When you purchase a new computer and install it out of the box you hunger to get operational and active.

What you don’t know about security can be your downfall.

In today’s computing environment including but not limited to Internet browsing you must consider security measures to protect your data and your computer.

Vulnerabilities can include email, communication ports, wireless networking, spy ware, viruses, and securing the computer from local access.

We will review each in detail in this series. This article is designed to help protect you and your computer in hopes your computing experience will be a more pleasurable and safer one.

1. Email

As a rule when dealing with incoming email regardless of what email client you use you should generally never open an email if you do not know the party the email was generated from.

Your email client should be set to prevent attachments from being displayed or opened unless confirmed by you. Attachments can be set as executable and malicious software can be installed on your local machine.

A good way to prevent some of these entities is to have in place a good Spam blocking utility. Spam blockers can detect most types of spam that are used to either gain entry or used in phishing scams. You may ask yourself: What is phishing? Phishing is a practice used to gain information you may not consider valuable. In many cases this information can be used by the entity to obtain more valuable information about you for the purposes applying for loans, credit cards and other financial gains in your name.

Another practice to keep is anytime you use your email client you should not send valuable information such as drivers license numbers, user names or passwords for accounts(of any type). One practice that is widely used by scammers is to send an email that looks as though it is from a financial institution requesting that you update your account information. Once the information is sent you have now granted them access to the proposed account.

Setting rules to your email client can help prevent these as well. Rules are a way for your email client to detect certain words, domains or email addresses in the email and a subsequent action being taken by the email client such as deleting it automatically. Rules must be configured manually by the user for each email account. The configuration must be monitored and adjusted accordingly as tactics constantly change.

2. Internet communication ports

There is no basic way for you as a computer user to know which ports are open and dangerous on your computer. In order for you to protect yourself from these types of entry you will need to implement a firewall whether it be a hardware or software firewall. When using a firewall: remember they require constant monitoring and configuration.

Firewalls are only configured for basic prevention out of the box. Unless you purchase a monitored firewall software that receives frequent updates and rules. You must constantly stay updated on what ports are being used by hackers, viruses and other malicious code.

One of the easiest ways to keep your computer safe from entry is to use the Windows automatic update feature. Microsoft is constantly patching and reconfiguring the Windows operating system to block vulnerabilities. You must insure your Windows version is set either to automatically retrieve these updates or you need to check the Microsoft update site at least once every two weeks to insure your version is up to date. Remember if you reinstall Windows for any reason all past updates received will need to be reapplied.

You can check your version of Windows to insure you are receiving automatic updates by opening the control panel. Select the system icon and double click the icon. Select the automatic updates tab and review your current settings. If you have scheduled your system for automatic updates and installation make sure you set this action for an appropriate date and time your computer will be in use.

3. Wireless networking

Wireless networks are considerably vulnerable to entry. If not configured properly your wireless network can be used to obtain information and gain access to your local computer.

When configuring your wireless router or access point the easiest thing to do is to disable SSID broadcast. This prevents other wireless network cards from detecting its presents.

You should always change the default user name, password and SSID set by the manufacturer on your wireless unit. The default information is shared by other hardware produced by the manufacturer. This is an easy way to gain access if the information is not altered.

Use encryption on your wireless unit. This may look a little scary and prevent you from configuring your encryption as manufacturers use many acronyms to describe each security encryption type. There are several encryption types available for use. No one encryption type is 100% secure, but in conjunction with other security measures they can be used to maintain a formidable security policy. Just remember when configuring your wireless device that manufacturers publish extensive how to articles on their website for your review. As well when you purchase new hardware the user typically receives an allotted time of free support. Whether this is done through the internet or phone support the manufacturer will be willing to provide their customers the appropriate support for configuration.

Note: This should be considered and verified when selecting wireless hardware and before purchasing new hardware.

Mac filtering is a very secure way of preventing access to your wireless network. Mac address filtering pertains to the MAC address of your wireless card. Every network card has a physical address and every address is unique. Designating which MAC addresses can connect to your device prevents all others from obtaining access. The MAC address of your network card is printed on the device and may be named as “Physical address”. If you cannot find the address you may as well open the control panel and choose network connections. Right click the wireless device and select the status button. On the opened status window select the support tab and the MAC or physical address is listed.

Another security technique used is to disable the DHCP functionality or your wireless device and assign static IP addresses to each computer that will connect through wireless. This will prevent your wireless device from assigning an IP address to unknown devices.

Note: Your wireless access point may not have DHCP capabilities.

