** Issue #8 December 1st, 2006 **
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#1- News, News, News
In This Issue...
Daves Computer Tips now has an RSS feed. More and more sites are offering RSS. It will make your life easier and time spent browsing the web more enjoyable. If you don't know what RSS is or how to use it please check out the November 15th, 2006 issue.
This is the beginning of my knock down - drag out - no holds barred anti-spyware software cage match! I've had my experiences with spyware, usually when someone brings me a pc that's infected already. I've also had experiences with most of the major anti-spyware programs. I've based my recommendations on what I've observed from my usage of these programs and reviews that I come across. The problem with this is my usage experience has never allowed me to have a direct comparison between the programs on computers with the same infections. Another issue is many recent magazine reviews have been called into question over their procedures and results.
This issue may seem a little "dry" and technical compared to previous issues. I hope that you attempt to trudge through it anyway. Tom Mercado will start with part 1 of his article detailing the current state of spyware. This is important for you to know. If you don't know your enemy how are you going to fight back.
I'll start my anti-spyware software comparison in this issue by explaining exactly what I've done to set up the test. This may seem boring, but how will you truly be able to judge my results if you don't know how I got them? I suggest you muddle your way through. I'm sure it will be as much fun as studying for a calculus test.
Carol's article explains what all those keys are and what they do. I may learn something here!
#2 The current state of spyware - Should you be concerned? - Part 1 of a two part article by Microsoft MVP Tom Mercado of www.temerc.com.
#3 Spyware test procedures - I'll explain what I've done so far to set up a test platform, gather spyware, and some basic preliminary findings about each program.
#4 Standard Windows Keyboard Layout - Do you ever wonder what all those extra keys do? Carol tells all.
#5 My recommended software - This is the software I recommend for a variety of purposes including protecting your PC.
#6 The lighter side - Funny videos, sites, and games I find while surfing that I think will lighten your day and make you laugh.
#7 A Few Website's You May Find Useful.
In the next issue...
The next issue will begin with part 2 of Tom Mercado's spyware article. Tom is a current Microsoft MVP in security and runs www.temerc.com. I'll get to the "good stuff" and start reporting the results of my knock down - drag out - no holds barred anti-spyware software cage match. Finally Carol will have another one of her great Microsoft Office columns. If that isn't an All-Star lineup I don't know what is!
Here is where I beg!
I hope you find this newsletter useful. I strive to provide information in a manner that is entertaining and useful for everyone. There is something in each newsletter for everyone. If you enjoy reading the newsletter I would appreciate if you would tell a friend, relative, or coworker. Use any means necessary to spread the word about Daves Computer Tips. A quick suggestion: Using Christmas lights write www.davescomputertips.com on your roof. Your neighbors will thank you! I will thank you!
As always I appreciate your comments and suggestions about the site and newsletter. If you would like to share please contact me at dave @ davescomputertips.com.
Carol is our resident "Office Goddess". If you have Microsoft Office questions or suggestions for future Office articles shoot her an email at carol @ carolscorneroffice.com.
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#2- The current state of spyware
By Tom Mercado
It's out there on the Net everywhere you look. Reports about how bad it is, how bad it's gotten since they last checked, and how bad it's going to get.
Spyware. Malware. Adware. Trojans. Viruses. Worms.
Every day I check my RSS feeds, about 100 of them, it's rare when I can find a day where some site does not have some foreboding information about them. If they are not embedded in emails, then they are encoded into web sites you visit. They even get spread via IMs to. Then there is the E-card too. Did I miss any?
As much as they say the war is never ending and an uphill battle, I personally think the tide is changing. It may be changing slowly, ever so slowly, but it's changing. And for the good. When was the last time anyone saw a mass mailing catastrophe? Warezov is certainly making some headlines, but not in the numbers of previous worms, such as Klez, Slammer, Sobig and Blaster. And there are a few reasons for this, couple good, one not so good.
The big time anti-virus companies are finally getting a handle on newer variants and how they spread. They update their software more often, many utilizing auto update features. Some update more than once a day, and that is a good thing, because variants can and do crop up faster than one per day.
They share file information more often than not. At a time where spam and related phishing numbers are escalating, it appears many of the vendors realize that they have to join forces together and perhaps not worry so much about market share and focus on protecting the market share end users.
