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The last month I have had several requests about what to do to keep a computer running without problems. As long as we are only talking software the steps below might be helpful. Most of the questions have been centered around how to avoid malware (viruses and spyware) taking over their computers, and what is better than to get a list of what a computer professional is doing for his own computer?

Of course I am sticking my head out with this list as most computer professionals have their own way of doing things. But my list is working for me and that counts!! :-) Of course you have to use the programs and suggestions at your own risk.

Here is my list of the free programs that I recommend in order to keep a computer clean of malware (virus, spyware etc):

• AVG. This is a full anti-virus and -spyware solution that exist as a free version and a paid version. You can download the free one from http://free.avg.com. AVG will run all the time in the background and remove spyware and viruses immediately. Don't install the Yahoo toolbar if you don't want it.
• Spybot. Download from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html. I normally run this once a month together with Malwarebytes. You don't need to install the TeaTimer unless you know your computer is already infected.
• Malwarebytes. This is a free program and the free version does NOT stay resident in the memory which make it perfect for a monthly scan combined with AVG. Download from http://malwarebytes.org/

Other free programs that are very useful during normal maintenance:

• Crap Cleaner. Removes temporary files and  is one of the best tools that I know of for this purpose. It will also empty the recycle bin and other items, so you might want to take a look at what it will remove before running it. Download from http://www.ccleaner.com/. Unhook all the unnecessary stuff during installation. You only need: Add start menu items and Automatically check for updates.
• Defraggler or MyDefrag. These small defragmentation tools are a notch better than Microsofts built-in tool as you can specify how well they should defragment.
  Download Defraggler from: http://www.piriform.com/defraggler
  Download MyDefrag from: http://mydefrag.com/Manual-DownloadAndInstall.html

Tools that I might use if a computer IS infected:

• HiJackThis. This is a professional tool and NOT meant for beginners unless you know someone that can help you.
• SuperAntispyware. Considered one of the best, but this one I normally uninstall after using it so that it doesn't interfere with my other tools.
• AVAST. The free version can, in some instances, work just as well as AVG, but there are differences between the free and the paid version in how much it will find and therefore I recommend AVG.
• Microsoft Security Essentials. Free tool from Microsoft. Does not get top rating, but can be a good help.

There are other tools, but I will not suggest using them unless you are a professional computer consultant.

My monthly check on my own computers are the following:

1. Make a backup of all data files.This happens a little bit more often than monthly.
2. Close down all applications that you have running.
3. Run chkdsk. Click on run and type cmd and press enter. On Vista and Windows 7 you have to right click on command prompt and run as administrator. In the black window that opens type the following: chkdsk c: /f and press enter. C: is the hard drive that you want to check. /f tells the command to fix errors. If you have several hard drives/partitions, replace c with the letter that is used for that drive. You can not deframent a cd/dvd drive. For the system drive it will come up and say that the drive is in use and ask if you want to check on the next restart. Answer yes and restart your computer.
4. Run crap cleaner. It will also empty the recycle bin and other items, so you might want to take a look at what it will remove before running it. You can also clean up the registry, but before doing this part I strongly suggest that you have a backup.
5. Update AVG, Spybot and Malwarebytes.
6. Scan the whole computer with the three tools mentioned above.
7. Run chkdsk again, shutdown the computer and when it comes back up, run a defragmentation.

One important task every 6 months is to open up the computer and get the dust out. Do NOT use water or other liquids to clean a computer on the inside! What I do is to use a low-power air compressor to blow out dust that is inside. You can also use one of the small cans of air that you buy in the store. The dust normally builds up in the power supply, the air intake filters and around the cpu. These parts are all crucial in order to make the computer run smoothly, but I normally clean out the whole computer so that I am not overlooking dust building up around other parts.

Malware (viruses, spyware, trojan horses etc.)

Malware refers to all programs (virus, spyware, adware, trojan horses, boot viruses etc) that slows down your computer, spys on you or steals your data. Wikipedia.org has a great article about malware and what they are.

