How to Access Blocked Websites

How to Access Blocked Websites

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Popular sites that are oftenblocked in offices, school and workplaces are Google News, Typepad, Orkut,ebay, Blogger blogs, YouTube, Blogger,Facebook, MySpace, Pandora, Bebo, Photobucket, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL AIM, Flickr, last.fm,etc

*************************************************************************************************

These tricks should be used by the persons those who have legitimate reasons to use it .

• Anonymous Surfing - Browse theinternet via a proxy server.

•     Enter the URL in Google or Yahoo search and then visit the cached ofthe page.

•  Use Google Mobile Search. Googledisplay the normal HTML pages as if you are viewing them on your  mobile phone

•   Toaccess the blocked Web site. type the IP number instead of the URL in theaddress bar.
  

• Use Website  Anonymizer that fetch the blocked sites from their servers and display it 
  

•  Use Google language tools service as a proxy server.  Google translate  page from English to English (or whateverlanguage you like).

•  Use aURL redirection services like tinyurl.com or snipurl.com

•  

Blogged with Flock

MAKE CERTAIN OF YOUR PC

 

 

 

(from my article "secure your system completely" browsethrough this space : )

How to avoid  your PC from being getting affected  withmalware ,viruses , trojans,keyloggers and other nasties  taking control ofyour PC ?

Prevention is better than medication , in other means prevention isbetter than detecting and removing the infections .



The traditional way ofadding additional protection



Securing your PC through multiple secuirty layers based onanti-virus,anti-spyware,anti-trojans,HIPs anti-mallware and other securitysoftware costs too high , one hundred full proof solution will be getting notguaranteed .

Here  cost means financial as well as by adding more secuirtylayers in the PC , hampering performance on your PC .

So how do you prevent infection?


The basics:

1.Download latest fixes of windows and ms office from microsoftupdate service


2.Stay away from sites offering commercial software serial numbers,keygens and other hacked material. Avoid accidentally wandering to hostilesites by installing McAfee Site Adviser.

 

3.Make sure your other software products are also fully updated,particularly popular products like anti virus, anti spyware, and other securityproducts and browsers like Firefox, Opera, the Adobe Reader, Sun Java, Flashplug-ins and media players. The easiest way to do this is to use the free Secunia Software Inspector.

 

4.only download files from trusted sources and never installprograms that friends give you on removable media(cd/dvd/pen drive/floppy)unless you have verified that are clean by either submitting them to free webbased testing services such as Jotti () and Virus Total(), or through scan through in built security software on your PC beforeinstalling and running on it .

 

5.Install a robust firewall to ensure worms can't secretly enteryour PC via the internet. My current favorites are the free Comodo firewall Pro () andZoneAlarm Pro but there are several other excellent choices including Jeticoand Netveda to name but two.

 

6.Stop Using Internet Explorer, instead use Firefox or Opera,It's nosecret that Internet Explorer is filled with security holes. While InternetExplorer 7 is a huge improvement over it's predecessor but it still is no wherenear as secure as Firefox.When it comes to patching vulnerabilities found,According to the Washington Post ,Microsoft has been notorious for notreleasing patches in a timely fashion. According to the Washington Post, Internet Explorer was knownto have exploit code for unpatched critical flaws for 284 days of 2006. Thearticle goes on to compare this with 9 days for Mozilla Firefox. For saferinternet browsing is,For safer browsing, do not use Internet Explorer.

 

7.No Toolbars Allowed, ALL Toolbars. Starting  from Microsoft,Google, Symantec or whoever. No toolbar till this day which is a absolutenecessity . They open another gateway into your  PC to allow ugly thingsinto your PC.For each toolbar added, you are opening a window of opportunitiesfor bad things to enter into your PC.

 

8. Don’t Use File Sharing Programs such as Limewire, Kazaa,Shareaza, Edonkey, Bearshare etc. I would say 1 out of every 10 files containsa virus/worm/spyware. it is nice to be able to download that new song you heardon the radio or download the latest software, all for free. But realize that bydoing this, you are playing with a loaded gun, when it comes to the security ofyour computer.

 

9.PrivBaris a free Internet Explorer add-on written by Aaron Margosis that displaysin a toolbar the privilege level under which the current instance of InternetExplorer is running.

10.If you are a Firefox user check out the free  IsAdminextension that provides similar functionality to PrivBar .

11. Software products to be fully updated , and these should be usedfrom very reliable sources .

 

 

12. Use commodo firewall which also provides services of HIPS (ostIntrusion Prevention System)

13.Never install programs unless you are fully confident they areclean.

 

14.Don't open file attachments unless you are absolutely sure of thesource. Email file attachments are one of the most common vectors forsystem  viruses. Modern antivirus software will scan incoming email as amatter of course, but you still have the possibility of a new virus that hasyet to be added to to the list of scanned-for viruses.

15.Install the Backup Utility in XP Home/Pro or Vista.And constantly back-ups registery and important files.

16.Scan your computer for vulnerabilities with Microsoft'sfree security scanner (MICROSOFT BASELINE SECUIRTY ADVISER ), Download andrun the device to test your local computer (you will need access to anadministrative account  you wish to scan). The MBSA creates a securitylog  which contains easy to read info on any vulnerabilities that mayexist and how to correct them.


17. Test your PC with online secuirty probe :

Each will investigate  your system for security vulnerabilitieswhich could be used by a malicious hacker or virus or for trojanactivities  to compromise and steal  your PC and data. Use theseservices to ensure that you are well secured . Remember it takes a lot of timein dial-ups.

