IOBIT Advanced System Care Pro and IOBIT Security 360

Over the past twelve months or so I have been using iobit’s Advanced System Care Pro to maintain the stability of my computers on my home network in conjunction with CCleaner as part of my computer maintenance routine.

Knowing that Advanced System Care Pro is good at what it does I thought I would look at other products from iobit when I came across iobit Security 360.

Security 360 is a malware and spyware removal utility that deeply scans the computer for signs of malware and spyware as iobit put it on their product page for Security 360:

“Security 360 PRO is an advanced malware & spyware removal utility that detects, removes the deepest infections, and protects your PC from various of potential spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, bots, worms, and hijackers. With the unique "Dual-Core" engine and the heuristic malware detection, Security 360 PRO detects the most complex and deepest spyware and malware in a very fast and efficient way.”

 

Key Benefits

 Complete PC Security Care

• Anti-malware, anti-spyware, anti-adware, anti-Trojan, anti-bots, and more. Security 360 can assist* your Antivirus to defend any tricky and complex threats.
  * Currently, there is no solution that offers a 100% effectiveness rate for detecting virus and malware.

• Work with All Antivirus Products

  Everyone needs a qualified antivirus software, and Security 360 will surely be the best mate for your current Antivirus.

• 1-click Solution and Very Easy to Use

  Traditional advantages of IObit products. We love simple and automatic styles.

• Very Fast and Light

  Thanks to the unique "Dual-Core" anti-malware engine, complicated analysis can be made faster now.

• Automated Working in the Background

  Just install it and forget it. This powerful utility works continuously, automatically and quietly in the background on your PC. You can set it as your schedule or just let it work automatically when your PC is idle.

• Finds the Deepest Infections

  Using DOG (Digital Original Gene), a novel heuristic malware detection method, Security 360 can find the most complex threats.

• Automatic and Frequent Updates

  By the new-generation malware analysis system and our professional database team, Security 360 catches the emerging dangerous malware in the Internet.

• FREE, Award-winning Customer Support for All Users

  Free 24/7 Technical Support and community support.

• 100% Money-Back Guarantee

  When you purchase Security 360 PRO, your satisfaction is guaranteed. Within 30 days, you can request your money back if our software doesn’t do all that we say it will. 

The above information comes directly from iobit’s webpage and has been added to this blog only to serve as a guide for further information about this great product please go to iobit’s web page www.iobit.com.

 

I couldn’t find any official video about Security 360 from iobit but I did find a review someone did on YouTube so here’s hoping it is of value to you all.

Until next time enjoy the Tech Corp IT Solutions web page and if you have any feedback you would like to leave by all means please do.

Computer Tip: How to install failed Windows Vista Updates

After a frustrating month of getting Windows Vista to install updates I found a work around to get the updates to install correctly.

You need to turn off Windows Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) and reboot the computer in order for the updates to install, I will now take you step by step on how to do this.

Step 1: Go to the Start Menu and Select Control Panel as depicted in Image 1: Start Menu and Control Panel below.

 

Image 1: Start Menu and Control Panel

Step 2: Select Security as shown in Image 2: Security Menu.

 

Image 2: Security Menu

Step 3: With the Security Menu opened type in UAC in the search box as shown in Image 3: Security Options and Image 4: UAC Options.

 

 

Image 3: Security Options

Image 4: UAC Options

Step 4: Click on Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off as shown in Imager 4: UAC Options and deselect  Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer as shown in Image 5: Turning UAC On or Off.

 

Image 5:Turning UAC On or Off

Step 5: You will then be prompted to reboot the computer as shown in Image 6: Prompt to Restart Now, so at this stage reboot and run Windows Update again this time the available updates should install correctly.

 

 

Image 6: Prompt to Restart Now

Step 6: To reactivate the User Account Control (UAC) go through steps 1 to 5.

So there you have it a work around for Windows Vista updates not installing, as always any feedback on my blogs or even the Tech Corp IT Solutions webpage as a whole please feel free to let me know what you think.

Security Now! Podcast

Hard to believe it has been over 12 months since I last listened to a Security Now podcast, I use to listen to the podcast every week and kept up to date with Internet security.

You may wonder why I hadn’t listened to one in such a long time, the short answer is that there was simply not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I wanted to achieve in such a short period of time.

