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February 4, 2012


More Free Utilities to Clean Hijacked PCs by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/how-to-use-stinger.aspx
http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/rescuedisk?level=2
http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd
https://connect.microsoft.com/systemsweeper
http://www.superantispyware.com
https://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/eek/
http://www.malwarebytes.org
http://free.agnitum.com

Hardly a week goes by that I do not get a call from a friend or co-worker asking for help with a computer that had been hijacked by one of the thousands of variants of a type of malware generically known as "Rogue AntiVirus". Last weekend was busy for me in this respect in that I received multiple frantic calls for help on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All of the computers I was asked to clean had been totally hijacked by this rogue antivirus operating under the names "Vista AntiVirus 2012", "Windows 7 Antivirus", and "Microsoft Antivirus 2012".

While they all had different names, they all had the same modus operandi in that they infected a computer, displayed frequent popup windows alerting the user that the computer was heavily infected with viruses and spyware, offered to repair the problem for a fee, and totally took over the computer by not allowing most other programs to load. Often infecting the computer via an email from a known acquaintance whose own computer had been hijacked and which sent out spam email with a link that would load the malware, or by visiting a legitimate or rogue website that injects the malware via the web browser, this rogue antivirus software is becoming more dangerous, and more difficult to remove. As had been written here before, this rogue software generally protects itself from detection and removal by neutralizing the installed security software on the computer, and preventing other detection and repair software from executing. Most of the rogue software also blocks access to many of the websites with removal utilities, and prevents most programs on the computer from running by blocking almost all ".exe" files from opening.

What the user of the infected machine does not often see is that many of these rogue variants also disseminate their code to people whose email addresses are in the user's address book (both webmail and computer based address books), Facebook and Twitter friends. This spamming of illicit code is typically in the form of friendly emails apparently from you to your email buddies with a short polite message along with a link to a purloined website which will automatically load the malware code onto their machines. Facebook and Twitter have also become major vectors used to promulgate this malware, as the rogue software will post short messages apparently from you, with links to the malware; anyone clicking on those links will be hijacked as well, and the process repeats geometrically. In addition to propagating itself, this rogue software also often adds the hijacked computers as "zombies" to a massive "bot" of computers used to send out spam emails for a fee, payable to the crook that started this spider web of malware and hijackings. In addition to the revenues from sending countless spam emails from the "bot" (network) of "zombies" (hijacked computers), the purveyors of this malware also generate substantial revenues by charging a fee, typically $29 to $69, often payable only by credit card, for the rogue software to "clean" the infected computer. If the unfortunate victim pays this extortion, not just will the rogue software not clean the computer, but will also often sell the credit card number (along with its expiration date, and CVV security code) on other illicit websites, typically resulting in massive fraudulent charges on the credit cards.

In the past, I have had great success using the free portable version of SuperAntiSpyware (www.superantispyware.com) to detect and remove the rogue antivirus infections. Using a clean computer, I download a fresh, updated copy of the portable version of SuperAntiSpyware to my USB flash drive, which I then take to the hijacked computer. I boot the infected computer into Safe Mode (F8), insert the flash drive, and run the SuperAntiSpyware, often in "full scan" mode. Once cleaned, I use the "Repair" button on the bottom of the SuperAntiSpyware screen to undo many of the improper changes the malware had made to the computer. Because of its very frequenting updating, ease of use, and high success rate, SuperAntiSpyware portable version is still my first choice to clean an infected computer. The problem is that in this very rapidly evolving cat-and-mouse game between the malware code writers, and the security software companies, some of the recently released malware has become harder to detect and kill. I found this out last Friday when my normal battery of top-rated and updated malware detection and removal utilities that I carry on my flash drive (SuperAntiSpyware, Emsisoft Emergency Kit, and MalwareBytes) were unable to totally remove a persistent infection on a heavily compromised computer.

Knowing that a "Plan B" was necessary to defeat this stubborn malware, I went home to download some other utilities that I have used in the past to remove stubborn malware that resisted the most common and popular methods of cleaning. I downloaded the latest versions of McAfee's Stinger, Kaspersky Rescue Disk, AVG Rescue CD, and Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Beta. I downloaded the McAfee Stinger to my flash drive, and created fresh CDs with the Kaspersky, AVG, and Microsoft utilities. Be sure to implicitly follow the directions provided by these software companies for creating the bootable CDs or bootable USB flash drives necessary to load and run the utilities.

Returning to the location of the hijacked desktop computer, I booted it into safe mode (F8), inserted my flash drive and ran the McAfee Stinger. While McAfee Stinger detects far fewer types of malware than many of the other utilities, it does an excellent job in detecting and killing some of the more stubborn infections, which it did on this victimized computer. After rebooting the computer, and rerunning the McAfee Stinger (it found no additional infections), there was very substantial improvement, but still some evidence of malware on the computer.

I inserted my newly created bootable Kaspersky Rescue CD into the drive, and was required to press the F12 key in order to boot the computer with the bootable CD (some computers require F10 or F2 in order to select a "boot from CD or flash drive" option). Since booting with a CD does not load the infected copy of Windows that is on the hard drive, but instead loads a clean operating system from the CD (usually some form of Linux or WinPE), the malware cannot load and protect itself from detection and removal. The Kaspersky Rescue CD detected and removed the remainder of the malware, proving itself as a very viable method of malware removal. I removed the Kaspersky CD and inserted the Microsoft System Sweeper bootable CD, and rebooted the computer (F12). This Microsoft CD, very capable in its own right, did not detect any other malware on this computer, corroborating the fact that the computer was most likely clean of all forms of malware. If I still had any other problems, I know from past experience that the AVG Rescue CD, bootable the same way as the other CDs, had some very capable detection and system repair utilities which are often necessary to recover a badly damaged computer, but in this particular case, it was not necessary.

This badly infected and compromised computer had one of the major commercial security suites installed, but was still penetrated by the rogue antivirus, a common occurrence in that the rogue software is very well written by experts in security penetration. Rather than reinstall and update his current security software, which was near its expiration and renewal date, this computer owner wanted a different security suite than the one he had, in the hope that it would better protect his computer. Whatever security software suite he would choose, it is absolutely imperative to install some comprehensive security suite immediately after cleaning the computer that had been hijacked, as the security software that was previously installed was totally dead, killed by the malware in the earliest stage of the takeover, which left the computer vulnerable to the inevitable follow-on attacks. While there are several excellent commercial and free comprehensive security suites available, in this case the user decided to try one of the popular freeware security suites, Outpost (free.agnitum.com), rather than purchase another commercial product; that was his informed choice.
Now, when I am called upon to clean an infected computer, I include McAfee Stinger in the arsenal of utilities on my USB flash drive, and bring the three bootable CDs that I created (Kaspersky, AVG, and Microsoft), just in case they are needed.

 January 28, 2012


Prepare and File Your Federal Income Taxes for Free by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
https://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-income-tax-filing-software.htm
http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html?portlet=106
https://www.freefilefillableforms.com
https://www.taxact.com/s_taxact/free_taxact.asp

It is that time of year again. We are in the process of receiving W-2 forms, 1099's of various types, and other documents that we will need in order to prepare our income taxes. While many people still use the paper-pencil-calculator method of completing the mandated Federal tax forms, there are a variety of free online and downloadable tax software packages that are available, as well as several popular commercially available income tax packages, with TurboTax and H&R Block at Home (formerly known as TaxCut) being the top selling commercial packages. For those who prefer to have others prepare their taxes, CPA firms and store front tax services are readily available.