Another reason the numbers of infected users is decreasing is because end users are finally waking up. Don't get me wrong, there are still far too many of you out there who have one eye open and the other half shut, but more and more I find users who are beginning to understand they need to take a proactive role in protecting their beloved Net machines. The good thing about that is you really don't need to be all that proactive, just reasonably smart and adhere to a couple of simple rules. Email from an unknown person or site? Delete.(Not from this one! - Dave) No matter how enticing they may appear. This alone will drop your chances of getting a worm with a key logger by 99%. Attachments in emails from someone you may know to be safe? These days most every anti-virus has an email scanner, even the free ones. Relatively rare are the ones that get a user infected on the whole.
When it comes to sites that have embedded code, this one is almost a bit trickier. You can change default settings in your browser. I'm a devout IE user. Always have been always will be. Firefox may indeed have a few advantages, no doubt. But as their market share increases, so to, do the number of found exploits and vulnerabilities. By making adjustments and adding some small applications you can surf plenty of sites with no worries, even porn sites. Not all of those are trojan infested hotbeds. Well, so I've heard at least.
And the last reason the number of huge mass infecting-by-the-millions type of worms\viruses and trojans are going down? It seems the malware writers are beginning to realize huge numbers mean easier detection. It's far easier to spot a trend of hundreds of thousands of machines being infected in a day than it is to spot say maybe 200-300 machines per day. So they have begun to pare down the number of zombies they control to slip under the radar. This can give them a more manageable, less obvious domain to control and direct. The malware guys are always a half step ahead. But they can hear our footsteps echoing behind them. This one trend of them paring down their set ups is one bit of proof. And I think they are beginning to look over their shoulder more so now than ever.
Do your part to keep it that way.
Tom Mercado is a Microsoft Security MVP. Tom's website, www.temerc.com provides information on internet security, adware, malware, spyware, and hijackers. Whether you are infected, or want to prevent infection Tom's site has the information you need.
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#3- Spyware test procedures
By David Hartsock
The testing will be performed on a 2.8Ghz laptop with 1G or RAM and an 80GB hard drive. I'm testing 7 different Anti-Spyware programs so there needs to be a way to duplicate the results for each anti-spyware program. To accomplish this I'm using a program called VMware. VMware is virtualization software. It's what? VMware allows you to run an operating system, such as Windows XP, inside another operating system. I can boot my computer into Windows XP and then have 1, 2, 3, or 50 different virtual computers running on my desktop that function just like any other computer. The great thing about this is anything running inside VMware is sandboxed or completely separate from my computer. It's a virtual computer. What happens on the virtual computer can not affect my computer, my OS, my files, or my settings. The other benefit is you can save your "place" by creating a snapshot. This lets me start all tests from the exact same place with the exact same settings and infections. This makes the test equal for every contender in the knock down - drag out - no holds barred anti-spyware software cage match! I love saying that!
So let's meet the contenders...
AdAware 1.06 - FREE - AdAware is like an old pair of sweat pants. Very comfortable, yet you probably won't wear them to work. AdAware has been around for some time and at one point was one of only two trustworthy programs available, Spybot being the other. No automatic updates or scanning.
AVG Anti-Spyware - $29.95/FREE - AVG AS began life as Ewido Anti-Malware. I've been a fan of the Ewido application for several years. AVG (of AVG anti-virus fame) recently acquired the Ewido product and renamed it AVG Anti-Spyware. I'm not a fan of AVG's anti-virus product, but I trust the original program and hope that AVG will continue to refine this product. AVG AS is a free fully functional download with resident protection. If the program isn't purchased within 30 days automatic updates stop and the resident protection feature is disabled. The program still functions in a manual update/scan mode.
CounterSpy - $19.95 - CounterSpy has come of age in the past few years and is a top 3 contender in most reviews. I like it and currently recommend it. I'm a big fan of Sunbelt, the company that produces CounterSpy. The program is based on a program by Giant Software, which was bought by Microsoft, so Windows Defender and CounterSpy are distant cousins. Has automatic updates, automatic scanning, and resident protection.
