Everyday Nerd » Security

THIS is why you don’t leave your Wi-Fi open

Nerd — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:44:27 +0000

I’ve said this for years. It finally happened. Man leaves Wi-Fi open, allowing a pedophile to use his internet to download images. This prompted an FBI raid on the man’s house, and leaving the man a whole lot of explaining to do…

Please, please PLEASE – secure your Wi-Fi connection!!!

[ How to secure your wireless ]

[ source ]

Facebook Security: Bit Defender SafeGo

Nerd — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:33:21 +0000

Facebook security is really hard to achieve with their constant changes in policy and design. Facebook has become a place for malware and other malicious code to hang out – tempting you by “Click here to see what really happened…” senerios, and as soon as you click “Allow” your profile is infected.

Bit Defender SafeGo application uses cloud scanning to keep your Facebook account safe. It scans all authorized apps, links, and warns you if you are about to share your personal information.

Check it out here, and secure your social networking account today!

[ Facebook – BitDefender SafeGo ]

New Copywright Law says it’s OK to Jailbreak!

Nerd — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:27:12 +0000

The US Library of Congress has declared that jailbreaking a phone is legal! Read more about it here.

http://www.neowin.net/news/us-government-makes-jailbreaking-unlocking-and-ripping-dvds-legal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+neowin-main+%28Neowin+Main+News%29

Check Facebook Privacy Settings: ReclaimPrivacy.org

Nerd — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:36:56 +0000

Due to recent privacy concerns, it’s a good idea to ensure that you are keeping your Facebook account secure, and private! Facebook has done a decent job at making this task a rather difficult job – spreading privacy settings across many menus, and confusing the average user.

ReclaimPrivacy.org has a fantastic tool to check your Facebook Privacy settings. To use the security scanner, visit http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/

Scroll down to the “Get Protected” section. Depending on the browser you are using, follow the directions for your browser:

Firefox/Chrome users: Click and drag the “Scan for Privacy” link to your browser’s bookmarks bar.

Go to Facebook.com, sign in, and click the “Scan for Privacy” shortcut in your Bookmarks Bar.

You will see the security scanner at the top of the page, and the results within a few seconds (depending on you internet connection)

Internet Explorer Users:

Note: I tried to add the link to my favorites, as directed to, but was unable to (using IE 8), so am posting directions how to do it another way.

Right click “Scan for Privacy”, and choose “Copy Shortcut”

Now, sign into Facebook, and click in the Address bar, delete all text in the address bar, and paste (right click Paste, or Ctrl+V on your keyboard). You should see the following text in the address bar:

Press Enter, and the Security Scan will begin:

Both Browsers: Depending on the results, adjust your privacy as needed!

New – Alerts for Facebook Account Login

Nerd — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:17:51 +0000

With Facebook privacy being a concern these days, it was nice of the Facebook folks enabling this new feature. To enable notifications, go to Account, Account Settings, Account Security, and enable alerts – checking SMS if you wish to receive those as well.

Once notifications is enabled, you will be prompted, on next login, to name the computer you are logging in from. This allows you to track what devices are logging in. You can see the details by going back to Account, Account Settings, and Account Security.

I tested this from my mobile device, and was promptly notified via SMS that I had logged into Facebook using Facebook for iPhone. Next, I logged in using the mobile web browser on the iPhone, but was not notified. Wasn’t too happy about that, but it may have been because I had just accessed Facebook from the same device, just via an App instead of the browser. I’ll have to try this from another phone and see what the results are.

All in all, it’s a start in the right direction for Facebook.

McAfee killing XP Machines

Nerd — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:14:32 +0000

I’ve never been a big fan of McAfee, and this is just icing on the cake… Seems that due to a recent update, McAfee is killing svchost.exe – a common Windows XP process. This causes the machine to reboot constantly.

There is an unverified fix for this (off of twitter):

boot to safe mode, rename mcshield.exe, reboot, run Virus Console, pick Tools -> Rollback DAT, name back to mcshield, reboot

This in theory should work, but I cannot test because I don’t use McAfee. I personally use Microsoft Security Essentials, and suggest switching from McAfee to this. If so, follow the steps above, but instead of rolling back the DAT – uninstall McAfee, and install Microsoft Security Essentials.