Some free online security scanners:
   

     ONE  
     TWO
     THREE

18. Relocate My document folder

If you wish to direct  the data stored in your 'my documents'folder to a different disk location/partition , you can do this very easilywithout advanced registery alterations. By default, this data is stored in'c:\documents and settings\(username)\my documents'.

To change the location of My Documents folder right click the 'mydocuments' icon on the desktop or the start menu, and select 'properties.'

In the 'target' tab, enter the path to the folder location you wish touse, or press the 'find target' button to browse to the folder. Prior to thatopen a folder in the new target location and rename it as  My Documentsand copy its path  and paste it in the find target box .You will be askedif you wish to move all existing data to the new location. 

 

19. Remove ads from webpage .

If you are Internet Explorer user then use IE7Pro not only provides ad blocking but alsotab management, proxy switching, mouse gestures and more including a veryvaluable crash recovery feature. Download from this link:
 Freeware, Internet Explorer 7, 985KB.

If you are using Firefox then ,  can effectively remove ads fromweb pages using the marvelous free  free Ad-Block extension .

20.See one of my article on registery How to back up and restore theregistry in Windows XP and Windows Vista
from the following location

21. If you are internet explorer users then fix this :

Microsoft Patch Fixes Slow RunningIE7



22.Use Instant Messaging Without an IM Client so that , any infectionsmight have intruded , if you use the IM utilities can be averted .
It  supports a wide range of systems including Yahoo, Messenger,Jabber, AIM, ICQ, MS and more.

DOWNLOAD FROM HERE





However , sticking to these rules is not a bed of roses ; it requires alevel of discipline characters most users may be don't have. Who hasn't beentempted to open a funny Word  email attachment or install a free flashgame?

This means that more protection is a necessity apart from this basicsecurity rules .


Yours First Step To be Protected :


A normal Windows environment is a user account with full administratorrights. It's probably what you are using right now as it is the default setupin all recent versions of Windows up to but excluding, Windows Vista.


The best way to enhance the level of protection is to make right thatif  a malware program sneak inside the your PC , that it is disallowed torun on your PC in a normal Windows environment .


There are three filters in which you can keep away malware from normalWindows environments.

1.Run all high risk programs with limited rights
2.Run all high risk programs in a sandbox or virtual machine or withwindows steady state.
3.Use a Windows limited user account for your daily work



1.Run all high risk programs with limited rights

 Run as a full administrator user but restrict the rights of allprograms such as your browser and email client ,media players or other internetfacing programmes that can be sources of malware infection.



Themost familiar  of these is DropMyRights.()

 

It allows users to easily create special versions of their that runfrom a full administrator account but with the restricted rights of a Windowslimited user or guest user .

The approach however has some weaknesses perhaps the worst of which isdownloaded files. Yes you are safe from infection while using a browser but ifyou run any files you download then you can easily be infected if those filescontain embedded malware.


2.Run all high risk programs in a sandboxor virtual machine

 The important point is that while running in the sandbox, theprograms have no get at to your PC.

 

Any files you download are marooned  to the sandbox. Similarly,any programs that are executed only do so within the sandbox and have no accessto your normal files,the sand box created a PC environment within the sandboxitself not in  the Windows operating system or indeed any other part ofyour PC.

This means that  that if you get infected by malware while usingthe sandbox your "actual" computer is not touched on. Furthermore youcan close the sandbox and all that's within it is erased including anyinfections, leaving alone your real PC in a clean and pure state.

. There are also some fantabulous sandboxing programs around includingfreeware guide the donationware utility "SandBoxie."

 Files in the sandbox are not really permanently on your computerunless you by choice move them from the sandbox to your actual PC. If you closethe sandbox without moving them they will be missed eternally.

Virtual machines such as VMWare()and

Microsoft's VirtualPC()are standardised to sandboxing but take the idea advanced  by completelydetaching  the virtual machine from theactual PC at a abstract level.

 Infections thatare obtained  in the virtual machine cannot affect the actual  PC.Similarly shutting down the virtual PC removes all line of infection.

From a users perspective sandboxing is a better bet than fullyvirtualisation solutions . But the most prime thing is that user's have to bedisciplined at using this .

So,all you need is a good firewall and a good anti-virus program andgood anti-spyware programme . Aggregating  these with a good sandbox andyou will have better security than other users who employ five or moredifferent levels  of active security software/freeware protective cover

Your PC will be faster; a counterpoint  to machines runningmultiple security protection products.

 

3.Use a Windows limited user account for your daily work

 Most malware products need full administrator rights to installthemselves. In a limited account they just can't get a footings .

It's easy to set up a limited user account. Just go the Control Panel,select User Accounts and create a new user account as a limited user. Then signin to this account for your normal computer work rather than the account you acurrently using
 

 

How to Easily Run Programs With Reduced Rights

Having full administrator rights gives the user the highest level ofprivilege possible. It means that Windows will allow a user to pretty well doanything they want on their PC. That includes installing any program theychoose, even programs that change the way the operating system works.
 Many malware programs including rootkits require administratorprivileges to install. If users operated with reduced rights such programscouldn't as easily infect their PCs.
On other operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X, users normallyrun with reduced rights.

 

The more recent versions of Windows do in fact allow users to beassigned to different user groups with different privileges.

 In order of reducing privilege these are:"administrator", "power user" group, "user" groupand "guest".
Sign on as the reduced rights user for normal PC use and then logoutand use the administrator rights user account for program installation,registry editing and other demanding tasks.In this way by having two useraccounts on PC: one with full administrator rights and the other with reducedrights.

 

Constantly switching users or logging in and out of these accountsis a pain in the butt .

