| Here are some useful utilities and programs to protect, dress up and streamline your PC, as well as info to help with
troubleshooting, virus and spyware removal, and general enhancement of one's computer know-how. Also included are a few downloads of games and accessories in ZIP packages. (NOTE: These use runtime files that are shared by other standard windows programs and should already be in your system directory. If for some reason you're missing one just e-mail me and I'll send it to you). |
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A general step-by-step on cleaning up an infected PC :
Many viruses come from rogue anti-spyware companies that infect your computer to sell the product. Here are a few removal tools : This is a must-have. Probably 90% of all home PCs are infected with some kind of ad-ware or spy-ware. This free program will find and eliminate most of it. A VERY important utility to have and run at least once a week : This program is a great companion to Ad-Aware. What one doesn't catch the other probably will. I actually use this now as my primary spyware scanner over Ad-Aware. Highly recommended : Another great tool to add to your arsenal. These folks, along with LavaSoft, are pioneers in the anti-malware fight : Another companion to the above apps. This has saved me when everything else failed : Whereas Ad-Aware cleans out spyware, this free program from JavaCool blocks it before it infects your computer. It features live update and for $9.95 an auto-live update plugin. Highly configurable and runs quietly and invisibly in the background : Brower hijacking is on the rise and often hard to fix. This program (also by JavaCool) goes great with SPYBLASTER to ensure maximum protection against these takeovers : A new trend in spyware stealth is using cookies as a back door for their invasive programs. This will help you build a filter for those kinds of cookies : This small program is the accepted tool today for disabling browser viruses, but if you're not sure what to delete you should post the results of the scan to a reputable forum first. There are lots of people out there glad to help who use this program every day. Highly recommended : The Windows Hosts File is IE's list of exceptions and restrictions that can be altered by a virus to allow its parent server to access your browser, and stop you from visiting web sites the virus sees as a threat. This app helps to fix or restore that list : Another legitimate internet component on the rise for abuse by ad companies are BHOs (Browser Helper Objects). This helps identify and disable the nasty ones : This utility repairs LSP settings damaged by rogue host files. It has rescued me several times when blocked from certain websites or plagued by weird javascript errors : This website contains an alphabetical 3 page list of removal instructions for most known hijackers, dialers, spywares and adwares : For those who have not invested in Norton or McAfee, this no-nonsense virus scan program does a very nice job protecting your PC. It is absolutely free, never expires, and can be regularly updated for the latest virus definitions from their website. If you are currently unprotected, this is a must-have. You can always upgrade later. Highly recommended : Although still a fan of AVG, used it for many years even before they became well known, I've been using Avira for a couple years now and prefer it over AVG or any other virus application I've found. It's free, as are the updates, but it does have a nag pop-up when it finishes its updates. Highly recommended : Instructions on turning the nagbox off can be found HERE One question I get a lot is how can viruses be profitable. This is one of many marketing companies that incorporate highly sophisticated viruses in their product, designed by their own script writers or purchased from free-lance coders : I'm afraid there are no filters to protect against email scams. Lately people have been tricked into giving up credit information by emails and websites disguised as eBay or PayPal : This wonderful site has a little info on email scams, but is more about research into email hoaxes, telephone scams and urban legends. Great stuff but has popups : The Windows file INDEX.DAT records every website and filename you have visited since day one and can become VERY large over time. Adding these lines to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file will delete this on reboot since it cannot be deleted from Windows : Before you delete your INDEX.DAT file, this small viewer lets you see what's in it if you're curious : Check your bandwidth online : The following is for anyone interested in starting their own web page : This totally free FTP program is perhaps the best I've seen (in fact I'm using it now). Simple drag-n-drop transfer and real-time edit/update on the server. Multiple site management, highly configurable and easy to use. Highly recommended : Although Flash is the new standard in web animation, sometimes a good old javascript is just what the doctor ordered. Here are some cool ones : Most "trial" versions of URL submission programs have so many limitations they are pretty much useless unless you buy the full version. This no frills free program from Simtel gives you 32 engines with no strings attached : This excellent free tool cleans up your web pages making them easier to edit and quicker to load. I do recommend NOT using the "merge lines" option as it makes your code hard to modify : Find where you rank in the search engines for specific keyword strings : Minor Notes currently consists of 1,421 different URLs. This free program makes it a LOT easier to check for broken links : This is a great suite of registry tools to optimize your internet connection, speed up applications, defrag RAM and more (7 day free trial). Highly recommended : This program works similar to MSCONFIG except it has a database that tells you what each startup item is or is not. Great for figuring out what processes can be safely turned off, and also for identifying "fake name" processes that are actually scumware programs in disguise. It also alerts you when a program tries to alter your startup files. Highly