Antivirus software for Vista

Windows Vista promises to have enhanced security against internet related threats. One of the most talked about addition is UAC (User Access Control), which attempts to automatically sense potentially dangerous situations and temporarily suspends running programs and processes. UAC works by detecting and halting any malware that may be trying to install itself on the machine or run itself with administrative privileges. UAC will prompt/warn you when something attempts to install itself. Unfortunately this is not an end-all solution. Some viruses or malware have the ability to automatically click ‘OK’ or ‘Yes’ on these warnings allowing the virus to proceed with it’s self installation. Also, it may be difficult to determine whether or not the warning is coming from a legitimate source. And, finally, some people have been ‘conditioned’ to click ‘Yes’ or ‘OK’ to simply get rid of the annoying, invasive, warning window and get back to what they are doing. Some other built-in security features include Windows Defender and Windows Firewall. However, depend upon these features without third-party antivirus software at your own risk. Although these built-in features help to some degree, they are not foolproof, and in addition to the the reasons above, there are many reasons to use separate third-party antivirus software. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Email attachments - there are millions of virus infected emails currently in circulation and to the uneducated user, these emails appear completely legitimate and persuasive in getting you to open the attachment. A well written virus by a competent programmer will exploit the weaknesses an any operating system. If you are one of the unfortunate victims, prepare for some serious headaches.

2. P2P downloads - Peer to peer, and other file sharing programs, are some of the most common ways for computer viruses to spread. Viruses hidden in seemingly legitimate installation packages will make there way into your computer faster than you can say - “Woops”.

3. Browser related exploits - Vista’s new version of Internet Exploerer (IE 7) claims to have enhanced security features such as pre-enabled Active-X protection, and a Protected Mode. However, many users will undoubtedly disable these features in order to be able to run flash programs, or other embedded applications which require Active-X. And as for executing unknown ActiveX components - it’s been permitted before, and it will continue to be permitted.

Although Windows Vista is the most secure Windows operating system to date, there are still many ways for viruses to make their way through Vista’s defenses. We strongly recommend, especially if you use the internet frequently, that you install a reliable antivirus program. Antivirus software is designed specifically to solve all of the problems I’ve discussed and more. A good antivirus software will also regularly self update, protecting against the latest virus and malware threats. Let Vista focus on being an operating system and let your antivirus software focus on blocking and removing viruses. Surely you’ve heard the maxim ‘You’re better safe than sorry’. Well, it certainly applies here as well.

If you are interested in learning more about antivirus software such as features and prices, be sure to check out our antivirus software comparison chart and antivirus software reviews.

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Parental Control - disabling computer programs

Let’s face it, children love to play around on computers. They are curious, energetic little creatures. However, there are some things that they just shouldn’t be getting into such as: email, chat programs, personal finances, business related programs, etc… Fortunately there is software our there which allow you to disable various programs on your family computer. You can even take it a step further and disable various programs during various times, for various users. There are a few good ones out there which give you this control, of which you can find at our parental control software site. Whether it’s protecting important email from being deleted, or preventing your kids from chatting with strangers, be comforted knowing that there is a way to control this.

I have actually heard a horror story from a friend who allowed her 11 year old  access to her home office computer, in which she stored important business data.  He  ended up  deleting some Quickbooks data as well as thoroughly messing up various other things. Of course, she probably shouldnt have given him access to her home office PC, but if she used some sort of parental control software with program management capabilities, it would have never happened. Lesson learned.

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Permanently Deleting Computer Files

You may think that when you delete a file from your computer, that it is actually gone - WRONG! You may think that when you empty the Recycle Bin that those files are gone - WRONG!

Any time you delete a file and empty the Recycle Bin, your simply removing the reference to the file from your hard drive’s file table. The actual data in the file is still on your hard drive. Though your operating system doesnt know about it, it is still there. These files can still be recovered with file recovery software. The only way to truly erase the file from your hard drive is by writing over the sectors in which the file exists. There is no sure way of doing this without some sort of file shredding software. This software can detect which sectors on the hard drive contain data from the file that you want to delete, then write over those sectors, thereby permanently erasing the data.

There are a few software products out there that will do this, but you will find one of the better ones here. It is our top choice in the privacy software category.

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PHP Frameworks Hosting

I’ve recently been looking into PHP frameworks. For you PHP programmers with complex websites, I highly recommend that you consider using one of these. A framework greatly speeds up web development and simplifies management. It is essentially an interface to PHP which wraps many common tasks such as database reads\writes, form handling, sessions handling, etc.. into higher level, simpler programming. It also allows you to separate your code from the user interface, allowing you to change appearances and layouts of your website without modifying the logic in your web application. A famework drastically simplifies and organizes development. There is a slight learning curve when using a framework, but it’s worth it. Also, because there is another layer of processing, there is a slight performance hit, but again, it is usually worth it.

There are many PHP frameworks out there with the most popular being Zend and CakePHP. Most are free. There are many sites out there outlining and charting the features and benefits of each, but it appears that overall, CakePHP is the best.

Most frameworks use a concept called MVC (Model, View, Controller) which essentially logically organizes all parts of the web application. Models define the objects - users, products, widgets, etc… Views define all visual (UI) aspects - tables, header, footer, charts, graphics, etc… And finally, Controllers define the application logic - loading data into the objects, and what the objects do.

Bottom line, if your website uses a database and processes form data, you will probably greatly benefit from using a PHP framework. Check em out!

And of course, if you need a web host, be sure to check out our Web Hosting Service Review site.

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Spy Sweeper 5.5 Released

Webroot has recently released the latest version of Spy Sweeper - Spy Sweeper 5.5. Here is what has been added:

• Inbound and Outbound Email Attachment Scanning
• Enhanced Real-time Threat Protection Capabilities
• Easier to use

Spy Sweeper continues to be our Top Choice for the anti spyware category. Click here to read our full review or find more information about Spy Sweeper software from Webroot.

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Why do people create computer viruses?

I am wondering what the purpose is for creating a computer virus. What would motivate someone to put the time and effort to write a program to cause headache or hardship for someone? There must be some very compelling reasons since there are so many thousands of viruses out there. Are some/many/all of these viruses created by anti virus software companies? I just can’t think of a reason why someone would do this Can someone offer some thoughts on this?

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How to say basic colors in Spanish

If you want to know how to say various colors in Spanish, here are some to get you started:

black: negro
white: blanco
red: rojo
blue: azul
yellow: amarillo
green: verde
orange: anaranjado

If you would like to learn more Spanish, check out our Spanish course review site.

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Web Watcher and alert words

If you’ve read our review Web Watcher, you know that Web Watcher allows for real time remote monitoring - what you may not know is that Web Watcher also has the ability to track and organize monitored content based on specific words that you choose called ‘alert words’. Think of this as a filter to quickly find specific monitored screenshots or text. Why is this helpful? Well, here are a few reasons:

1. Let’s say you’ve overheard your child talking about a new adult oriented concept that he’s learned. You can enter that word or phrase into Web Watcher’s online control panel and anytime that word is typed by your child or appears on the screen in front of your child, you will know.

2. You can instantly know if your child is giving away personal information such as a name, address, etc.

3. You can instantly know if your spouse is chatting with a specific person or about a specific topic.

4. You can instantly know if your employees are colluding with your competition behind your back or doing something that you’ve specifically told them not to do.

Of course there are many other uses for this feature. What would you want to track?

For more info about Web Watcher, click here.

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Hostmonster hosts 350,000 domains

Hostmonster now hosts over 350,000 domains. They remain to be our top choice for the web hosting category.

You can find more info here

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