Always operate as a reduced privilege user and usethe special Windows "run as" function from the command window orcontext menu when you needed to run a program that requires administratorprivileges.
It's a slightly more workable solution but not exactly convenient asyou need to enter your admin account password every time.
An Open Source utility called RunAsAdmin Explorer Shim( RES).
RES is a Windows XP program that allows you to sign-in as anadministrator but work within a Windows shell with reduced rights.

 

It works by placing an icon in the system notification area of yourtray. Clicking this icon brings up a menu that allows to run programs withseveral different level of trust from "administrator" through to"user."

 With this can do day-to-day work in arestricted rights shell but easily run any program that requires elevatedprivileges without the need to logoff or enter the admin password. You have theadvantage of safety and convenience at the same time.
It wasn't built into Windows XP.

 

There are also two versions available: a stable V1 release and a V2beta. I installed the latter is working fine though.

It took a few settingchanges and reboots to get everything working perfectly. It's definitely not atask for the faint hearted or technically challenged but neither is using"run as."
To un-install RES start up a command window with admin rights and enterthe command c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe /r
Logoff as the current user and while re-login, the usual rights forthat user account.Then can delete the c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe folder.
Non technical users will have to use Windows Vistato get a satisfactory solution to the user rights problem.



Setting up a limited account may be easy but using it can be a realpain. For example you won't be able to install most programs. You won't be ableto update others.


Most users though, find using a limited account to be simply tooembarassing and inopportune.
That said using a limited account is an excellent solution for advancedusers .




Peaceful security products




Peaceful security products like on-demand scanners (manualy initiation)isa necessity .

 It may be  an anti-spyware scanner,an anti-virus scanner, arootkit detector or a keylogger scanner.

They don't impose an on-going command processing overhead time  onyour computer. The only computer power they consume is while they are actuallyperforming a scan.

In this category comes   the free version of AVG Antispywareor free Panda Anti-rootkit detector or Bit Defender Anti-virus  or  MULTI VIRUS CLEANER  ().And because they are not perpetually running they are less chance  tocause any problems with other programs.

Run on-demand scans periodically: weekly, monthly whatsoever. They area good to prevent anything goes wrong to your on-acess security programmes .

 

Home

EMAIL ME

Website

 

This article updated on Dec. 26 2007

 

Blogged with Flock

MAKE CERTAIN OF YOUR PC

 

 

 

(from my article "secure your system completely" browsethrough this space : )

How to avoid  your PC from being getting affected  withmalware ,viruses , trojans,keyloggers and other nasties  taking control ofyour PC ?

Prevention is better than medication , in other means prevention isbetter than detecting and removing the infections .



The traditional way ofadding additional protection



Securing your PC through multiple secuirty layers based onanti-virus,anti-spyware,anti-trojans,HIPs anti-mallware and other securitysoftware costs too high , one hundred full proof solution will be getting notguaranteed .

Here  cost means financial as well as by adding more secuirtylayers in the PC , hampering performance on your PC .

So how do you prevent infection?


The basics:

1.Download latest fixes of windows and ms office from microsoftupdate service


2.Stay away from sites offering commercial software serial numbers,keygens and other hacked material. Avoid accidentally wandering to hostilesites by installing McAfee Site Adviser.

 

3.Make sure your other software products are also fully updated,particularly popular products like anti virus, anti spyware, and other securityproducts and browsers like Firefox, Opera, the Adobe Reader, Sun Java, Flashplug-ins and media players. The easiest way to do this is to use the free Secunia Software Inspector.

 

4.only download files from trusted sources and never installprograms that friends give you on removable media(cd/dvd/pen drive/floppy)unless you have verified that are clean by either submitting them to free webbased testing services such as Jotti () and Virus Total(), or through scan through in built security software on your PC beforeinstalling and running on it .

 

5.Install a robust firewall to ensure worms can't secretly enteryour PC via the internet. My current favorites are the free Comodo firewall Pro () andZoneAlarm Pro but there are several other excellent choices including Jeticoand Netveda to name but two.

 

6.Stop Using Internet Explorer, instead use Firefox or Opera,It's nosecret that Internet Explorer is filled with security holes. While InternetExplorer 7 is a huge improvement over it's predecessor but it still is no wherenear as secure as Firefox.When it comes to patching vulnerabilities found,According to the Washington Post ,Microsoft has been notorious for notreleasing patches in a timely fashion. According to the Washington Post, Internet Explorer was knownto have exploit code for unpatched critical flaws for 284 days of 2006. Thearticle goes on to compare this with 9 days for Mozilla Firefox. For saferinternet browsing is,For safer browsing, do not use Internet Explorer.

 

7.No Toolbars Allowed, ALL Toolbars. Starting  from Microsoft,Google, Symantec or whoever. No toolbar till this day which is a absolutenecessity . They open another gateway into your  PC to allow ugly thingsinto your PC.For each toolbar added, you are opening a window of opportunitiesfor bad things to enter into your PC.

 

8. Don’t Use File Sharing Programs such as Limewire, Kazaa,Shareaza, Edonkey, Bearshare etc. I would say 1 out of every 10 files containsa virus/worm/spyware. it is nice to be able to download that new song you heardon the radio or download the latest software, all for free. But realize that bydoing this, you are playing with a loaded gun, when it comes to the security ofyour computer.

 

9.PrivBaris a free Internet Explorer add-on written by Aaron Margosis that displaysin a toolbar the privilege level under which the current instance of InternetExplorer is running.

10.If you are a Firefox user check out the free  IsAdminextension that provides similar functionality to PrivBar .

