Trial Software

PC’s are like refrigerators, from time to time we need to go through the old stuff that we most likely forgot about, has expired and is taking up valuable space and toss it. Though software won’t get old, start growing bacteria and stinking, it will hog disk space and start to bog down your PC’s performance.

Often I download trial software and realize it’s not exactly what I’m looking for or I use it a couple times then it expires and I pretty much forget about it. Just the other day I downloaded a few different programs that all did basically the same thing until I found the one that worked best for me. I actually downloaded about 4 or 5 screen capture programs until I found the one that I liked the best that allowed me to capture a scrolling document. Then I had to go through the process of removing the software that I didn’t end up using. What a pain! Going through the software removal process I found about 3 additional software trials that had expired from a while back which I removed too.

To maximize your PC’s disk space it’s always a good idea to be on top of the software that’s installed and remove the programs that you are not going to use anymore, including expired trials or software demos.

Speed Up Your PC and Stay Secure With VIPRE

The most common reason PC users surf the web without antivirus or antispyware protection is the effects these programs have on PC performance. If you have ever experienced antivirus or antispyware software bogging down your PC, bringing it to its knees, then you know what I’m talking about. Slow PCs are so frustrating; I’m on a personal mission to speed up PCs across the globe!

I personally work for Sunbelt Software which is part of the reason I am biased when it comes to Sunbelt products. On the other hand, I work with a very talented group of engineers that have developed some of the most comprehensive PC security programs available today. VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware will not slow down your PC! I personally use VIPRE at home and I encourage everyone I can, to try the free 15-day trial, I’m very confident that after trying the trial you will see how well the program works and the little impact this antivirus software has on your computer’s resources, actually speeding up your PC and staying safe at the same time.

I run across those people who tell me, “I never buy software” or “I would never pay for antivirus” and I totally agree with the attitude of “Why would I pay for something I can get for free?” but the proof is overwhelming, honestly, you can’t get the protection a product like VIPRE offers for free, plain and simple. When put to a test, VIPRE out performs AVG on all levels while it uses almost half your system resources as compared with AVG free and paid versions. See the staggering results from VIPRE compared with AVG here:
http://www.vipreantivirus.com/avg-compare/

VIPRE is also priced considerably less than Norton 2009, MacAfee Internet Security Suite, Nod32, Webroot Antivirus, Kaspersky Anti-virus, AVG Internet Security and most other antivirus programs. At $29.95, VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware out performs and costs less than most other well known antivirus software.

This week the Spotlight Product to Speed up your PC is on VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware.

Try VIPRE free for 15-days! This trial version is unlike most other software trials, you won’t be asked for credit card information and the program is fully functional! If any viruses, malware or spyware are found while scanning your PC, VIPRE will remove it or quarantine it – no questions asked. During your 15-day trial of VIPRE your PC will be completely protected from malware, spyware, viruses, rootkits, Trojans and other infections. I’m all about promoting quality products that enhance the PC users experience and VIPRE will not slow down your PC!

I’m confident you will love the protection VIPRE offers and the will hardly notice it running!

Download a free 15-day trial of VIPRE here: http://www.vipreantivirus.com/
Here’s to speedy and safe computing!

Most Successful Rogue Antispyware Scams of 2008

If you’re an experienced PC user it may seem pretty simple to determine what antispyware software is legit, and what antispyware software is not actually protecting your PC but maliciously infecting it. If you’re a novice PC user rogue antispyware may not be so obvious.

Rogue antispyware can infect your PC and make your life a living hell, dropping worms, malware and spyware throughout the computer system, dramatically reducing computer performance, redirecting web browsers, continually displaying pop-ups and wreaking havoc for infected PC users.

Rogue antispyware programs are designed to look like antispyware software, designed to function like antispyware software, but also designed to trick you into thinking it’s protecting your computers from spyware. Rogue antispyware usually serves up false alarms, informing you constantly, with annoying pop-ups, that it has detected spyware or viruses and won’t let you bypass these annoyances until you finally give in and submit your credit card information to purchase the full version of the software. Unfortunately once the full version of the software is purchased the pop-ups continue and more spyware will infect the computer. Rogue antispyware is usually installed on a computer without the user’s knowledge, automatically downloaded from a bad website, deployed from a malicious email attachment or bundled with some not-so-ethical software.