When configuring your wireless network there is an option to add a computer to the “DMZ”. The DMZ is known as the de militarized zone and leaves the specified computer unprotected (This true for all router devices). You should never use this option. If you need a particular port open to run web based software or gaming software you should contact the manufacturer of the software for the specified port and then open only that specified port if your software is not functioning properly.

Anytime your computers are not being used they have no need for Wireless capabilities. You should disconnect the wireless units power. Access cannot be obtained when the device is powered off.

4. Spyware or adware

Spyware software was originally used to track habits of Internet browsing for the purpose of aiding companies in delivering more attractive ways of driving traffic to their websites.

In more recent times this software is used for delivering pop up advertisements, tracking your movements and can be used to deliver other more harmful types of software such as viruses. These types of software are common and typically delivered as tracking cookies.

There are many sites that use more harmful types. Typically these sites offer free entry and use of their software for on line gaming or other purposes. A good practice is to avoid these types of sites and advertisements.

You should add a good spyware scan utility to your arsenal which will help maintain your security. When selecting a spy ware scan utility insure your purchase includes automatic updates of the program and definition files as well as a scheduling feature. Having the ability to schedule scans and updates will help keep user maintenance to a minimum.

The best practice would be to have a couple of lines of defense here. In my experience no one single utility has been able to identify every type of spy ware or ad ware infection. I would recommend using a free spy ware utility in conjunction with your purchased software. You should scan your system for spy ware at least once every week (dependent upon your Internet activity habits you may require more or less frequent scans).

5. Viruses

Most don’t realize how vulnerable they are to viruses. If you own a PC you should own good virus protection software. Not only own a good software title but as well the software must be maintained through updates. Most manufacturers publish updates to their virus detection database weekly. If you own virus protection software it is a must to configure automatic updates on a weekly basis. The manufacturer of your software can provide you with the date of published updates in order for to configure the date and time of your automatic update.

Setting a full system scan is very important. You should scan your PC every time an update is made available. If you decide to configure scheduled scans it should coincide with the date the published update is made available and after the update is applied. As well you should designate exactly what to scan and what not to scan. Make sure when designating what to scan if you use external drives or partitioned drives that they are included in the scan.

When purchasing your virus protection a few things need to be considered before deciding which title to buy.

1. Does it have email protection?

2. Does it protect your instant messaging software from allowing infection?

3. Does it have spyware detection capabilities?

4. Does it block against internet worm viruses?

If the virus software you are considering does not protect against of these types of infection move to another title for consideration.

Remember: Virus software licenses are typically good for one year from the date of purchase. You must renew your license in order to receive further updates and maintain protection.

6. Securing the local Computer from being accessed

The first thing to consider is implementing an account password. Most people use passwords that can be easily remembered such as a birth date. If it’s easy for you to remember it may be easily guessed by another user. Passwords should be at least eight characters and should include upper, lowercase letters as well as numbers. Implementing this strategy will prevent most software titles that can be run to obtain your passwords from completing this action easily. You should frequently change passwords as well. Not just your user account password on the local machine but as well you should alternate passwords to secure websites or passwords for internet accounts.

Your computer can be accessed easily if you walk away for even a moment. If your PC is accessible by other users you should configure a screensaver password with the same guide lines as the password for your user account. This can be easily done by opening the control panel and choosing the display icon. On the screen saver tab select the item that states “on resume, display log on screen” or “require password”. Set the wait time for one minute and select apply. This will activate your screen saver after your computer is idle for one minute. The screen saver will only activate if the computer is idle or has no activity for one minute.

The same guidelines that apply for powering down your wireless unit when not in use apply to the local machine as well.

If you decide to document your passwords for accounts (of any type) this documentation should be kept in a secure location.

When considering these guidelines you must remember: Computers, security techniques and practices evolve constantly just as the strategies of intrusion do. It is a priority that you maintain your knowledge of prevention to keep your data and computer operating system safe.

There are a few things that can be done regularly to maintain Windows functionality. These utilities are included in the Windows operating system. A few of these are disk defragmentor, disk cleanup, scandisk and check disk.

Most of these utilities can be accessed by choosing start\programs or all programs\accessories\system tools. The check disk utility which is part of the NT operating system which includes 2000 and XP versions is accessible by right clicking the hard drive in my computer and selecting properties. Choose the tools tab and select error checking. This will require a restart of your computer as this utility must have exclusive access to the file system. Be patient when running this utility. This operation can take a considerable amount of time dependent on the amount of information on your hard drive.