11. Software products to be fully updated , and these should be usedfrom very reliable sources .

 

 

12. Use commodo firewall which also provides services of HIPS (ostIntrusion Prevention System)

13.Never install programs unless you are fully confident they areclean.

 

14.Don't open file attachments unless you are absolutely sure of thesource. Email file attachments are one of the most common vectors forsystem  viruses. Modern antivirus software will scan incoming email as amatter of course, but you still have the possibility of a new virus that hasyet to be added to to the list of scanned-for viruses.

15.Install the Backup Utility in XP Home/Pro or Vista.And constantly back-ups registery and important files.

16.Scan your computer for vulnerabilities with Microsoft'sfree security scanner (MICROSOFT BASELINE SECUIRTY ADVISER ), Download andrun the device to test your local computer (you will need access to anadministrative account  you wish to scan). The MBSA creates a securitylog  which contains easy to read info on any vulnerabilities that mayexist and how to correct them.


17. Test your PC with online secuirty probe :

Each will investigate  your system for security vulnerabilitieswhich could be used by a malicious hacker or virus or for trojanactivities  to compromise and steal  your PC and data. Use theseservices to ensure that you are well secured . Remember it takes a lot of timein dial-ups.

Some free online security scanners:
   

     ONE  
     TWO
     THREE

18. Relocate My document folder

If you wish to direct  the data stored in your 'my documents'folder to a different disk location/partition , you can do this very easilywithout advanced registery alterations. By default, this data is stored in'c:\documents and settings\(username)\my documents'.

To change the location of My Documents folder right click the 'mydocuments' icon on the desktop or the start menu, and select 'properties.'

In the 'target' tab, enter the path to the folder location you wish touse, or press the 'find target' button to browse to the folder. Prior to thatopen a folder in the new target location and rename it as  My Documentsand copy its path  and paste it in the find target box .You will be askedif you wish to move all existing data to the new location. 

 

19. Remove ads from webpage .

If you are Internet Explorer user then use IE7Pro not only provides ad blocking but alsotab management, proxy switching, mouse gestures and more including a veryvaluable crash recovery feature. Download from this link:
 Freeware, Internet Explorer 7, 985KB.

If you are using Firefox then ,  can effectively remove ads fromweb pages using the marvelous free  free Ad-Block extension .

20.See one of my article on registery How to back up and restore theregistry in Windows XP and Windows Vista
from the following location

21. If you are internet explorer users then fix this :

Microsoft Patch Fixes Slow RunningIE7



22.Use Instant Messaging Without an IM Client so that , any infectionsmight have intruded , if you use the IM utilities can be averted .
It  supports a wide range of systems including Yahoo, Messenger,Jabber, AIM, ICQ, MS and more.

DOWNLOAD FROM HERE





However , sticking to these rules is not a bed of roses ; it requires alevel of discipline characters most users may be don't have. Who hasn't beentempted to open a funny Word  email attachment or install a free flashgame?

This means that more protection is a necessity apart from this basicsecurity rules .


Yours First Step To be Protected :


A normal Windows environment is a user account with full administratorrights. It's probably what you are using right now as it is the default setupin all recent versions of Windows up to but excluding, Windows Vista.


The best way to enhance the level of protection is to make right thatif  a malware program sneak inside the your PC , that it is disallowed torun on your PC in a normal Windows environment .


There are three filters in which you can keep away malware from normalWindows environments.

1.Run all high risk programs with limited rights
2.Run all high risk programs in a sandbox or virtual machine or withwindows steady state.
3.Use a Windows limited user account for your daily work



1.Run all high risk programs with limited rights

 Run as a full administrator user but restrict the rights of allprograms such as your browser and email client ,media players or other internetfacing programmes that can be sources of malware infection.



Themost familiar  of these is DropMyRights.()

 

It allows users to easily create special versions of their that runfrom a full administrator account but with the restricted rights of a Windowslimited user or guest user .

The approach however has some weaknesses perhaps the worst of which isdownloaded files. Yes you are safe from infection while using a browser but ifyou run any files you download then you can easily be infected if those filescontain embedded malware.


2.Run all high risk programs in a sandboxor virtual machine

 The important point is that while running in the sandbox, theprograms have no get at to your PC.

 

Any files you download are marooned  to the sandbox. Similarly,any programs that are executed only do so within the sandbox and have no accessto your normal files,the sand box created a PC environment within the sandboxitself not in  the Windows operating system or indeed any other part ofyour PC.

This means that  that if you get infected by malware while usingthe sandbox your "actual" computer is not touched on. Furthermore youcan close the sandbox and all that's within it is erased including anyinfections, leaving alone your real PC in a clean and pure state.

. There are also some fantabulous sandboxing programs around includingfreeware guide the donationware utility "SandBoxie."

 Files in the sandbox are not really permanently on your computerunless you by choice move them from the sandbox to your actual PC. If you closethe sandbox without moving them they will be missed eternally.

Virtual machines such as VMWare()and

Microsoft's VirtualPC()are standardised to sandboxing but take the idea advanced  by completelydetaching  the virtual machine from theactual PC at a abstract level.

 Infections thatare obtained  in the virtual machine cannot affect the actual  PC.Similarly shutting down the virtual PC removes all line of infection.

From a users perspective sandboxing is a better bet than fullyvirtualisation solutions . But the most prime thing is that user's have to bedisciplined at using this .

So,all you need is a good firewall and a good anti-virus program andgood anti-spyware programme . Aggregating  these with a good sandbox andyou will have better security than other users who employ five or moredifferent levels  of active security software/freeware protective cover

Your PC will be faster; a counterpoint  to machines runningmultiple security protection products.