Second Life was a huge part of my day mainly because I wanted to use my marketing skills in a virtual environment which sadly fell by the wayside I saw first hand how the lack of effective communication was instrumental in the failure of several clubs in Second Life and poor planning or no strategic planning at all.

Foremost I am a marketer, this is what I am qualified in not Information Technology but I have had over 10 years experience building and repairing computers, I often help family and friends to lock their computers down and make them more secure without any reduction in usability of their computer systems.

I guided a friend who lives in the US in checking to see if her computer network was secure by using Steve Gibson’s ShieldsUp by giving her step by step instructions in Skype.

For you readers of my blog I live in New South Wales Australia in a town roughly 4 hours west of Sydney in a wine producing area of the state.

I am a big user of social media I use Facebook and Twitter frequently and took to it straight away, i’m still planning to rebuild the IT Solutions webpage just looking for a webpage template similar to Live Spaces as it gives me the flexibility to expand and to implement a more rich media experience for people visiting my webpage.

I am also an affiliate marketer for Microsoft, Second Life, Iobit and a few others so be sure to click on the links to the specials that these companies are offering right now, who know you may pick up a great bargain.

As always any feedback on the content of my blogs and the content on the webpage please let me know even constructive criticism is good it allows me to change the format of my webpage because without you visitors to my webpage it is pretty much a time consuming exercise that if people aren’t visiting I am pretty much wasting my time writing these blogs if no one reads them.

Another reason I want to rebuild the webpage is I can’t set Google Analytics up or implement SEO strategies to make the webpage more visible to people on the Internet.

So for now happy computing and stay secure.

Recent Changes to IT Solutions

I have made recent changes to my Live Spaces web page the most noticeable change being the name change for IT Solutions to Tech Corp IT Solutions and the slogan "IT Solutions with Integrity" to "Integrity through Client Understanding".

The name change came about as I wanted to give the web page a more distinct name which didn’t sound generic, Tech Corp was a name I came up with in 1987 though it’s not to be confused with the company Tech Corp Inc (http://www.techcorp.com/) which deals in surveillance.

The name change is an acronym for Technology Corporation which I am planning to purchase a domain name which will cost me $24 for 2 years at Crazy Domains http://www.crazydomains.com.au/index.html.

Crazy Domains have excellent pricing for web hosting plans with an unlimited web hosting plan costing $57 per year, this also includes free of charge DNS hosting of the domain name I am planning to purchase.

I want to take a more professional approach to providing people IT advice and I also want more control over the content I can include, I have a distinction in e-business marketing so what better way to use my marketing skills then to offer people relevant computer products through affiliation with Internet security companies and system maintenance software providers.

I will also be able to provide visitors to the new web page a more interactive experience then I am currently able to do here, some of the ideas I have is to have a group in Facebook called Tech Corp of course.

If anyone can advise me on how I can get computer components like computer magazines like Australian PC User, Australian Personal Computer and Australian PC World for testing purposes and review articles I would be very interested in writing professional reviews on the latest computer technology.

I have over 10 years experience in building computers, though I have no official qualifications except the willingness to learn and I accept I don’t have all the answers and from time-to-time I seek advice from those that do.

Recently my power supply unit blew my AMD Athlon XP 3000+ processor up I presume the power supply unit was overheating though I do not overclock my computers.

The power supply unit in question had a fan at the bottom of it but not one at the back of it like most other’s do so this is where I feel the overheating issue came from.

I bought a 860 Watt power supply unit that has a fan at the bottom of it as well as one on the back of it, so i’m in the process of building an Intel P4 based computer with motherboard that will allow me to add 4 gigs of memory to it.

I built my wife earlier this year a P4 2.4 Ghz computer with a MSI PM8M-V motherboard and 1 gig of Corsair Value Select DDR1 memory, this computer is running perfectly in a Foxconn TLA 483 case with a plastic shroud that removes heat from the processor and pushes it out through the side of the case.

This case also has a fan at the back of it as standard when you purchase the case, like any case it gathers dust very quickly inside it but I regularly blow the dust out and reseat all the cards after a thorough clean in order to prevent premature failure of the computer components.