Another well known utility which will scan for invalid versions of the Windows operating system files is the system file checker utility. This utility will require your Windows disk be placed in the cd or dvd drive. To use this utility choose start\run and type sfc /scannow. Once input select the ok button to run SFC. The utility will scan all os files and report any inconsistencies. This can be very useful if your problem stems from a failed update of the Windows operating system.

It is wise to use the Windows update feature to apply all current patches and security fixes to your version of Windows. Issues are reported to Microsoft and regular updates are made available. The updates mainly patch security issues internal to Windows, but as well some are provided to improve functionality.

Some other well known utilities which can improve performance are Disk defragmentor and disk cleanup. Disk defragmentor works by organizing files and removing small blocks of empty space therefore organizing the empty space into one large block. This improves caching performance if your drive is severely fragmented. The disk cleanup utility is an easy to use interface to rid your system of unused or temporary files. Both of these utilities can be accessed by choosing the start button/all programs/accessories/system tools.

It is recommended to use these utilities at least once a month to maintain your Windows operating system. These utilities will maintain performance and Microsoft updates can improve security and performance.

I have composed a list of some of the funniest questions submitted by users. Most of these are from my own experiences, the rest are from other support communities. Its nice to know I am not the only one that has to answer these questions.

Enjoy our list of the top 10

1. Where is the “any” key?

2.Does Windows 98 support Linux?”

3.How much does Windows cost, and do you have to buy each one separately?

4.You said I would get 98 windows with this computer. Where are they?

5.Support: “Tell me, is the cursor still there?”
Customer: “No, I’m alone right now.”

6.Support: “Ok, ma’am, do you see the button on the right hand side of your mouse?”
Customer: “No, there’s a printer and a phone on the right hand side of my mouse.”

7.Customer: “Someone was just here working at my home and now I cannot connect to my printer anymore.”
Support: “What type of repairs were completed?”
Customer: “Plumbing repairs.”

8.Customer: “I am experiencing errors on my computer”
Support: “When did this start occurring?”
Customer: “After I restarted”
Support: “What were you doing on the computer before the errors started?”
Customer: “Nothing”
support: “Then why did you have the computer on?”

9.Customer: “I cannot start my computer.”
Support: “What was the last operation you completed on the computer?”
Customer ” I deleted the Windows folder cause my computer said I was low on disk space and it was the largest.”

10.Customer: “I love my new desktop so much. It’s powerful and fast. I especially like the new cup holder that came with it.
Support: “Ma’am….What are your referring to when you say cup holder?”
Customer: “My desktop came with this neet slide out cup holder.”
Support: “Are you referring to the cd-rom drive?”
At this point the customer simply hung up.

Yes believe it or not these are actual questions and conversations posed by customers. Man I hope people will arm themselves with knowledge so they can better voice there technical questions.

Ever contacted your OEM computer support only to find out that you can’t understand the person on the other end?

This is a very frustrating experience. I understand it’s more profitable for OEM manufacturers to roll support over to another region. This practice is more profitable due to the following reasons.

1.       The OEM manufacturer does not have to pay the usual 10% increase in pay to local technicians for working the evening shifts.

2.       Payroll costs associated with overseas personnel is much less.

 It’s very annoying to try speaking to someone with little English speaking abilities as well as an accent. If you have not had this wonderful experience yet then you should consider yourself lucky. My last experience in communicating with these facilities was so trying I simply hung up the phone and decided to purchase a support agreement from my local certified support technician. Yes even though I had free support provided by the computer manufacturer.

At least in my opinion it was well worth the extra money to not have to deal with that situation again. It’s bad enough that most people in this level of support simply read from a document of directions and ignore your input. They offer simple well known fixes that generally have no effect on the issue. Add an accent and remove the ability to annunciate English properly and well…….There you have it: Enough said.

You might want to consider on your next purchase not purchasing an extended service plan and instead locate your local OEM certified technician and see what they offer as far as support options. Most support technicians even offer onsite support…..WAHOO! Just insure the local technician is certified by the manufacturer for which ever manufactured model you wish to purchase. I can guarantee that you won’t have as many headaches and you won’t have to learn a new language to alleviate your computing problems.

Over time the “registry” in which Windows and other applications store information can begin to hold data that is no longer valid. Such information links to a location where there was a file or program, but the file has been moved or the program uninstalled.