As it has done in the past, the IRS has compiled a list of 16 approved online tax preparation services on its FreeFile website (apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile ) that will for free, prepare and e-file Federal income taxes for eligible individuals. While the eligibility standards for each of the IRS listed free services varies, the IRS still claims that about 70% of all individuals are eligible for the free filing services. What is new is that the IRS (through a third party, www.freefilefillableforms.com) has now made electronic versions of many of its forms available which can be completed by anyone for free, and e-filed without using one of the other free online services or other commercial tax preparation products. These free fillable forms can be filled out on the computer or printed and filled in by hand, and then e-filed. Unlike the online and commercial tax software that computes the users' taxes, the free fillable forms are just interactive blank forms, and do not carry out any calculations or give any advice.

Something else that is available this year is an independent third-party rating of the free tax services by Gizmo's TechSupportAlert.com. The Gizmo community based service has tested and rated all of the free tax services listed on the IRS FreeFile website, and has posted its reviews, ratings, and recommendations ( www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-income-tax-filing-software.htm ). While the IRS FreeFile list has 16 services listed, the Gizmo ratings can only recommend eight of those listed. In addition to the eight free online services recommended by Gizmo, there is also one top-rated "10 Star" stand-alone tax program that can be downloaded and run on the user's computer. This downloadable free program is TaxACT Free Edition, and has earned "Gizmo's Freeware award as the best product in its class!" ( www.taxact.com/s_taxact/free_taxact.asp). Available for Windows computers only, this free program is limited to a single tax return, but can process almost all Federal forms and schedules. College students may find TaxACT Free Edition helpful as it also includes a "College Student Financial aid worksheet".

Gizmo's community of reviewers, in its ratings and evaluations, has recommended the following free online tax preparation services in this order based on their overall score: TaxACT Free Edition Online (rated a "10"), was also listed as "Gizmo's Freeware award as the best product in its class!"; H&R Block's Free File (9 star rating), which also offers free state filing for residents of AL, AR, GA, IN, MI, MN, MO, NY, NC, OK, OR, SC, VA; TaxHawk (8 star rating); FreeTaxUSA IRS Free File Edition (8 stars); FileYourTaxes.com (7 stars); Jackson Hewitt Online (6 stars); TaxSlayer (6 stars); and TurboTax Freedom Edition (6 stars).

The Gizmo community also reviewed the IRS' new "IRS Free File Fillable Forms", but only gave it a rating of 5 stars (below Gizmo's minimum recommended rating of 6 stars). While these free fillable forms are available to everyone, without limitations, Gizmo states that these, " ... online versions of paper forms [are] designed for people comfortable preparing their own tax returns. No interview process. No help screens. Many values must be transferred manually from the Schedules to other places in the return. Many calculations must be done manually, ... Federal only, no state returns."

While the IRS claims that 70% of taxpayers can use the free online tax services for preparing and e-filing their taxes, eligibility for each of the 16 listed services varies. Generally, users of these free online services must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $57,000 or less (the $57,000 AGI is the upper limit for the IRS approved FreeFile services), with some services having even lower eligibility requirements. The TurboTax Freedom Edition is one example, offering its free service to anyone with an adjusted gross income of $31,000 or less, unless active duty military, then the $57,000 or less eligibility kicks in. Anyone eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit can also use the TurboTax Freedom Edition. Several of the services have eligibility restrictions based on the states of residence, and are either available only to residents of certain specified states, or are available to the residents of any states except those explicitly listed. For example, there are several of the free filing services listed by the IRS that are available to residents of most states, but not Texas (and others). Those services as listed by the IRS that are explicitly not available to Texas residents are

OnlineTaxPros.com, Free1040TaxReturn, Tax Simple, 1040NOW.NET, and ezTaxReturn.com. The other 11 free services listed by the IRS allow eligible Texas residents to use their services. Some of the services are for the residents of all states, while a few are only for residents of a small number of states; obviously this can be a strong influence on which service to select based on the state of residency.

Some of the free services are only available for tax payers of certain age ranges (with some exceptions); TaxSlayer is for people age 25 or younger (with some exceptions), while FreeTaxUSA IRS Free File Edition is only available to people between the ages of 23 and 64. 1040NOW.NET is for age 72 or younger, while Free TaxACT is for those between 19 and 55. Details and eligibility requirements for each of the IRS approved FreeFile providers is available on the IRS website at apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile, and should be reviewed before selecting a free online tax preparation service.

Since the eight Gizmo top-rated free online tax preparation services, and the free downloadable software from TaxAct, all use an interview method to collect relevant tax information, make all necessary calculations, and check for errors before e-filing, those would be the ones that I would recommend to eligible taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $57,000. Since 70% of taxpayers can use these free online services to prepare and e-file their federal income taxes, eligible taxpayers can save a lot of time and money by utilizing these services.

 January 21, 2012

Old "Windows Tech Support" Scam Hits Locally by Ira Wilsker

WEBSITES:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-security/scam-phone-call-claiming-to-be-from-windows/193f0a33-4ad9-4a07-96eb-9a7e3debb269

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-security/phone-call-scam-received-call-from-a-technician/6ed2b99c-20ff-468b-a69b-aec78b93f287

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/16/tech_support_scam_calls/

http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/watch-out-for-microsoft-tech-support-scams/ 

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/report.shtml

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov

Yesterday I received an email from a member of the local computer club about a phone call that she had just received. "I received a call on my home phone today from someone named "Janet" who claimed to be from the "Tech Department at Windows". She said they detected a virus on my computer and that if I would get on the computer now she could tell me how to correct it. She told me that the virus was slowly eating away at my computer. I told her I was busy and would have to call her back. I asked for her phone number, which she gave me - 347-489-xxxx. She had a very thick accent - probably Indian. I assume this is a scam?" Yes, it is a well documented scam that has resulted in big losses for a lot of people who do as the caller says.

What often happens with this scam, is the callers ask you to turn on the remote access feature built into Windows that allows remote servicing. Once the caller has access to your computer, they may steal usernames, passwords, address books, personal information, and other valuable data. They may also plant keyloggers to capture any banking information, logins, and other sensitive information, all for the purpose of identity theft. They also often plant other types of malware as well, and often try to sell additional services to the user. Most of these calls are VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, phone calls placed over the internet) and often come from Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Nigeria, China, and other unfriendly places. In the example above "Janet" gave a Manhattan phone number which either was false, or it was a portal on to a VoIP system that could be picked up anywhere in the world.

In an article published in The Register (UK) last summer, citing a recent Microsoft security survey, this fake tech support scam is very widespread. Microsoft surveyed 7,000 computer users in the UK, Ireland, US, and Canada and found an average of 16 per cent of people had received such calls. According to Microsoft, these scammers allege that they are calling from Microsoft or a recognized security software company, and inform the victim that his computer is infected, and that the caller will perform a free security check, or otherwise clean the malware off of the computer. According to a posting by Microsoft, the callers most often claim to be calling from Windows Helpdesk, Windows Service Center, Microsoft Tech Support, Microsoft Support, Windows Technical Department Support Group, or the Microsoft Research and Development Team (Microsoft R & D Team). Of those receiving one of these scam phone calls, about one person in five followed the scammers' instructions, and gave the criminal remote access to their computers. Once that access has been granted, the crooks typically load malware onto the computer, opening the computer to future attack.

