IOBIT Advanced System Care Pro and IOBIT Security 360

Over the past twelve months or so I have been using iobit's Advanced System  Care Pro to maintain the stability of my computers on my home network in  conjunction with CCleaner as part of my computer maintenance routine.

Knowing that Advanced System Care Pro is good at what it does I thought I  would look at other products from iobit when I came across iobit Security  360.

Security 360 is an advanced malware and spyware removal utility that deeply scans the  computer for signs of malware and spyware as the Security 360 product page describes :

"Security 360 PRO is an advanced malware & spyware removal utility  that detects, removes the deepest infections, and protects your PC from  various of potential spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, bots, worms,  and hijackers. With the unique "Dual-Core" engine and the heuristic  malware detection, Security 360 PRO detects the most complex and deepest  spyware and malware in a very fast and efficient way."

Key Benefits

    
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  Complete PC Security Care

  
  Anti-malware, anti-spyware, anti-adware,  anti-Trojan, anti-bots, and more. Security 360 can assist* your  Antivirus to defend any tricky and complex threats.
  * Currently, there is no solution that offers a 100%  effectiveness rate for detecting virus and malware.
      
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  Work with All Antivirus Products

  
  Everyone needs a qualified antivirus software, and  Security 360 will surely be the best mate for your current Antivirus.     
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  1-click Solution and Very Easy to Use

  
  Traditional advantages of IObit products. We love  simple and automatic styles.     
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  Very Fast and Light

  
  Thanks to the unique "Dual-Core" anti-malware  engine, complicated analysis can be made faster now.     
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  Automated Working in the Background

  
  Just install it and forget it. This powerful  utility works continuously, automatically and quietly in the background  on your PC. You can set it as your schedule or just let it work  automatically when your PC is idle.     
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  Finds the Deepest Infections

  
  Using DOG (Digital Original Gene), a novel  heuristic malware detection method, Security 360 can find the most  complex threats.     
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  Automatic and Frequent Updates

  
  By the new-generation malware analysis system and  our professional database team, Security 360 catches the emerging  dangerous malware in the Internet.     
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  FREE, Award-winning Customer Support for All Users

  
  Free 24/7 Technical Support and community support.     
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  100% Money-Back Guarantee

  
  When you purchase Security 360 PRO, your  satisfaction is guaranteed. Within 30 days, you can request your money  back if our software doesn’t do all that we say it will.

The above information comes directly from iobit’s webpage and has been added  to this blog only to serve as a guide for further information about this great  product please go to iobit’s web page www.iobit.com.

I couldn’t find any official video about Security 360 from iobit but I did  find a review someone did on YouTube so here’s hoping it is of value to you  all.

Until next time enjoy the Tech Corp IT Solutions web page and if you have any  feedback you would like to leave by all means please do.

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How to Check Email Headers from Spam Messages

I decided to do this blog on spam mail as it is so easy to to just open an email message that the email client hasn’t detected as spam.

Some people don’t know or understand what email message headers are so I will be using screenshots to show people how you read message headers.

Email message headers basically tell you who the email message is from and the route over the Internet the message has taken.

A few times I have email messages that say the message came from me, this is known as email spoofing and is often used by spammers.

Every time you open a spam message you are paying the spammer when you click on a link within the email message and you are also letting the spammer know that your email address is an active one.

Screenshot 1 below shows a highlighted spam message I received the other day with a red flag and a green square.

Screenshot 1: Highlighted Spam Message

The red flag represents a task needing to be completed in this case it was set for Saturday 28th March and the task was to do this blog on identifying spam.

The green square represents a strategy and that strategy being this blog.

The next screenshot will now show you the steps required to determine if the email message is actually spam.

By right clicking on the email message you are given several options for this blog we are going to select Message Options as shown in Screenshot 2.

Screenshot 2: Email Options Menu

The screenshot below now shows the message header showing who the email message was sent to and the return path of the email message.

In this example I don’t know who bobbylpueo@perpetuallyroseroad.cn is, so it is safe to say this person has sent  me unsolicited junk mail.

Screenshot 3: Message Header

Now that we have determined the email message is spam mail we have several options available for our disposal.

One you can simply delete the email message but you then have the off chance that this person will keep spamming you and these messages will go directly to your inbox.

The second and preferred option is to add this spammer to the junk mail list as I am about to show you in the next screenshot.

To do this you need to left click on the email message to highlight it and then right click to bring up the email options menu.

Go down to Junk Email highlight it and another menu will appear as shown in the screenshot below.

Screenshot 4: Junk Email Options

We know this is spam so what we are going to do is Add Sender to Blocked Senders List, what this will do is send the email message to the Junk Email folder.

In the future if you get email from this person it will automatically go to the Junk Mail folder as shown in the next screenshot.

Screenshot 5: Junk Email Folder

Though I have used Outlook 2007 for this blog this applies for most email programs and web based email services such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Google Mail etc.

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Making Windows XP Faster Through Basic System Maintenance

A  friend asked me some time ago why her computer was slow and crashed  frequently while in Second Life the short answer is she needs to defragment her  hard drive before using Second Life as the program places a lot of demand on a computer.

I find the best way to avoid the problem with Second Life crashing  intermittently is to use CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com to clean the computer from accumulated junk and to also allow CCleaner to search for issues and then backing up the relevant registry entries when asked.

After  the registry entries have been backed up complete the cleaning  process.

By backing up the registry entries this allows you to restore the registry prior to the cleaning process in the event of further problems caused by the deleting of the registry entries.

I have never had the need to restore the deleted registry entries myself but  that doesn't mean anyone else would be in the same boat.

After using CCleaner I generally do a defragmentation of the hard drive as  this places all the Second Life program files in one place on the hard drive  helping the computer user to maintain stability in Second Life.