There have been many questions about how to avoid malware on a computer. In some cases it is impossible to avoid all of them, but in 99% of the cases there are some very simple steps that can be taken.

1. Do NOT click on anything online that says you are infected, and click here to remove it. Most likely you will then install spyware that will then install even more malware. And then they will start asking you to pay them money in order to get rid of them. There is NO way any web site can know if you have an infected computer or not. These are typical names of scam programs: WinFixer, Windows Antivirus XP 2009, XP Antivirus 2008, XP Antivirus 2009 and FixyourPC. Another example is 180 Search Assistant which is a spyware.
2. Do not go to any web sites that are suspicous. Many anti-malware packages today include a web link check that will try to see if any of the links on the page you are on lead to phishing or malware infested pages. That feature has saved me more than once. And the page that was the problem was supposed to be a legitimate site for downloading anti-spyware software!
3. Create a user WITHOUT administrative rights (a limited user). And use that login for your normal daily work. 88% of the security threats that were big last year, would not affect a Windows XP computer if the user had been limited. On Windows 7, only 1% of them would have infected the computer.
4. Download software from known sites. The following is a good example of what you DON'T WANT on your computer.WARNING: you may find it is even advertised on several sites:
   "Security Essentials 2010" is NOT a Microsoft product. Their product is named Microsoft Security Essentials. It looks very similar, but it will install two programs, Fakeinit and Alureon, which will create a whole lot of problems on your computer. They will stop processes in the computer, stop you from going to certain web sites, change security settings and change the background of your computer. Your background will say "Your system is infected!" with red letters on a black background. You will also be asked to pay for an upgraded version of Security Essentials 2010 which is your first indication that this is malware. Microsofts program is FREE!

   Another tip is to wait for a couple of days after you have downloaded software. I have downloaded some free software and left them on my computer for a while (so that my antivirus solution gets updated in the mean time), and then scanned them. Yes, I did all of that just to find out that they were infected with spyware.
    

5. Emails are used for phishing attempts and spyware. What I do is to let the mouse hover over the link so that I can see where the link goes. I have received emails with links to Microsoft, but when I hover over it, it says that the link points to microsoft.xxxx.ru etc. The same with bank emails. You learn what  global banks exist through phishing attempts.
6. Never open any attachments that come from big companies. They would never send you attachments without telling you beforehand.
7. Do not download unauthorized software, music or pictures from the internet. JPG or JPEG pictures can be infected with malware code that will be run while you are looking at them. Files ending in .exe are programs and when you double click on them you start the program (not the video or music file you thought you downloaded). If they are malicious they will quickly take over your computer.
8. Make sure that you have at least one firewall (most dsl modems have one built-in) in your home. A physical router/firewall helps, but I also prefer to have a software firewall on my computer. Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 have firewalls built in to the operating system. All windows versions before that will need one. It depends on your network setup. Normally your network connection (dial-up, dsl, cable etc) is attacked 1000-1600 times in a week.

Other general security recommendations:

1. Always make sure you have a backup of your data.
2. Don't use passwords based on pets, persons or other important parts of your life.
3. Never tell your password to anybody. Whatever they tell you they represent.
4. Make passwords that combine letters (a-z), both upper and lower case, numbers and other characters (!@#$%^&*?-+). This way it will be more difficult to break in to your accounts. Find a safe place to store them for reference. (ie safety deposit box etc.  Treat them like your social security card!)
5. Make sure your computers' software is updated.

Graphene transistors

As a technician it is always interesting for me to see how things are changing and developing in this industry. The processors that we use today can not be made to work so very much faster because of heat issues.

Last week IBM anounced that they have tested a new graphene transistor at 100GHz. That is around 25 times faster than any processor that is on the market today. Unfortunately you will not be able to buy a CPU with this speed for at least a couple of years. Most computers today have more computing power than the user will ever need, but the computer profession will still be upgrading and selling new computers with this development.

