Ad-Aware 2007 – Tutorial

This video will briefly show you how to use Lavasoft Ad-Aware.

It’s very simple and straightforward to use, but don’t rely solely upon one such program to keep the nasties out of your PC.

Please note: Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2007 has been replaced by Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008, for details click here.

I also recommend the regular use of CCleaner, SpybotS&D, MRU-Blaster and Advanced Windows Care.

Using Lavasoft Ad-Aware

I would use this program alongside Spybot S&D as
their detections vary slightly, but they will find the
majority, if not all, of the nasties that are hiding on
your hard drive.  I will cover Spybot in my next tutorial.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE
Ad-Aware Personal remains the most popular anti-spyware
product for computer users around the world, with over 200
million users  The free anti-spyware version provides you
with advanced protection against spyware that secretly
attaches itself and takes control of your computer,
resulting in pop-ups, slower connections, even identity
theft through stolen bank details, passwords, and credit
card account numbers.

You have complete control, deciding on what you want to
keep on your computer. Some other programs automatically
delete programs that you may actually want to keep (web
toolbars, etc.).

You can the web safely, knowing your private information
will remain private. Unprotected computers are an easy
target for identity thieves and hackers.

Its easy-to-use installation and functions make securing
your  PC against spyware very simple.

The extensive Lavasoft Detection Database offers you high-
level and up-to-date protection against the latest malware
‘nasties’. It’s as easy as clicking on the “Check for
updates now” icon in your software.

With its ability to comprehensively scan your memory,
registry, hard drives, removable drives and optical drives
for known Spyware, adware, and tracking components,
Ad-aware will provide you with the confidence to surf the
Internet knowing that your privacy will remain intact.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware can be downloaded from 
http://www.lavasoft.de/ms/index.htm

Windows Media Player version available here:
http://tinyurl.com/yshepd
which allows you to view full screen

Fighting off Viruses

Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder
and harder each day.  While it may border on the paranoid,
it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down
for one second.  Even corporate giant Microsoft has found
its own systems compromised on more than one occasion. 

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the
Internet and downloadable programs?  Life was simple then
in terms of computer viruses.  With the primary way in
which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy
disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a
lot easier.    By today’s standards, it used to take quite
a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and
slow down the system.  The antivirus software of that time
was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before
they caused too much damage.  Additionally, computer users
were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of
scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our
desktop. 

The Internet helped change all that.  The Internet
provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to
host with lightening speed.  No longer could a computer
user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but
they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-
to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software
downloads.  Today’s viruses can attack through multiple
entry points, spread without human intervention, and take
full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or
program.  With technology advancing everyday, and the
convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the
potential of new types of threats also increase. 

Protecting Your Computer
Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept
pace with current virus threats.   Antivirus software is
essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and
other malicious programs.  These products are designed to
protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer
through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops.
Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control
feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.
A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few
simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to
attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just
one antivirus software version has become outdated.  You
need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of
your computer system from the desktop to the network, and
from the gateway to the server.  Consider a more
comprehensive security system which includes several
features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering,
and intrusion detection.  This type of system will make it
more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-
known, reputable company. 
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you
regularly update your anti-virus software.  Become familiar
with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it
to start automatically each time you boot your computer.
This will protect your system by automatically checking
your computer each time it is powered up. 

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or
files no matter from where they originate.

4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel
documents of unknown sources especially if they were
received during an online chat or as an attachment  to an
email. 

5. Perform regular backups in case your system is
corrupted.  It may be the only way to recover your data if
infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software
There are numerous applications available to consumers.
With a little research, you can pick the program that is
right for you.  Many programs provide a trial version,
which allows you to download the program and test its
abilities.  However, be aware that some anti-virus programs
can be difficult to uninstall.  As a precaution make sure
to set up a System Restore point before installing. 

Here are a few programs, which typically receive high
marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and
customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005™ provides virus protection and hacker
security through ongoing support and updates. When a virus
breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005™ promises to provide a
patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5
hours. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly
and run a complete virus scan.

BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as
well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email
protection, and heuristics in a virtual environment.  This
provides a new security layer that keeps the operating
system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious
pieces of code for which signatures have not been released
yet.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0  program is simple to
install and use. The user only needs to choose from three
levels of protection.  It allows updates as frequently as
every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer.
The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature
and round-the-clock technical support.

PC-cillin Internet Security  combines antivirus security
and a personal firewall-for comprehensive protection
against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also
detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards
against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming
attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable
antivirus program that has received high marks for its
reliability.  In the past, free downloadable antivirus
programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues
relating to its reliability.  However, AVG from Grisoft,
remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs
available.  While AVG cannot be installed on a server
operating system and there is no technical support, it
still makes a good choice for many home computer users.
The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with
no further obligation necessary.

Protect Your PC and Privacy

You may think that you are reasonably safe as you surf the net, but windows has many gaping flaws that do not protect your privacy, and it it far too easy for a hacker to gain access to your privacy and others to harness your ISP etc.  There are some simple steps outlined below which will allow you to surf much safer, as well as guiding you through various tweaks to help you.

I have been using AVG free Anti-Virus for many years and install it as first choice on other peoples machines.  Get yours here: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

Ad-Aware Personal remains the most popular anti-spyware product for computer users around the world, with nearly one million downloads every week.

http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
Also worth using is ZoneAlarm free firewall available from http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

SpywareGuard, SpywareBlaster and MRU-Blaster available for free from http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/products.html

The only thing that I would actually PAY for is XoftSpy, and it is only a one off payment with lifetime updates, and a free scan so you can test it and see what it finds. 

It’s available at http://www.linkbrander.com/go/34613

Also check your PC for free at http://pcpitstop.com/

Without your knowledge or explicit permission, the Windows networking technology which connects your computer to the Internet may be offering some or all of your computer’s data to the entire world at this very moment!  You can check your open Ports, File Sharing etc for Free at http://www.grc.com/default.htm

Simply scroll down the page to *Hot Spots* and click on ShieldsUp.

Finally for now, I would also recommend the use of CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it’s fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

Cleans the following:

• Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies, Index.dat.
• Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files.
• Recently opened URLs and files.
• Third-party application temp files and recent file lists (MRUs).
  Including: Firefox, Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more…
• Advanced Registry scanner and cleaner to remove unused and old entries.
  Including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more… Backup for registry clean.
• Windows Startup tool.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

Hope that some of this is of some use to you.
Have a good day all

http://www.linkbrander.com/go/35000
http://www.linkbrander.com/go/33862
http://www.linkbrander.com/go/33863

Any problems then feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you asap.