenever you install or uninstall a program or hardware device or make any changes to the system settings an entry is added to the Windows registry. All these entries are not required by the system to run smoothly. Moreover, outdated entries make the registry cluttered that result in slower performance of the system. A freeware registry cleaner can remove these outdated entries and give you hassle-free and better computing experience that you can never expect with pc filled with spyware.

You can download a freeware registry cleaner from internet as it is widely available. But before you do that you need to be sure about the compatibility of the freeware with your system. As different versions of Windows operating system have different methods of keeping the registry, it is important that you download the exact software. Moreover, certain registry clean freeware need specific RAM and hard disc space. So you need to be very sure about your system resources before you choose to download the registry cleaning freeware.

Once you have downloaded the right free registry cleaner that is perfectly compatible with your system, install and run the software. The registry cleaning tools scans the registry and deletes the outdated entries leaving the valid entries intact. It also removes empty spaces and fragments within the registry, deletes traces of incomplete uninstall processes and even cleans the embedded keys used by malware. With the latest registry cleaning tools you can also back up the registry. It lets you to restore the registry file if you encounter any problem after you clean up the registry.

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Free Spam Blocking Software & Services – Can You Prevent Spam From Taking Over Your Inbox?

May 22nd, 2010 by blythe100

If you are like me, each day you waste many minutes of your day wading through annoying spam messages in your email inbox. These messages range from random advertising pitches, to Internet pornography to cyber-criminals trying to get a hold of my sensitive financial data through phishing emails.

In my job as an Internet writer, I have about half a dozen email addresses that I monitor each day. It is not an exaggeration to say that I get a combined 75 or more spam emails to these email addresses every day. Well, at least I used to.

About three months ago, I decided enough was enough. I set out on a quest to find ways to mitigate the amount of spam hitting my inbox each day. My first goal was to find free spam blocking software for my Outlook Express email program.

After some research and trying out a few different solutions, I actually settled on a program called SpamFighter. If you are using it on private email addresses (which is what I tested it on), it is free software that works with Outlook and Outlook Express. Basically, it tests each email that hits your inbox and then sends spam messages, advertising messages and phishing emails to your spam folder. The company that developed it offers a paid version as well, but the free worked just fine for my needs. The only annoyance that made me consider upgrading to the paid version was that each email I send adds a little signature line promoting SpamFighter to my email recipients. In the paid version, this does not happen.

I’m not necessarily endorsing SpamFighter as the best free solution out there for individuals using Outlook or Outlook Express, but it worked for me. I liked it because it a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and it did a good job of weeding out spam. As a matter-a-fact, in the email account I tested it on it cut down my daily messages by 60 percent!

My next step was to look for another option that would work for my business-related email addresses. Since the goal for this was to find free anti-spam programs, SpamFighter would not solve my problems on the business side. There are many other programs out there that are free to use for businesses and private use alike, but I found many too hard to setup and others were not so good at catching spam.

In the end, I settled on using Google’s Gmail platform. I took my business related email addresses (which are all POP3 email addresses) and I ran them through Gmail. Gmail has an awesome spam detection feature and it worked perfectly. It is also 100 percent FREE!

As of today, my daily encounters with spam messages has decreased considerably. Please understand, no program or service can stop all spam messages, but these options did slow them down considerably.

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Window Registry – The Backbone Of Your PC

April 29th, 2010 by blythe100

Before we start on with our technical journey, it’s really important for you to understand the word ‘window registry’. Registry is a Vertebral-column in your computer system. It is an onlooker of all the programs and software that you installed and stored on your computer system. In short it is a record book of all the internal functions in your pc. And keeping your registry clean is as important as eating a healthy diet for fruitful living.

Registry is a program that hoards all the internal settings for you computer. It includes settings for all the software, hardware, keys, control panel and information related to the user. Whenever you install any new software or make some changes in the control panel of your computer system, all the changes that have been made will be automatically stored in it, or in a simple language it copies all the work that you have done on your pc. So registry is like a central part of your brain. So in order to keep your registry working in proper order, it is really important to keep it safe.

Today life without computer is not possible whether you are a student or a house-wife or a businessman, everyone has their own reasons for using this technical wonder. The more you work on your system, more the registry will store, along with silly and irritating pop ups, adware and spyware. So keeping your window registry problem free is really important and that will only possible after you download our magical registry cleaner.

Now, you must be thinking that what is registry cleaner and how it works. In a very simple language it is software that scans your window registry and deletes all the superfluous entries that can be proved harmful for your computer in the long run. Some of the major benefits of downloading registry cleaning program are stated below:

It gives proper shape to your computer by removing all the irrelevant and unnecessary data from your windows.

Spyware can crash your computer and registry cleaner by removing all that malicious software saves you computer from crashing down.

Improves the speed of your PC by deleting all the adware and spyware, thus making your computer pest free.

Windows registry comes with detecting power that easily senses all the hidden files and is malicious in nature.

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Adult Related Content – Fuel For Spyware And Spam

April 29th, 2010 by blythe100

Porn is not good for the human psyche, it becomes an addiction just like any other addictive substance. Whether you believe porn is immoral or not, is beside the point, it remains a fact and it is no good for your computer either. But lets forget about the adults for a while and think about our children. In homes where everyone does not have his or her own computer, is a family computer, used by each member of the family. If mom or dad surfs porn websites, do you think it will remain for the eyes of mom and dad only? Unfortunately no. It is not only mom or dad who gets hooked on porn, the family computer gets hooked as well, hooked by spyware. These websites make sure you come back for more by constantly throwing offensive pop-up advertisements in your face while browsing the Web or simply by working on your computer while being connected to the Internet. The spyware does not know and does not care who is in front of the computer screen, it is only the ad that counts.