Microsoft (MS) updates

This month MS released 13 updates that fixes 26 vulnerabilities in Windows. I strongly recommend that you update your operating system by using Windows/Microsoft update. I prefer to use Microsoft update since it include updates for Office and other MS technologies.

Cracking TPM

TPM-chips are the cryptographic chips that are used for encrypting data in satelite-tv receivers, smart-phones and Microsofts Xbox 360 etc. Christopher Tarnovsky, owner of Flylogic Engineering, held a speech during the Black Hat conference on how to crack the security of TPM (Trusted Platform Module) - chips made by Infineon Technologies. It is unsure if his procedure can be used on other chips as well. To decrypt content on a computer, it is necessary to get physical access to the computer, so it will not affect you unless someone steal your computer.

Security updates & upgrades

This week a lot of companies have released security updates for their products. These companies have released updates: Apple for Mac OS X, Microsoft for Internet Explorer, Adobe for Shockwave and Realplayer. Please update your software if you have any of these programs on your computer. The last days 4-5 other security issues have been found and they can when combined, let a hacker take full control of the computer.

Firefox launched version 3.6 of its browser last week, but I suggest that you wait until they come out with a fix. The latest version doesn't display all web pages correctly. However, if you want your web browsing to be a little bit faster and take advantage of more of the coming HTML 5 standard for showing web pages, please install it.

Moving

Alden Tech & Design will be MOVING FEBRUARY 15, 2010 to a new downtown location "just around the corner".

New Location:
Alden Tech & Design
216 W. Perkins St. #105
[private entrance on Oak]

Our new office [blue building on the corner of Perkins and Oak] has it's own separate entrance on Oak Street which should make it very convenient for our customers. Hopefully, you will find that the parking in this location is just a slight bit easier than on School Street. (turn right on Oak from Perkins and look for a place to park....our entrance is on the Northwest end of the building where the awning is. Just look for our sign!).

Welcome to our first newsletter, new web pages, new blog and an online store in our near future.

Join us February 5th on School Street for our Ukiah First Friday's Artwalk featuring local artists and refreshments.

Stop by our new location after the 15th. Walk ins welcome!

CPUs of the future

The current CPUs are at the limit of what they can perform with the current materials they are built of. On Monday Chalmers tekniska högskola in Gøteborg, that they succeeded in making a new CPU based on graphene.

Graphene is a carbon based material that can be very thin, but still work faster than silisium which our current processors are using. The electrons in graphene move 100 times faster than in silisium. 

The estimate for the new material is that new processors can have a speed of 300GHz and up to several THz.

Digi.no article about graphene (Norwegian)

Chalmers.se article about the breakthrough (Swedish)

There is also an article in Nature Nanotechnology, but you have to pay in order to read it.

Internet Explorer 6 Vulnerability

The last week revealed some interesting news about the latest hacking attempts. Google and around 30 other companies were hacked or hacking was attempted.

Investigation revealed that Internet Explorer 6 had been hacked using an unknown security vulnerability that Microcosft has confirmed and is working on fixing. Some security companies say that this error also exists in all other versions of IE. Until Microsoft has fixed the vulnerability,

I suggest that you use either Firefox or Opera as your main browser.

Cell phone Vulnerability

In the last three months there have been debates regarding GSM cell phones and how vulnerable they are. Most security people assumed that FBI and other agencies could tap cell phones without anyone knowing. Last month a buzz started that a German computer engineer, Karsten Nohl, had cracked the code that is used to encrypt the transfer between the cell phone and the base station. As far as I know they now estimate that a person with fairly inexpensive equipment ( app.$4000) can decipher everything that is happening on your cell phone. With more expensive equipment they can do it in real time.

This means that you can be doing a bank transaction on your cell phone. When you hang up, they can potentially log in and transfer money at will.

NY Times article

BBC article