To use the Windows Defragmenter you need to follow the steps below:

1. Go to the windows XP Start Button and click it
2. Click on All Programs then select Accessories
3. Click on System Tools then select Windows Defragmenter

After doing a defrag of the hard drive the computer should now be stable while using Second Life, this is required each time you connect to the Second  Life server in order to maintain stability and to avoid both a system reboot which occurs frequently for some SL users or Second Life crashing altogether which happens to me every now and then.

So hopefully this blog has helped you to overcome the problems of a highly  fragmented hard drive slowing down the performance of your computer right down to a crawl.

Please feel free to make suggestions about the content and any topics for discussion you would like answers to, if your questions are beyond my area of expertise I will research the problem for you and get back to you in a relevant blog.

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Web Of Trust Add-on for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox Web Browsers

If you are concerned as I am about the increase in online threats you will be happy to know that there is a way you can rate a web site based on criteria such as:

• Trustworthiness
• Vendor Reliability
• Privacy
• Child Safety

To do this you need to download the Web Of Trust (WOT) program from www.mywot.com and join as a basic member.

After you install the Web Of Trust add-on you will notice a green circle in your toolbar, this is the Web Of Trust add-on.

If you click on it a menu will open as depicted in Figure 1: Web Of Trust Add-on Menu for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

You can rate any web page you are visiting by clicking on the green circle and when the menu opens simply click anywhere on the coloured bar, red represents poor and green represents excellent.


Figure 1: Web Of Trust Add-on Menu for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox

As you can see from Figure 2: Profile Tab below the profile tab displays information about yourself, though you can opt to hide this information, this tab also displays any comments you have left about the web sites you have rated.

 
Figure 2: Profile Tab

The next tab allows you to edit different aspects of your profile, unfortunately I can't show you a screenshot of that tab.

The next tab over is the My Ratings as you can see from Figure 2: My Ratings Tab shows you how you have rated web sites you have visited over time.


 Figure 3: My Ratings Tab

The next tab is the Public View Tab, this is how other members see your profile as you can see from the Figure 3: Public View Tab screenshot.

 
Figure 4: Public View Tab

You can also see from Figures 2 & 3 of my profile I start off as a rookie level member and in Figure 4 I am a bronze level member as you rate web sites you go through different levels for example.

If you want to know more about the different levels go to www.mywot.com and go to the support menu for further assistance.

The Web Of Trust (WOT) add-on is available for both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox web browsers, you will also find videos on how the add-on works and how to use it efficiently.

I hope you all enjoy this blog as I thought I would use screenshots to show you all what the Web Of Trust is and how it can help reduce Internet threats such as phishing attempts.

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Complete Internet Encryption

Encryption over the Internet requires a two-way communications model in order for encryption to work effectively.

This means that not only does the client computer require a digitally signed encryption algorithm, this includes business servers right up to the Root Zone involving the DNS (Domain Name Server).

The DNS is responsible for translating web addresses such as www.bigpond.com into a binary language that the computer can understand and has been exploited by hackers through DNS Poisoning.

In it’s simplest form the DNS is what allows Internet traffic to freely move around the Internet, a handshake between the client computer and the server.

As I have said in the past, encryption needs to be implemented on both sides and really should be military grade encryption though some people would beg to differ and call this overkill.

This is what DNSSEC (Domain Name Server Security Extensions) does it encrypts data from the higher hierarchy of the Root Zone and is what the US Government is trying to implement in order to make the Internet a more reliable and safe environment for people to use for online commerce.

If you want to know more about this, Carolyn Duffy Marsan of Network World wrote an article on DNSSEC which can be found at PC World Australia http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/277677/techies_bypass_feds_dns_security?pp=1&fp=4&fpid=762453.

According to the article while the US Government works out DNSSEC, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has come up with an alternative approach to allow for DNSSEC deployment without the need for the DNS Root Server being digitally signed through an alternative approach called the ICANN Interim Trust Anchor Repository (ITAR) which allows for a fully functioning DNSSEC deployment without the need to wait for the root zone to be digitally signed.

Steve Gibson at www.grc.com has done several Security Now! podcast on DNS and encryption over the past twelve months which some of you blog readers might find interesting.

I often check the status of my computer’s security and have found that Shields Up always reports I am fully stealthed which is a good thing.

My Internet connection is through a D-Link DSL-G604T Wireless G ADSL Modem Router with UPnP disabled.

I also have Denial of Service (DoS) disabled which also disables SYN Flooding Checking and ICMP Redirection checking.

Under Port Scan Protection I have FIN/URG/PSH attack, Xmas Tree attack, Null Scan attack, SYN/RST attack and SYN/FIN attack all disabled.

Also under Service Filtering I have all these services disabled in the modem router’s firewall, Ping from External Network, Telnet from External Network, FTP from External Network, DNS from External Network, IKE from External Network, RIP from External Network and DHCP from External Network.

This is how I get a stealth on every port in my computer I also use the Windows Vista Firewall but even when I disable the Windows Vista Firewall I still get a stealth on every port.

Basically I am totally invisible on the Internet, the way to be I believe though it is possible to create total anonymity over the Internet by going through a proxy server such as TOR (The Onion Router).

What is questionable is what are your motives for total anonymity on the Internet are you being unethical or acting in a manner which could be seen as illegal.

Black hat hackers are sometimes caught because of their carelessness on covering their tracks I don’t condone this behaviour nor am I interested in becoming a black hat hacker though I am interested in becoming an ethical hacker and assist clients in locating security vulnerabilities in misconfigured firewalls.

My background is in marketing with emphasis on e-marketing and online security this should be part of any organisational strategic marketing plan.

I look forward to hearing your comments and thoughts on this blog so please feel free to leave your comments as always.

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