spyware prevention

Experts Offer Tips To Avoid Hackers

September 20, 2014 by admin

Tips To Avoid Hackers and Viruses
Cybersecurity is critical for businesses of all sizes. These 18 tips can help you secure your computers and mobile devices from malicious actors.
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My First Computer Build, Any Advice or tips?
This is going to be my first build, I just wanted some professional advice, opinions, and help. I am only 16 years old and trying to build a gaming computer. This is going to be the build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9HyRwP. First: Is it going to be cool …
Read more on Tom’s Hardware Guide

Eight tips for improving battery life on your MacBook
Another tip is not to leave your computer constantly plugged in and charging. Even when using it at home or at work, if it is fully charged, unplug it and let the battery run down really low before charging it again. This is supposed to delay or …
Read more on CNET

Eset Tool to Create a Bootable Antivirus Rescue key

July 8, 2014 by admin

ESET SysRescue Live Creator is a handy tool for creating a bootable antivirus rescue CD or USB key.

There’s no shortage of competition in this area, of course, but Live Creator has one or two useful touches that you might appreciate.

This starts with the download itself. There’s no bulky ISO here, just a single 8.8MB executable that is ready to run whenever you like.

The program opens with a simple wizard, asking if you’d like to create a bootable CD or USB key. Conveniently, there’s also an option to use a previously downloaded ISO image. (We wondered if this could work with any ISO, as a general way to create bootable USB’s, but sadly not. It’s strictly ESET-only.)

ESET SysRescue Live Creator then downloads its bootable image (a 324MB ISO), and prepares your CD or USB immediately afterward. In another thoughtful touch, you’re given an option to create another CD/ USB or save the ISO for reuse later.

Booting ESET’s rescue environment reveals more welcome extras in tools to check your RAM and system drive for defects. Hardware issues can cause odd malware-like problems, so it’s worth trying these if you can’t find anything else.

The ESET SysRescue tool is the real star here, of course, and it has more options than some similar tools. You’re able to download the latest virus signatures and check your system with various scan types. The core antivirus engine gets mixed results with the independent labs — AVTEST’s April results found it had an above-average 100 percent detection rate for known threats, a below-par 93 percent for zero-day attacks — but there’s more than enough power here to be useful.

When it’s all done, you can keep the USB key around for reuse later. But if you need it for something else, ESET SysRescue Live Creator is also able to wipe the drive in seconds. Just connect the drive, start the program again and click “Erase existing SysRescue USB”: another useful feature that you won’t always find elsewhere.

Article Originally from: http://betanews.com

Keyloggers – Keystroke Logging Software Threats

November 24, 2013 by admin

A keylogger is a program that runs in your computer’s background secretly recording all your keystrokes. Once your keystrokes are logged, they are hidden away for later retrieval by the attacker. The attacker then carefully reviews the information in hopes of finding passwords or other information that would prove useful to them.

Keyloggers---Keystroke-Logging-Software-and-Hardware

For example, a keylogger can easily obtain confidential emails and reveal them to any interested outside party willing to pay for the information.

Keyloggers can be either software or hardware-based. Software-based keyloggers are easy to distribute and infect, but at the same time are more easily detectable. Hardware-based keyloggers are more complex and harder to detect. For all that you know, your keyboard could have a keylogger chip attached and anything being typed is recorded into a flash memory sitting inside your keyboard. Keyloggers have become one of the most powerful applications used for gathering information in a world where encrypted traffic is becoming more and more common.

Keyloggers - Keystroke Logging Software and Hardware 3

As keyloggers become more advanced, the ability to detect them becomes more difficult. They can violate a user’s privacy for months, or even years, without being noticed. During that time frame, a keylogger can collect a lot of information about the user it is monitoring. A keylogger can potentially obtain not only passwords and log-in names, but credit card numbers, bank account details, contacts, interests, web browsing habits, and much more. All this collected information can be used to steal users’ personal documents, money, or even their identity.