recommended : I've tried a few auto RAM defrag/clean programs only to uninstall them, but this totally free memory manager does exactly what it's supposed to, no more no less, and does it the way you want it to. A very useful startup item especially for 128MB and under systems : There are lots of forums out there where people share their computer knowledge, but when I really get stumped I usually end up here for advice. The brightest of the bright : And speaking of the brightest of the bright, in my opinion this guy definitely falls into that category. He has fixes for just about everything : Same here. This girl is a genius and truly one of the "good guys" : The standard Windows emergency startup floppy works great, but this one will get you through those nasty crashes much more efficiently. (Caution: stay away from the hard drive utilities if you're not sure what you're doing): This is the Rolls Royce of boot discs. It's like a mini version of XP that runs pre-Windows with a complete explorer-style shell. Worth its weight in gold, but absolutely free (donations accepted and well deserved). Highly recommended : This 30-day trial program does an amazing job of cleaning your Windows registry and hard drive. Comparable and in some ways superior to Norton SystemWorks, but at a fraction of the cost. Highly recommended : I use many of the programs listed here on a regular basis. Macros are great for automating them. Here is a nice and simple (and totally free) mouse/ keyboard recorder: This is a free on-line virus scan that checks your C:\drive for the latest bugs. Caution: This recognizes certain "JOKE" files as infected but will not delete them unless you tell it to : This small free program corrects your computer's time by syncing it with one of the world's atomic clocks : I originally downloaded this small CPL addon to get rid of the ugly shortcut arrows on my desktop, but it has lots of other uselful tweaks for customizing your windows configuration : This is a tool for your right-click menu that will unlock stubborn "access denied" files. Works GREAT! (Tip: Choose "Explorer Extension" only) : Currently the largest online sharing community out there. As with all sharing apps, though, you HAVE to scan your downloads before opening them. Virus mongers are drawn to file sharing communities like pedophiles to a playground : This site is one of many that sell LEGAL mp3 downloads of popular and hard to find music for 9 cents a song. Free song preview and high quality 320KBPS files : Here you can find older releases of many popular programs that are sometimes preferable to the newest build. If it aint broke don't fix it : And speaking of older being better, here is a great replacement for Windows Media Player based on player 6.4, but with all the new codecs, full blown options, no bundled crap, plus support for QuickTime as well as all Windows formats : This Australian app is a wonderful free alternative to the resident Windows defrag utility. Highly recommended : As I mentioned, I can e-mail any DLL files you may need. However you can download them instantly from this site : More tips from yours truly for do-it-yourselfers : The following section contains games, icons, cursors, e-mail wavs etc. in small ZIP packages : |
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OTHER THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR: 5/07: Emails from persons wanting to transfer money to your bank account from an offshore account. 6/07: New assortments of fake emails w/fake websites of PayPal, Ebay, Banks, Credit Unions, etc. looking to harvest passwords, PIN numbers or credit card numbers. 7/07: Numerous emails posing as "e-cards" containing links to automatic virus downloads. 8/07: A wide variety of emails with .pdf extensions (Acrobat) that are actually virus scripts. 9/07: Fake Amazon.com website distributed via an email warning of account suspension requiring credit card info for reinstatement. 4/08: E-mails claiming to be IRS follow-ups for tax refunds asking for SSN, PINs, etc. 8/08: Be careful on MySpace. If you see a popup saying your computer is running slow, or may be infected, etc. DO NOT click-out. It will carry out its drive-by regardless of what you click. Use ctrl-alt-del to end task, force your machine down by holding in the power button, or just pull the plug. Any other action will result in a ransomware installation that is VERY difficult to remove. 11/08: E-mails with outlandish news stories, like "Obama resigns / McCain declared winner", that entice the reader into clicking for the "full story". These links are actually to dangerous websites or drive-bys. 12/08: email with caption "New Version Antivirus 2009 for Windows" or similar with an "activation code" and link. You know what happens next. ALSO...new variation of server side virus that adds malicious script to web pages. For more info click HERE 4/09: Fake "greeting card" virus distribution is on the rise again, this time with an authentic looking Hallmark web page disguise. 9/09: Not virus related, but widespread. Computers everywhere are being redirected by Yahoo to m.yahoo (Yahoo Mobile). 6 months now and Yahoo obviously has no intention of fixing this, so here's the quick fix: Add m.www.yahoo.com and/or m.yahoo.com to your restricted sites list in "Tools/Internet Options/Security/Restricted Sites" then clear your cookies (make sure Yahoo is not open at the time), then reboot. This will restore your Yahoo home page. 7/10: Inevitable I suppose. Now marketing bottom feeders and virus mongers are emailing fake Facebook notifications to trick you into clicking on a link that will redirect you to any number of undesirable sites or hijacking apps. What they lack in ethics they make up for in creativity. 8/10: Variations on a theme...here is a fake AVG email that's floating around to trick people into downloading their Russian scareware extortion application that harvests credit card numbers. I have disabled all the links to the installer so this is harmless to look at, but amusing nonetheless: AVG EMAIL SCAM |
IF YOUR BROWSER LOOKS LIKE THIS
AND WHEN YOU SURF THE NET IT LOOKS LIKE THIS
THEN IT MIGHT BE TIME TO CLEAN UP YOUR VIRUSES...