Often such invalid links occur because uninstalled programs do not completely remove their registry entries. Whether the uninstall process fails or the uninstaller does not correctly remove all the entries. This can occur due to programs not being correctly uninstalled by the user or a user views a file attached to an email without saving them to disk first, or applications have been relocated without uninstalling and reinstalling them. A registry cleaner utility can come in handy to make this easy.

This invalid data eventually begins to clutter the system registry, slowing Windows down and causing other possible problems.

The Windows registry is simply a database which contains information on the Windows operating system and third party applications. This information is read at start up and includes system variables which tell Windows exactly how to operate. If this information is corrupted you will notice performance issues and can experience system error messages such as but not limited to runtime, script and start up errors.

It is recommended to perform routine maintenance to the Windows registry to maintain optimal performance. There are many products which can aid in the maintenance of the Windows registry. These utilities will aid in grooming the registry. This can be particularly helpful if you are not a certified technician. Even Microsoft states when editing the registry that making an error while editing it can disable your Windows operating system. Running such programs at least twice a month is recommended. If you routinely make changes to your system a more frequent schedule is recommended.

There are several registry cleaners on the market but only one that guarantees their software will fix your computer problems or their tech support will as long as your membership is valid. The Bug Doctor will easily fix all kinds of computer problems.

I do recommended reviewing any Microsoft documentation on the Windows registry for your particular operating system version if you plan to manually edit any entries. These articles can be informative and give a better understanding of how the registry works. For information on your particular version of Windows please visit the Microsoft knowledge base at www.microsoft.com

Having worked in support for sometime I am amazed at the number of old 486 an first generation Pentium class computers still being used. Most people simply upgrade to new hardware. It is beyond me why people still use this old obsolete hardware.

Considering all of this I have compiled a list of the top ten ways this old hardware can be used.

10. Stack the cpus up to be used as a coffee table.

9. The old hardware is wonderfully suitable for taking space in your garage.

8. Donate the old hardware to a museum.

7. This hardware is great for occupying your local computer shops time by asking how it can be upgraded.

6. The CPU’s are great for holding projects down on a work bench.

5. Use a baseball bat on the old hardware to take out your frustrations with your new computer.

4. If you have a dog that diggs holes they are great as filler when covering the holes.

3. They are great conversation pieces for discussing the old days of computer hardware.

2. Several of them together can make a cool fort for the kids in their room.

Finally the last one, drum roll please!

1. Use your old 486 or Pentium class as a replacement boat anchor.

Just remember this old hardware is not upgradeable to current software standards. Don’t trouble yourself with figuring out how you can maintain these older components.

The list below describes the top ten ways you can speed up your computer through either general maintenance or hardware upgrades. I tried to list some things other than just the obvious ones most places always list. Now there are of course many more.

10. Check your initial hardware for possible memory, CPU, or hard drive upgrades.

9. Insure your paging files is set to one and a half times the size of the amount of ram installed. If you are using 2 gig or more of ram memory simply turn off the paging file. (To review your paging file right click my computer and choose properties -then choose the advanced tab - Then select the performance settings-slect the advanced tab and modify the virtual memory file size)

8. Run monthly system maintenance such as disk cleanup, disk check, or disk defrag.

7. Clean out your temporary internet files and cookies. (To do this open Internet Explorer and choose the tools menu- Select options- on the main page you can emty the temp files and delete the cookies.)

6. Empty the c:\windows\prefetch folder.

5. Scan your system weekly for spyware.

4. Delete any unused programs by using the add/remove programs utility.

3. Groom your Windows start up file by using the msconfig utility. (This can be done by going to start\Run and typing msconfig then select ok and choose the start up tab)

2. Update your device drivers. If you are using an OEM computer simply visit the manufacturers website for updated software and drivers. If using a custom built computer you will need to visit the hardware manufacturers support site one device at a time to obtain the latest software.

1. Turn off unnecessary services in the services manager.(To access this control panel go to control panel\administrative tools\services)

This little tid bit should allow you to boost your PC performance somewhat. The major improvements will come with hardware upgrades especially increases in system memory (RAM).

We have an entire free video set dedicated to speeding up your computer. You can watch these absolutely free right here.

Feel free to leave me some of your ideas below in the comments section.

Patrick
PC911

Well Internet explorer 7 has been released for
sometime now. Unfortunately it appears once again
we are beta testers for Microsoft.

Being in the support world myself it seems to me
the biggest issues with Internet Explorer 7 are
installation issues. As with many other web based
installations of Microsoft products there are some
issues that should be addressed. Microsoft should
make this download available in a full admin version
as they did the latest xp service packs. Of course
we know Microsoft seems to follow the beat of a
different drum so to say they will do this is unlikely.