A common type of felony crime committed by these crooks is identity theft, where either by accessing files or by installing keyloggers (malware that records keystrokes and sends them to a remote location), the criminal can steal banking information, credit card information, user names, passwords, security questions, and other valuable personal information. In some cases the crooks, in an action reminiscent to the infamous "rogue antivirus' scams, asks for the victims' credit card information in order to pay for the service or for the sale of security software. While nothing is really purchased, a charge does show up on the victims' credit account, and the credit card information is also likely to be posted for sale on illicit websites where credit card information is bought and sold for the purpose of fraudulent transactions.

According to the Microsoft survey findings, 79 percent of those who allowed the illicit remote access to their computers suffered identified financial losses, ranging from a low of $82 to a high of $1560, with an average financial loss of $875. In addition to financial losses, the malware that may be loaded onto the computer may be used to provide a continuing revenue stream to the crooks by using the compromised computer as a part of a "botnet" (remotely controlled collection of hijacked computers) to send out spam email by the thousands, for which the crook charges his clients a fee. Of course the spam, and any related scams or pornography sent in the spam emails, cannot be tracked back to the creator of the spam or the crook who hijacked the computer, but instead would track back directly to the victim's computer.

While not likely, it is possible that Microsoft or one of its authorized partners may contact a computer user about a security related issue. On the Microsoft website (www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx), they explain the explicit times and circumstances in which Microsoft may contact a user directly. " There are some cases where Microsoft will work with your Internet service provider and call you to fix a malware-infected computer—such as during the recent cleanup effort begunn in our botnet takedown actions. These calls will be made by someone with whom you can verify you already are a customer. You will never receive a legitimate call from Microsoft or our partners to charge you for computer fixes." Microsoft warns that if you receive a phone call claiming to be from Microsoft, do not purchases any software or services offered by the caller, or if there is some type of subscription fee attached to the support offer. Microsoft also warns not to allow remote access to you computer unless you can confirm that the other party, " ... is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer." It is imperative that you should never give any personal, financial, or credit card information to any caller who says that he is from Microsoft Technical Support, because a legitimate Microsoft representative would never ask for such information. Even if the caller provides a phone number that you can use to return the call, that does not mean that the phone number is an authentic Microsoft location, because who ever answers the phone can falsely answer with "Microsoft", and with VoIP, the call can be routed anywhere in the world, even if the phone number looks realistic.

If by some chance you have fallen for this scam, look at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website "Reporting Phone Fraud" at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/report.shtml and follow the contact instructions provided. It would also be prudent to perform a security scan with one or more of the free malware scanners such as MalwareBytes (malwarebytes.org) or SuperAntiSpyware (superantispyware.com). Since much of the contemporary crop of malware is engineered to protect itself, if these malware scanners will not load and run, it is then very likely that the computer is badly infected, and may require a more sophisticated malware removal process. If the security report scan indicates that the computer is clean, it would be wise to change all of your passwords (email, banking, eBay, PayPal, etc.), and to contact your financial institutions and credit card companies to inform them that you may have been the victim of fraud. Since it is possible that the phone crook deactivated or neutralized your security software, it may also be a good idea to reinstall and update your security software.

It is a sad state of affairs that any of us may fall victim to criminal activity at any time, but in this case the crook does not use a weapon, but instead a caring, often female, voice offering to help us clean our "infected" computers. With an average loss, as reported by Microsoft, of $875, and the ability of the crooks to make thousands of such calls a day, the aggregate losses will be very substantial. Still, as an individual, not many of us can readily absorb an $875 loss. If you get a call from some permutation of "Microsoft Technical Support" informing you that your computer is infected, and either for free or for a fee they offer to clean it for you, simply hang up. Although in a different context, and over 25 years ago, Nancy Reagan gave the best advice when she said, "Just say NO!"

                                    January 14, 2012


Protect Your Security While Browsing by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://linkscanner.avg.com
http://www.mywot.com
http://www.siteadvisor.com
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/trendprotect
https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-internet-safety-check-page-2.htm

As has become obvious in the eleven years that I have been doing this weekly column, I get many of my column ideas from Examiner readers, and listeners to my radio show. This column is no exception. Just yesterday, I received a frantic request from a local attorney whose computer had been hijacked by one of the endemic rogue antivirus virus programs, Vista AntiVirus 2012. As I have written here previously, this is but one of thousands of similar programs, usually from Russia, that completely take over the computer, preventing most other software from running, killing the installed security software, and offers to clean up the hijacked computer for a fee ($29-$69). This is nothing more than international extortion, where the crook not just gets the proceeds from the credit card transaction, but then often posts the credit card information on a variety of illicit sites where credit card information is criminally bought and sold.

The rogue software itself, despite its "AntiVirus" or "Anti-Spyware" moniker, is nothing of the sort; it in itself is often a Trojan that not just offers no protection, it displays fictitious infection reports, may hijack the computer and steal banking information and address books, send out multitudes of spam emails under the user's name, and launch cyber attacks on other computers as part of a zombie network. This rogue software is really nasty, and protects itself from removal. In several previous columns I explained how to remove this rogue software using the portable version of SuperAntispyware, MalwareBytes, or a variety of bootable CD and flash drive based utilities.

As has commonly been used in a variety of contexts, prevention is superior to cures, and that applies to this rogue software as well. Some of this rogue software is loaded by opening links or attachments in emails, often sent by known individuals whose own computers have been hijacked. A major vector of infection is by visiting otherwise legitimate websites that have had surreptitious code inserted into the valid code on the website, which may load the malware directly onto the victims' computers. There are also millions of hijacked websites that have the illicit code embedded, with many thousands more hijacked every day. There are also millions of rogue websites that have been created explicitly for the purpose of infecting the computers of visitors who load those purloined web pages. As an adjunct, there are also millions of other websites that are hosts of scams, crooks, identity thieves, and other illicit activities, that act as bait to ensnare a hapless victim.

Fortunately, there is a somewhat simple defense to most of these dangerous websites that while not perfect, does provide substantial protection from these illicit and dangerous websites. The first line of defense should be the browser itself. All of the latest versions of the major browsers, including Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, Chrome, and Safari include some degree of protection from malevolent websites, and will warn the user if he is loading a website that is known to be a phishing (identity theft) website, or otherwise known to harbor and load malware. Users of older browsers may be very vulnerable to such attacks, and this alone is often sufficient reason to always install and use the latest version of the chosen browser. Many of the comprehensive security suites (not just antivirus software) include some degree of browser protection that will warn of, or totally block, known dangerous websites.

For those with older browsers, inadequate security software, or just simply want an additional layer of security while browsing, you may want to consider one of the free-standing freeware utilities that provides additional security while browsing. One of the most popular and highest rated browsing protection security utilities is WOT (Web of Trust), available for free from www.mywot.com. As I type this, WOT is approaching 30 million downloads! WOT works as a browser plug-in on most popular browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Opera. According to the WOT website, "The WOT add-on shows you which websites you can trust based on millions of users' experiences. Our safe surfing browser tool is easy-to-use, fast and completely free." WOT will display a window over a suspicious website warning of the type and degree of threat, giving the user information whether to block the suspicious website, or to go ahead and load it. Since WOT uses community input from millions of users, there is an opportunity to challenge or request a change in a website's rating. WOT also works in conjunction with Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search engines to display the shown website ratings directly on the search results. Using an easy to comprehend red, yellow, and green icon, WOT gives the community rating for each website listed. Simply moving the cursor over the colored icon on each search result will display relevant security details about the search result, including trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety.