 

3.Use a Windows limited user account for your daily work

 Most malware products need full administrator rights to installthemselves. In a limited account they just can't get a footings .

It's easy to set up a limited user account. Just go the Control Panel,select User Accounts and create a new user account as a limited user. Then signin to this account for your normal computer work rather than the account you acurrently using
 

 

How to Easily Run Programs With Reduced Rights

Having full administrator rights gives the user the highest level ofprivilege possible. It means that Windows will allow a user to pretty well doanything they want on their PC. That includes installing any program theychoose, even programs that change the way the operating system works.
 Many malware programs including rootkits require administratorprivileges to install. If users operated with reduced rights such programscouldn't as easily infect their PCs.
On other operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X, users normallyrun with reduced rights.

 

The more recent versions of Windows do in fact allow users to beassigned to different user groups with different privileges.

 In order of reducing privilege these are:"administrator", "power user" group, "user" groupand "guest".
Sign on as the reduced rights user for normal PC use and then logoutand use the administrator rights user account for program installation,registry editing and other demanding tasks.In this way by having two useraccounts on PC: one with full administrator rights and the other with reducedrights.

 

Constantly switching users or logging in and out of these accountsis a pain in the butt .

Always operate as a reduced privilege user and usethe special Windows "run as" function from the command window orcontext menu when you needed to run a program that requires administratorprivileges.
It's a slightly more workable solution but not exactly convenient asyou need to enter your admin account password every time.
An Open Source utility called RunAsAdmin Explorer Shim( RES).
RES is a Windows XP program that allows you to sign-in as anadministrator but work within a Windows shell with reduced rights.

 

It works by placing an icon in the system notification area of yourtray. Clicking this icon brings up a menu that allows to run programs withseveral different level of trust from "administrator" through to"user."

 With this can do day-to-day work in arestricted rights shell but easily run any program that requires elevatedprivileges without the need to logoff or enter the admin password. You have theadvantage of safety and convenience at the same time.
It wasn't built into Windows XP.

 

There are also two versions available: a stable V1 release and a V2beta. I installed the latter is working fine though.

It took a few settingchanges and reboots to get everything working perfectly. It's definitely not atask for the faint hearted or technically challenged but neither is using"run as."
To un-install RES start up a command window with admin rights and enterthe command c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe /r
Logoff as the current user and while re-login, the usual rights forthat user account.Then can delete the c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe folder.
Non technical users will have to use Windows Vistato get a satisfactory solution to the user rights problem.



Setting up a limited account may be easy but using it can be a realpain. For example you won't be able to install most programs. You won't be ableto update others.


Most users though, find using a limited account to be simply tooembarassing and inopportune.
That said using a limited account is an excellent solution for advancedusers .




Peaceful security products




Peaceful security products like on-demand scanners (manualy initiation)isa necessity .

 It may be  an anti-spyware scanner,an anti-virus scanner, arootkit detector or a keylogger scanner.

They don't impose an on-going command processing overhead time  onyour computer. The only computer power they consume is while they are actuallyperforming a scan.

In this category comes   the free version of AVG Antispywareor free Panda Anti-rootkit detector or Bit Defender Anti-virus  or  MULTI VIRUS CLEANER  ().And because they are not perpetually running they are less chance  tocause any problems with other programs.

Run on-demand scans periodically: weekly, monthly whatsoever. They area good to prevent anything goes wrong to your on-acess security programmes .

 

Home

EMAIL ME

Website

 

This article updated on Dec. 26 2007

 

Blogged with Flock

Migrating to Mozilla Firefox:

Migrating to Mozilla Firefox:

A combination of multiple security vulnerabilities and the emergence of more modern browsers, Internet Explorer has started to look vulnerable.

According to estimated statistucs  100 million users have already switched over to other browsers mostly to is Mozilla Firefox.

Firefox is a fast, lean tabbed browser .

WHY NO TO INTERNET EXPLORER

1. VULNERABLE TO SECURITIES TIME AND AGAGIN DUE TO ITS IMMENCE POPULARITY IS THE HACKER'S FIRST LOVE .
2. scripting component  ActiveX , use of VBScript and browser helper objects (BHOs) that has been heavily exploited by hackers.
3. a hacker who breaks into IE may not only have hacked your browser but may also be able to gain access to the operating system itself as it is too close to the core of the Windows operating system.
4. Microsoft's record for responding to reported flaws in IE has been checkeredMicrosoft's record for responding to reported flaws in IE has been checkered , belated and some times hap hazard.
5. Internet Explorer 7 is only available to those using Windows XP SP2 or later. Users of earlier versions of Windows have to IE6, a version which has proven highly vulnerable to exploitation.
6. Although IE7  add-ons just can't becomparable to the 1000+ free extensions available for Firefox.

Install Firefox Extensions

More than 1000 free extensions available. Make Google search on "Firefox extension" or "Firefox add-ons."  and also on this link.

FEW SUGGESTIONS ON FIREFOX EXTENSIONS

Use this selection as the guide and donot limit yourself on these and if you know more then let me know also.

 1. A lightweight RSS and Atom reader :  SAGE

  2.Useful for keeping Firefox open but hidden : Minimize to Tray

  3.Opens the current web page in Internet Explorer    :  IEView Lite

  4.quickly bookmark a site to any folder  :  Ad Bookmarks Here

5.Tweaks Firefox to run faster  on broadband  :  Fasterfox

6.Saves tab sessions on demand when Firefox closes. : Session Saver

7.Much more control over tab working :  Tab Mix Plus

8.Filters ads from web pages : Ad Block

9.  It allows  to re-install  old extensions by bypassing compatibility testing.   :"Nightly Tester Tools"

10. FLASH BLOCK :STOPS MACROMEDIA FLASH CONTENT ON THE PAGE .

11.NO SCRIPT : BLOCKS VARIOUS ELEMENTS LIKE JAVA SCRIPT , JAVA , PLUG INS INCLUDING FLASH FROM WEB PAGES .