I also test the integrity of my hard drives by running Steve Gibson’s SpinRite now and again which I must add has been an invaluable tool in detecting hard drive errors and impending hard drive failure.

My new motherboard is Intel based and will allow me to set the computer up in a RAID configuration (Redundant Array of Independent Disks).

How to Check Email Headers from Spam Messages

del.icio.us Tags: IT Solutions,Email Message Headers,Internet Security,Spam,Spammer,Spamming

 

I decided to do this blog on spam mail as it is so easy to to just open an email message that the email client hasn’t detected as spam.

Some people don’t know or understand what email message headers are so I will be using screenshots to show people how you read message headers.

Email message headers basically tell you who the email message is from and the route over the Internet the message has taken.

A few times I have email messages that say the message came from me, this is know as email spoofing and is often used by spammers.

Every time you open a spam message you are paying the spammer when you click on a link within the email message and you are also letting the spammer know that your email address is an active one.

Screenshot 1 below shows a highlighted spam message I received the other day with a red flag and a green square.

Screenshot 1: Highlighted Spam Message

The red flag represents a task needing to be completed in this case it was set for Saturday 28th March and the task was to do this blog on identifying spam.

The green square represents a strategy and that strategy being this blog.

The next screenshot will now show you the steps required to determine if the email message is actually spam.

By right clicking on the email message you are given several options for this blog we are going to select Message Options as shown in Screenshot 2.

 

Screenshot 2: Email Options Menu

The screenshot below now shows the message header showing who the email message was sent to and the return path of the email message.

In this example I don’t know who bobbylpueo@perpetuallyroseroad.cn is, so it is safe to say this person has sent  me unsolicited junk mail.

 

Screenshot 3: Message Header

Now that we have determined the email message is spam mail we have several options available for our disposal.

One you can simply delete the email message but you then have the off chance that this person will keep spamming you and these messages will go directly to your inbox.

The second and preferred option is to add this spammer to the junk mail list as I am about to show you in the next screenshot.

To do this you need to left click on the email message to highlight it and then right click to bring up the email options menu.

Go down to Junk Email highlight it and another menu will appear as shown in the screenshot below.

Screenshot 4: Junk Email Options

We know this is spam so what we are going to do is Add Sender to Blocked Senders List, what this will do is send the email message to the Junk Email folder.

In the future if you get email from this person it will automatically go to the Junk Mail folder as shown in the next screenshot.

Screenshot 5: Junk Email Folder

Though I have used Outlook 2007 for this blog this applies for most email programs and web based email services such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Google Mail etc.

Comodo Internet Security

del.icio.us Tags: Avast,Computer Crime Prevention,Comodo Internet Security,ComodoVision,IT Solutions,YouTube

Last week I installed Comodo Internet Security which includes antivirus, anti-malware and firewall on my computer under my Windows XP Pro partition.

So far I have found it to be excellent as the virus database is updated twice a day much like the update routine of Avast.

After install Comodo Internet Security runs a malware scan in my case the program detected one malware program in Windows XP and one malware program under Windows Vista which isn’t too bad.

The video below was done by Comodo themselves and explains the advantages of updating from the free Comodo Internet Security to the Pro version for US$39.95 per year when you come to think of it, it isn’t a great deal of money compared to the subscription cost of McAfee and Symantec.

 

 

At one stage I was an affiliate of Comodo with their firewall, so  I will have to organise that with the Comodo Internet Security Pro subscription and put the link on this webpage.

Also must get back into listening to the Security Now! podcast again after I get my external hard drive to work.

I may need to get out my copy of SpinRite and run a scan on the external hard drive to repair the problem because as soon as you plug it into the USB port it crashes any computer it is connected to.

I have an old Pentium 3 that I can run it from so I should set that up and run SpinRite for a few days in order to get the external hard drive to work again.

Until next time enjoy my blogs and webpage and safe computing ……………… don’t become another victim of computer crime.

Complete Internet Encryption

del.icio.us Tags: Denial of Service,DNSSEC,Encryption Algorithm,GRC,ICANN,ITAR,Root Zone,Security Now!,Steve Gibson,TOR

 

As I have said in previous post on encryption over the Internet that in order for encryption to work it has to be a two-way communications model.