Even if you have installed IE7 and are experience one
of these wonderful issues, it is easy to revert back
to the previous version. Personally when dealing with
any new product I use a non-essential machine to test
with. I would however recommend locating the Microsoft
technical document on uninstalling IE7 for your particular
Windows version and follow those directions to the letter.

Other than installation issues the most prevalent problem
seems to be accessing secure web sites. Once again if you
are experiencing this issue you may want to revert back
to your previous version of IE. At least this will get you
operational until Microsoft addresses these issues.

This is not to say that everyone who is using IE7 is
having issues with the new browser. If you do have it
installed and it is working properly then consider
yourself blessed.

A good general rule with any new software is to allow
a testing period for other users to find the issues.
This is especially true if your computers functionality
is a business or personal necessity. Allowing several
weeks or months for known issues to be reported to
Microsoft and then repaired through a patch or update
will save you may headaches.

Just because its new software doesn’t mean it’s better.
New software is only beneficial if you can use it and
your computer.

Visit the PC911 how to section to learn how to do dozens
of different tasks on your computer. It’s one of our most
popular pages on the entire site.

Ever experience start up errors when Windows is
loading up?This can be very annoying. The most
common cause is due to entries in the start up
list that is due to improper un-installation of
programs.

Spyware and virus software as well can cause
similar issues that make you want to pull your
hair out. When spyware or viruses are removed the
harmful aspects of these types of software are
most commonly the only entries these removal
utilities address. Commonly the remaining registry
entries in the start up file often remain.

When addressing a start up issue it is best to note
the error or errors by logging the information. Once
you have logged the errors you are now ready to start
researching the error.

A common way of diagnosing start up errors is to use
the Google search engine by visiting www.google.com.
Input the error exactly as it appears. This will
result in a more efficient search query. By
referencing the offending module you can obtain
information on the module as to its manufacturer and
function.

You will find many different ways of addressing any
particular issue when you use a search engine. If the
entry pertains to a particular software title it is best
to contact their support to address the issue with proper
procedures for removal or re-installation.

You can download the Bug Doctor to
fix startup issues.

Another way to address start up errors is by using the
Microsoft msconfig utility. This utility can be invoked
by going to your start menu and selecting run. In the run
box input the utility name by typing msconfig and selecting
ok. Once the msconfig utility has loaded select the start
up tab. Review your entries noting if there are entries
that reference the particular module or software that has
been noted in the error. You can deselect these entries
which disables the call from the start up file.

If you cannot identify the entry in your start up folder
try disabling half of the entries then select the ok button
and perform a restart. If the condition of your computer
does not change repeat the process and re-enable the removed
entries. Attempt disabling the remaining entries and perform
another restart. If the issue at any point is alleviated
re-enable the items one at a time while performing a restart
after each until the offending entry is identified.

In most cases this will help you identify and remove the
issue. In cases the issue still exists and you have identified
a particular software title that is the cause you should
contact the software manufacturer for assistance.

Always remember most of these entries only serve to use up
memory resources and most arent needed, but if you have virus
or firewall software installed leave those entries enabled
unless they are the problem entries.

A quick note: Smashing or thrashing your computer doesn’t
help at least in these instances.

Try the Bug Doctor Download.

You listen to all their testimonials here and they will help you fix
any computer problems.

If you need a good registry cleaner for your PC try PC Registry Cleaner Version 2.0

With the presidents new energy bill daylight savings
time has been moved ahead of schedule by a few weeks.
The government’s reasoning behind the new daylight
savings time is that people may use less electricity
for lighting with the availability of more daylight
in the evening hours.

There have been many concerns by consumers about how
this will affect computers. For networked computers
or proprietary software this may be a concern, but
for home users If you apply your Microsoft updates
and patch any updatable software this should not
be a huge issue.

To insure your system will not be affected simply
visit the websites of the software titles you have
installed on your computer. If there is a known issue
with the new date and the software you have installed
the manufacturer will post the available patch
information on their support pages.

This is not to say all devices wont be affected.
Any device that can not be updated may be affected
by this change.

This change has moved from the month of April to the
second Sunday in March.

Don’t panic, now is the time to start your preparation
for migration to the new time change. Even if you
administer a large network of computers and devices you
still have time to contact your software and hardware
vendors for advice on possible complications.

Don’t get caught up in the hysteria surrounding this issue.