12 PERFORMANCING  : INTEGRATES FIREFOX WITH POPULAR BLOGGING PLATFORMS LIKE BLOGGER , WORD PRESS , ETC.

13.  FIREFTP:  ALLOWS FIREFOX TO ACT AS AN FTP CLIENT AND EXPLORE FTP SERVERS .

14. FLASH GOT: ALLOWS FIREFOX TO BE CLOSELY INTEGRATE WITH THE DOWNLAOD MANAGER IN THE SYSTEM .

INSTAL THEMES

Firefox offers many free downloadable themes. To access to new themes select Tools/Themes from within Firefox and then click on "get more themes."

INSTAL PLUG-INS:

ADOBE ACROBAT READER  ,    APPLE QUICK TIME ,     MACROMEDIA FLASH PLAYER  ,    REAL PLAYER ,         SUN JAVA PLUG INS  AND          

WINDOW MEDIA PLAYER

FOR MORE PLUG-INS CLICK ON ME !

FIREFOX SHORTCUTS:

Firefox uses pretty much the same keyboard shortcuts as Internet Explorer .  For full list click    HERE

TO MAKE A CLONE OF INTERNET EXPLORER:

If you want to make it even more like IE then click   HERE

TO SET UP  ROBO FORM :

It depends upon your choice , you'll have to install the RoboForm Mozilla adaptor first. For this CLICK ME

PROBLEM SOLVING  :

If you run into problems first hand  go to  FIREFOX FAQ

For more serious problems then in the second place go to  FIREFOX FORUMS

SUNKUMAR KOTHARI

EDITOR OF FREEWARESPACE

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Re-organizing the Windows Start Menu

Re-organizing the Windows Start Menu

Many users have very long start menus’, delaying the start menushow ups as well as to find out any programme takes time,

 

 

It's reasonably simple to organize the "All Programs"section of the Start Menu. Here's how:

Right-click on the Start Menu then click Explore. This will open WindowsExplorer within the start menu folder for the current user. (USE ADMINISTRATIVEPRIVILEDGES) If you then click "Programs" on the left hand pane youshould see all the programs for the current user listed in your Start Menu inone big list.

We WILL create some category folders then slide individual programs into thosefolders.

Categories may be like  :security, maintenance and utilities , multimedia and  others.

To create the folders, right click in the any white space in the right handExplorer pane and select New/Folder. Name your folder according to eachcategory, for example " multimedia."

Then just drag and drop the pertinent programs into the folder you havecreated.

 

Repeat this procedure for other category folders . That completesthe job for the Start Menu for the current user.




Move these category folders to the top of Start Menu. You can do this simply bydragging and dropping the folders from within the "All Programs"listing.



If sorting out your Start Menu feeling like cross an ocean in a deadly ferry ! thenbe calm; there's a free utility  calledTidy Start Menu and you can get it HERE:

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SANDBOXIE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

 

1. Run all high risk programs in a sandboxor virtual machine

 The important point is that while running in the sandbox, theprograms have no get at to your PC.

 

Any files you download are marooned  to the sandbox. Similarly,any programs that are executed only do so within the sandbox and have no accessto your normal files,the sand box created a PC environment within the sandboxitself not in  the Windows operating system or indeed any other part ofyour PC.

This means that  that if you get infected by malware while usingthe sandbox your "actual" computer is not touched on. Furthermore youcan close the sandbox and all that's within it is erased including anyinfections, leaving alone your real PC in a clean and pure state.

. There are also some fantabulous sandboxing programs around includingfreeware guide the donation ware utility "SandBoxie."

 Files in the sandbox are not really permanently on your computerunless you by choice move them from the sandbox to your actual PC. If you closethe sandbox without moving them they will be missed eternally.

 Infections thatare obtained  in the virtual machine cannot affect the actual  PC.Similarly shutting down the virtual PC removes all line of infection.

From a users perspective sandboxing is a better bet than fullyvirtualisation solutions . But the most prime thing is that user's have to bedisciplined at using this .

 

What is Sandboxie and howis it different thanother solutions?

Thinkofyour PC as a piece of paper. Every program you run writes on the paper. Whenyourun your browser, it writes on the paper about every site you visited. Andanymalware you come across will usually try to write itself into the paper.

Traditionalprivacyand anti-malware software try to locate and erase any writings theythink youwouldn't want on the paper. Most of the times they get it right. Butfirst themakers of these solutions must teach the solution what to look for onthe paper,and also how to erase it safely.

Ontheother hand, the Sandboxie sandbox works like a transparency layer placedoverthe paper. Programs write on the transparency layer and to them it lookslikethe real paper. When you delete the sandbox, it's like removing thetransparencylayer, the unchanged, real paper is revealed.

___________________________________________________________________

 

Howsafe would I be, by using Sandboxie?

Youwouldbe quite safe using Sandboxie. It should be noted that, from time totime,people are able to find some vulnerability in Sandboxie, an open holethroughwhich malicious software can still infiltrate the system.

Thishappensonce every few months, on average, and is quickly resolved by closingthe holethat is the attack vector.

Thusit'sa good idea to have more traditional anti-malware software. This is isthesubject of the following question.

________________________________________________________________________

 

DoI need other solutions if I use Sandboxie?