Spybot - FREE - Spybot is another old standby. We'll see how it fares against the newer paid programs.
Spyware Terminator - FREE - Spyware terminator is a relatively new program with both resident protections and automatic scanning. Spyware Terminator is getting good reviews in computer forums on the internet. The only problem is the company had a distant relationship with spyware itself. The news is the company has cleaned up their act and seen the err of their ways in the past several years and now walks the straight and narrow road to eradicate spyware. We'll see. Has automatic updates, automatic scanning, and resident protection.
SpySweeper - $29.95 - SpySweeper is also a respected program and one of the top 3 in most reviews. There was an issue in recent versions with high memory usage. All programs have bugs and SpySweeper has corrected the issue in it's latest versions. Has automatic updates, automatic scanning, and resident protection.
Spyware Doctor - $29.95 - Spyware Doctor is from PC Tools, which make Registry Mechanic (another of my favorites). Spyware Doctor is a respected program that also finds itself in the top 3 of most reviews. Has automatic updates, automatic scanning, and resident protection.
I need spyware!
We need something to test, don't we? First I set up a virtual machine running Win XP Pro with 256MB of RAM. I used 256 to account for the performance that many users, with low RAM, are experiencing. I then made some basic changes to the OS to make testing easier for me. I disabled System Restore and added My Computer to the desktop. I also added a few programs I need to test the results. Some of these programs include: What's Running, Karen's Directory Printer, Dtaskman, and Process Monitor. Internet Explorer settings were changed to their lowest settings to make infection easier and Microsoft Update was ran to update the computer with the latest patches available from Microsoft.
With all of the programs installed I made a system snapshot as a reference point. This allows me to make comparisons before and after infection. I then spent the next two weeks visiting web sites in the darkest corners of the internet. I downloaded the things everyone tells you not to: screensavers, rogue programs, software which generates keys to activate programs, and free desktop themes. It wasn't pretty, and often frustrating, but at the point were the computer was virtually useless do to all of the bad programs running in the background I made a final snapshot.
This final snapshot will be what all anti-spyware programs are pitted against.
Here are screenshots of the running processes (21) and installed programs (8) at the start of the test.
Now let's see what both look like at the end of the test! Did I mention that the infested computer takes 17 minutes to boot!
Now I have a completely infected computer. Beginning in the next issue I'll throw each anti-spyware program into this mess and we'll see if they sink or swim!
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#4- Standard windows keyboard layout
by Carol A. Bratt
Do you know what all of those different keys on your keyboard do? If you're like most people you don't have a clue what a good deal of them are capable of.
A lot of folks don't even notice the Windows key on their key board and even if they do notice it, they don't know what it does. Usually after I have shown a user one of the uses of the Windows key, there's no holding them; they're clicking all over the place trying to see what else it will do.
You're in luck because I'm going to show you in this article what a good deal of those keys on your keyboard are capable of.
This key pretty much does what it implies. It allows you to escape from something or cancel out something. For example, if you're loading a web page in your browser, tapping the Esc key will stop the page from loading. And here's a little know feature of the Esc key – if for some reason, your Start menu isn’t available to you, the keyboard combination of Ctrl + Esc will open it for you. Bet you didn't know that one!
What's up with those funky looking Function keys next to the Esc key anyway? It turns out they're pretty cool keys and they do quite a bit for you if you're like me and don't like to mouse around.
When you're working in an application, depressing this key will bring up the application's Help menu. If there is no open application, F1 will open Windows Help for you.
The F2 key is used to rename a selected item or object.
If you press this key it will display the Find: All Files dialog box.
This function key selects the Go To a Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows explorer).
This key is one of my favorites. Depressing this key refreshes the current window. In Internet Explorer F5 will Refresh the web page.
F6 moves among panes in Windows Explorer.
If you happen to be in Microsoft Word, depressing this key will start the Spell check operation for you.
This key can be used to start in Safe Mode if depressed during your boot up.
In Excel, pressing this key will calculate all formulae on a worksheet.
This key will activate menu bar options. Use right and left arrows to select menus and down arrows to display pull down menus.
If you're in Internet Explorer, this key will allow you to toggle between full screen viewing mode and normal viewing mode. Pretty cool eh?