Before installing any antispyware software you should always do your research to ensure that you are in fact downloading and installing legit antispyware software that will actually protect your PC from malicious attacks. When it comes to antispyware, if it quacks like a duck and it looks like a duck, double check!

This year we saw rogue antispyware outbreaks infecting PC’s across the globe. Below is a list of the most successful rogue antispyware software; the rogue antispyware that infected the most PC’s in 2008 according to Sunbelt Software.

1. VirusHeat
VirusHeat has infected more PC’s over the past year than any other rogue antispyware. VirusHeat is a rogue antispyware application designed to scare you into purchasing the full version with misleading warning messages that pop up on your Taskbar. VirusHeat is usually downloaded and installed via ZLOB/MediaAccess Codec installer from an adult site. (You’ve been warned… Porn is bad for your PC!) Once infected, the Zlob Trojan will display misleading warning messages. VirusHeat warning messages claim that your computer is infected with dangerous parasites in an attempt to trick users into purchasing. In addition, VirusHeat may generate annoying popup advertisements that may cause unstable system performance.

2. Ultimate SecuritySuite
Ultimate SecuritySuite may be downloaded and installed through exploits or under dubious circumstances without your consent. Ultimate SecuritySuite hijacks your desktop and typically displays exaggerated or false claims of spyware found to frighten you into paying for the program.

3. Antivirus XP 2008 (Winifixer)
Antivirus XP 2008 is now rated high among the most widespread and harmful threats infecting computers via the internet. Mass mailing is the most popular tool used to propagate this rogue antispyware, though it does not mean common methods of penetration like inclusion in free for download codec and unauthorized downloading are out of use. XPAntivirus2008 may be detected by annoying fake and misleading error messages. In some cases XPAntivirusPotection can hijack your browsers’ homepage, change your desktop theme and cause the PC to be dramatically slow.

4. AntiVirus Gold
AntiVirus Gold uses aggressive, deceptive advertising and is also known to be installed by exploits with malware and adware. AntiVirus Gold’s free scan reports false positives in the scan results presumably to get you to pay for the program. AntiVirus Gold also installs the Winnook trojan.

5. MalwareAlarm
MalwareAlarm is a fake antispyware program that is often downloaded and installed without your knowledge or consent by a Trojan or through browser security holes. (Are you using FireFox yet?) MalwareAlarm launches on Windows startup and may generate large numbers of popup advertisements. MalwareAlarm will also display notifications of imaginary security risks in its attempts to get you to purchase the full version. MalwareAlarm program can be extremely difficult to remove manually, and will continue to try to recreate itself.

6. Antivirus 2009
Antivirus2009 uses Trojans, such as Zlob or Vundo, to spread. These Trojans lurk in porn/warez websites disguised as video codecs, and, upon entering the system, floods you with pop-up advertisements and fake system notifications, supposedly to inform you of an infection. While the system at hand may indeed be infected, Antivirus 2009 will inform you of this regardless of whether it’s true or not. The point of this disinformation is to convince you that your PC is infected and therefore needs an antispyware program to remove the threat. You might click on one of the pop-ups or notifications, all of which claim will take you to a legitimate security tool, but try to make you purchase Antivirus2009′s “licensed version” instead.

7. FakeAlert.PCHealthCenter
FakeAlert.PCHealthCenter consists of files that cause false warnings of spyware on your computer. Usually the alerts are displayed as fake Windows Security Center type pop-ups. FakeAlert.PCHealthCenter displays these false warnings when rogue security software is installed — usually by exploits, fake codec scams, and pop-up scare ads — and is used to frighten you into buying the rogue software.

8. WinAntiVirus
WinAntiVirus is rogue antispyware software that causes unspeakable nightmares for computer users! WinAntiVirus2008 usually installed itself onto your PC without your permission or sometimes knowledge, through Trojans and viruses. WinAntiVirus Pro will greatly wreak havoc on your computer’s performance, generate system errors, and display fake system alerts or fake security alerts to trick you into buying the Paid Version of WinAntiVirus2008.

9. VirusProtectPro
VirusProtectPro is a malware removal application that is silently installed without user consent trying to profit by the occasion. VirusProtectPro is spread by a Trojan. There is a possibility of getting the infection while browsing the internet, even though you did not perform any downloads. You can easily identify Trojan by an extra icon in the taskbar, occasionally popping the balloon and warning that that the computer is infected. VirusProtectPro will not clean and protect your system from spyware, adware, Trojans or other malicious programs, furthermore it attempts to fool you with its fake malware detection and analyzer tools. Thus it is trying to terrify you with its corrupt alerts forcing you to buy the licensed version.

