Archive for Security
June 4, 2009 at 12:36 am · Filed under Free, Security, Internet Browser
Adblock Plus
Right-click on a banner and choose “Adblock” from the context menu - the banner won’t be downloaded again. Maybe even replace parts of the banner address with star symbols to block similar banners as well. Or you select a filter subscription when Adblock Plus starts up the first time, then even this simple task will usually be unnecessary: the filter subscription will block most advertisements fully automatically.
NoScript
Winner of the “2006 PC World World Class Award”, this tool provides extra protection to your Firefox.
It allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only from trusted domains of your choice, e.g. your home-banking web site, guarding your “trust boundaries” against cross-site scripting attacks (XSS) and Clickjacking attempts, thanks to its unique ClearClick technology. Such a preemptive approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!) with no loss of functionality… Experts do agree: Firefox is really safer with NoScript ;-)
WOT (Web of Trust)
WOT, Web of Trust, warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware or send spam. Protect your computer against online threats by using WOT as your front-line layer of protection when browsing or searching in unfamiliar territory. WOT’s color-coded icons show you ratings for 21 million websites - green to go, yellow for caution and red to stop – helping you avoid the dangerous sites. Surf safer and add WOT to your Firefox now.
Better Privacy
Better Privacy serves to protect against not deletable longterm cookies, a new generation of ‘Super-Cookie’, which silently conquered the internet. This new cookie generation offers unlimited user tracking to industry and market research. Concerning privacy Flash- and DOM Storage objects are most critical. This addon was made to make users aware of those hidden, never expiring objects and to offer an easy way to get rid of them - since browsers are unable to do that for you.
February 8, 2008 at 11:38 am · Filed under Security, Hardware
When you delete a file, format your hard drive or erase any data on any type of media in the traditional manner, you might be surprised to know that the file still exists. In this way, you can think of files on a hard drive as a phone book. You can see the files in a listing (such as what is shown in My Computer or Windows Explorer). Each listing in a phone book lists the address and phone number for that person so that you can reach them, and by removing the listing from the phone book, it doesn’t mean that your friend doesn’t live there anymore.
Deletion basically removes the “directory listing” for that file, but the file still exists. So, now it’s difficult to “get in touch with”, because the listing is not there and you can’t get access to it anymore without recovering it. The file still physically exists and will until other data is written where the original file resided.
It is possible for the file or parts of the file to be recovered even after new data is written onto the same area of the hard drive where the original data resided. Though the process at this point is so difficult you have to pay for data recovery. The service is very expensive, because it requires specialized equipment and software. Only experts may be able to recover data at this point.
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October 22, 2007 at 10:54 am · Filed under Security, Microsoft Windows
It is possible to use this procedure for most versions of Windows, which includes Windows NT 3.51, NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista 32-bit (Home and Ultimate) and Windows Vista 64-bit. If you are using pre-NT versions of Windows such as Windows 98, you can try deleting your .PWL (Password List) file.
Their may be exceptions and you shouldn’t rely on having this option to fall back on. From personal experience, I have worked on computers where a user lost a password in Windows Vista and this can be a bit hard resolve. Unless you plan on losing data and starting over with a clean Windows installation, remember your password!
You will need to download the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor boot disk from http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/. Near the bottom of the site is a link to a Bootable CD Image. Download the file.
You will then need to burn the image to a CD using your CD burning software. Open the file that you downloaded and extract the contents to a folder on your computer. Do not simply burn the extracted file to a CD as this will not work. In your CD burning software you will need to find the option to burn an image to a CD.
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April 18, 2007 at 11:50 am · Filed under Security
The HOSTS file maps IP addresses to host names. That is, it associates an IP address to an Internet address such as www.yahoo.com. Windows checks the HOSTS file before it queries any DNS server and allows it to overrride any addresses in DNS. This blocks access to sites listed in the HOSTS file by redirecting to a different address. In other words, you can cause any connections to www.yahoo.com to actually connect to an entirely different address. This effectively blocks the connection to www.yahoo.com. Though you would not want to block Yahoo. This is just an example.
For example, the following line in a HOSTS file:
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
This would block any connections to ad.doubleclick.net and redirects the connection to 127.0.0.1 (an IP address which is always your computer). Unless you run a webserver on your PC, this would basically cause the connection to ad.doubleclick.net to fail since there is nothing to connect to at 127.0.0.1 (your computer).
This was not the original intention of the hosts file, but this can allow you to block sites that provide ads, banners, cookies, violate your privacy, sites that provide spyware and/or adware applications or basically any site you want to block such as a pornographic website that you don’t want your kids to access.
How does this apply to the typical user? You can download maintained lists online of Internet addresses that are updated periodically and import those lists into your HOSTS file, acting as a sort of immunization against spyware, adware, viruses, privacy violation, etc.
Why use this method? It is an easy way to block websites which do or could potentially violate your privacy, infect your computer with malicious software, and track your online habits. You can also use software such as Adaware to remove bad applications once they are installed, but it does not prevent you from becoming “infected” with these issues.
You could compare using a hosts file to a flu vaccination. The doctor could give you medications to help you get over the flu, but without a vaccination you can still get it. With a vaccination or immunization you are protected from ever being bothered by the flu (or at least a specific strein of the flu).
There are many applications out there that make claims to do something you need. You’ve seen the popups and advertisements on websites that warn that you are infected or at risk and ask you to download software to fix the problems. In most cases, those applications actually act as a trojan horse like the one in Homer’s Illiad, pretending to be something nice, but in reality, not.
You don’t have the time to learn which applications are bad, which websites are not safe and private information a website gathers in the background without your approval. By using a list obtained online, you don’t have to, because someone else does it for you.
Instructions and Information @ MVPS
Free Hosts Files
MVPS List [Download Link] [Website]
Andrew Short’s List [Download List] [Website]
BadHosts [Download List] [Website]
hpHosts [Download List] [Website]
Recommended Links:
Wikipedia HOSTS File Article
Eliminate Web Advertisements
Blocking Ads on the Internet
HOSTS File Management Apps. (free):
HostsMan
HostsXpert
Note: It is possible that a hosts file obtained online may block addresses for parts of sites such as MySpace. You can remove the entry for that website in your hosts file. You can also always revert back to the original hosts file.
As always, the software and services discussed in this article are free.
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