Sandboxiemay be your first line of defense, but it shouldcertainly be complemented bythe more traditional anti-virus and anti-malwaresolutions. These solutions canlet you know if your system does become infectedin any way.

Typically,those other solutions employ various forms ofpattern matching to discovermalicious software and other threats. Sandboxie, onthe other hand, quitesimply does not trust any software code enough to let itout of the sandbox.

Thecombination of the two approaches should keep malicioussoftware -- which isserving the interest of other unknown parties -- out ofyour computer.

 

 

What kinds of programs can Irun using Sandboxie?

You should beable to run most applications sandboxed.

• Web browsers
• mail and news readers
• instant messengers and chat clients
• peer-to-peer networking
• games
• in particular, online games which download extension software code)

In all caseson this list, your client-side program is exposed toremote software code,which could use the program as a channel to infiltrateyour system. By runningthe program sandboxed, you greatly increase the controlyou have over thatchannel.

 

 

What arethe requirements to runSandboxie?

Sandboxieworks on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows VistaandWindows Server 2003. There is some support for 64-bit versions of Windows:see the downloadpage.

Sandboxiedoes not work onWindows 95, 98 or ME, or on Mac operating systems. There areno plans to supportthese environments.

There are noparticularhardware requirements. Sandboxie needs only a small amount of memoryand shouldhave a very small impact on performance.

 

Whichfeatures are unlocked in theregistered version?

In theregistered version, Sandboxie can be configured to issue awarning SBOX1118 wheneveraparticular program is launched outside the sandbox.

You can alsoconfigureSandboxie to automatically sandbox particular programs, even whenthey are notlaunched explictly through Sandboxie.

Since version2.47, registeredusers can run sandboxed programs in any number of sandboxes atthe same time,while non-registered users can run sandboxed programs in onlyone sandbox at atime.

 

 

I ownmultiple computers, can Iregister just one copy?

Yes. You mayuse the Sandboxie software on any number of computersthat you, as anindividual, own. This does not apply to commercial use. Pleasesee the EndUserLicenseAgreementformore information.

 

 

Can I useSandboxie in a commercialenvironment?

You may notuse Sandboxie commercially as-is, but acommercial organization mayevaluate Sandboxie. Please contact the author todiscuss specific licensingterms. The following terms are non-negotiable.

• Sandboxie must be licensed through either the Kagi online store or the PayPal online store.
• Technical support is provided through email or the Sandboxie forum.

 

 

As acomputer vendor, can Idistribute Sandboxie?

The EndUserLicenseAgreementstates:

 This AgreementspecificallyFORBIDS You from making copies of the

 Software for purposesofdistributing the Software into computers

 or  electronicmedia  that are not  owned by You.  A license for

 the Software may notbeshared.

An exceptionto this is herebymade for owners of computer stores who sell computers, andwish to bundleSandboxie in their new computer offering. This is permitted,provided that twoconditions are met:

• 1. The customer is made aware of, and accepts, the Sandboxie EndUserLicenseAgreement.
• 2. One of the following is met:
• 2.1. An un-registered copy of Sandboxie is installed on the new computer;
• 2.2. The particular copy to be installed is registered for the sole use of the customer who is the recipient of the new computer.

 

 

I paid forSandboxie, why haven't Ireceived my registration key yet?

Registrationkeys are not sent by email. Visit this pageto receive yourregistration key. Your key should be available for you one hourafter paymenthas been made.

If youbelieve your key shouldbe available for you, and it is not, please contact meby email. See the ContactAuthor link at the very bottom of this page.

 

 

How doesSandboxie protect me, technically?

Sandboxieextends the operating system (OS) with sandboxingcapabilities by blending intoit. Applications can never access hardware such asdisk storage directly, theyhave to ask the OS to do it for them. SinceSandboxie integrates into the OS, itcan do what it does without risk of beingcircumvented.

The followingclasses of system objects are supervised bySandboxie: Files, Disk Devices,Registry Keys, Process and Thread objects,Driver objects, and objects used forInter-process communication: Named Pipesand Mailbox Objects, Events, Mutexs(Mutants in NT speak), Semaphores, Sectionsand LPC Ports. For some moreinformation on this, please see SandboxHierarchy.

Sandboxie alsotakes measuresto prevent programs executing inside the sandbox from hijackingnon-sandboxedprograms and using them as a vehicle to operate outside thesandbox.

Sandboxiealso preventsprograms executing inside the sandbox from loading driversdirectly. It alsoprevents programs from asking a central system component,known as the ServiceControl Manager, to load drivers on their behalf. In thisway, drivers, and moreimportantly, rootkits, cannot be installed by asandboxed program.

It should benoted, however,that Sandboxie does not typically stop sandboxed programs fromreading yoursensitive data. However, by careful configuration of the ClosedFilePathandClosedKeyPathsettings,you can achieve this goal as well.

 

 

WillSandboxie protect me frommalicious key-loggers?

Yes, to someextent. First of all, your system (outside thesandbox) must not have beenalready compromised by an installed key-logger.Sandboxie can not protectagainst key-loggers that are already running outsidethe sandbox.

You may wantto consider always browsing sandboxed, so you don'taccidentally get anykey-loggers into your system.

It is very difficultto reliably detect a key-logger. For a lengthyexplanation, please see DetectingKeyLoggers.Sothe most important tool Sandboxie offers you for protection againstkey-loggers,is to delete the sandbox.

When you stopall sandboxed activity (in all sandboxes), thenproceed to delete the sandboxyou're about to use, you can be fairly certainthat all key-loggers are dead.

