Computer System Security

[Mohammad Sajid]

There is nothing called 100% security for Computers against viruses, worms, trojans, phishing, hacking, sniffing, root kits etc,. If you want a 100% secure computer, just pull the internet cable or **** down the entire system. Researches proved that a computer connected to internet without any protection will be compromised to run malicious code in less that 20 minutes. To protect our system from the wild we can add layers of security on top of each other. In this article or Tip, i am going to discuss about some of the security softwares and tips to get upto a 99% secure system. All the tips and opinions are my own. You can comment your tips and personal favourites.

So what are the tools or softwares you need.

1. Anti Virus

2. Firewall.

3. Anti Spyware.

OR a complete Security Suite

4. Upto date OS and Internet Browser.

5. And good habit of Surfing, intalling, and checking your system.

1. First am gonna discuss about Complete Security Suites. A complete Security Suite is a Software Package with a Anti Virus + Firewall + Anti Spyware + Optional Anti Rootkit scanners + Add blockers. To qualify as a Complete security Software the first three are compulsory.

The most famous of them are in my personal fav order.

1. Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0

2. NOD32 Smart Security 3.0

3. AVG Internet Security 2008.

4. Norton 360

5. Bitdefender Internet Security 2008

6. Mcafee Total Security.

I personally used all the above Security softwares. If you got a fairly good system then Kaspersky is good. its a lil resource hog (uses around 60-70Mb of RAM on my tests). But my personal fav is NOD32 Smart security bcos of its easy to configure, easy to use approach. On virus scan tests Kaspersky scored lil bit more than NOD32, but NOD32 is lite on system resource (around 40 MB). We all know that Norton products are always huge on system resources (norton 360 uses around 120 - 150 MB of RAM when it is iddle, and150-200MB when it is active), but i found only Norton 360 is pretty good on performance. Personally ma never uses Norton Products, after trying all of them. So if you are looking for a Complete Security Package go for NOD32 Smart Security or Kaspersky Internet Security 7. Never install more than one antivirus on a system at the same time, it will drag the system to its limits. The download link for both these Softwares are available on this Forum itself.

If you are looking for a Standalone Antivirus, then NOD32 2.7 is the best available in the market. On any system that connects to internet regularly, a Firewall is a must. For a firewall software you can use Kerio Personal Firewall or Zone alarm Pro.

As a Free software Supporter (freewares as commonly known as) am gonna give a Good configurations of Antivirus + Firewall + Anti Spyware and some free alternatives to make your system 99% secure. I personally uses this on my Lappy.

1. AVG Free 7.5. This is the free standalone antivirus from AVG. i will rate it better than any Norton Antivirus products. its lite on system resources and performs better than Norton Products, No.3 in Virus Scan tests (no.1 Kaspersky, no.2 Nod32).

To download AVG 7.5 Free please click this link : http://free.grisoft.com/filedir/inst/avg75free_519a1276.exe

2. For Firewall use Zone Alarm Personal Firewall Free Edition. This is the free version of the popular Zone Alarm Firewall. Its easy to configure and use. Will block all most all the Hacking attempts.

To download Zone Alarm Personal Firewall Free version use this link: http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/1025_update/zaSetup_en.exe

3. For anti Spyware use SpyBot Search & Destroy. This is the best Anti spyware software available in the market and its Free.

You can download it from here. Note: you need to download the Detection updates after installing S&D. http://fileforum.betanews.com/sendfile/1043809773/1/spybotsd152.exe

Note: if your using any Antivirus, updating its Virus signature is very important. If you can, update daily else update once in a week. This is for the security softwares, let me continue as replay to this thread.

To check whether your anti virus is active or not. copy & paste the content between the two lines below to a new Notepad file and try to save the file on your HDD.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is called Eicar Test file .And if your anti virus is Active, it will not alow you to save your note pad file, it will be deleted.

Note: This text will not harm your computer in any way. its a test for antivirus. Copy the content from X5 to H* and paste it on new Note Pad file. And save the file. Let me know if it works or not.

