SpyBot-S&D; searches your hard drive for so-called spy- or adbots; that is, little modules that are responsible for the ads many programs display. Many of these modules also transmit information, including your surfing behavior on the Internet.
If SpyBot-S&D; finds such modules, it can remove them.
http://spybot.eon.net.au/
ZoneAlarm
Personal Firewall.
A firewall isolates your computer from the Internet using a "wall of code" that inspects each individual "packet" of data as it arrives at either side of the firewall -- inbound to or outbound from your computer -- to determine whether it should be allowed to pass or be blocked.
Release History
http://zonelabs.com/
ShieldsUp!
Can anyone crawl into your computer while you're connected to the Internet? You may be VERY surprised to find out!
Without your knowledge or explicit permission, the Windows networking technology which connects your computer to the Internet may be offering some or all of your computer's data to the entire world at this very moment!
Shields UP! quickly checks the SECURITY of YOUR computer's connection to the Internet.
http://grc.com/
Remote Security Tester
Check if your common TCP ports are open.
http://www.mycgiserver.com/servlet/kalish.Security
Symantec AntiVirus Research Center
Download the updated definition files for Norton AntiVirus.
Scroll down half way and click on "Definition Updates"
Click on " Download Virus Definition Updates"
Choose your operating system
Click on the "Download Updates" button
http://www.sarc.com/
Active Ports
Active Ports - easy to use tool for Windows NT/2000/XP that enables you to monitor all open TCP/IP and UDP ports on the local computer. Active Ports maps ports to the owning application so you can watch which process has opened which port. It also displays a local and remote IP address for each connection and allows you to close any port. Active Ports can help you to detect trojans and other malicious programs.
http://www.ntutility.com/freeware.html
What Is A Zip File, Anyhow?
Zip files are "archives" used for distributing and storing files. Zip files contain one or more files. Usually the files "archived" in a Zip are compressed to save space. Zip files make it easy to group files and make transporting and copying these files faster.
What About ARJ, LZH, Gzip, TAR, And CAB Files?
These files provide most of the benefits of Zip files, but use different file formats. WinZip can handle Zip, TAR, gzip, and CAB files by itself. External programs are required for the less frequently used ARJ, ARC, and LZH formats.
Why Do People Use Zip Files?
Zip files save time and space, and make downloading software and transferring e-mail attachments faster.
http://winzip.com/
RAMpage
RAMpage is a small Windows utility that displays the amount of available memory in an icon in the System Tray. It can also free memory; by double clicking the tray icon, or by setting a threshold that activates the program automatically, or by having it run automatically when an application exits. RAMpage is free, and open source.
IfranView
IrfanView is a very fast FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) 32-Bit graphic viewer for Windoze 9x, Windows NT and Windows 2000.
Kyodai Mahjongg
Mahjongg Solitaire game for Windows.
http://kyodai.com/
Password Generator. You can select just numbers, just letters, or both. You can also specify how many characters, up to 255. Written in Visual Basic 6.
If you are running Windows on your PC, you need to be concerned about the safety of your computer for several reasons:
Bugs - Every software contains bugs - so does Windows. Some bugs might be in parts of the operating system that you never use, others might be in vital parts of the operating system that could crash your machine at any moment. To prevent downtime and/or data loss caused by bugs you need to install service packs, patches and hotfixes to minimize the risk.
Intruders - As every day new vulnerabilities are being discovered, Windows is never completely safe from intruders. A large number of computer invasions happen when crackers find a vulnerability in the operating system and exploit it to break into the system and take control. While crackers are always a step ahead of you, you should install any fixes for those vulnerabilities as soon as they are released.
Virus Infections - viruses are rampant these days. Currently there are approximately 60,000 known viruses in circulation. Some are harmless, some are annoying, some are malicious and destructive. To prevent your system from being infected you need to have adequate protection in form of capable antivirus software.
Violation of your privacy - Marketeers are getting more desperate and sneakier every day, trying to get your personal data and study your habits in order to be able to profit by selling your data and helping advertisers to annoy you more efficiently. While the relatively honest ones usually give you the chance to opt out and say 'no', the scumbags of the advertising industry try to violate your privacy without your knowledge by installing so-called spyware, software to collect data about you and secretly send it home. But you can ensure that no spyware exists on your system by scanning it on a regular basis.
It is your responsibility to keep Windows safe and updated at all times to protect yourself, your privacy,
your data, your computer from being compromised one way or another.
http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/securingwindows1.html
"This web site is devoted to what stinks about computer products (hardware, software, web site); specifically to the problems I've experienced in using them. It exists because the errors, bugs, poor documentation, and occasional stupidity in the field drives me nuts"
http://www.computergripes.com/
Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter by James Eshelman
Shutdown problems in Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition can be caused by many factors including, but not limited to: a damaged exit sound file; incorrectly configured or damaged hardware; conflicting programs, or an incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device driver. This article can be used to troubleshoot the possible causes.
http://www.aumha.org/a/shutdown.htm
Protonic.com
Free technical support.
"Protonic.com is an online community which provides technical support to computer users for free. We prefer to call our users "clients," because we have the philosophy that, despite our service being free, you should still receive the highest quality technical support.
Each protonic.com support tech is a volunteer, and we have been featured in many media publications including USA Weekend, Yahoo! Internet Life and .net magazine.
If you have a computer problem - anything from hardware to HTML problems - then submit your question to us for help! We support nearly everything: PCs, Macs, Unix and PDAs."
http://www.protonic.com/
This is a free e-mail notification service that Microsoft uses to send information to subscribers about the security of Microsoft products. Anyone can subscribe to the service, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
To subscribe to the service, follow these steps:
Compose an e-mail to [email protected].
The subject line and the message body are not used to process the subscription request, and can be anything you like.
Send the e-mail.
You'll receive a response, asking you to verify that you really want to subscribe. Compose a reply, and put "OK" in the message body. (Without the quotes). Send the reply
You'll receive two e-mails, one telling you that you've been added to the subscriber list, and the other with more information on the notification the service and its purpose. You'll receive security notifications whenever we send them.
"Make the most of your hardware, software, and time online with the LangaList--- a free and lively, award winning, twice-a-week e-newsletter from noted computer author and editor Fred Langa. Each issue is packed with tips, tricks, and other useful and interesting information!"
http://www.langa.com/newsletter.htm
FreeTechMail.org
IT Newsletter Subscription Service FreeTechMail has searched the web for the best IT Newsletters, and brought them here for you. Read about them, see samples and sign up to as many or as few as you would like. All newsletters are FREE.
http://FreeTechMail.org/