I am your personal cyber knight. I am ready to transfer the knowledge needed to defend your PC, your network at home or work, and your personal information against pirates and internet scoundrels that sail the seas of cyberspace for opportunities to pillage and invade your personal and financial data.
My creators have the in depth knowledge and personal experience on how to prevent and surround your life with armor that your can customize to not only make it secure but fully functional using little known software and tweaks to your current devices that are easy and straight forward to make your cyber life bullet proof.
In the next coming months, Armored-PC will be creating multiple reports on all aspects of cyber security and defense. All these will then be combined into the Armored-PC “Battle Ready Armor” Manual available at a bargain price. Loaded with bonus reports and links to the software, hardware and articles needed to accomplish the tasks necessary to setup the goals of each report.
We look forward to helping you to take control or the internet without the fear to do what you want to do on the Internet, no matter what your interest might be. See you soon. Rhino
Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking and investing to shopping. As we do these things on a more regular basis, we open ourselves up to potential hackers, attackers and crackers. While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer as a platform from which to attack other unknowing targets. Below are a few easy,
- Always make backups of important information and store in a safe place separate from your computer.
- Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently. If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and running the update wizard. This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer. Also go to www.officeupdate.microsoft.com to locate possible patches for your Office programs.
- Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
- Review your browser and email settings for optimum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. At a minimum set your security setting for the “internet zone” to High, and your “trusted sites zone” to Medium Low.
- Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates so that you receive the most current versions.
- Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
- Do not run programs from unknown origins. Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers because they contain funny or amusing stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojans horse waiting to infect a computer.
- Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to “hide file extensions for known file types”. Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
- Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off.
- Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.
Every year billions of dollars are spent by consumers on line; and as the trend is growing rapidly, shopping security is still the number one factor in which a person may choose not to buy from a website. This is particularly true if you are new to the internet or starting to buy on-line for the first time.
Shopping security has always been a touchy subject and is so important that most reliable companies go to a great deal of trouble to protect their customers rights, privacy and security.
So can people feel safe when shopping on-line?
The answer to this is yes, if shoppers follow simple guidelines.
If you are new to the Internet or a regular shopper online, the following guidelines should apply.
1. Make sure you know the exchange rate; if you are not sure of the current rates, find out before you buy an item.
2. Find out the cost of delivery before placing your order and how long the delivery will take. Most shopping sites use couriers to deliver the goods and when delivering overseas can become quite expensive.
3. If you are bidding on E-bay check out the buyers and sellers feedback. This should become standard before you ever place a bid.
4. Always read the FAQ section if you are new to the site.
5. If someone demands cash for a payment, ‘say no‘. Use your credit card to make your payment; this will protect you against fraud. Credit card companies refund accounts where fraudulent activity transpires.
6. Check the buyers contact page. Make sure their postal address is posted on it. If not, don’t deal with them.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask the seller lots of questions, genuine sellers should be very helpful, some online shopping sites have forms where you can see customer feed back.
8. Check, and read in full the terms and conditions, and the privacy policy of the site.
9. If you are unsure about a site, try doing a search with Google or any of the other search engines. You may find comments posted about the shopping site from other customers.
10. If you are still not sure after reading the above it may be time to go shopping elsewhere.
These simple guidelines should also apply when bidding online.
If you do make the occasional bid in one of the many online auction sites, the same safety guidelines should become standard. Part of the appeal of buying or bidding online is that you tap into the global markets at a click of your finger. Buying through auction sites on the web can be very exciting and for most people enjoyable, but remember they can also be very addictive.
Most of the well-known auction sites are based in the United States; so overseas bidders should follow proper, but simple guidelines when placing their bids.
We should not shy away from the worthwhile experience of online shopping. Shopping on-line can bring you great savings, and will also take away the burden of going shopping.
Here is our TOP TEN list of recommended Anti-Virus Products.