Another popular and well regarded free browser security scanner is AVG's LinkScanner (linkscanner.avg.com), which is available for PC and Mac computers, and works with Firefox and Internet Explorer. Similarly to the other link scanners, AVG LinkScanner offers two basic types of protection from dangerous websites. "Surf-Shield scans pages behind their links before you click on them. It does the same thing every time you enter a web address into your browser. If the page is infected, it simply prevents you from opening it. Search-Shield scans your Google, Yahoo! and Bing search results and places a safety rating next to each link, letting you know which sites can be trusted and which are to be avoided." AVG LinkScanner is frequently updated, and can be configured to automatically update itself, or can be manually updated. This utility does not consume significant amounts of system resources, and has a negligible impact on computer and browser performance and speed.

AVG is not the only major security software company offering free browser protection add-ons, as several other security software companies offer competing free products. Two others, which are also very popular, are TrendMicro's TrendProtect ( www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/trendprotect) and McAfee's SiteAdvisor ( www.siteadvisor.com). TrendProtect is considered by many to be a top performing free browsing protection utility that has a database of billions of web pages.

TrendProtect is a browser plug-in for Internet Explorer only (Firefox protection will be available in the future). It rates web pages displayed in the Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search results based on unwanted content and hidden threats. It also provides information about any potential threats when a web page is opened, and includes warnings of dangerous content, phishing, scams, and the reputation of the website.

McAfee SiteAdvisor ( www.siteadvisor.com) is one of the original browsing protection utilities, and has a loyal following. There are versions of SiteAdvisor for Windows, Mac, and Android devices. As with its competitors, SiteAdvisor displays a rating of the search results on the major search engines, as well as many of the lesser search engines. SiteAdvisor is compatible with Internet Explorer, and both the Mac and Windows versions of Firefox. McAfee claims that SiteAdvisor can rate over 95% of websites for safety. SiteAdvisor can identify most web threats, including dangerous downloads, a website's email practices and threats, hijacked websites that can hijack the browser, phishing, sites with a poor reputation, e-commerce vulnerabilities, annoying pop-ups and cookies, and the illicit connections and affiliations between dangerous websites.

Using one of these browser add-ons or plug-ins may allow the user to avoid sources of infection, such as rogue software, phishing attacks, scams, and other types of web based threats. Since all of the above are free, and most will run on almost any computer and browser, there is no valid reason not to utilize one of these utilities.

Being protected from a threat may prevent an undesirable outcome; this is far superior to having to clean up the damage that may be caused by these otherwise preventable threats.

 

January 7, 2012


Free Services and Software for Digital Photographers by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://www.advancedphotography.net/20-free-tools-photographers
http://www.irfanview.com
http://www.vicman.net/lightartist/
http://pho.to/
http://funny.pho.to/
http://www.gimp.org/downloads
http://picasa.google.com
https://www.techsupportalert.com/pc/image-tools.html
http://mashable.com/2007/07/23/online-media
http://www.diyphotography.net/32-free-software-solutions-for-photographers

A quick visit to the big box electronics stores will show an incontrovertible fact about photography; for household (and even much professional) use, digital photography has overwhelmed film photography. Notice how even the typical corner drug store, once the primary drop off point for developing family snapshots, now offers in-house digital printing as its primary photographic service, rather than sending out film for processing. Even the renowned giant of the film industry, Kodak, may be approaching its demise as the demand for traditional photographic film and related services had dropped below the fiscal point of continued viability. When my kids were little decades ago, I exclusively used my Canon A-1 35mm camera, with its myriad of sophisticated lenses, to take albums of photos of my kids as they were growing up. When they were young, they had the ubiquitous 110 cameras, progressing to 35mm point-and-shoot cameras. It was not unusual for me to drop up to a dozen rolls of assorted film off at a local store for processing, especially when we knew that one of our local independent supermarkets periodically offered deeply discounted photo finishing as a loss leader in order to bring customers into the store twice - once to drop it off, and again a few days later to pick up the processed film and prints.

I will be honest and disclose that it has been about a dozen years or so since I last dropped off a roll of film for processing, as I have gone totally digital for my personal photographic needs. My first digital camera, which was very expensive in the mid 1990's, was a .3 (point-three) megapixel, 640x480, JVC camera, with a 10x optical zoom lens. My newest digital camera, purchased recently for less than half of what I paid for that old JVC, has a 14 megapixel image capability, with an 18x optical and 6x digital zoom, and can record HD video as well as take high quality still images. It is not just amateurs like me using digital cameras instead of film cameras; at my daughters' recent weddings, both the professional wedding photographers and videographers used digital cameras.

Now that digital photography is the well established norm, there is an abundance of services and software available to enable us to crop, edit, improve, add special effects, and otherwise improve our digital imagery. For about 10 years I have been using what may arguably be the most widely used, free, digital image editing software available, Irfanview (irfanview.com). According to the Irfanview website, since 2003 over a million copies of Irfanview have been downloaded every month; using simple arithmetic, that would be over 100 million copies, and that is only the count from a few (3 or 4) of the major download websites, and does not include the dozens of secondary download websites, or copies passed among individuals. As I had several times before reviewed Irfanview in this column, it should not take much of a reminder that it is an extremely powerful and capable image editor that can read, edit, convert, and write almost every known image format. In its basic form, Irfanview is simple enough for a novice to use, but by utilizing its advanced features, Irfanview has the power and features to successfully compete against its high-priced commercial competitors. For personal and academic use, the full featured Irfanview is totally free, but for commercial and professional use a license is a most modest $12.

There are many other excellent image editing utilities available, many of them also for free. One very popular free image editor is GIMP (gimp.org), which is an acronym for, " ... GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc." GIMP will run under Windows, on a MAC, or on UNIX based machines.

Google offers Picasa (picasa.google.com) as its free photo editor, which according to Google, "(can) organize, edit, and share your photos." As is to be expected from Google, Picasa is full featured and powerful, and can be as simple or as sophisticated to use as desired by the user. Picasa can, "Make simple edits -- such as cropping, straightening, removing redeye, retouching blemishes, or adding text -- to your photos. Or click "I'm Feeling Lucky" to try Picasa's all-in-one lighting and contrast fix." That "I'm Feeling Lucky" button will automatically determine what may be needed to improve a digital image, and automatically apply about a half-dozen fixes and improvements to the image, with the user being free to accept or reject the changes. The user can also select up to a dozen special effects, and implement another dozen "Picnik" special effects that can convert an image using a variety of other special effects. For those who may be concerned about losing the original image, Google says, "Don't worry -- Picasa always preserves your original photo. The photo edits you make are only viewable in Picasa until you decide to save your changes. Even then, Picasa creates a new version of the photo with your edits applied, leaving the original totally preserved."

