FEATURES

* Improved performance delivers faster scans NEW
* One click access to expert support NEW
* Works quietly in the background. NEW
* Network mapping provides a view of your home network. NEW
* Detects and removes spyware and viruses
* Blocks spyware and worms automatically
* Antivirus protection for email and instant messaging
* Prevents virus-infected emails from spreading
* Rootkit detection finds and removes hidden threats
* Includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the renewable service period *

Top 10 Ways To Make A Computer Run Faster

Today I am going to be talking about different ways you can make a computer run faster. There is actually a lot you can do yourself that will boost your PC's performance. So lets take a look at different ways we can remedy that slow computer of yours!

1. Free Up Disk Space

A great way to make a computer run faster is to free up some disk space. Windows comes with a disk cleanup tool that helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete without messing anything up, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.

How to use disk cleanup tool.

* Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.

* In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. (If you have multiple hard drives you will have to select which one to scan.)

* Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.

* When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click OK.

2. Use Defrag Tool

When you add a file or a new program to a new computer, the hard drive is relatively empty so new data is saved to the hard drive in one whole block. When you need to use that information, the computer can quickly access it because it is all in one place. Defragging your system is definitely a way to make a computer run faster.

How to use defrag tool.

* From the start menu point to "all programs"
* Point to "Accessories"
* Point to "System Tools"
* Click on "Disk Defragmenter"
* The disk defragmenter will display the hard drives on your computer. Just select and click Defragment.

3. Get rid of spyware

Definition

Spyware is software with malicious intent - by design; it does something bad to your computer. Usually, it gets installed without your knowledge. It sometimes takes advantage of the fact that most people click "I Agree" to software licenses without reading them.

The only way to get rid of spyware is to have some kind of scanner, sort of like an anti-virus. In order to make a computer run faster and keep it safer your going to need an anti-spyware program. This is tricky, a lot of the spyware programs out there are malicious and will actually add viruses and spyware to your computer by using the "spyware scanner and blocker". So please remember to be very careful when choosing your anti-spyware program.

4. Find and repair disk errors

Detect and Repair Disk Errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

How to run the error checking utility.

* Click Start, and then click My Computer.
* In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.
* In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.
* Click the Check Now button.
* In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
* If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.
Tip: Only select the Automatically fix file system errors check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

5. Get an external hard drive

Adding an External Hard Drive to your computer will allow you to clear out a lot of the things you don't need to be storing on your normal hard drive.

A great example would be your music or pictures. All those songs and pictures are sitting on your computer making it go slower. You will see a decline in your computers performance as soon as you use over half of your hard drive space.

Moving all your songs or pictures to your external hard drive will free up a lot of space on your main hard drive. You can even move applications such as photoshop or games.

An external hard drive is also handy because it is portable. You can unplug it from your computer and take it to a friends house and plug it in there, sharing photos and pictures very easily.

Norton Antibot

Symantec Norton Antibot The Latest In Norton Computer Protection Software
It seems like every other month a new “program” comes along to make our lives that much easier. For example, first we could bookmark favorites, and then RSS feed them, and then came widgets and now “bots” which are robots that do a lot of our computer work for us in the background. Examples of friendly bots are weather bots, game playing bots, instant messaging and my favorites are those on AOL Instant Messenger which do all kinds of functions for me like shop, find movie times and even give updates on the Wall Street Journal.

Unfortunately not all bots were created “equal.” Some are friendly and some are not. The ones that are not friendly can be a form of malware that allows control of your computer to be released, providing hackers with the opportunity to access your information and spread harmful bots to others. This type of computer virus can then be used to spread spam and commit various types of identity theft and other online fraud.

So with new threats to our computers and information, new methods of protection are required. One of the oldest and most well known software protection designers has recently released a new protection program, Symantec Norton AntiBot. This is a software product designed to prevent the hijacking of one’s personal computer by bots and uses the bots on design programs against them, to located and destroy them.

Many people already employ some form of protection on their personal computer, such as increasing the protection level from internet information to “high.” But these cannot detect some of the most recent bot programs and may not be the most efficient means of information protection, especially with the Internet being used more and more frequently for online shopping, ticket purchases, travel and other “high risk” activities.