This means that not only does the client computer require a digitally signed encryption algorithm, this includes business servers right up to the Root Zone involving the DNS (Domain Name Server).

The DNS is responsible for translating web addresses such as www.bigpond.com into a binary language that the computer can understand and has been exploited by hackers through DNS Poisoning.

In it’s simplest form the DNS is what allows Internet traffic to freely move around the Internet, a handshake between the client computer and the server.

As I have said in the past, encryption needs to be implemented on both sides and really should be military grade encryption though some people would beg to differ and call this overkill.

This is what DNSSEC (Domain Name Server Security Extensions) does it encrypts data from the higher hierarchy of the Root Zone and is what the US Government is trying to implement in order to make the Internet a more reliable and safe environment for people to use for online commerce.

If you want to know more about this, Carolyn Duffy Marsan of Network World wrote an article on DNSSEC which can be found at PC World Australia http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/277677/techies_bypass_feds_dns_security?pp=1&fp=4&fpid=762453.

According to the article while the US Government works out DNSSEC, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has come up with an alternative approach to allow for DNSSEC deployment without the need for the DNS Root Server being digitally signed through an alternative approach called the ICANN Interim Trust Anchor Repository (ITAR) which allows for a fully functioning DNSSEC deployment without the need to wait for the root zone to be digitally signed.

Steve Gibson at www.grc.com has done several Security Now! podcast on DNS and encryption over the past twelve months which some of you blog readers might find interesting.

I often check the status of my computer’s security and have found that Shields Up always reports I am fully stealthed which is a good thing.

My Internet connection is through a D-Link DSL-G604T Wireless G ADSL Modem Router with UPnP disabled.

I also have Denial of Service (DoS) disabled which also disables SYN Flooding Checking and ICMP Redirection checking.

Under Port Scan Protection I have FIN/URG/PSH attack, Xmas Tree attack, Null Scan attack, SYN/RST attack and SYN/FIN attack all disabled.

Also under Service Filtering I have all these services disabled in the modem router’s firewall, Ping from External Network, Telnet from External Network, FTP from External Network, DNS from External Network, IKE from External Network, RIP from External Network and DHCP from External Network.

This is how I get a stealth on every port in my computer I also use the Windows Vista Firewall but even when I disable the Windows Vista Firewall I still get a stealth on every port.

Basically I am totally invisible on the Internet, the way to be I believe though it is possible to create total anonymity over the Internet by going through a proxy server such as TOR (The Onion Router).

What is questionable is what are your motives for total anonymity on the Internet are you being unethical or acting in a manner which could be seen as illegal.

Black hat hackers are sometimes caught because of their carelessness on covering their tracks I don’t condone this behaviour nor am I interested in becoming a black hat hacker though I am interested in becoming an ethical hacker and assist clients in locating security vulnerabilities in misconfigured firewalls.

My background is in marketing with emphasis on e-marketing and online security this should be part of any organisational strategic marketing plan.

I look forward to hearing your comments and thoughts on this blog so please feel free to leave your comments as always.

Overcoming Second Life Start-Up Crashes

del.icio.us Tags: AGP,Anti-Aliasing,Anisotropic Filtering,ATI Radeon HD2600XT,Catalyst Control Centre,Catalyst AI,Google,IT Solutions,OpenGL Vertex Buffer Objects,Second Life

 

I thought I would write a blog on how to get Second Life to run on an ATI Radeon HD2600XT video card.

My card is the AGP series of the card as my computer is an AMD Athlon XP 3000+ with 2 gigabytes of Corsair Value Select memory and a 250 gigabyte Western Digital Caviar hard drive.

I also have Windows XP Professional dual booted with Windows Vista Home Premium with Second Life installed on the Windows XP partition as you will see in the Second Life screenshots.

What I am about to show you through screenshots may apply to the PCI Express version of the card as well.

I tried a Google search for a solution to my problem first but only got more questions and very little in answers to a possible solution so I decided to delve into the 3D settings in the Catalyst Control Centre, below is the outcome of what helped me run Second Life.

The first step is to go to the Catalyst Control Centre and select the 3D Settings tab as Screenshot 1 shows below, this way you will be able to get to the Second Life login if you don’t do this initial step Second Life will load for a second and stay resident in memory but nothing will be on the screen.

