F1 Computer Services - Tip Of The Week

TIP OF THE WEEK

Spyware. Malware. Adware. Doesn't matter what you call it, it bugs. We've put together some sites to help you in the fight against the software that causes your machine to slow to a crawl, that hijacks your browser home page, that watches every site you visit and provides that information to others. Print this page because you'll need it more than once.

Sometimes when you remove malware it will stop your TCP/IP stack from working (Internet connection). LSP-fix will correct the problem. Download this first before attempting to removing spyware. Note to anyone using NOD32 Anti-Virus software, DO NOT delete the "imon.dll" this fix reports, that is your e-mail scanning engine.
LSP-fix- http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

Yes, you need more than one malware program. The ones below are all free and work well. It is a very good idea to perform a registry backup (see the "How to back up the registry" link below). If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable System Restore because malware will be in the Restore Points. Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update. Run a firewall. If you are running Windows ME or XP, turn System Restore back on after cleaning and create a new restore point. Create another registry backup of the cleaned registry.

Spybot S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
CWS Smart Killer- http://www.safer-networking.org/minifiles.html
About Buster- http://www.spychecker.com/program/aboutbuster.html
Ad-Aware SE - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
CWShredder - http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html
Hijack This - http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5554.html\
Hijack This Tutorial- http://forums.maddoktor2.com/index.php?showtopic=165
SpywareBlaster- http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
SpywareGuard - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
WinPatrol - http://winpatrol.com Win Patrol is NOT a malware program,but it will inform you if anything writes to your registry or changes your home/search page, a nice little program.
BHODemon - http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads/bhod/
Bazooka - http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html
asquared2 "Trojan Remover" - http://www.emsisoft.com/en/
NOD32Anti-Virus Free 30 day trial http://nod32.com/download/trial.htm

A link for free online virus and trojan scanners.
http://virusall.com/downscan.html

To see if that freeware program you are about to install is infested with spyware check it out first at this link.
http://www.spychecker.com/

To help stop unauthorized downloads via your active-x controls, change your default settings. These settings are good for XP. The wording should be close for other systems as well. Go to control panel and open Internet options. Click on the Security tab then Custom level. Make sure these settings are as follows:

Download signed active x controls: Prompt
Download unsigned active x controls: Disable
Initialize and script active x controls not marked as safe: Disable
Run active x controls and pluggins: Enable
Script active x controls marked safe for scripting: Enable
Java permissions: High
Launching programs and files in a IFRAME": Prompt
Installation of Desktop items: Prompt
Navigate sub-frames across different domains: Prompt

In fact, get a better internet browser - Mozilla Firefox http://www.mozilla.com/

Well, now you have the tools to get that junk off of your computer. Thanks for stopping by.

Share your insight with others! Drop us an e-mail of something you have found that was useful or time saving using Windows.

How to back up the Registry

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