A more effective method of detecting and eliminating threats caused by bots is to install software designed specifically to detect, destroy and prevent bots from having access to your computer. With Symantec Norton AntiBot software, protection against bots is enhanced several times and the threat of bot attack is greatly diminished. It’s program protects against bots by blocking bots from entering your computer through downloads and e-mail attachments (two of the common ways bots enter a personal computer), checking for any unusual behavior on your personal computer and eliminating it, and detecting malicious bot software at all levels; keeping your personal, financial and credit card information safe and stopping identify theft before it can occur.

Because bots operate in the background and are not detectable by antivirus or antispyware programs, many computer users are completely unaware that their personal computer has become infected. Many problems caused by bots go undetected until it is too late. Warning signs that your computer may have been accessed include: slowness of computer speed and unusual or irrelevant error messages. However, many times com these symptoms are sporadic and computer users will take little notice. Many people will continue to use their personal computer, unaware that bots have hijacked their personal computer and are slowly at work; looking for credit card numbers, passwords, and logon information which can be used for identity theft and in committing other types of online crime. This program scans your personal computer on a continuous basis, closing the gaps that could allow bots to infect your personal computer and better ensuring that bots do not invade and gain control.

The use of Symantec Norton AntiBot to determine what a harmful or useful bot and allows you to continue using those bots you love and have come to depend on for information and services. It can be used in addition to several other antivirus and antispyware programs. Its compatibility is not limited to only Norton products.

The cost of this software is $29.95 for one year of service. It was awarded PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award (2007) and underwent rigorous testing which included using AntiBot on computers with existing threats as well as allowing threats to try to access the computer after installation.

With the growing threat of identity theft and credit card fraud Symantec Norton AntiBot offers an additional level of protection needed to combat the threat of bots and prevent them from turning one’s personal computer into a robotic that turns into an instrument of destruction to both your personal and financial well-being.

avira antivirus

The false security program reaches the computers via so-called drive-by downloads. When the user is visiting a hacked website, it exploits security holes in the web browser or in old installed software, such as Flash Player, QuickTime, RealPlayer or in other plug-ins. In this way, malware is installed on the computer, without the Internet surfer's knowledge.

Avira detects the current versions of false security programs, as members of the Trojan family TR/FakeAlert. You should keep your systems up-to-date, in order to stay protected against this form of unwanted software. It is not enough to install all Windows updates provided by Microsoft. You must also update all your software that comes in contact with Internet data.

avj antivirus system

AVG Antivirus Personal / Free edition.

One of the best virus scanning utilities on the web!

Grisoft.com offers their virus scanning software for free vs big corporate companies that sell you products that take up a lot of hard drive space, cpu time and Memory resources.

AVJ ANTIVIRUS

Grisoft’un ücretsiz bir hizmeti olan bu antivirüs programı kesinlikle kullanılması gereken bir yazılım. Bilgisayarınızı yavaşlatmıyor. Sisteminizi çok iyi koruyor ve her ne şekilde olursa olsun virüslere göz açtırmıyor. Microsoft Outlook ile tümleşik ve sorunsuz çalışıyor. Yalnız gönderdiğiniz e-postaların altına kendi adıyla birlikte e-postanın virüs taramasından geçtiğini yazıyor. İsterseniz e-posta tarama özelliğini kapatarak bunu önleyebiliyorsunuz.
Grisoft bu ürününü ev kullanıcıları için hazırlamış. Bu da ağ üzerinden gelen virüslerin kontrolünü tam sağlayamadığı anlamına geliyor.
Program kendini otomatik olarak güncelleyerek en son virüsleri tanıyabiliyor.
Kişisel bir bilgisayar için bence en mükemmel antivirüs programlarından biri.