 

 

Somecompeting products require areboot to initiate sandboxing, why?

Changes tothe computing environment must eventually make their wayto disk storage, ifthey are to be permanent. This obviously applies to files.But it also appliesto things like settings and preferences saved in the systemregistry.

Somecompeting products require a reboot before each use, becausethey sandbox diskstorage as a whole. They provide the operating system andeverything in it witha single virtual disk, which is used to trap thosepermanent changes.

The operatingsystem is not designed to use one disk for sometasks, and another disk forother tasks. Therefore a reboot is required toswitch to and from the virtualdisk.

Sandboxiedoes not require a reboot because it sandboxes access tofiles, rather than tothe disk as a whole. It also sandboxes access to registrykeys. It alsosandboxes access to many other classes of system components, inorder to trickthe sandboxed program into believing that it isn't being tricked.

Thislow-level sandboxing in some competing products makes itpossible to install awider range of applications and system tools -- includingsystem drivers --into the sandbox. Sandboxie can install most applications intothe sandbox, butnot system software.

It becomesapparent that, like most other things, each tool has itsadvantages anddisadvantages, and one must choose the best tool for the task athand.

 

 

Why am Igetting some Messages fromSandbox Driver?

Not allmessages are errors, some simply inform you of an eventthat has occurred. Formore information, please see CommonMessages

 

 

Why are somany files copied into thesandbox?

When aprogram accesses a file, it declares what operations itplans to do on thefile: if it plans to read from the file, to write the file,to change itsattributes, and so on. Whenever a program declares any kind ofwrite access toa file, Sandboxie copies it into the sandbox. In some cases, programsdeclarethey intend to write to the file when in fact they do not, butneverthelessSandboxie must copy the file into the sandbox.

 

 

What are SandboxieRpcSsandSandboxieDcomLaunch?

Please see SandboxieRpcss

 

 

Why would Ineed to run WindowsInstaller Service sandboxed?

The WindowsInstaller service is a component of Microsoft Windows.Some software installation(or setup) packages require this service. Thecomponent copies files and makesregistry changes on behalf of the program beinginstalled.

Sandboxiedoes not permit sandboxed programs to use the systemWindows Installer. If thesandboxed program needs the service, it will fail andSandboxie will tell youto start a sandboxed instance of the Windows Installerservice.

In this case,use the SandboxieControl action Run Sandboxed -> Windows Installer Service,tostart the sandboxed instance. Then re-run the failed installation.

 

 

How can Iuse Sandboxie to protectmyself from viruses in email?

Please seefull article: EmailProtection.

 

 

How toconfigure Sandboxie for onlyan occasional use?

By defaultSandboxie is configured to load and start automatically.To have Sandboxie loadonly when you need it, make the following changes.

• In Sandboxie Control, use the menu Options -> Run Sandboxie Control on System Startup, to stop Sandboxie Control from starting.

• Open the Windows Services configuration window: Start menu -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services. Then locate the Sandboxie Service. Double click to bring up its properties window. Set its Startup type to Manual rather than automatic.

• The driver component of Sandboxie is started by the Sandboxie Service. Therefore, setting the service to start manually, indirectly also sets the driver to start manually.

Note forversions prior to 2.80: If you set the Sandboxie Serviceto start manually, youwill also need to start it manually before usingSandboxie. You canstart the service using the Windows Services configurationwindow.

In version2.80 and later, starting Sandboxie Control will alsostart the service. (Butnote that Administrative rights are required to start aservice.)

 

 

Why doesSandboxie fail theGreenBorder Test?

If you useSandboxie with the GreenBorderOnlineTest, the test will probably report thatSandboxie hasfailed, because test was able to copy files from the My Documentsfolder to afolder on the desktop named Stolen Files.

But thiscan't really be considered a failure on the part ofSandboxie.

First, thedefault Sandboxie settings do not block any files frombeing read, andthis includes the files in My Documents. But see ClosedFilePathformore information.

The secondreason why Sandboxie hasn't failed, is that the StolenFiles folder iscreated within the sandbox.

 

 

How do Imake Quick Recovery show mysaved favorites and downloads?

You may notsee all your folders in Quick Recovery, as only a feware configured by defaultin the initial installation. See also QuickRecovery

 

 

I saved adownloaded file, a documentor an email inside the sandbox, how do I get it out?

If you read What isSandboxiethen you know Sandboxie is like a transparency layerplaced over the paper. (Thepaper is your computer.) When you save files(downloads, documents, emails, oranything else) through a sandboxed program,these files go into the transparencylayer that is the sandbox.

You can use QuickRecovery toget these files out. Unlessconfigured otherwise, QuickRecoverylooks in your My Documents folder, andDesktop folder. If you save the files toeither of these folders, then you canuse QuickRecoverytoeasily get them out.

Anotherapproach is configuring one or more folders as an OpenFilePath. Saving filesinto such folders bypassesthe sandbox mechanism, and goes directly to the realfolders. Setting this ismore complicated, but may also prove useful, in somecases.

 

 

Why does thewrong program start whenI run my default Web brower sandboxed?

This happensfor some people. Try this program:

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/defaultbrowser.htm

For moreinformation, please see a forum discussion on this issue:

http://sandboxie.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=267

So,all you need is a good firewall and agood anti-virus program and good anti-spyware programme . Aggregating these with a good sandbox and you will have better security than other userswho employ five or more different levels  of active securitysoftware/freeware protective cover

Your PC will be faster; a counterpoint  to machines runningmultiple security protection products.

 

 

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SUNKUMARKOTHARI

EDITORFREEWARESPACE

 

This article updated on Dec. 30 2007

 

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