A while ago I worked with a HijackThis log from someone struggling with annoying website redirects and Google warning him about being infected with spyware. I replied with the disinfection instructions, but also warned him about the adult related software that caused the infections. I never received any response from him, he was probably not prepared to get rid of his virtual desktop girlfriend. I guess he must love her very much for being willing to sacrifice his own online security, privacy and the freedom to browse without being redirected to websites he does not want to visit. Not my idea of an ideal relationship. The best of all is that this person also had Parental Control Software installed on his computer. This is either a naughty teenager bypassing the content filters installed by his parents, or even worse, a father who believes the content filters will prevent his children from being exposed by the filthy software installed on the computer. Parental content filters and control software are designed for Internet adult content filtering, like offensive images, websites, e-mails and text, not spyware or adult related software already installed and allowed to run on your computer. Using parental monitoring software (which does not block content) may help you monitor the activities of your children online, but it does not prevent them from being exposed to adult content in the first place. Anyway, what does it help to monitor your children if you can’t set them a better example yourself?

With all the free e-mail services available today, everyone with Internet access have their own e-mail account, even your children. Some spyware programs are also e-mail address harvesters. When a child uses the same computer a parent or older family member use for browsing porn sites, chances are good that this poor child will fall victim to endless offensive, disgusting and explicit adult related e-mails. Everyone who uses the infected computer is at risk. If the spyware is a keylogger, the e-mail address is stolen the moment you type your e-mail address into a web form, this can be the page where you log into your e-mail account or when you sign up for a newsletter or web service. The most common method used by spyware is the extraction of e-mail addresses from the e-mail accounts set up with e-mail clients like MS Outlook, Outlook Express or Thunderbird. The spyware may even pull all the addresses from your address book and you may end up becoming a distributor of spam without even knowing it. I don’t think your friends and family will be chuffed if they receive porn spam because of your inability to control yourself. If you continue to browse porn websites with the same computer used by your children for e-mail and other Internet activities, don’t be surprised if they suddenly ask you out of the blue about Viagra or genital enlargement patches.

When your e-mail address lands on a spammer’s list, you are in a catch-22 situation. It is futile to try and get your e-mail address removed from this list. By the time you succeed in getting your e-mail address removed, which is in any case unlikely to happen, your e-mail address will be distributed among many other spammers. Once a spammer has your e-mail address, it is an open channel for him to send you absolutely anything under the sun and no spammer is ethical, they don’t mind how many children they pollute with porn spam, as long as someone reads their e-mails, they are happy.

Porn and spam have 2 things in common, they waste bandwidth and they are the same thing over and over again. Many people believe that porn is only innocent mischievousness. Whenever you encounter cyber crime, porn and adult related content is often involved. In a recent article by Scambusters.org (http://www.scambusters.org/fakeantivirus.html) it was mentioned that adult sites are special favourites for causing trojan infections, taking control over your computer once you visit the website. I find it hard to believe that something that’s responsible for things like trojan horses, identity theft, spam and many other cyber crimes, can be innocent.

Taking action against the injustice committed against our children, committed against the people who don’t want this junk shoved down their throats, is really hard with poor legislation and so many people supporting the sites responsible for it. Many people browse porn websites without realising the dangers they pose (no pun intended). Off course many people don’t care about these dangers, even if they know about it. It is just like any other addiction, people smoking crack don’t care about the negative effects it has on their health. Next time when you have to convince someone about the harmful effects of porn, tell them about the dangers of visiting these sites. Educating people about the dangers of web porn and porn spam is the best way to battle an ever-increasing problem in cyber space.

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Selecting a Web Hosting Provider – Beyond the Basics

April 27th, 2010 by blythe100

There are a number of factors to consider before selecting a web hosting service for your business. Some of the most basic features to consider include reliability, customer service and cost. It is important to evaluate each of these areas before selecting a web hosting provider so you can choose one that offers the best overall package. Resist the urge to focus exclusively on price because odds are you will invest a lot of time and money into building and maintaining your web presence, and hosting is one area where you “get what you pay for” in most instances.

However, web hosting is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Different businesses need different solutions in order to maximize their return on investment. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider your current business model, sales objectives and future growth expectations before making a decision. You will want to work with a company that can customize a hosting solution that fits not only your current situation, but can also help you plan for future growth and potential market changes, as well.

Here are 3 Additional Factors to Consider Before Selecting a Web Hosting Company:

Email Hosting. If your firm does not have its own email servers, you will want to select a web hosting provider that offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use email solution that includes both virus and spam protection. In addition, be sure to consider whether the email solution in question offers a web-based interface which enables users to check and respond to emails from remote locations. Another important point to consider is how easy the web interface is to use in terms of creating, sending and storing messages, adding attachments and managing out-of-office replies. Finally, be sure to check if the email program easily assimilates with popular email software packages, such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.

For firms that have their own email servers, care should still be taken to select a web hosting provider that offers outstanding spam and anti-virus protection. In addition, make sure the hosting company is also able to offer email queuing solutions should your own email server ever go offline.

FTP Hosting. A comprehensive web hosting service should offer secure FTP hosting services, as well. This option allows for safe file storage on their servers, while offering a secure and simple file transfer option for users.

Audio/Video Hosting. Without question, adding audio and video components to a website is a great way to increase interaction with customers and improve conversions rates. There are many ways to incorporate this technology into your website, including product demonstrations, sales presentations, live event broadcasting and employee training modules. However, large file sizes can dramatically increase page load times and can hurt your website’s performance as a result. Therefore, make sure the web hosting provider you choose is able to minimize this risk.
Selecting the right web hosting service for your business can be confusing. However, evaluating where your business is today -and where it is heading in the future – can help you make the right decision for your company.

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