Essential Protection

Essential Protection

￭ Protects from viruses, Trojans and worms
￭ Blocks spyware and adware
￭ Scans files in real time (on access) and on demand
￭ Scans email messages (regardless of email client)
￭ Scans Internet traffic (regardless of browser)
￭ Protects instant messengers (ICQ, MSN)
￭ Provides proactive protection from unknown threats
￭ Scans Java and Visual Basic scripts

Preventive Protection

￭ Scans operating system and installed applications for vulnerabilities
￭ Analyzes and closes Internet Explorer vulnerabilities
￭ Disables links to malware sites
￭ Detects viruses based on the packers used to compress code
￭ Global threat monitoring (Kaspersky Security Network)

Advanced Protection & Recovery

￭ The program can be installed on infected computers
￭ Self-protection from being disabled or stopped
￭ Restores correct system settings after removing malicious software
￭ Tools for creating a rescue disk
￭ Data & Identity Theft Protection
￭ Disables links to fake (phishing) websites
￭ Blocks all types of keyloggers

Usability

￭ Automatic configuration during installation
￭ Wizards for common tasks
￭ Visual reports with charts and diagrams
￭ Alerts provide all the information necessary for informed user decisions
￭ Automatic or interactive mode
￭ Round-the-clock technical support
￭ Automatic database updates


Requirements:

￭ Intel Pentium 800 MHz 32 bit (x86) / 64 bit (x64) or higher (or equivalent)
￭ 512 MB available RAM
￭ 50 MB free space on the hard drive
￭ CD-ROM (for installation of the program from CD)
￭ computer mouse
￭ Internet connection (for product activation)
￭ Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher (for downloading updates)
￭ Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0

xp ANTIVIRUS

IEDefender may be the latest rogue anti-spyware. IEDefender may popup exaggerated security alerts to try and trick you into buying IEDefender. IEDefender may have downloaded itself onto your computer through a trojan, like . IEDefender may launch when you start up Windows, and IEDefender may cause excessive popup ads that are difficult to close. IEDefender may also act as a browser helper object — or BHO — that may hijack your searches on Yahoo! and Google, and popup alerts that your computer is infected. IEDefender’s fake alerts may read:

Memory-Resident Scanners

Memory-Resident Scanners: Some antivirus software now comes with a special program that sits in the background while you use your PC and automatically scans for viruses based on different triggers. These programs typically can be configured to automatically scan programs as they are run or scan floppy disks when you issue a shutdown command to the operating . This type of scanner offers increased protection and more chances of catching a virus before it does damage. The price is in performance and convenience; if you set it to scan every program as it is run you have to wait for it to do this before you execute any file, for example.

Types of Scanners and Other Antivirus Software Protection

Types of Scanners and Other Antivirus Software Protection

There are many different types of antivirus software that have been developed over the years. Originally, there was just the regular scanner, which searched through the hard disk looking for known viruses. As viruses have gotten more sophisticated, antivirus software has had to get more sophisticated as well. In addition to getting smarter about how they detect viruses, new software has been made available that detects and prevents virus infection in different ways.

Protecting Your Computer

Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats. Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.

With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated. You need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server. Consider a more comprehensive security system which includes several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company.

Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software. Become familiar with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically each time you boot your computer. This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up.

Fighting Off Viruses

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. With the primary way in which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a lot easier. By today’s standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. The antivirus software of that time was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before they caused too much damage. Additionally, computer users were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our desktop.

How to fight back?

How to fight back?

If you carefully follow the instructions outlined below, your chances of getting infected with Spyware are pretty slim.

Update your Windows

Allow your version of Windows to update it automatically. Ensure that you have all the latest security patches installed.

Use Firefox as your default browser

Since Internet Explorer is the main target for many Spyware, you will be better of with Mozilla Firefox. Moreover, it is a better browser than IE in many aspects.

Be extremely careful with your downloads

Try not to download anything from a unknown site. If you still feel like getting a shareware or freeware program check it out on one of these online Spyware database. Spychecker (http://www.spychecker.com/) is one such service, and Camtech 2000's Spy Chaser (http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpyChaser.html) is a nifty downloadable database of nearly 1000 spyware-infested programs.

What is a Spyware?

What is a Spyware?

Spyware – also named Malware or Adware – are malicious software programs, which most of the time get installed on your computer without your knowledge. These programs are capable of doing many outrageous, sinister things to your computer such as changing computer settings, tracking your online behavior, monitoring and controlling your computer, recording your keystrokes, displaying unwanted advertisement and reporting needed information back to the person behind it.