A keylogger might be as simple as an .exe and a .dll that is placed in a computer and activated upon boot-up via an entry in the registry. Or, the more sophisticated keyloggers, such as the Perfect Keylogger or ProBot Activity Monitor have developed a full line of nasty abilities including:

· Undetectable in the process list and invisible in operation

· A kernel keylogger driver that captures keystrokes even when the user is logged off

· A remote deployment wizard

· The ability to create text snapshots of active applications

· The ability to capture http post data (including log-ins/passwords)

· The ability to timestamp record workstation usage

· HTML and text log file export

· Automatic e-mail log file delivery

All keyloggers are not used for illegal purposes. A variety of other uses have surfaced. Keyloggers have been used to monitor websites visited as a means of parental control over children. They have been actively used to prevent child pornography and avoid children coming in contact with dangerous elements on the web. Additionally, in December 2001, a federal court ruled that the FBI did not need a special wiretap order to place a keystroke logging device on a suspect’s computer. The judge allowed the FBI to keep details of its keylogging device secret (citing national security concerns). The defendant in the case, Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., indicted for gambling and loan-sharking, used encryption to protect a file on his computer. The FBI used the keystroke logging device to capture Scarfo’s password and gain access to the needed file.

A1 Computer Repair – Malicious Software Removal Experts

Personal Computer Security, The Threats and Solutions

November 21, 2013 by admin

When it comes to computer security, many of us live in a bubble of blissful ignorance. We might be vigilant and never open email attachments from people we don’t know, we might take care to make sure an eCommerce site is secure before entering our credit card information, or we might even go so far as to install a standard firewall on our computers. Unfortunately, much of the common sense advice we follow when it comes to Internet security does little to combat the cybercrime that is rampant.

Federal Trade Commission

Even the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a governmental agency that is designed to help consumers, had to issue a press release stating that “consumers, including corporate and banking executives, appear to be targets of a bogus e-mail supposedly sent by the Federal Trade Commission but actually sent by third parties hoping to install spyware on computers.”

There’s little doubt that spyware, malware, and insidious virus attacks make any computer with Internet access vulnerable. But, because not all Internet security breaches are immediately apparent, people are often unaware that their seemingly hassle-free computing is anything but. The Federal Trade Commission offers seven guidelines to help consumers surf the Web safely:

1. Protect your personal information. For example, when shopping on an eCommerce site, make sure that the page where you enter your personal information is secure, as designated by “https” before the URL. It’s important to stop identity theft before it starts.

2. Know before you click. For instance, many cyber-criminals impersonate legitimate businesses or send “phishing” email that asks you to click a hyperlink. Check out the online merchants and never click on emailed hyperlinks unless you’re certain of the source.

3. Update anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software often. Hackers and others who engage in cybercrime seem to always be a step ahead of the good guys. If your computer protection is outdated, you’re vulnerable.

4. Use a Web browser and operating system security features. Make sure your browser settings give you optimal privacy and security and ensure that you update your operating system regularly to take advantage of security patches.

5. Safeguard your passwords. For example, create a unique password for each site you visit, and keep them in a secure place. Use letter, number and symbol combinations that can outsmart automated password detection programs.

6. Always do backups. If your computer does get a virus or a worm, your files may be goners. Make sure to regularly back up any important files and store them in a secure place.

7. Prepare for emergencies. If something does go wrong, such as your computer being hacked or infected, or if you accidentally divulge personal information, know what courses of action you should take to remedy the situation and prevent further problems.

A1 Computer Repair Services Can Help

Protecting your computer from all of the threats in cyberspace can seem like a full-time job. Our computer repair service provides full system optimization, problem diagnosis and repair, installation assistance, and a full complement of security services for your home or business like backup and cloud computing. You pay a small monthly subscription fee and in turn can surf the Web knowing that your computer is locked down and that you’ll never again have to stay abreast of the latest security software or lug your computer down to a high-priced repair center. Contact us for more information on securing your personal or business computer today.