Some digital photographers like to experiment with their images, and try a variety of artistic effects. One popular effect is to change the lighting on an image, and VicMan's Light Artist (free, www.vicman.net/lightartist) can " ... add realistic lighting effects to your photos. You can modify the light color, add multiple light sources, change the surface qualities of the image and add various ambient illumination effects." A companion website, www.pho.to, offers free online photo editing and special effects, including Smart Fix, a one click, comprehensive, digital photo enhancement. Other free services offered by Pho.To include an image touch up utility, a variety of specialty tools and filters, the ability to convert photos into animated avatars for gaming and other activities, convert images and faces into cartoons, and the capability to utilize over 400 frames and templates. These 400+ frames and templates (funny.pho.to) are a lot of fun to experiment with, as the user can bring a selected image into seasonal templates, calendars, montages, paintings, magazine covers, celebrity collages, photo frames, face photo montages, human-to-animal montages (put a human face on an animal body), cartoons, money (put a face on paper currency), zodiac signs, and monster effects.

There are many more online and mostly free utilities and services available to the digital photographer, and several online directories have compiled comprehensive lists of these services. Even though it is over four years old, "ONLINE MEDIA GOD: 400+ Tools for Photographers, Videobloggers, Podcasters & Musicians", available at mashable.com/2007/07/23/online-media, offers one of the most comprehensive directories of online editing services as well as image and video software utilities. "32 Free Software Solutions For Photographers" provides information and links about free image editing software at www.diyphotography.net/32-free-software-solutions-for-photographers. Another website, 20 Free And Useful Tools For Photographers, online at www.advancedphotography.net/20-free-tools-photographers contains an up-to-date lists of image editing and enhancement utilities. One of my personal favorite resources where I can always find the latest image utilities along with community ratings and recommendations is Gizmo's The Best Free Image View and Edit Software for PC,

www.techsupportalert.com/pc/image-tools.html.

While I prefer to use Irfanview for almost all of my image editing, I also have the most fun creating unusual images from the hundreds of templates at funny.pho.to. It does not matter if the digital photographer is a greenhorn novice or an accomplished professional, there are some excellent free resources and utilities available to make the most basic digital snapshot into a work of art that can be cherished forever.

January 2, 2012

Free E-Book Readers For Your Computer and Smart Devices by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://tinyurl.com/AmazonFreeKindleReader
https://read.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/free-nook-apps/379002321/ http://ebookstore.sony.com/download/
http://www.fellnersoft.at/eTR.htm
http://www.spacejock.com/yBook.html
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/ProductDetailsReader.asp
http://calibre-ebook.com/
http://www.spacejock.com/yBook.html
http://www.gutenberg.org
http://books.google.com
http://www.freestufftimes.com/category/ebooks
http://drmfree.calibre-ebook.com/by/genre

I have been an avid reader since my earliest years. I used to be a regular at the public library, checking out so many books that I was on a first name basis with the librarian. Over the years, I have collected a huge library of books, having read virtually all of them. Even today, it is not unusual for me to purchase several books at a time. Now that more and more books are becoming available in at least one of the several competing e-book formats, and organizations such as Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org, 36,000 free e-books available), and Google Books (books.google.com, over 3 million titles available, many free) have made thousands of free e-books available, e-books have become a viable choice for avid readers. There are also thousands of free e-books available in proprietary formats from Amazon (Kindle format) and Barnes & Noble (Nook format). Some third-party websites also compile updated lists of free e-books, such as FreeStuffTimes ( www.freestufftimes.com/category/ebooks), and Calibre Ebook Management (2855 mostly free e-books listed, drmfree.calibre-ebook.com/by/genre).

There are several dedicated commercial e-book readers available, ranging in price from $79 to several hundred dollars, from companies such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and other makers. Smart devices, including Apple's iPad series, smart phones of various brands, and almost all tablet devices can display a variety of e-book formats. For those who already have a laptop computer, netbook, PC, Mac, or Linux machine, there are now several good free e-book reading software utilities available. Some of the free e-book reading software is proprietary, primarily enabling computer owners to read e-books distributed by the software publishers. Barnes & Noble has free Nook e-book reader software or apps for iPad, iPhone, Android, PC, and Mac ( www.barnesandnoble.com/u/free-nook-apps/379002321), while Amazon has free Kindle e-book reader software or apps for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android Phone, and Windows 7 Phone. Amazon also has a free web browser based Kindle reader (read.amazon.com) that works with Firefox (Mac, PC, Linux versions), Google's Chrome (Mac, PC, Linux, Chromebook versions), and Apple's Safari (Mac, iPad and PC versions); at present, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is not supported, but according to the Amazon website, Amazon is working on an Internet Explorer compatible version. Sony offers free e-book readers for PC, Mac, and Android devices including Android smart phones and tablets ( ebookstore.sony.com/download).

Rather than using a proprietary e-book reader that may be linked to a single source, and possibly capable of reading only a single proprietary format, many users may prefer an independent utility that can read multiple e-book formats. There are many third-party e-book reader utilities available, several of which are free. One that has been top-rated in published reviews is the free Mobipocket Ebook Reader ( www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/ProductDetailsReader.asp), that has versions for Windows PC, Blackberry, Windows Mobile (PocketPC, Smartphone), Symbian (Nokia smart phones, Sony Ericsson UIQ), Palm, and Dedicated ePaper devices (Cybook, iLiad). The Mobipocket Ebook Reader runs as a free standing program on a PC, and can also synchronize e-books and related content with almost all portable and smart devices. While Mobipocket can import almost all major e-book formats, it converts them into the .prc format which is readable on any Mobipocket device. In terms of appearance, format, features, and readability, Mobipocket has had very positive published reviews, and is a very capable e-book reader.

Another free e-book reader is from Calibre (calibre-ebook.com/download), which is an open source reader that will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, and is also available in portable version which can be run totally from a USB flash drive as long as the computer is running Windows XP or higher. The Calibre reader is one of the most capable e-book readers available, and can read and convert almost every available e-book format. Calibre can read cbz, cbr, cbc, chm, djvu, epub, fb2, html, htmlz, lit, lrf, mobi, odt, pdf, prc, pdb, pml, rb, rtf, snb, tcr, txt, txtz, formats, and convert any of these formats to epub, fb2, oeb, lit, lrf, mobi, htmlz, pdb, pml, rb, pdf, rtf, snb, tcr, txt, txtz. Any of these formats can be exported and synchronized with compatible smart devices, tablets, phones, and e-book readers. Calibre also supports importing live news feeds from over 300 sources, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Time, Newsweek, The Guardian, ESPN, and hundreds more; these news feeds can also be exported to smart devices. Calibre is one of the most popular free e-book readers, with over 6 million copies downloaded, and almost 500,000 copies a month currently being downloaded. Calibre is a very feature rich e-book reader that can do much more than simply display and convert e-books.

There are several other very good e-book readers available, but none are as feature rich as Mobipocket or Calibre. Tom's eText Reader ( www.fellnersoft.at/eTR.htm) is designed to read plain text files such as the thousands of eTexts provided by the free Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org), and display them in a more readable format, as if reading a book, rather than continuous plain text. Tom's eText Reader allows the user to control the size of the window, font style, and font size to improve readability. This software inserts page breaks automatically, bookmarks can be set, table of contents created, and the contents are fully searchable. Tom's eText Reader can also import RTF and HTML files, and open zip files.