The main types of Spyware are:

Key loggers: This type of Spyware copies everything you type to a file and send it to the hacker. The more sophisticated type, which is used for identity theft, copies the information you provide when you are connected to a secure website.

Browser hijacker: It modifies browser settings without your permission. This Spyware is capable of changing your start page, search page, search tool bar and redirect your url to specific pages.

Email redirector: Surreptitiously copies all your incoming and outgoing emails and sends to the hacker.

Dialers: This spyware install themselves to your dial-up settings and dials numbers without your knowledge, often to out of country numbers.

Collectware: The purpose of this Spyware is to track your surfing habit and transmitting the statistical data to the hacker. This information later gets sold to advertisement companies.

Adware: This Spyware downloads all sorts of banner advertisements every time you take some action such as typing a word on your search tool.

Why my antivirus program does not block a Spyware?

Although, Spyware uses same tactics like “Trojan” virus, technically it is not a virus. A virus is a program written to create trouble or possibly harm your computer system. Viruses are capable of replicate, evolve and cause severe damages to your computer files, registry or even hardware. Spyware, on the other hand, does not harm your computer intentionally. Any nuisance like system slow down is the collateral damage, which occurs while the Spyware serves its mission of monitoring your activities and making unwanted changes to your user experience.

People rarely read the fine prints of the user agreements while downloading a file, a program, a game or other free stuffs from the Internet. Unethical sites use this to their advantage and add tiny Spyware with the file you are downloading.

The anti-virus programs can not be sure, whether this program is installed deliberately by you or it’s a malicious Spyware. This makes identifying and blocking a Spyware difficult for an Anti-virus program. However, things are started to change! Major anti-virus companies are planning to integrate anti-spyware programs to their existing products very soon.

How did I get infected with a Spyware?

There are numerous ways how you might end up with having a Spyware on your system.

• When you download and install programs, games, smilies, pictures, screensavers from dubious sites, there is a big chance that you might install a sneaky Spyware along the way.
• Some websites and pop-up windows try to download and install Spyware while you are there. According a recent analysis of sex-based websites, up to 80 percent of these sites are now being used to upload Spyware, worms and Trojans to unsuspecting visitors.
• Some add-ons to you browser that is supposed to enhance your browser experience may secretively install Spyware.
• The most cynical method of infecting you with Spyware is when you receive a sudden pop-up ad, which claims that your computer is contaminated and you have to run certain program to cure your system. If you are credulous enough to run this program, it just installs a Spyware instead of eliminating any.

Beware of Spyware

One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started to work noticeably slower than it used to. You decide to run de-fragmentation of your hard drive and add more virtual memory to the system. No luck! May be, it’s probably some viruses, you reckon turning on your virus scanning software. Even after running the anti-virus program you notice that the problem won’t resolve. Not understanding what’s happening frustrated you pick up the phone. It’s time to call your tech-support. Sounds familiar? You are not alone! Each day, thousands of users are facing similar problems caused by malicious software called Spyware. According to Dell technical support, nowadays 12 percent of their support calls involve problems related to some kinds of Spyware. Microsoft reports that fifty percent of all computer crushes are caused by Spyware, viruses and Trojans.

What is a Trojan?

What is a Trojan?

A Trojan is software that can perform unauthorized tasks on your computer. More often than not, these tasks are malicious in nature. The biggest difference between a trojan and a virus is that Viruses have the ability to replicate whereas a Trojan typically does not. If your computer becomes infected with a Trojan it can cause;

Damage to your computers software, Operating System, and data;

Your system can become unstable and exhibit unexpected behavior;

The security of your system becomes compromised;

It could lead to the unauthorized access of your computer;

Beware programs and software in pretty packages (for free usually). Remember what happen to the Trojan's of Greek Mythology!

What is a Virus?

What is a Virus?

A virus is a type of program that can execute on your computer and has the ability to replicate itself. Computer viruses, like biological viruses, spread quickly and in many cases , are quite difficult to stop and destroy. They can attach themselves to many types of files. As these files are transferred between multiple computers each computer along the away becomes infected and has the ability to continue spreading the infection.