Screenshot 1: 3D Settings in the Catalyst Control Centre

The second step is to go to the Catalyst AI tab in 3D settings and tick on “Disable Catalyst AI” as shown in Screenshot 2, by doing this it will allow Second Life to start without crashing.

Screenshot 2: Disabling the Catalyst AI in the Catalyst Control Centre

The other thing to remember is to allow Second Life to control anti-aliasing as well as de-select “Enable Adaptive Anti-Aliasing”. I also found that if you allow Second Life to “Control Anisotropic Filtering” Second Life will start without crashing.

This now brings us to the Second Life side of getting Second Life to start without crashes.

When you get to the Second Life login screen you need to select the Edit menu and then Preferences.

You then need to select the Graphics tab as shown in Screenshot 3.

  Screenshot 3: Graphics tab in the Second Life Preferences Menu

From here you need to select Hardware Options on the Graphics tab as shown in Screenshot 4 and de-select “Enable OpenGL Vertex Buffer Objects”, I was also told that OpenGL VBO can cause objects not to display properly in the Second Life Viewer and also cause the viewer to crash.

  Screenshot 4: Disabling “Enable OpenGL Vertex Buffer Objects”

So there you have it my solution to getting Second Life to run on an ATI video card, took awhile to work out but it’s cool.

Enjoy

Newsgroups For Computer Problems

del.icio.us Tags: IT Solutions,Microsoft,Newsgroups,Windows Live Mail,Windows Vista

 

After setting up the new Beta version of Windows Live Mail as my preferred newsreader I decided to look at the Microsoft newsgroups on Microsoft products and found several ones that were of interest to me.

As you can see from the screenshot below I have joined the microsoft.public.windows.live.messenger, microsoft.public.windows.vista.general, microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup and the microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance newsgroups.

These newsgroups will give you access to people who can assist you in determining the cause of the problem and a possible solution.

You do this in the same manner as you would do for an online forum by posting your question and simply just wait for a response.

It is very important that you are very specific about the problem you are having, the more information you can provide the better the response to your newsgroup posting.

Also if possible use a screenshot of the error message, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

You create a screenshot by pressing the print screen (PrtScn/SysRq) button on the keyboard and then right click in your newsgroup posting and select paste.

You can also use the Edit menu and select Paste, it’s really just user preference.

Be safe and have a great computer experience.

Professional IT Blog at WordPress

del.icio.us Tags: Information Security,IT Solutions,LinkedIn,Second Life,Security Now,Virtual Worlds,WordPress

 

I just wanted to make aware to the visitors to my blog that over the past couple of months I have started a WordPress blog on IT.

This new more professional blog has some of my blogs I have written on my Live Spaces web page as I wanted to keep the two up to date.

I have also been setting up social networking as a means of obtaining more visitors to the IT Solutions Live Spaces webpage through using LinkedIn in which my profile can be found at http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrayment.

Please feel free to check my profile out as I have networked with professional IT specialists and joined several groups for example: Information Security Community Group.

This has all taken place since my last blog, I have also been very busy with my marketing studies though I am more interested in e-business marketing then traditional marketing.

I still have at least ten Security Now podcast to catch up with which I plan to do in the New Year.

I also plan to do more in Second Life mainly catch up with friends and to look at real life organisations who have a presence in the virtual world of Second Life.

One thing I have noticed is the immerging genre of virtual worlds with new players in this online community though Second Life with it’s share of problems such as congestion is still the best virtual world by far.

I want to write more on the moral and ethical obligations of being in Second Life at a later date as some people have great difficulty in ascertaining that what you do in the virtual world has direct bearing on the type of person you are in reality.

I’ve learnt that the love you have for someone in Second Life is more to do with the love you have for your friends in reality and is often confused with romantic love.

My friend Genayah in Second Life is a good example of a strong friendship that has developed over the past twelve months.

At times I will refer visitors to the IT Solutions web page to go and visit my Pauly Reyes  Live Spaces web page as it is my avatar’s virtual space and it has more direct bearing on Second Life as this blog is more centred on IT solutions and not the intricacies of relationships.

Relationships are important to the IT Solutions web page but more to do with professionalism and being able to help people with computer problems.