10. XPAntivirus
XPAntivirus is an unwanted corrupt antispyware application that infiltrates your computer system via false and misleading advertising. Once inside it will try to trick you into buying it by claiming your computer has been infected with spyware and then showing falsified error reports. XP Antivirus does not remove any spyware; it does not do anything useful at all. It is designed to milk money from unsuspecting internet surfers.

If you suspect that you computer is infected with rogue antispyware software, we recommend that you download a free fully functional 15-day trial of VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware. The free 15-day version of VIPRE will remove any rogue antispyware, as well as viruses, Trojans, worms, malware, spyware, rootkits and any other malicious threats absolutely free. No credit card information will be required for complete remediation.

Rogue antispyware has been around for a long time and all signs point to more rogue security software in the future with more sophisticated tactics for fooling users and penetrating computer systems. It’s a crazy internet out there – protect yourself!

PC Clutter’s Gotta Go!

Over this past holiday break I was helping out a friend with her laptop. It was around 3 years old and it needed a little cleaning so to speak. It was starting to run a little sluggish for her. I ran the Disk Defragmenter, Disk Cleanup, I cleaned out her registry and installed VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware, and began a deep scan to check for viruses, malware or spyware that she may have obtained while previously using Mcafee. Removing Mcafee alone sped up her laptop considerably. Overall, 2 backdoor Trojans were found by VIPRE as well as a Trojan Downloader and a few cookies. These were all removed or quarantined.

If you are unaware, I work for Sunbelt Software as a technician, but besides the obvious bias, I truly believe VIPRE is the best antivirus software for keeping your PC protected without hogging all your system’s resources. If you are in need of affordable quality antivirus or antispyware software, check out VIPRE – you can also use its free 15-day working trial if you just need a quick fix.

Now it was time to clean out the PC clutter! I noticed there were 5 network connections, two from past employers that didn’t work anymore. After I removed the unused old network connections I went on to the printer and fax drivers. There were 8 printer drivers; my friend only had one active printer in her home and one at work. I removed the 6 unused old drivers. My next task was to remove programs she either didn’t realize she had on the PC to begin with or programs she knew were installed but never used anymore. All together I removed approximately 5 programs from her laptop. The final step to removing clutter from my friend’s laptop was actually going through the files on her hard drive, her My Documents and My Photos, and deleting or archiving items that she didn’t imagine she would need to use again. This last task was really something she had to do for herself, but after removing hundreds of photos and countless documents and archiving them to an external “archive” hard drive her laptop saw a substantial increase in speed.

A slow PC is not always blamed on an infection of malware and spyware, though it usually is the number one suspect and 90% of the time that is the case. Going through and removing the typical PC Clutter periodically will help a sluggish laptop any day!

Using the Disk Clean Tool

If your PC is running slow running the Disk Clean tool is a very good idea. The Disk Clean tool allows you to free up space on your hard drive, more space makes for a faster computer!

The Disk Clean tool searches through your computer’s hard drive for files that can be removed safely that won’t cause damage like the temporary internet files, files in your recycle bin, and programs that you never use.

It’s always a good idea to run the Disk Clean tool on your PC regularly to keep your computer running faster.

The Disk Clean tool is a program that comes installed on most if not all PC’s as a part of Windows standard tools.

For instructions on how to run the Disk Clean tool with your operating system, click here (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312) to visit the Microsoft Support website.

How Do I Defrag My Hard Drive?

If your PC is running slow it may be time to defrag your hard drive. If your computer is pretty old and you have never defragged your hard drive, this could take some time. It is best to run the disk defragmenter on a regular basis to keep your PC running fast and organized.

The Disk Defragmenter is a process that pretty much organizes files on your PC. As you use your computer you delete files, uninstall software, move files around which can all lead to empty spaces in the data saved on your hard drive. These empty spaces cause your computer to search and find files to put them together when you try to open programs and files. The Disk Defragmenter tool rearranges all the empty spaces to help your computer find files more quickly when you try to open files or programs in the future.