If you're using a Mac this key will eject a cd for you.
This key is usually located in the upper right hand corner of your keyboard next to the Scroll Lock and Pause/Break keys. The Print Screen key is very useful. Pressing the Print Screen key causes your computer to send whatever images and text are currently displayed on the screen to be copied. Some programs and Windows use the Print Screen key to obtain Screen Captures. In DOS, pressing this key will cause the computer to send the displayed images on the screen to the printer.
The good old Tab key can be used for several things. You can use it to move forward through options in a dialog box, for example. Ctrl + Shift + Tab can be used to move backward through the options as well. Ctrl + Tab allows movement from one open window to the next in an application with more than one window open.
Alt + Tab displays a list of open application windows. Keeping Alt depressed and selecting the Tab cycles through the list. Releasing selects the highlighted application window.
Who knew the lowly Tab key could accomplish all of this??
Obviously, this key locks the keyboard in Capitals mode. It does not do the same for numbers though.
This key can be used when we want capital letters by depressing it and the letter simultaneously. Also, if you depress the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM it will bypass the auto play feature. If you use the Shift key and the Delete key together it will permanently delete a selected item. The item will not go to the Recycle Bin. It will instead be permanently deleted.
Depressing the Ctrl key while clicking allows multiple selections. Holding the Ctrl key down and pressing other key combinations will initiate quite a few actions. Below are some of the more common one.
Will select all items.
Will add or remove Bold formatting.
Will copy and place the selection on the clipboard.
Opens the clipboard.
Opens the Find what: dialog box.
Will open up the Find and Replace dialog box. You can use this in Word, Excel, etc.
Will add or remove Italic formatting.
Opens a new window in Internet Explorer. In most of the Microsoft Office Suite programs it will open a new mail messages, new documents, new slide, etc.
Open – brings up a browse dialog and allows you to select the file you would like to open.
Print.
Save.
Will add or remove underlining.
Paste. Inserts text or graphics that you have copied into the program within which you are working from the clipboard.
Will close the open document.
Cut – removes the selected text or graphic and places it on the clipboard.
Redo last command (F4 does the same in most Office programs)
Undo last command.
Opens the Start menu. The Window key will do the same.
Done while dragging a file to create a shortcut.
Will cycle through all open windows to the next application.
Allows you to close a window in an application without closing the application.
In Internet Explorer this will Refresh the web page.
This key is located on either side of the spacebar, outside of the Alt key. Holding down the Windows key and depressing another key will cause quite a few actions. Below is just a selection of them.
Displays the Start Menu.
Minimizes all windows and shows the Desktop.
Conversely, this will open all windows and take you right back to where you were originally.
Opens a new Explorer Window.
Displays the Find all files dialog box.
This key combination will lock your Window XP computer.
Minimizes all open windows.
Restores all previously open windows to how they were before you minimized them.
Displays the Run command.
Displays the Windows Help menu.
Displays the Systems Properties dialog box.
This key combination will cycle you through the buttons on the task bar.
You will find this key on either side of the space bar. Holding down the Alt key while pressing another key will initiate different things.
Closes the current window. If there is no active window this will activate Shut Down the dialog box.
In a browser will move forward and backward through the pages visited.
Displays a selected item's properties. You can achieve the same thing with Alt + double-click.
Captures the top window of the open application.
Displays a list of open application windows.
The Application key has an image of a mouse pointer on a menu. Depressing this key will display the selected item's shortcut window. You can do this by right-clicking as well.
In Word, depressing this key will activate overtype mode.
Hold down the Ctrl key and depress the home key to go to the first line in a document.
In a browser window use this key to move up on full screen on a web page. In MS Word it will move you up a whole page.
When working with text, use this key to delete characters to the right of the insertion point. You can also use this key to delete some files. If you depress Shift + Delete the item is permanently deleted (bypassing the Recycle Bin).
Depress and hold the Ctrl Key as you select the End key to go to the last line of a document.
If you want to use the numeric keypad on the right end of the keyboard to display numbers, the Num Lock key must be selected.
Minus Sign. In Windows Explorer this collapses the current selection.
Plus sign. In Windows Explorer this expands the current selection.