An interesting free e-book reader is YBook, self described as "The paperback emulator" ( www.spacejock.com/yBook.html). YBook is totally free, with no adware, no registration, and no spyware, and runs on all versions of Windows, as well as on Linux and Mac computers with Wine. YBook makes e-books appear as standard paperback books, and can display either single pages, or side-by-side pages. Page size, text size, margins, and page (background) color are all fully customizable by the user; there is no need to pan, zoom, or scroll with YBook, as all pages look exactly like pages printed on paper. This program can import and display text, html, RTF, PDB, PRC, and ePub e-book formats. Any e-books displayed in YBook can be searched for words and phrases, and bookmarks can be created as desired. YBook can directly download and import all Project Gutenberg e-books, complete with titles and index.

While I still prefer real books over e-books, I do have to admit that I have a few of these utilities installed on both my desktop and laptop computers, as well as on my smart phone, and I have downloaded over one hundred free e-books. With the countless free e-books available, as well as thousands of titles available for purchase or rental, e-books and e-book readers, either dedicated electronic readers or applications on computers, may very well be the wave of the future.

 

December 24, 2011

New MagicJack Plus Offers Inexpensive Phone Service by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITE:
http://magicjack.com
http://www.freemagicconference.com

If you watch any TV, you have undoubtedly seen the countless commercials for magicJack, offering to save the users hundreds of dollars a year in phone bills, for a monthly fee of about $2. When it first came out about three years ago, I reviewed the original magicJack in this column and on my weekly radio show. At that time, magicJack offered some of the least expensive unlimited local and long distance phone service in the country by utilizing the small $39.95 USB connected original magicJack device, a broadband internet connected computer, and an attached telephone.

MagicJack is very useful in that it offers unlimited local and long distance calling throughout the U.S. and Canada, deeply discounted international calling via prepaid minutes, free directory assistance, call waiting, voice mail, caller ID, and free international calling when calling the U.S. MagicJack also offers its users free conference calling; as long as the user creating the conference call is a registered magicJack user, anyone else may participate in the conference call. Creating a "conference call room" is very simple, and instructions are online at www.freemagicconference.com.

According to its website, over eight million of the original magicJack units have been sold. MagicJack uses VoIP (voice over internet protocol) technology to send and receive phone calls over the internet, a technology utilized by several other internet or "digital" phone services. I used the original USB connected magicJack for about two years, primarily for making long distance calls from home rather than using prime time cell phone minutes. I also took my magicJack and an old telephone with me when traveling such that I would have local and long distance service from hotel rooms, and thus avoid expensive hotel telephone charges, or using limited cell phone minutes. I took my magicJack and phone with me when evacuating from a series of coastal hurricanes, providing me with phone service while away from home. The final use of my original magicJack was in my office so that I could make or return long distance phone calls without incurring long distance charges for my college.

Except for one glitch during a periodic automatic upgrade of the original magicJack software, which led to the loss of my phonebook, it always served me well as long as I had a broadband internet connection and my computer was turned on. The requirement that the original magicJack must be connected via USB to a powered and booted computer was its Achilles' heel. While the voice quality was good, and features comprehensive, the original magicJack could only be used if the computer was on, and I always shut down my computer when I was not using it. With the computer off, the original magicJack was also off, resulting in missed calls, or the inability to make calls until the computer was on and booted. Because of this inability to function while the computer was off, I started using a competitor's product, NetTalk Duo, which connected directly to my router, and did not require that it be connected to a powered and booted computer, meaning that it was always functional, as long as I had an internet connection.

Recently, a new magicJack Plus ($69.99 retail, 30 day trial available) was introduced which maintained all of the features, portability, and services of the original magicJack, including the first year of service, but now offers the user the choice of being USB connected to a live computer (just like the original product), or being connected directly to a broadband router, which will provide an always-on capability. With this router connected option, there is no need for the magicJack Plus to be connected to a computer, as long as the broadband connection is live and the router is powered.

The new magicJack Plus comes in a package with the simple pictorial connection instructions inside the cover, and registration instructions on the back cover. The device itself is about the same small size as the original device, 1.7"x2.7"x0.7", black in color, with a small blue LED on the front corner which indicates that the device has power, and a green LED by the Ethernet connection, which indicates that a signal is present. On the right side of the device is a standard male USB connector, with the left side having both Ethernet and phone jacks. In the package with the device is a short USB extension cable, Ethernet cable, and a wall plug transformer with a standard USB connection. Connecting the device is simple and intuitive. To originally setup and register the device requires that the device be connected to a powered USB port on the computer (or a fully powered hub); the included USB extension cable can be used to connect the device if port spacing is a problem.

When connected directly to the computer via USB either for the one-time registration process or for computer based telephone service, the device and its drivers will automatically load unless the security software on the computer blocks external devices from automatically running. If the USB connected magicJack will not automatically load when inserted with the computer booted, the user may either uncheck the security software box that restricts external devices from automatically loading, or may manually run the "autorun.exe" on the magicJack drive, which will download, update, and install the magicJack software on the computer, and start the registration process. If it is desired to run in USB mode whenever the computer is on, the magicJack installation process will insert a file in the computer startup sequence that will automatically load the magicJack software at the next boot.

While the actual one-time registration process was simple, it was burdened by a series of about a dozen screens attempting to up sell the user into purchasing additional features and services. One of the first up sell screens offers the user the choice of being assigned a free local phone number by choosing a state, area code and city, or for a $10 fee the user could create a vanity phone number using any combination of available numbers and letters, or the user can select a Canadian phone number. While not displayed at this time during the registration process, magicJack does offer the ability to transfer an existing phone number to the magicJack service. Another choice was the $3 fee for selecting your own "last four digits" of your assigned phone prefix. One problem became apparent for our local 409 area code; all of the phone numbers listed for 409 were for Galveston; there were no local numbers for the Golden Triangle area of Texas. Another screen offers an optional "this one time only" no-fault comprehensive warranty on the device itself for $1 per year instead of the normal $10 per year. The next screen offers the "5 Year Platinum Service Plan" which adds another 5 years of service, plus a 5 year extended warranty on the device, for a one-time charge of $99.95. A following screen offers a second year of service and a one year warranty extension for $29.95. Still another screen offered the user the option of buying additional devices for $69.95, with free rush shipping. Not yet done selling additional services, subsequent registration screens offer deeply discounted prepaid international calling, and a $20 lifetime warranty. Once these up sell screens completed their sales pitch, the user enters an activation code emailed by magicJack during the registration process; the user is then shown his magicJack phone number; given the opportunity (twice) to automatically email friends and family the new phone number; and then choose the desired connection method, USB or Ethernet. The registration process is now completed, and the user may now make and receive unlimited calls using the magicJack.

Once registered and activated, the magicJack Plus can be used in USB mode by plugging any standard phone into the phone jack on the device; the power is provided by the USB port (note that this will not work on USB hubs that are not fully powered; many USB hubs do not provide full electrical power to attached devices). The device is now fully functional, and calls may be made using the dial on the phone or by dialing using the magicJack phone book on the desktop.

