PC Protection Part 2

How to protect your PC with Ad-Aware
BargainBuddy, 180 Search Assistant, NavExcel: these names strike fear and loathing into the hearts of Web surfers the world over. But these are far from the only spyware components you need to worry about. Cyberspace is crawling with all kinds of vicious critters that can wreak havoc on your system, and the problem is only getting worse, as unsavory software developers spawn more malignant and sneaky spyware variants virtually overnight. One of the most popular spyware-combat tools on the market is the free Ad-Aware, but don’t let its cute baby-blue interface and price tag fool you: It’s a powerful program capable of dealing with many of the newest, most serious threats. In fact, it took top honors in the latest edition of our spyware obstacle course.

Step 1: Stay up to date
Like most antispyware utilities, Ad-Aware works by comparing your PC’s contents with a database of known malware. Spyware manufacturers are always trying to stay one step ahead of the programs designed to foil them by routinely unleashing new nasties on the Web. However,

ntispyware developers are just as savvy, and they regularly update their databases with the newest spyware definitions. Before you scan your PC for problems, you should make sure your copy of Ad-Aware is equipped with the most up-to-date database. From the main interface, you can click the globe icon in the upper-right corner, or you can simply click the link that says “Check for updates now”. You’ll have to connect to the publisher’s server and hit OK a couple of times, but the process goes quickly.

You can also configure Ad-Aware to regularly prompt you to update its spyware definitions. To do so, click the gear-shape button at the top of the main window. The General Settings tab contains a Definitions section, where you can enter the maximum number of days that should pass before the program asks you to update it. We’d suggest updating your spyware definitions every couple of days–it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Step 2: Start the spyware scan
Ad-Aware offers two main scanning options: a quicker smart scan and a more thorough full-system scan. If you’ve never used the program before or suspect your PC is jam-packed with malevolent software, you should opt for the deep-scan mode. Click the Scan Now button on the program’s left side, mark the box that reads “Perform full system scan”, then hit the Next icon. The scanning process will probably take a while–especially if you keep a lot of files on your computer–so you might want to step away for a breath of fresh air. The next time you use the program, you can safely go with the faster smart scan option, which is still very effective.

Step 3: Remove the intruders
Once Ad-Aware has finished scanning your computer for spyware, a summary screen appears, which shows you the amount and type of threats the program detected. Ad-Aware categorizes its findings as either critical or negligible; clearly, you should focus your attention on the Critical Objects tab. There, you’ll see what kinds of nefarious modules and Registry keys Ad-Aware found on your machine. The app will tell you the names of all the malicious components and what kinds of spyware they are, as well as show you the physical location of each threat on your PC. If you right-click the check box next to any entry on the list, a rather lengthy menu will pop up. Scroll about halfway down and choose the option “Select all objects”. Click the Next icon, then hit OK in the pop-up box. The amount of time it takes Ad-Aware to complete the removal process depends on how much malware is on your machine, but the app will notify you when it has finished cleaning out your computer.

Step 4: Optimize scan times
As noted above, Ad-Aware’s scan times can be quite lengthy if you have a large hard drive with many files. However, you can take a couple of steps to make future scans more efficient. The program searches for cookies and categorizes them as Critical Objects, even though they don’t pose a real threat to your security. You can decrease scan times by configuring the program to ignore cookies. From the Scanning Results screen, find the cookies (near the bottom of the list) and mark the check boxes next to their names. Right-click one of the selected cookies, then scroll down the context menu and choose Add Selected to Ignore List. The next time you scan your machine, Ad-Aware won’t include those cookies in its results.

Similarly, you can have the program ignore certain drives on your computer, such as your CD or floppy drive. When selecting a scan mode, check the radio button labeled “Use custom scanning options”, then click the Customize link. Under the Drives, Folders & Files heading, click the link next to the Windows folder icon labeled “Select drives & folders to scan”. From there, you can choose which drives to scan or ignore by simply checking and unchecking boxes.

Lesson 3: Good passwords vs. bad passwords
In this lesson, you’ll learn the characteristics of good and bad passwords and how to create secure ones.

If you are an average PC user, you probably have more than 14 different passwords to remember and that you use on a regular basis. You will have a password to access your PC, a password for your favorite shopping Web sites, passwords for your e-mail accounts, and another dozen or so for a variety of Web sites and applications.

We live in a world where you need to create new passwords regularly. Some of them are for unimportant things (where your money or identity isn’t at risk), and for those, you are free to use a weaker password because it will be a lot less hassle. However, there are times when you need to create a really strong password to protect your important information.

Here are three simple steps to creating a strong password.

Passwords must be eight characters or longer. No excuses.

Combine letters, numbers, and other keyboard symbols but stay away from sequences (such as 12345678 or abcdefgh or qwertyui). If there’s a pattern involved, then there’s also a weakness! Also steer clear of passwords where you substitute similar-looking symbols for characters (such as p@55w0rd; hackers know all these tricks). The more random a password, the better

Don’t use your name, birthday, anniversary, or any words from the dictionary. You’re wasting your time even putting these passwords in place. They make it way too easy for the bad guys to get at your stuff.

Remember, a weak password is effective only against an honest person.

Final tip: Store your passwords safely. An open source software product called PasswordSafe, is a good example of a small, secure application for storing your passwords in. All your passwords are safely and securely encrypted in a file so that you need to remember only one password.

Using PasswordSafe to generate a random password.