I bet most of you hadn't any idea what you could to with some of these keys. You can print out this list and three-hole punch it and put it in a binder for easy access the next time you want to avail yourself of these easy key combinations.
Carol writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Visit Carol's site at www.carolscorneroffice.com.
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#5- My Recommended Software
Anti-spyware and Anti-malware Software
Webroot SpySweeper - Daves Computer Tips Seal of Approval Winner! See the test results HERE. Spysweeper provides the best protection of the seven anti-spyware programs tested! Great detection and removal rates with a small real-time protection memory footprint. This is the one you want! SpySweeper includes the ASK toolbar. Be sure to uncheck this option during installation. Free 14 day trial.
CounterSpy - Runner-up in my Anti-Spyware test. Not only does CounterSpy scan and remove spyware, it also uses real time protection. Real-time protection prevents spyware infection. Free 15 day trial. Winner of Computer Shopper Magazine's Best Buy Award!
Antivirus and Firewall Software
ESET Smart Security - New from the maker's of NOD32. Antivirus, Antispyware, Antispam, and Firewall all wrapped into one effective, swift, and low resource package. It is what I use to protect each of my computers!
Kaspersky Antivirus - Kaspersky is my second choice for antivirus software. A good program that is very close in performance to NOD32. Free trial.
Online Armor Firewall - You shouldn't be on the internet without a software firewall that offers inbound and outbound protection. Online Armor is the Best of the Best. Online Armor uses an interface that is easier to navigate than most other firewalls and the protection level can't be beat! Online Armor is available in both a free and reasonably priced paid version, which offers even more protection!
Audio and Video Software
Acoustica Audio Converter Pro - This program converts audio formats and bitrates. Perfect for those with portable audio players or large music collections. 30 day trial.
Adobe Premier Elements - Elements is the consumer version of Adobe Premiere. It costs 1/6th the price, but is very capable of making videos that will impress everyone.
DVDFab is my favorite DVD software. I tried over 30 different programs before settling on DVDFab. It offers every function of the other programs and more! Copy, burn, shrink, convert for mobile devices, or convert for streaming. Almost all of the other programs I've tried did not function as advertised, were extremely slow, or did not have features that worked as advertised. DVDFab works, and works as advertised! It's easy to use, has a pleasant user interface, and it updated often.
Computer Hardware
Crucial Memory - Memory (RAM) is the upgrade that gives any computer the best bang for the buck. If you want to speed things up with more memory, why not purchase it from the leading source of quality RAM memory. Great selection, good prices, excellent support, and a lifetime warranty! A real winner!
CyberGuys - The place to get those hard to find cables and accessories for your computer!
HP Computers
- My current pick for new laptops and desktops. In the current market I don't think you can beat HP's combination of price and performance. Their laptop line is very cost effective and the design is absolutely beautiful!
Newegg - Newegg.com is known for great service and awesome pricing on computers, upgrades, and electronics. If you're looking for computers, computer parts, or electronics you owe it to yourself to start here! Great Products. Great Prices. Great Customer Service!
Computer Maintenance Software
Diskeeper 2008 - My current favorite defrag program. As files are written and erased from the hard drive they begin to leave "spaces" behind. When the drive is written to again files are broken up to fill in these spaces. This causes the drive to go to several different locations to read an entire file, which slows performance greatly. Diskeeper has several advanced features such as; automatic defrag, scheduled defrag, and the ability to defrag the MFT (Master File Table) and paging file. 30 day trial.
Registry Mechanic - A very thorough and efficient registry cleaner and defragmenter. A definite must to maintain peak performance and stabile operation. 30 day trial.
Computer Utility Software
Acronis True Image 11 - Do you value the data on your computer? Do you value your time? How much time will you spend recovering data and returning your computer to its original state after a hardware failure or software glitch? True Image is my #1 choice in backup tools. Whether you choose file or image based backups (you should use both!) True Image will perform better than any other application I've used. Disk images created with True Image are generally 10-20% smaller than those from comparable programs. If your time and files are as important to you as mine are to me this is a must have.
Acronis Disk Director - My favorite tool to partition, format, and resize hard drives.