Alternatively, once registered and activated, the magicJack may be connected directly to the router using the included Ethernet cable, and powered by connecting the device directly to the wall-plug transformer or by using the included USB extension cable to the wall-plug power supply. Utilizing this method, which is my personal preference, is what provides the always-on functionality without the necessity of a powered computer. For those with a simple cable or DSL modem that does not include an extra Ethernet port, the big box office supply and electronics stores, as well as the discount stores, have a "network switch", which is a simple box (about $15) that provides additional Ethernet ports to the cable or DSL modem, and functions as a router.
I found the new magicJack Plus to be feature rich and reasonably priced for the amount of services provided, with very good voice quality. I like the portability and small size of the device, as well as the option to use it with a direct connection to the router, negating the necessity for a powered computer. On an annual basis, having unlimited local and long distance calling, directory assistance, caller ID, voice mail, 911 service, and conference calling for about $2.50 per month is a money saving bargain. I also found that the new magicJack Plus does work fine with my home fax machine. Using the magicJack connected to my router, I have not encountered any functional problems with it; the only negative issue is not having a local Golden Triangle phone number. Other then the several marketing screens displayed during the one-time registration process, the magicJack Plus was very fast and easy to install, configure, and setup. For those with broadband internet, the new magicJack Plus may be an effective alternative to high local and long distance phone bills.
 

 

December 17, 2011


Microsoft Offers Free "Windows Defender Offline Tool" (beta) by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/windows-defender-offline-faq
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/windows-defender-offline-faq#section_2
https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/probably-best-free-security-list-world.htm?page=0,2
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/13-antivirus-rescue-cds-software-compared-in-search-for-the-best-rescue-disk/

One major problem detecting and neutralizing much of the current crop of malware is that the malware very effectively protects itself from detection and removal by many of the more traditional security methods. Since many of today's most prevalent PC security threats load when the computer is booted, and often involve a rootkit, common security software may either be unable to detect the malware. or may actually be deactivated by that malware, but still appear to be running normally. According to Wikipedia( wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit), " A rootkit is software that enables continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence from administrators by subverting standard operating system functionality or other applications." Many users erroneously believe that they are always protected from all malware threats because they purchased name-brand security software that is supposedly updated automatically, and that by periodically running a security scan with that same software, their computer is clean and free of malware. That is not always the case.

Recently a student brought me her computer, which was very clearly taken over by one of the many rogue security software utilities that alleged that her computer was heavily infected by other malware. The software, "Vista Anti-Spyware 2011", informed her that for a fee of $39.95 charged to her credit card, this scam utility would remove all of the alleged malware and restore her computer to proper operating condition. If she would have done what was asked by the scammer, she would have given her credit card number, expiration date, and CVV security code to a crook, probably in Russia, who would not only not rid her computer of malware, but also likely have sold her credit card information to other internet crooks! She had thought that her computer was secure as she had installed one of the major retail security software packages, and had a second layer of security provided by a third party utility that was supposed to protect her from malware. While doing research for a term paper on one of the major search engines, she clicked some links on the top of the search results; one of the listings had been hijacked by an internet crook, and the purloined website loaded the malware onto her computer. She was greeted by the pop-up Vista Anti-Spyware 2011 window that informed her that there were hundreds of different malware items on her computer, and that she had to pay to remove them. She tried to run her commercial security software, but either clicking on the icon by her clock, or the desktop icon, but whatever she clicked on, this Vista Anti-Spyware 2011 window appeared. If any other icon was clicked, including the word processor that she had been using to type her term paper, this scam window appeared; closing the window allowed all of the other programs to run except her security software. Even using Windows Explorer to go directly to her security software, and running it from there, only the rogue security program appeared; her name-brand commercial security software had been effectively destroyed. Using the security software I carry on my keychain flash drive, and booting into safe mode (F8), I was able to remove over 300 pieces of malware, but her computer was still heavily infested with malware. I had to create a bootable CD with an integral malware detection utility to remove the last of the infection, which included a rootkit.

There are several sources of utilities to create bootable CDs that contain some form of malware scanning software. Directories of free bootable utilities can be found on the Gizmo's TechSupportAlert.com website (techsupportalert.com/content/probably-best-free-security-list-world.htm?page=0,2) and at Raymond's " 13 Antivirus Rescue CDs Software Compared in Search For the Best Rescue Disk" ( www.raymond.cc/blog/13-antivirus-rescue-cds-software-compared-in-search-for-the-best-rescue-disk ). Among the recognized publishers of software that can create free bootable CDs (and sometimes bootable USB flash drives) that contain software to detect and kill malware are Kaspersky, Avira, F-Secure, Panda, BitDefender (USB), AVG, and several others. Using a bootable CD (or bootable USB flash drive) to detect and kill malware is quickly becoming the preferred method of malware removal, because when booted from the CD, the malware cannot load, even if it is a rootkit. The bootable CDs or USB flash drives typically contain a non-Windows operating system, usually some version of Linux or WinPE, thus the version of Windows on the hard drive never loads. Since the Windows does not load, any infections harbored on the hard drive are not loaded, and then can likely be detected and removed by software on the bootable media. Not to be outdone by its smaller competitors, Microsoft has joined the fray by releasing a beta (pre-release) version of its new "Windows Defender Offline Tool (beta)".

What Microsoft has done is take an improved version of its Windows Defender security software. This popular security software is mated with bootable media, such that a CD or bootable USB flash drive created with the free downloaded software can be used to boot an infected computer, and then scan that hard drive for malware, including otherwise difficult to detect rootkits. Since the scanner is running outside of Windows, the malware cannot easily protect itself from detection and removal.

To use the free Windows Defender Offline Beta, download the small 764kb installer directly from Microsoft (windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline), preferably to another "clean" computer. The installer file is available for either 32-bit or 64-bit computers; most newer computers are 64-bit, while most older computers are 32-bit. Insert a blank CD or DVD into the CD drive, or insert a USB flash drive that is not password protected, and has at least 250mb free space. Run the downloaded installer (mssstool32.exe or mssstool64.exe) which will open a window asking the user to select create a bootable CD or DVD, bootable USB flash drive, or create an ISO file to be installed to a CD. For most users, the bootable CD option is the simplest and most trouble free. The installer utility will download a large file from Microsoft (about 250mb), and guide the user in the steps to create the bootable media. The installer contains all of the software necessary to create the bootable media; no other software or utilities are required. Once created, insert the bootable media into the infected machine, and reboot using the newly created Windows Defender Offline Beta media. By default, almost all PCs will automatically boot off of a bootable CD. If the computer does not boot directly from the CD or flash drive, it may be necessary to tell the BIOS to change to boot sequence, putting the CD drive or USB drive first in the sequence; instructions for doing this are often briefly shown on the splash screen when the computer is first booted, and says something like "Press delete (or some other key) for setup" or "Press (a specific key) for boot sequence". If additional help is necessary, Microsoft has detailed instructions online at windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/windows-defender-offline-faq#section_2. This will open the BIOS window, and one of the selections is usually to choose the device from which the computer boots. Once booted into Windows Defender Offline Beta, the user can perform a scan for malicious software, and get rid of it. Once cleaned by the Windows Defender Offline scanner, remove the CD or flash drive, and reboot the computer. The computer should boot normally, free of the malware infection.

If it is ever necessary to perform another scan from bootable media, Microsoft recommends that a fresh CD be created, as an updated malware signature file will likely be available, as it is updated frequently. If a bootable USB flash drive was created, it will not always be necessary to create a new one, as the digital malware signature files on the flash drive can be updated by the integral wizard while on an internet connected computer.

Since many of the contemporary malware types destroy the installed security software, leaving the computer open to subsequent attacks and infection, it may be necessary to reinstall a fresh copy of whatever security software is desired. Either the previous software can be installed and updated, or new software can be installed. Commercial software is readily available (I recommend the comprehensive suites rather than just the traditional antivirus software), or comparable free security software can be downloaded and installed (techsupportalert.com/content/probably-best-free-security-list-world.htm).