[Mohammad Sajid]

OK now now got a fairly good Secure system. The Next thing you should do is to update your Operating System (XP, Vista, OS X, or Linux) regularly. All the viruses are spread through the vulnerabilities found on Operating System and other softwares installed on the system. So OS update is a must. If you cant update through Microsoft site, use Autopatcher distros to update your Windows XP. Search for Autopatcher for the link.

The second most vulnerable piece of software on your system is the Internet Browser, Last year majority of worms were spread using the internet Explorer 6's exploits. Use Internet Explorer 7 which is available as a free download from microsoft or use Firefox - the best web browser available in the market. The customization possibilities with the 1000 of Addon's available for Firefox makes it the best browser on the Market. There are other better browsers than Internet Explorer 6, like Opera 9.27, Safari from Apple etc.

To download Internet explorer 7 from microsoft (no WGA check, any Windows Xp can install)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=90&p=&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamil yId=9ae91ebe-3385-447c-8a30-081805b2f90b&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownloa d%2f3%2f8%2f8%2f38889dc1-848c-4bf2-8335-86c573ad86d9%2fIE7-WindowsXP-x86-enu.exe

To download Firefox 2.0.0.13
http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-2.0.0.13&os=win&lang=en-US

With firefox go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ to install addons for Downloading Youtube videos, Blocking adds, Piclens etc.,

So a securre Web browser is a must for a secure system.

[Mohammad Sajid]

If you are curios like me to know what is happening inside our computers or What are the softwares/services running on your computer, And not satisfied with Task Manager. You can install a Task Manager Replacement called Process Explorer from Microsoft. it will show a detailed information about the process/softwares running in your computer, a detailed view on the CPU/RAM/HDD uses. This is will help you to check for viruses and help you to determine how much RAM and System Resource a Particular Software uses. And it makes easy to Kill not responding Softwares/services.

Download Process Explorer from here: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Proces***plorer.zip

to replace Task manager. Run Process Explorer => Options -> Replace Task manager. If you want to know more about Process Explorer, let me know.

If you still curios (like me) and want to know what a particular software/service does in your system use Another Tool from Microsoft (before this was Sysinternals, but now Microsoft brought that company) called Process Monitor. it is usefull if you uses cracks and keygens on your system. IF you Run Process Monitor it will list all the activities going on your system like, reading and writing values from registry/ Hard Disc/ Ram. To see what a Particular Software is doing (like a keygen or patch). Click the Filter Button. Select Process Name is and Type the Process name (the file name of your software eg. keygen.exe). then press add. Now you will see only the activities by that particular software or service (keygen in this case). If it over writes any system files, then it contains some sort of Spyware or trojan.

Download Process monitor from this location: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessMonitor.zip

So the thumb rule for security is

1. Install a Good Antivirus + Anti Spyware + Firewall

2. Update your Antivirus and Operating system (windows XP) regularly.

3. Use a good secure Web browser like IE 7 or Firefox 2.

4. Thoroughly scan keygens & Patches before running them (try to avoid them at first).

5. Always use strong Passwords for your mail and other online accounts.

I love to know what softwares you all are using to protect your computer and personal Data. Your comments are highly appreciated.

[sheem]

ahaan

bohat achi info di hai :X

mere pas proper Anti Spyware nahi hai

can u suggest me 1??

[Mohammad Sajid]

ahaan

bohat achi info di hai :X

mere pas proper Anti Spyware nahi hai

can u suggest me 1??

Jee Koyi Masla Nahin Hai Aap NOD32 Bhi Use Kar Sakti Hain

Na System Slow Kare Ga Na Zindagi Bhar Aap Ke PC Main Virus Aaye Ga

Sirf Karna Ye Hai

NOD32

Install Karna Hai Aur Update Karna Hai DSL Se 30 Second Main Update

Ho Jaaye Ga

Shukriya

[sheem]

woh spyware tu nahi haina woh tu antivirus hai

[Mohammad Sajid]

woh spyware tu nahi haina woh tu antivirus hai

To Phir Kiya Huya?

[sheem]

i need spyware

[Mohammad Sajid]

Aap Yaqeen Karein NOD32 Best Hai Aap Use Kar Ke Dekhein

[sheem]

hmmm ok try karti hon fir