If you are not sure if you’re hard drive needs to be defragged, you can open the Disk Defragmenter tool and click on the “Analyze” button in Windows XP. This will create a report that will let you know if your hard drive needs to be defragged. If your computer is running slow, running the Disk Defragmenter tool is always a good idea.

To run the Disk Defragmenter in Windows XP, you simply need to:

1. Open the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
2. Make sure your hard drive is selected or highlighted. (Normally your hard drive is the C Drive)
3. Click on the “Defragment” button to begin defragging. (This process can take a long time depending on how large your hard drive is)
4. A pop up message will inform you of a successful defrag process.

Now you can use your PC as normal and hopefully it will run a little faster for you!

To set your PC to defrag automatically in Windows XP, you can schedule the Disk Defragmenter to run once a month or every couple months, however often you feel is necessary. To schedule the Disk Defragmenter to automatically run you can:

1. Open the Start Menu > Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks
2. Double click on the Add Scheduled Task folder
3. The Scheduled Task Wizard will open
4. Click the Next button
5. Scroll down the list of programs until you find the Disk Defragmenter, highlight it and click the next button. If you don’t see the Disk Defragmenter you can click the browse button and navigate to the program. On my PC the Disk Defragmenter program is found here (c:\\WINDOWS\system32\dfrag.exe)
6. Select how often you would like the program to run and click the Next button
7. Select the time of day you would like the process to run and click the Next button.
8. Enter your Username, Password and Confirm Password that you use when you sign onto your PC and click the Next button
9. Click Finish

If you are using Windows Vista, the Disk Defragmenter is by default set to run on your computer Wednesdays at 1AM.

To modify the Disk Defragmenter schedule or to defrag your computer you:

1. Open the Start menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
2. Click the Modify Schedule to change the scheduled defrag time
3. Click on the Defragment Now button to defrag your PC at this time.

Because running the defragmenter on your PC can take a long time, it’s best to run this program at a time when you know your computer will be on but not in use.

Here’s to faster computing!

My Browser’s Faster Than Yours

In an age where most of the internet users are using broadband of some sort, either through cable, phone or satellite I think it’s really hard to tell which web browsers are faster than others. If you were to strip your browser down to its core, removing all add-ons, widgets and plug-ins, would you really be able to tell which browser is faster than another?

I go back and forth between browsers. I use Safari and Opera least, I guess because they are not set as my default browser and I’m a PC man – these browsers just feel too Mac for me. I only really use them to check pages for layout/programming issues before publishing anything to the web. I was an IE user before Firefox hit the scene; of course. I was immediately drawn to Firefox because of the security features and the tabbed browsing. When Chrome was released over the summer I decided to test it out at the same time I was having serious issues with IE7 so it was an easy decision for me. I will regularly switch back and forth between IE, Firefox and Chrome but right now Chrome is set as my default browser. I will use IE when I’m on StumbleUpon because the toolbar does not work in Chrome. I use Firefox when I need to use some of the add-ons like the TinyURL Creator or the SeoQuake plug-in.

When choosing a web browser, I look for convenience factor and security, rather than speed. However, this is one of the things that every web browser seems to boast about; they all claim to be the fastest:

I decided to put Internet Explorer 7, FireFox 3.0.2, Chrome, Opera 9.6 and Safari 3.1 to a test of my own to find out which browser was faster, or if I could even notice a difference in the speed between them.

Pretty simple, I opened each browser, cleared the browsing history, cookies and temp files, I disabled all add-ons, plug-ins or toolbars and manually typed in the address bar http://www.seesmic.com. I chose Seesmic.com because it’s one of the sites I visit often that seems to take a long time to load on a regular basis because of the flash.

Test 1
Opera – 12 seconds
Chrome – 11 seconds
Firefox – 10 seconds
Safari – 10 seconds
IE – 12 Seconds

Test 2
Opera – 17 seconds
Chrome – 14 seconds
Firefox – 10 seconds
Safari – 12 seconds
IE – 11 Seconds

Test 3
Opera – 10 seconds
Chrome – 11 seconds
Firefox – 12 seconds
Safari – 13 seconds
IE – 12 Seconds

Seriously it seems like I’m splitting hairs here! Of course it’s not all the browser either, it’s my connection speed and the speed of the server the site is hosted on, programming behind site, so much goes into how fast web pages load.

I am back to my original conclusion that it’s too slight a difference to choose a browser based on speed, what do you think? Do you notice a difference in speed between browsers? What browsers do you feel are faster?