1. AVAST – Click HERE for more info
Note: This is the product I personally use on my personal laptop, my wife’s laptop, and my kids PC. I use the FREE version on every installation. I have never been exposed to any virus since I started using it. I give it my HIGHEST recommendation
2. McAfee - Click HERE for more info
3. Trend-Micro Titanium - Click HERE for more info
4. AVG - Click HERE for more info
5. Panda AntiVirus - Click HERE for more info
6. Kaspersky - Click HERE for more info
7. BitDefender - Click HERE for more info
8. F-Secure - Click HERE for more info
9. NOD32 - Click HERE for more info
10. Norton 360 - Click HERE for more info
If you would like to share any feedback on any of these products please comment on the post. – Armored-PC
Armored-PC’s Top 5 Utility Software List
1. Advanced SystemCare Pro v4 – more info…HERE
Top System Utility for Your Superior PC Health Advanced SystemCare Professional provides an always-on and automated, all-in-one PC care service with anti-spyware, privacy protection, performance tune-ups, and system cleaning functions. Advanced SystemCare Professional, award-winning flagship product of IObit, is recommended most often by IT experts and editors around the world.
2. BitDefender AntiVirus Pro 2011 – More Info….HERE
BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 gives your PC fast, proactive protection against the latest viruses, spyware, and identity theft attacks—all in a friendly and customizable dashboard.
3. Game Booster Premium – More Info…HERE
Designed to help optimize your PC for smoother, more responsive game play in the latest PC games with the touch of a button, Game Booster helps achieve the performance edge previously only available to highly technical enthusiasts.
4. BoostSpeed 5 – Annual Subscription (3PCs – 1 year) – More Info…HERE
Auslogics BoostSpeed - the ideal solution to speed up your computer and Internet connection. This powerful Windows optimizer will boost Internet connections, tweak Windows to its peak performance, clean and defrag disks and the registry. It’s a great way to speed up your PC and keep it clean and optimized.
5. ISO Buster Pro (Personal) – More Info…HERE
Software to do data recovery from CD,DVD,BD and HD DVD
Spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of all PCs today. These unobtrusive, malicious programs are designed to silently bypass firewalls and anti-virus software without the user’s knowledge. Once embedded in a computer, it can wreak havoc on the system’s performance while gathering your personal information. Fortunately, unlike viruses and worms, spyware programs do not usually self-replicate.
Where does it come from?
Typically, spyware originates in three ways. The first and most common way is when the user installs it. In this scenario, spyware is embedded, attached, or bundled with a freeware or shareware program without the user’s knowledge. The user downloads the program to their computer. Once downloaded, the spyware program goes to work collecting data for the spyware author’s personal use or to sell to a third-party. Beware of many P2P file-sharing programs. They are notorious for downloads that posses spyware programs.
The user of a downloadable program should pay extra attention to the accompanying licensing agreement. Often the software publisher will warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested program. Unfortunately, we do not always take the time to read the fine print. Some agreements may provide special “opt-out” boxes that the user can click to stop the spyware from being included in the download. Be sure to review the document before signing off on the download.
Another way that spyware can access your computer is by tricking you into manipulating the security features designed to prevent any unwanted installations. The Internet Explorer Web browser was designed not to allow websites to start any unwanted downloads. That is why the user has to initiate a download by clicking on a link. These links can prove deceptive. For example, a pop-up modeled after a standard Windows dialog box, may appear on your screen. The message may ask you if you would like to optimize your internet access. It provides yes or no answer buttons, but, no matter which button you push, a download containing the spyware program will commence. Newer versions of Internet Explorer are now making this spyware pathway a little more difficult.
Finally, some spyware applications infect a system by attacking security holes in the Web browser or other software. When the user navigates a webpage controlled by a spyware author, the page contains code designed to attack the browser, and force the installation of the spyware program.
What can spyware programs do?
Spyware programs can accomplish a multitude of malicious tasks. Some of their deeds are simply annoying for the user; others can become downright aggressive in nature.
Spyware can:
- Monitor your keystrokes for reporting purposes.
- Scan files located on your hard drive.
- Snoop through applications on our desktop.
- Install other spyware programs into your computer.
- Read your cookies.
- Steal credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information.
- Change the default settings on your home page web browser.
- Mutate into a second generation of spyware thus making it more difficult to eradicate.
- Cause your computer to run slower.
- Deliver annoying pop up advertisements.
- Add advertising links to web pages for which the author does not get paid. Instead, payment is directed to the spyware programmer that changed the original affiliate’s settings.