AVG Rescue CD – Clean virus from infected PC

Nerd — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:35:00 +0000

Have you somehow got yourself a virus on your PC? It can be rather difficult sometimes to remove a virus from an infected computer. The easiest way is to do it outside of Windows. AVG has a bootable utility that can clean your PC. Both the bootable CD image and USB utility are free and available for download from their website.

The utility offers Anti-virus protection, anti-spyware, and also has administrator tools that assist system recovery (file browser, registry editor, disk checking, and more…)

[ AVG Rescue CD ]

Google’s Public DNS server

Nerd — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:47:47 +0000

DNS is the phonebook of the internet. Without it, everyone would be typing in numbers to access websites. DNS does a lookup from a name to an IP address – like http://18.62.1.6/ is the same as http://eecs.mit.edu/ – which is easier to remember? Thank you DNS!

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) offers you use of their DNS servers, but is often not the best DNS servers available – both in speed, reliability and security. I’ve told you in the past about OpenDNS, and while Google DNS service does not come with the content filtering that OpenDNS has, it is extremely fast, secure, and very reliable – MUCH more than your ISP’s (especially if you have Charter Communications).

Google’s DNS servers IP address are:

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

For instructions how to configure your computer to use Google’s DNS servers, visit Google’s Help website: http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html. They provide excellent instructions for Windows, Mac, Linux, and even your router and mobile device.

To sum up, I like the idea of Google having public DNS servers. Providing you are not using the content filtering aspect of OpenDNS, or not using OpenDNS at all, Google’s DNS is a no-brainer. Start using it today, and you will probably see a difference in your browsing speed!

FREE Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware / Anti-Spyware released from Microsoft

Nerd — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:12:39 +0000

Today, Microsoft released Security Essentials, a 100% free anti virus, anti spyware, and anti malware software. There are no subscriptions, no trials, just 100% free! Finally, people can protect their computers without forking over any money!

Download, and install the small software package, only takes a few minutes. Once installed, you don’t have to do anything else! Security Essentials is “set it and forget it” protection! It runs in the system tray, and will alert you if there are any security issues.

[ Download Microsoft Security Essentials ]

Protect your PC – Disable AutoPlay

Nerd — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:27:49 +0000

Windows 7 disables the AutoPlay feature which has been abused by malware (like Conficker). Now, Microsoft provides this same functionality for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008.

Download Disable AutoPlay for Windows

Change Windows forgotten password with KonBoot

Nerd — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Have you ever lost a password to a Windows computer and just wish you had a way to get into the computer? There is a simple solution with KonBoot

KonBoot modifies the Windows Kernel in real time, thus allowing you to get past the login prompt when you start Windows. You can download KonBoot to either a floppy or burn it on to a CD-Rom. You insert either media into the computer and restart. When the computer restarts, KonBoot starts and launches Windows. When you are back to the login prompt again you can press enter to by pass the prompt. KonBoot will not allow you to change the password of the user, but you could create another account that has the ability to later change that password.

Remember, that this should only be used on computers in which you have permission to use the tool on or that you own. If you were to try this with any other computer, it is illegal and you could be put into jail. So use it at work on that computer of the employee who was just fired, or on one of the computers that your company is required to keep due to legal issues and nobody knows the password for. Try it out on your own computer just to see how it works, that way if you run into an time you need to use it at work you know how the program works. Even use it to help your friend who keeps forgetting his password and has to call you to recover it. Don’t use it at your work if you don’t have permission to use it, or at school/college where you can get into a lot of trouble. Remember the saying from Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”. With this is a powerful tool, which you have to use with responsibility.

KonBoot

Conficker Virus – Windows DNS Server Blocking Batch File

Nerd — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:17:00 +0000

Related posts: Conficker Virus – Windows DNS Server Blocking Batch File Google’s Public DNS server Windows Home Server Related posts:

Conficker Virus – Windows DNS Server Blocking Batch File

Nerd — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:26:21 +0000

Related posts: Conficker Virus – Windows DNS Server Blocking Batch File Google’s Public DNS server Windows Home Server Related posts:

Protect your Kids Online: KidRex.com

Nerd — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:16:18 +0000

Letting your kids use a search engine isn’t always the best idea… There are too many search topics out there that you may not want your children to see. KidRex.org is a custom search engine, that only allows safe results.

KidRex.org uses Google SafeSearch on all results, and also retains it’s own database of results, as to ensure safe results. You can also request that URL’s be removed from results with their webpage removal tool.