Top 10 Malware/Spyware Infections of 2008

PC Users across the globe deal with the constant threat of malware or spyware infections on a daily basis. Users must take measure to avoid contracting malicious or damaging infections as more and more time is spent on the internet. Installing antivirus, antispyware, and antispam software, being cautious of the websites we visit, refusing to open email attachments from unknown sources, and switching to the safest web browsers are just some of the measures that should be taken to avoid infections.

Below is a list of the top ten most common malware and spyware infections experienced by PC users in 2008 according to Sunbelt Software.

1. Trojan-Downloader.Zlob.Media-Codec
Trojan-Downloader.Zlob.Media-Codec often silently downloads and installs rogue security programs,but may install other malware as well.

2. Trojan.FakeAlert
Trojan.FakeAlert displays these false warnings when rogue security software is installed, usually by exploits, and is used to frighten the user into buying the rogue software.

3. Virtumonde
There are many variants of Virtumonde, some with trojan-like behaviors including downloading other software without notice and consent, transmitting information to remote servers without notice and consent, and lowering system security on the infected machine. Some Virtumonde variants are known to resist removal.

4. ClickSpring.PuritySCAN
PurityScan delivers targeted advertising including pop-ups to the user’s desktop and transmits browsing history back to the vendor in order to provide ads based on the user’s browsing habits. PurityScan has been noted to install through security exploits and may bundle and/or download other adware applications. The EndUserLicenseAgreement (EULA) states that the vendor, ClickSpring LLC, may automatically update, upgrade or uninstall the company’s software as well as install additional applications at any time without further notice.

5. Trojan.NewMediaCodec
Trojan.NewMediaCodec is a program that typically purports to be a needed upgrade to Windows Media Player in order to view adult oriented videos on certain websites. However, it actually downloads and installs additional malware on the user’s machine.

6. Adware.NetAdware.Gen
Adware.NetAdware.Gen also displays false security alerts and warnings in a balloon type pop-up from the system tray. It may download other malware to the infected computer. Some variants have backdoor functionality, giving a remote attacker the ability to control and use the infected machine for malicious purposes.

7. Trojan-Downloader.braviax
Braviax is a trojan that displays alarmist alerts on the user’s desktop about alleged malware infections on the user’s PC. These alerts are designed to coerce users into paying for rogue anti-malware applications that will clean the purported infections.

8. Backdoor.Rbot
This group of threats can spread through security exploits, networks, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) servers and sometimes with other malware. Once installed, Rbot allows the attacker to take control of a machine remotely and execute commands. The machine can be used as a spam relay or to participate in a denial of service (DOS) attack. Some variants of the worm cam steal passwords and other data from the infected machine, lower security settings and turn off antivirus programs. Rbot variants are also known to steal game and application license keys. Later variants of Rbot may use the kernel-mode FU Rootkit to hide from Windows and from the user.

9. Trojan.in-t-e-r-n-e-t
Trojan.in-t-e-r-n-e-t may be installed as a driver in the infected system. It is typically installed through exploits. Newer variants of Trojan.in-t-e-r-n-e-t transmit data to sites dealing with advertising and may be involved with click fraud.

10. Backdoor.SDBot
SdBot can copy itself to the Windows System directory or, depending on the variant, other directories within the Windows System directory. It places itself in Windows startup by modifying “Run” keys in the registry. SdBot connects to an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server to wait for other commands from the malicious attacker. The attacker can remotely execute commands for many functions including cloning and updating SdBot itself, deleting and/or downloading files, capturing the screen and/or keystrokes, logging and transmitting machine and user information, sending UDP and ICMP packets to remote computers. SdBot can also disable the victim machine’s anti-virus software.

If you are looking for a free tool to remove malware or spyware from your PC, VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware offers a free 15-day full trial. No credit card information is required for complete remediation; any malicious threats found will be removed or quarantined without payment during your trial period. Try VIPRE Antivirus PLUS Antispyware software here!

The threat of malware and spyware is not going to decrease in 2009. It’s almost guaranteed more malicious threats will be developed and deployed in the future. Having a reliable firewall is going to become a more critical element to protect against future strains of malware, spyware, rootkits, trojans, viruses and more. You can get a free version of the Sunbelt Personal Firewall here.

Here’s to a cyber-safe, malware/spyware free 2009!