- Provide the user with no uninstall option and places itself in unexpected or hidden places within your computer making it difficult to remove.
Spyware Examples
Here are a few examples of commonly seen spyware programs. Please note that while researchers will often give names to spyware programs, they may not match the names the spyware-writers use.
CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, that install through “holes” found in Internet Explorer. These programs direct traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch.com. This spyware nuisance displays pop-up ads, rewrites search engine results, and alters the computer host file to direct the Domain Name System (DNS) to lookup preselected sites.
Internet Optimizer (a/k/a DyFuCa), likes to redirect Internet Explorer error pages to advertisements. When the user follows the broken link or enters an erroneous URL, a page of advertisements pop up.
180 Solutions reports extensive information to advertisers about the Web sites which you visit. It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site. Therefore the 180 Solutions Company makes an unearned profit off of the click through advertisements they’ve altered.
HuntBar (a/k/a WinTools) or Adware.Websearch, is distributed by Traffic Syndicate and is installed by ActiveX drive-by downloading at affiliate websites or by advertisements displayed by other spyware programs. It’s a prime example of how spyware can install more spyware. These programs will add toolbars to Internet Explorer, track Web browsing behavior, and display advertisements.
How can I prevent spyware?
There are a couple things you can do to prevent spyware from infecting your computer system. First, invest in a reliable commercial anti-spyware program. There are several currently on the market including stand alone software packages such as Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware or Windows Antispyware. Other options provide the anti-spyware software as part of an anti-virus package. This type of option is offered by companies such as Sophos, Symantec, and McAfee. Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware by providing real-time protection, scanning, and removal of any found spyware software. As with most programs, update your anti virus software frequently.
As discussed, the Internet Explorer (IE) is often a contributor to the spyware problem because spyware programs like to attach themselves to its functionality. Spyware enjoys penetrating the IE’s weaknesses. Because of this, many users have switched to non-IE browsers. However, if you prefer to stick with Internet Explorer, be sure to update the security patches regularly, and only download programs from reputable sources. This will help reduce your chances of a spyware infiltration.
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And, when all else fails?
Finally, if your computer has been infected with a large number of spyware programs, the only solution you may have is backing up your data, and performing a complete reinstall of the operating system.
With the technical age upon us, computers are far more important now than they have ever been in the past. A lot is done on the computer these days, from paying bills to earning a living. Therefore, the data that you have on your computer is very important.
Among the data found on your computer, you may have precious pictures and memories that you wouldn’t dream of losing. No matter how sophisticated computers get, they will still crash, or encounter other problems that can result in a loss of data. For that reason, a backup of your data is very important.
While there are several ways that you can go about backing up your data, a DVD Rom is by far the easiest and quickly becoming the most popular as well. Like other backup methods, the DVD Rom does have it’s faults, although it has more pros to offer you than cons.
One of the best facts about DVD Rom backups are the fact that your disc will be stored on DVDs. The standard DVD-R data disc can hold up to 700 MB of data, which is a lot of files. You can store pictures, documents, software, programs, and virtually anything else that you can think of to a DVD – including entire folders that are full of files and data.
If you use DVD-RW media, which are also known as re-writable discs, you’ll be able to continue adding data until the disc is full. You can also re-write over existing data on these discs as well, which makes them ideal for those who constantly update documents that they need to hold onto.
If you are using the standard DVD-R data disks, you won’t be able to add more data to them. Once you have added the information to your disk, that’s it. This is a great choice if you want to keep the data as is, and know without a shadow of a doubt that it is going to be backed up whenever you need it.
With the prices of DVD burners and DVDs being so cheap these days, anyone can afford them. They don’t cost near as much as they did years ago, which is why they are so popular when it comes to backing up your data. If you own a newer computer, chances are that a DVD burner was included with it. If you have an older computer, you can buy a DVD burner and some discs for a little of nothing.
The best thing about backing up data with DVDs is the fact that they are more reliable than floppy discs, easier to access than an online backup, and they will last you a lifetime. If you have important data that needs to be backed up, you can rest assured that a DVD-Rom is an excellent way to back up your information.
- Armored-PC