Viruses & Anti-Virus Software

Viruses & Anti-Virus Software

Many people have Anti-Virus software installed. Many of the major Anti-Virus software company's now promote what they call "Security Suites" or packages. These Security Suites contain everything from Anti-Virus, Firewall Protection, SPAM and Pop-Up blockers, and Ad-ware protection. Quite often, once the software is installed people find out that things they use to be able to do on the Internet are no longer possible. So what happens is portions or all of the software they purchased to protect their computer get disabled. The result, an ineffective software program that you paid good money for! Worst than that, most people have no idea exactly how the Anti-Virus portion of the package should be configured. Leaving it up to the default configuration to defend their computers. Most of the manuals that come with these software packages seem to be written for those who understand the intricate workings of computers along with every computer acronym ever invented!

Most everyone who owns a computer knows about viruses. Years ago, viruses were more of an annoyance than anything. But as time passed those who develop viruses became more astute at their trade and started developing viruses with malicious intent.

It's amazing that we regularly find computers without any anti-virus protection at all. Typically, those who do not, find out rather quickly how important virus protection is. In addition to the many computers we find without virus protection, we find many computers do not have the anti-virus software configured and running properly to protect them from even the most basic type of infection.

STEAL ME

Now imagine that the car had all the locks removed and could be started without a key – and of course you could paint “STEAL ME” on it for good measure. That makes a lot of sense..yea right!

Having a computer that does not have up-to-date antivirus and firewall protection is pretty much exactly the same. You are simply asking for trouble!

This kind of trouble doesn’t need to be invited twice, because viruses, worms, Trojans and all the rest, are designed to find unprotected computers and attack them. They don’t seek out protected computers! If they find one, they simply move on.

NOTE: Firewalls are one good way to keep the net-nasties moving on, you can learn more about them at: http://www.antivirus-report.com/freeware-firewall.html

Remember, computer viruses are designed, they don’t just happen by accident. Because human intelligence is behind the viruses they develop quickly, use surprising and unexpected tactics, and they hit us where we are weakest.

So if you can afford over $1500 on a computer and $300 a year on internet connections, you can definitely afford another $50 to make your computer safe (and prevent it from being used to spread viruses and Trojan horses behind your back).

If you’re not convinced about the cost argument, consider the case of David L. Smith - the self-confessed author of the infamous Melissa worm. When he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment and a fine of $5,000 in New Jersey, the court adjudged Smith's worm to have caused more than £55 million pounds worth of damage!

Against the cost we stand to lose, the risk of losing our priceless personal files, and being blamed by friends and relatives for infecting their machines, the top antivirus software programs cost as little as 2 months internet connection. They all include constant and unlimited automatic updates that keep your system safe and clean.

And if you weren’t convinced by the good citizen argument that you should protect your computer to stop others getting infected, then it might be worth mentioning that there is a movement to make people not using antivirus software legally responsible should their machine be used as part of an attack (even if they did not know about it). (Note: I’m not personally a part of such a movement, but it does have its merits!)

So, be a good citizen whilst protecting your wallet and your sanity by installing good antivirus software and keeping it up to date.

Anti_virus

Anti_virus

This is a really simple question to answer – you need to use antivirus software to protect your own computer, and to prevent your computer from being used to pass on infections to other machines without your knowledge. If you use the internet and you don’t take precautions, you’re going to get infected. And you’ll infect others, including those you care about most like your friends, family, and business contacts because their information is in your email address book and other files on your computer.

If you don’t care about infecting others, let’s look at the economic argument for a moment. You have a computer that must have cost at least $600, and perhaps as much as $4,000. On top of that you’ll have a monitor for which you paid between $250 and $1000, and you’re running software costing at least $500 dollars. If you have business or specialist packages installed then I’m guessing you may have invested $5000 in software alone. You will probably pay upwards of 25 dollars a month for your internet connection. And if you store personal data on your PC, it is probably worth more than money to you.

So you’ve got equipment worth something like $1400 if you’re computing on the cheap, right up to (and beyond) $10,000 if you flex your wallet a little. Think of this as being the same in price as an acceptable older used car right up to the pretty good used car you could buy for ten thousand dollars.