System Security

Speeding Up the Windows Boot Process

July 29, 2008 By terry Leave a Comment

I recently made some boot changes to a notebook computer that resulted in a remarkable increase in the boot speed.

It was a small, light Sony — one of the 12-inch monitor models.

Tech Humor
With notebooks, you can get small, light, fast and cheap.
Pick any two…

In this particular case, the notebook took 4.5 minutes to boot, and it’s owner wanted it to be much faster.

I referred to my favorite tool to get his boot process under control — Winpatrol Plus.

Continue reading Speeding Up the Windows Boot Process

Filed Under: Admin Control, Free Software, Software, System Security, System Stability, Tips & Tricks, Vista, Windows Xp

Sunbelt Personal Firewall Now Does Vista!

July 11, 2008 By terry Leave a Comment

Sunbelt Software released a new version of their Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which is my choice for my compute and my family’s computers, on July 7th. The new version supports Windows Vista, which Sunbelt has been promising.

Why do I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not just the Windows XP firewall? The Windows XP Firewall would only stops attempts by other computers to access my computer. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is a two-way firewall to control inbound and outbound communications. That way, I can control programs that want to "call home" or otherwise access other computers.

Why would I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not the Windows Vista firewall? Microsoft finally woke up and made the Windows Vista firewall a two-wa firewall. However, I expect that it, like the firewalls from some of SPF’s competitors, allows Microsoft’s products to freely communicate with the Internet. I like the Advanced installation setting of SPF because it does not pre-authorize any programs.

For those who want free software, Sunbelt Personal Firewall has a free license for home non-business computers. Of course, like many of its competitors, the paid version has more features than the free version. Either way, the program you download is the same — it’s a fully-functional trial for 30-days.

After 30 days, you can purchase a license for the paid version. If you don’t purchase a license, or after your license expires if you don’t renew it, if you qualify, you can use the free license for the reduced-function free version. The web site clearly shows which functions are included with the paid license that are not available with the free version.

I have the "paid version" on my Windows computers and my family’s computers.

The 1-year license pricing options are: $19.95 for one license, $24.96 for two computers, $29.94 for 3 computers, or $39.95 for the 1-year Unlimited Home Site License (which lets you put it on all your home non-business computers. They have similar discounts for 2- and 3-year options, too.

Download the full-function 30-day trial of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Or, read my review of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

A Look Inside Secunia Software Inspector

June 22, 2008 By terry Leave a Comment

I’ve found a great tool that examines my computer to make sure that it has the latest updates of the most common software packages — not all the updates, but the security updates for the versions I’m runninng.

It’s called Secunia Software Inspector, from the Danish security firm Secunia (www.secunia.com).

Secunia offers three versions of its software inspectors:

* Secunia Software Inspector — scan on-line (free)
* Secunia PSI — download version for personal use (free)
* Secunia Network Software Inspector — the full-featured product.

Quoting Secunia’s FAQ:

# What’s the difference between the Secunia PSI and the Secunia Software Inspector (the online version)?

The Secunia Software Inspector identifies about 40 of the most common applications, while the Secunia PSI can identify over 4,200.

Contine reading A Look Inside Secunia Software Inspector

Filed Under: Admin Control, Data Security, Free Software, Resources, Reviews, System Security, System Stability, Vista, Windows Xp

NOD32 Antivirus Version 3.0 Review

May 30, 2008 By terry Leave a Comment

I recently updated from NOD32 version 2.7 to the latest NOD32 version 3.0. I found that Eset has dramatically simplified the structure of the NOD32 controls. They had been criticized in the past as creating a great product for advanced PC users.

The new version has a simplified “Standard Mode” that is much easier to use.

The Advanced Mode is still there — a simple click on the “Display: Standard mode” in the bottom left-hand corner will let you toggle into Advanced mode to enable control of many more options.

Upgrading from a previous version was easy. I uninstalled the older version, rebooted, and installed the new version. Many anti-virus programs work this way, since some of their components are installed during early parts of the Windows boot process — and not changeable without a reboot.

Then, installing was straight forward.

Once NOD32 is running, the first screen displayed is the Protection Status screen. If all is well, you see a display with a green monitor labelled Maximum Protection. If any features have been turned off or disabled, you’ll see

Continue reading NOD32 Antivirus Version 3.0 Review

Filed Under: Anti-Spyware, Anti-virus, Data Security, Network Security, Security Updates, System Security, Tips & Tricks

Passwords, Password Lists and Keeping Passwords Secure

April 21, 2008 By terry Leave a Comment

I’m often asked about how I handle passwords for all the different sites that require passwords.

The questioner’s eyes get pretty big when I mention that I use random mixtures of letters and numbers for my passwords, and even bigger when I say that I use a different password on every site.

The immediate question is “How can you keep track of them all?”

The answer is one of the reasons that I use a PDA, a Personal Digital Assistant. In my case, it is the PalmOS v4 based Sony Clié SJ-33, which I’ve used for a couple years.

Continue reading Passwords, Password Lists and Keeping Passwords Secure to learn more about password management…

Filed Under: Data Security, Network Security, Privacy, Security Updates, Storage, System Security, Tips & Tricks, Vista, Windows Xp

Vista’s Not Enough privileges Error

October 28, 2007 By terry Leave a Comment

Longtime subscriber M.Y. Choy wrote to ask, after a recent email newsletter article “Should I Choose Vista or Windows XP?”:

Dear Terry, the above topic appeared on your 13 May Newsletter.

Unfortunately, I have already switched to Vista and have found this problem i.e. after installing Acronis Disk Director Suite V.10 successfully, I cann’t start the program. Vista “said” that:- “E000101F4: Not enough privileges. You do not have enough privileges to start Acronis Disk Director Suite”

Why Vista allowed us to install the program but denied us to start the program??. Beside this, there are other problems such as “missing” drivers. I donot think many people would start switching to Vista. I regretted doing that.

By the way, is there any way to bypass that annoying ” donot have enough privilege ….” thingy?? Best regards. M. Y Choy

The intent of the “Not enough privileges” error is to protect your computer from viruses, trojans, adware, spyware and other nasties that try to modify system files.

Continue reading Vista’s Not Enough privileges Error

Filed Under: Admin Control, Application Incompatibility, Compatibility, Group Controls, System Security, System Stability, Tips & Tricks, Vista

NOD32 Antivirus for Vista

August 10, 2007 By terry Leave a Comment

I’ve written about NOD32 Anti-virus in my Security Software Recommendations article in each issue of my newsletter. It’s the anti-virus program that I use on all my Windows computers. I began using it in 2003 after becoming dissatisfied with one of the big-name anti-virus programs which, in my opinion, had gotten too bloated, required too much computing power and was slow to provide virus signature updates.

Our IT people at the office had moved us to NOD32 the previous year, so I had a year of (involuntary) experience using it — and knew that it was quick, efficient and interfered little with other things I was doing on the computer.

First, I bought copies for my notebook computer and my desktop computer, so I could try it (well, it really has a 30-day full-function free trial, but I already knew that I wanted it). A couple weeks later, I bought copies for my my wife’s computer and my son’s. I asked my son install the trial version and let me know if he wanted it — after the first scan, he said “Yes!”

A Look at NOD32 Anti-Virus

Get 25% off NOD32 Anti-virus with 2-year licenses. Save big with multiple-computer licenses, too.

Filed Under: Anti-virus, Data Security, Software, System Security, System Stability