While this is not a 100% full proof way to keep your kids from bad or malicious sites, it’s a good start.

Link: –> KidRex.org

Save Hashed Password in RDP file

Nerd — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Over on the main EverydayNerd.com website, I’ve posted an article about saving a hashed password in an .RDP file. Hope you find it helpful! http://everydaynerd.com/microsoft/save-password-in-rdp-file Related posts: Save Password in .RDP File RDP Update from Microsoft: no more /console Exchange … Continue reading → Related posts:

McAfee VirusScan Plus Free one year Subscription

Nerd — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:00:22 +0000

McAfee is offering a free one-year subscription for its VirusScan Plus product. If your antivirus software is expiring soon or you want to try an alternative, then the price is definitely right. The offer expires December 31, 2008.

A firewall and spyware protection are also thrown in with the VirusScan product.

1. Follow this link: http://us.mcafee.com/root/campaign.asp?cid=53347

2. Enter VSPPROMOCF into the promo code box and hit Submit.

3. You will see the $39.99 charge zeroed out, but you’ll also see a CD added to your order.

4. Click Remove to delete “Discover and Recover Emergency Reinstall CD” from your order.

4. Click Checkout to receive your free McAfee download.

Get ZoneAlarm Pro for Free – One day Only!

Nerd — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:34:30 +0000

On Tuesday, November 18th, you can grab yourself a free copy of ZoneAlarm Pro! ZoneAlarm Pro is an antispyware, identity protection, and firewall for your PC – normally costing $40.00.

At 6 AM PDT, Tuesday morning this page: http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/sum/index.html will become live and provide instructions for downloading your free copy. In addition, they will be offering a 50% discount on their airport friendly laptop bag.

Replace Vista’s Annoying UAC with Norton UAC (Beta)

Nerd — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:32:26 +0000

Vista’s UAC can be annoying, and although I’ve shared with you how to make it less annoying, Norton (Symantec) has come up with a replacement UAC that is makes it much better!

With one BIG feature – “Don’t ask me again” I think I’m in love! There are several programs I run during the course of the day that the UAC prompts me. I run them every day I don’t need to be prompted to open the command prompt, or and administrative mmc window! Also, it’s fast! Much faster than the default Windows UAC.

Thanks to Norton UAC Replacement, I’m running UAC-less on the daily apps that I use, but still have the protection from of UAC for everything else! Although it is in Beta, Norton UAC Replacement is solid, and I have had no issues so far – I’ve been running it for about two weeks now.

Link: http://www.nortonlabs.com/inthelab/uac.php

Critical Microsoft Patch Released

Nerd — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:29:57 +0000

Outside of it’s normal monthly patching cycle, Microsoft is releasing a critical patch to address a remote code execution exploit This patch is critical for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, and Server 2008.

Download the patch here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-067.mspx

Protect your kids online: OpenDNS

Nerd — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:37:58 +0000

Anyone that works in corporate America knows that the internet at work is usually filtered out, blocking the bad stuff, but at home, where the kids are, there is wide open access to the internet! Kinda backwards isn’t it? It can be expensive, plus a huge hassle to implement a proxy filtering server at your house, just like you have at work, so that is pretty much out of the question.

I’ll be posting several options for protecting your kids online in the future, but to kick things off, I’d like to introduce you to OpenDNS. First, let me explain what DNS is. Think of DNS (Domain Name Service) as the Internet’s phonebook. Every website has an IP address, and because it is easier to remember a name than a number, we have domain names (Like everydaynerd.com). When you type a domain name in your browser, your computer goes out to a DNS server, and says, "Hey, where is this domain I’m trying to find?" and the DNS responds with the IP address. Now, your browser goes to the web site you were trying to reach!

Now, what if your kids wanted to go look at "realbadwebsite.com" – the same thing happens. The browser query’s a DNS server, it returns the IP address, and bingo, your kids are viewing the real bad web site.

So, where does OpenDNS come in you ask? Once you sign up for a free account you have the option to block any of the offending categories you specify! You are 100% in control of what is blocked, and what is not. The categories are varied, for just about every type that one may want to block.

OpenDNS has made if very simple to get setup, just follow the setup steps on their website: https://www.opendns.com/homenetwork/start/

Although it may appear hard to do this, it is actually very simple, and only takes less than 10 minutes to do. A small price to pay to protect the kids in your household!