It is obvious that while offline bootable media may currently be an optimal way to detect and remove difficult malware, it is only a matter of time until the malware authors come up with some devious new way to hide malware to counter this method, just as they had done with the previous methods. Still, it is necessary to stay on top of the threats, and perform a variety of security scans using different methods, media, and software.
 

December 10, 2011



Free Basic Computer Training for Seniors (and others) by Ira Wilsker
WEBSITES:
http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/02/webware/5-free-websites-how-to-use-computer.html
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm
http://www.seniorsguidetocomputers.com
http://www.internet101.org
http://www.eldy.eu
http://www.meganga.com/lessons/

As many of you already know, I occasionally volunteer to teach some computer classes at the Best Years Center. I am well aware that seniors probably make up the largest group of new computer users, as many had lived their entire lives without utilizing many of the current technologies. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw an article recently published on the "I Love Free Software" website, "5 Free Websites for Seniors on How to Use Computer and Internet" (ilovefreesoftware.com/02/webware/5-free-websites-how-to-use-computer.html). As its title describes, it listed and reviewed five websites that offered free training for seniors (and anyone else) who could use some basic training on computing, popular software, and the internet.

The first website listed that I visited was "The Senior's Guide to Computers" at seniorsguidetocomputers.com. At first glance, I was very impressed by the wealth and quality of information available. This one website, by itself, is totally capable of providing anyone, novice to geek, with a broad variety of information, ranging from the basics (common computer terms illustrated and explained), email, the internet, PC safety and security, the necessity of backing up ("Probably the single most important task you'll perform"), hardware, and software. By starting at the beginning, the basics, and progressing through the short illustrated lessons, the user will be able to understand and master the functions of a computer and its operating system, and how to make maximum utilization of the internet. Everything is covered including what to look for in a computer, the components and parts of a computer, the differences between the types of internet service providers (ISPs), methods of backing up critical data, proper security precautions and software, different types of software (including freeware), email use and safety, and just about any other practical computer topic. While clearly directed at seniors, the content and lessons on this website would be appropriate for anyone of any age to learn about personal computing. For this purpose, "The Senior's Guide to Computers" is one of the best websites that I have ever seen.

Another basic computer training website, with professionally organized free lessons, is Meganga's "Free Basic Computer Training" available online at meganga.com/lessons. Consisting of 94 lessons, the user is free to choose whatever topics he finds necessary or interesting. At the most basic level are 28 "Free Beginner Lessons" which include an orientation to the computer; exercises on how to use a mouse, a cursor, and the keyboard; guide to the desktop and icons; creating desktop icons and gadgets; how to use the start menu, applications, and Windows; how to create documents, files and folders; internet web browser basics, homepages, address bar, toolbars, search engines, and hyperlinks; how to complete online forms; and detailed instructions on how to create, send, and read email. A dozen lessons instruct the user on the basics of popular software, including Word, WordPad, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Excel, and Hotmail. Meganga's "Free Basic Computer Training" is also an excellent resource to teach anyone the basics of computing, and how to use the internet and popular software programs.

For anyone needing some intermediate or advanced training in computer topics, Internet4Classrooms (I4C) at internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm offers over a dozen free online groups of tutorials on popular software packages and operating systems. Each group of tutorials consists of an orderly series of lessons which are easy to comprehend and master. For users of Microsoft Office (and its clones and competitors such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice), lessons are provided in Excel (spreadsheet), PowerPoint (presentation program), and Word (word processor). As an example, the "Basic Word Tutorial" consists of nine distinct lessons starting with a basic overview of Word, and ending with the user creating a newsletter. The "Advanced Word Topics" includes such tasks as mail merge, converting Word to PowerPoint, using hyperlinks in Word, writing equations, special fonts, how to use the thesaurus, and how to determine the reading level of a passage. I4C also includes lessons on software applications including Internet Explorer (web browser) and Dreamweaver (sophisticated web design software used to create professional web pages). Detailed tutorials are available that cover both the Windows and Macintosh operating systems, as well as lessons on how to troubleshoot both Windows and Mac operating systems. These I4C lessons are a great tool for learning how to use the products covered, and are suitable for those who have already mastered the basics of computing but want to advance their skills.

Several of the seniors that I teach are interested primarily in using the internet, mostly to be able to surf the web, and send and receive emails. The "Internet 101" website at internet101.org provides instructions on these tasks, as well as the other online activities that more advanced users would like to do. Internet 101 consists of several dozen internet topics ranging from the most basic descriptions of the internet and its history, to advanced uses of the internet. Covered are basic instructions on how to use the internet; selecting an internet provider; using email; online shopping; blogs; online safety and security; web searches (including how to find street addresses and internet road maps); selecting a browser; online chat; using Skype, VoIP and other online phone services; how to view streaming movies (such as Netflix and YouTube); social networking; building websites and registering domain names; and several other interesting internet related topics. Internet 101 is an excellent way for anyone to learn about the basic and advanced features of the internet.

Some of the seniors that I work with have told me that they do not want anything fancy, and want the most simple software available to surf the web, do email, and other related basic online tasks. An Italian company, "Eldy Seniors' Computer Software" (www.eldy.eu) is offering a free software utility that creates a desktop with just a few large buttons, each of which automates basic internet tasks. According the Eldy website, "Eldy is a software that turns any standard PC into an easy-to-use computer for people that have never used a computer before. (Eldy) Provides an easy six buttons interface email, internet, chat, videoconferencing, documents, pictures, Skype and more." The group that created and distributes the Eldy software describes its purpose as, "Eldy Association is a group reaching out to the elderly and disabled community offering a combination of technological tools and human support with the purpose of reducing their isolation, and loneliness. Eldy encourages people to stay active and social." The Eldy software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems, and is available in 22 languages. It is a large download (the Windows version of Eldy is a 40.6mb download), but it includes a browser, email client, online TV viewer, and other utilities. The heart of Eldy is "The Square" which is a desktop with six large buttons, one each for sending and receiving email, surfing the web, participating in online chats, viewing "Eldy TV", managing the user's personal profile, and a tools button with additional utilities. For the user who wants a functional but minimalist web experience, this "Square" can provide it. When the email button is clicked, a simple email menu opens where the user can simply create emails, and add attachments or embed images. Eldy can create and maintain email address books, and handle other email functions, all with a single click. To open and read an email also takes a single click, with Eldy automatically handling any attachments or embedded images. The large "Surf the Web" button opens a simple browser, where favorites and bookmarks are displayed as large buttons that display a miniature of the webpage. The chat button allows the user to join a chat room, start a chat, or otherwise communicate with anyone using a compatible chat client. The Eldy TV button opens a language specific assortment of streaming TV and video, including CNN, BBC, Hulu, YouTube, TED, VIMEO, and other streaming media; simply clicking on the appropriate button starts the streaming video and TV. The Tools button includes a notepad utility, a documents viewer (displays images, video, and several document formats), and allows the user to make free telephone calls over the internet using a basic form of the popular Skype service. For the senior who is averse to modern technology, but still wants to have the benefits of the internet, Eldy would be a good choice.

By utilizing as appropriate any of these five services, from the simplicity of Eldy to the sophistication of Meganga and Internet4Classrooms, seniors, and anyone else interested in learning about computers and the internet may freely do so.

                                                                              

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