If you keep all your passwords in an application such as PasswordSafe, make sure that you keep a backup of the password storage file in a safe place and update it regularly in case you suffer a PC crash and lose your data. Another advantage of using an application such as PasswordSafe is that you can use it to generate secure passwords automatically.

Lesson 4: Securing wireless networks
n this lesson, you’ll learn how to secure your wireless (Wi-Fi) network to prevent unauthorized users from accessing it and making use of your Internet connection or accessing your PC and its files.

Wireless networks (Wi-Fi) are a great alternative to trailing cables through your home or office. By making use of a Wi-Fi network, you avoid having to drill holes in walls, floors, and ceilings for the cables you need. The problem is that unless it is properly set up, a wireless network can allow others to tap into it and access the Internet or even gain access to your important files and information.

The main defense you have against others accessing your Wi-Fi network is encryption. All wireless devices support the use of encryption to secure the communication between PCs and the router that connects them to the Internet. Setting up a wireless network without employing encryption is risky, especially if you are in a populated area. For example, if you live on a busy street, having a wireless network without encryption would allow your neighbors or people driving past to connect to your network and make use of the resources; but if you live in a rural area where your nearest neighbors are some distance away, then an unencrypted wireless network is far less of a liability.

Over the years, a number of encryption schemes have been used by Wi-Fi network devices, but the most secure one available to home users is called WPA.

WPA is short for Wi-Fi Protected Access and is a more secure way to protect your wireless network. There are two variants of WPA: WPA-PSK and WPA-RADIUS. WPA-RADIUS requires you to run specific server software and is not suited for home or small-office use. WPA-PSK stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key, a system by which you enter the same key (a password or passphrase that’s between 8 and 63 characters long; the more characters the more secure it is) into all the devices that need to be connected together to form the network.

Note:
Use the same rules for creating a passphrase that you used in Lesson 3.

To keep your network secure, it is recommended that you change the WPA-PSK key regularly (monthly or quarterly).

Do not trust an encryption scheme called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) as this is now quite insecure. Most hardware vendors now support WPA, and if it seems that your current hardware supports only WEP, you should look for updated drivers.

Lesson 5: Protect your identity in cyberspace
In this lesson, you’ll learn some of the steps you should take to prevent your identity from being stolen by Internet criminals.

In identity theft, a criminal uses your personal details without your permission to commit a crime (such as fraud). The Internet has made it easier for con artists to contact individuals and try to get them to divulge important information–information that could allow the criminals to steal an identity.

Criminals use two primary methods to try to get individuals to divulge important information.

E-mail. A criminal can set up a computer so that it will send out hundreds of thousands of e-mail messages a day to try to trick recipients into disclosing valuable personal information. This process is called phishing, in which criminals are trying to get the recipients to click a link that takes them to a Web site that looks legitimate. Some examples include a faked bank or credit card company site where customers input passwords or account details. Or, criminals want recipients to reply to the e-mail, giving passwords or account details. These e-mail messages often look official, with logos, employee names, business addresses, and so on.

The best defense against phishing e-mail is to ignore it. No reputable company will ask you to divulge information by e-mail. Treat any e-mail that appears to be trying to get you to disclose information with suspicion. If in doubt, contact the company directly by phone or letter. Be sure to type in the Web address (URL) of your bank’s Web site; never click a link or trust your Favorites. Always check to make sure you’ve typed the URL correctly.

Another technique used by fraudsters is to install spyware on PCs to capture information that might be useful to them, such as usernames, passwords, credit card information, tax information, or other valuable financial data. After capturing this information, it is sent back to the con artists, who sift through it looking for anything important.

The best defense against spyware is to have an antivirus application installed and run regular spyware scans. Follow the advice laid out in Lesson 2.

Lesson 6: Dealing with spam
Anyone who has had an e-mail account for more than a few months will probably have received spam e-mail. In this lesson, we’ll look at what spam is, how to reduce the amount of spam you get (or at least keep it to a minimum), and steps you can take if you are overwhelmed by spam.

Spam is the name given to unsolicited bulk e-mail (e-mail sent out in bulk to people who didn’t ask for it) or unsolicited commercial e-mail (commercial e-mail sent to people who didn’t ask for it).

revention is better than dealing with the deluge. Be careful with your e-mail address and don’t give it out to people whom you don’t want to have it or whom you feel it might abuse it.

You can also limit the amount of unwanted spam that you get by making sure that you opt out of any e-mail that you don’t want to receive when you sign up for things. You might have to look carefully for the opt-out options, but it’s well worth it.

Be careful about putting your e-mail address on Web sites (yours or other people’s) or in blogs, forums, and newsgroups. Spammers (people who send out spam) use programs to scan the Internet for e-mail addresses within Web pages.

If you do get spam (and by spam we mean an e-mail from a company or person that you have never had any dealings with) then never, ever, click on a link to unsubscribe; this will let them know your e-mail address is active, and you will get more spam. Never reply to spam e-mail either; that will cause you to get more spam because it will mark your e-mail address as active.

If possible, disable images in your e-mail application; some spammers use images to detect whether an e-mail account is active (they can detect when the image is being retrieved from their server for display by your e-mail application as you read the e-mail).

The best thing you can do with spam e-mail is to just delete it. Don’t let it annoy you into replying or unsubscribing. Just be a black hole and try to be totally invisible.

But what can you do if you are already drowning in spam? Here are some simple tips:

Get a new e-mail address/account and lose the one that gets spam. This is the simplest solution, but you do need to make sure you get in touch with everyone that you communicate with to tell them about the change.

Get an antispam program. There are many to choose from, but a good one to try is MailWasher.