One great feature is Whitelists and Blacklists. You can specify a certain site to allow or block, even if it falls within a category that is not. For example, at my house, I do not block Social Networking, but want to block myspace.com, so it’s added to the blacklist.

Some notes about using OpenDNS, especially if your kids are teens, or very computer savvy…

Make sure your kids don’t know the password to your router (if you didn’t set one, it’s probably the default password, and believe me, admin/admin isn’t hard to guess)
Create a "Kids" account on the computer that is NOT an administrator. If given Administrative rights, the DNS server settings can be changed on the PC – even if you use a router, each PC can choose their own DNS server to circumvent OpenDNS.
Block Proxies. Proxies are websites that allow you to browse through their website, and pretty much lets you go anywhere you want – because as far as DNS sees, it’s only hitting the proxy server, not the bad site the proxy is offering up.
This is my personal opinion… Don’t let your kids just surf without some sort of supervision! Keep the family computer in a public location, where the screen can be seen by anyone in the room.

I hope this helps, and you enjoy this new Protect Your Kids Online feature. I’ll be adding more as we go along! Take care, and be safe!

Link to OpenDNS

Securely wipe your Hard Drive: Boot & Nuke

Nerd — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:29:08 +0000

We’ve all been in need of securely wiping a hard drive before – Either selling an old computer, or donating it to a charity. Either way, you want to make SURE that all of your private data is gone before it leaves your hands.

DBAN’s Boot and Nuke is your solution! Coming in many different bootable formats, this is THE way to protect yourself before ditching a drive. I personally like the bootable CD image – but make sure you label it with a big warning! You don’t want someone coming by and booting your machine to this by accident!

Elevator (Windows Vista Permissions)

Nerd — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:26:20 +0000

Source [LifeHacker]

Windows only: Freeware application Elevator disables the User Account Control prompt for specific applications through your right-click menu, getting rid of the UAC annoyance for apps that require administrator privileges every time they run. Elevator is freeware, Windows Vista only; installation requires a little finesse, so be sure to read the instructions.

Link: Elevator

Backup your email with MailStore Home

Nerd — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:23:00 +0000

Of all things that most home users seem to have a problem backing up is their email. Now, MailStore Home is a easy and free way to backup your email

The Single-User Desktop Solution for E-mail Archiving and Backup
MailStore Home keeps all your valuable e-mail messages in one persistent and safe place. Lightning-fast search, one-click backup, powerful export – all information from your e-mail is at your fingertips anytime. Never lose important e-mail again!

MailStore Home archives e-mail from:

Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook Express
Microsoft Windows Mail
Microsoft Exchange Server Mailboxes
AVM KEN! Mailboxes
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla SeaMonkey
Webmailer
POP3 and IMAP
File Import

Website: [MailStore]

TIP: Once you backup your email, you can use Mozy to backup your files online

FREE: ZoneAlarm’s Anti-Spyware – Today Only!

Nerd — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:07:00 +0000

You can grab a free copy of ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware from now until Wednesday, November 14th, at 7:00 AM PST as part of their "Patch Tuesday" giveaway.

~~The site’s is down at the moment – due to heavy traffic, but should be up soon~~.

Site is back up now – download away!

Get it Here: [Zone Alarm]

Free Kiosk Utility for Windows

Nerd — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:56:00 +0000

I reported back on June 19th, about Steady State, but IntelliAdmin.com has written a very nice review of the product.

——–

Microsoft has just released Windows SteadyState. It is a free program that allows you to lock down a Windows installation, and make it suitable for use in a public environment.

It is actually a major upgrade (So major they renamed it) from an older tool called the Microsoft® Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP.
A few features that make it much more attractive than the older version:
-You don’t need to repartition your hard drive to take advantage of the hard drive protection features
-User settings have been simplified to a high, medium, and low setting for each account.
-It enables you to import and export user accounts from one computer to another
-It includes a fully-revised Windows SteadyState Handbook
I decided to take it for a quick test drive, and one of the most compelling features is the hard drive protection.

This is great. Even if a script kiddy takes over my kiosk and vandalizes the thing, I can set it to refresh back to my original configuration after a reboot.
Another nice feature is the ability to hide the administrator account from the welcome screen

All in all, this program is packed with features, and provides a level of functionality I had only seen previously in expensive third party products.

Best of all, it is free. Download from Microsoft