Roboform - This program is the next best thing since sliced bread in my book! This program integrates into Internet Explorer and firefox. It generates very secure passwords at the click of a button. How do I remember these complex passwords? Roboform allows you to save passwords and personal data in an encrypted format. A master password (yes only one password to remember!) allows access. Roboform in IE and FireFox works like a super powered bookmark. You click the site you want to go to and Roboform opens the site, enters your username and password for the site (if required) and as if by magic clicks the submit button. If you shop online Roboform can enter your personal information and credit card information, which is also stored in a secure encrypted file, in one click. A real time saver with great security thrown in to boot! 30 day trial.
WinRar - What is commonly called a zip utility, similar to the more widely known WinZip. WinRar is faster and works with more formats for about 1/2 the price of WinZip. 30 day trial.
Desktop Utility Software
LogonStudio - Change the screen that appears when you boot Windows (the one with the moving bar graph). Hundreds of free skins available online. It's free.
Cursor XP Plus - Change the cursors on your computer. Hundreds of cursor packs are available online for free.
Icon Packager - Change the icons on your computer. Icon Packager puts you in control to change every icon with the click of a button. Tired of the plain icons built into Windows? There are hundreds of Icon Packs available online for free, which will add a truly personal feel to your computer.
WindowBlinds 6 - This is the icing on the proverbial cake. WindowBlinds changes the look and feel of Windows. By changing the appearance of the task bar, start menu, and any other window or program you open. It adds transparency, shadows, alpha blending, and animations. Hundreds of themes are available online for free.
Internet and Email
1&1 hosting - If you want to start your own website, blog, photo gallery, or have a personalized email address then 1&1 is for you. 1&1 can not be beat for reliability, features, support, and price. 90 day guarantee.
Google Gmail - The best internet based email (webmail) available. Each mailbox has a 6.5GB limit. The interface is superb, and the spam filter is top notch. You will never need to delete an email again! It has a great search function and a feature called thread view, which makes finding emails easy. A webmail account offers several advantages including not being required to change your email address if you change service providers. Gmail requires an invitation from a current member. If you are interested shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite.
Microsoft Outlook 2007 - Outlook is the current email client of choice for corporate America. I get well over 200 emails a day. Outlook has a few features I really need such as a plug in for automatic backups, office sounds which offers me some audible feedback, and the ability to change headers. I've used Mozilla Thunderbird and liked it a lot. With the amount of mail I go through I really need the features of Outlook. If you aren't a heavy user, or don't need the features I do then Thunderbird is a great alternative.
- An amazing, free, web browser. If you aren't using it you should be! Highly customizable through addins called extensions. There are thousands of extensions which can allow FireFox to do just about anything you can imagine. More importantly, Firefox is not subject to ActiveX, which is a large part of Internet Explorer, AOL, and MSN. No ActiveX means much less chance of getting spyware! Firefox also conforms to web standards more closely than Internet Explorer, which means you will see what the authors intended, not Microsoft.
Mozilla Thunderbird - A great free email client, from the same folks that brought us FireFox. Easy to use and highly customizable through extensions.
Photo and Picture Software
Adobe Photoshop Elements - Photoshop Elements is a consumer version of Adobe Photoshop. If you are serious about digital photos you will find Photoshop Elements a great program to have at your disposal. Elements provides all the functionality most will need at 1/6th the price.
Picasa - A great (FREE) way to organize, edit, and share your digital photos.
#6- The lighter side
After spending countless hours surfing the web in search of various funny or interesting things to share with you here are a few of my finds to lighten your day! I go through a lot to please my readers!
The Monkey Kiss - Be suspicious when blindfolded!
Billiards and Dominos - This proves once and for all that some people do really have too much time on their hands!
OK! You're stranded in the forest.. In a snow storm... Miles from nowhere... No help in sight. All you have is a pocket knife and 5 computers. How are you to cook the animals you kill with the knife? - Find out HERE.
Interested in seeing the future of automobiles? If so, Click Here. Good stuff starts 1 minute in.
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#7- A few website's you may find useful
I came across Leo Notenboom's website, www.ask-leo.com, recently. Leo has a great deal of useful information. Definitely worth a look.
Clif Notes is one of those newsletters I look forward to. Clif doesn't know me from Adam, but has treated me like a long lost friend. Good information about computers and software.
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