Table of Contents:

• Always Close Popups With The Red X
• Only Run Well Known Anti-Spyware Programs
• Clear Your Temp and Cache Folders Often
• Keep Your Internet Browsers Updated
• Update Your Virus Definition Files
• Be Aware With Emails and Attachments
• Surf The Internet With Both Eyes Open
• What Are Your Computer Tips?

Always Close Popups With The Red X

No doesn’t usually mean no in advertisement popups. When popups are displayed, I recommend always closing the window with the RED X on the upper right corner. Hitting the No button might install more spyware programs into your system. When you keep getting the same popups regardless if you are surfing the Internet or not, run your trusty spyware programs. If the problem persist, leave it to the professionals. Contact us now.

Only Run Well Known Anti-Spyware Programs

Be very careful of fake anti-spyware programs out there. Fake programs will usually cost more harm than anything else. I use Spybot Search and Destroy from Safer Networking and Anti-Malware from Malware Bytes. Usually those two programs take care of most of the Spyware, Trojans, or Malware problems. For a list of fake anti-spyware programs, visit Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites from Spyware Warriors.

Clear Your Temp and Cache Folders Often

Clearing your temp and cache folders will ensure optimal disk space and will make your anti-spyware programs search for any issues so much faster.

How To Clear Out Temp Folders:

1. Reboot your computer in Safe Mode. This ensures that none of the programs are running in the background that could deny any of the file removal.
2. Click Start and select Run (WIN key + R).
3. Type %TEMP% on the Run box.
4. Select all the files and hit DEL on your keyboard.
5. Click YES when prompted to delete all files. As you can see on my illustration below, I have over 7GB of junk that can be deleted without any issues.

Emptying out your Cache Folders in Mozilla Firefox

1. Click Tools on the menu bar.
2. Click Clear Recent History (Ctrl-Shift-Del).
3. Choose Everything on the Time Range To Clear drop-down.
4. Click Details and make sure Cache is checked.
5. Click Clear Now to delete the cache.

Emptying out your Cache Folders in Internet Explorer

1. Click Tools on the menu bar.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Under Browsing history, click Delete.
4. Make sure Temporary Internet files is checked. Then click Delete.

Keep Your Internet Browsers Updated

Older versions are more vulnerable for attacks so always keep them updated. I prefer using Firefox over Internet Explorer. If you haven’t made the switch, I recommend downloading the latest copy of Firefox now. The latest version of Firefox has features such as: Private Browsing, Anti-Phishing, Anti-Malware, Pop-up Blocker, and more. Download the latest copy of Mozilla Firefox.

Also, I’ve been hearing good reviews about the new Google Chrome.

Updating Internet Explorer

Use Microsoft Windows Update to check for updates.

Keeping Firefox Updated

Firefox should automatically update, but you usually have to manually update when its a major upgrade (i.e. 2.0 to 3.0). Check the Mozilla Website often for news and updates.

Update Your Virus Definition Files

There are hundreds of different virus being discovered every single day. So it is wise to keep your virus definition file always updated.

Be Aware With Emails and Attachments

This is probably the most obvious thing to do but it is also the most overlooked. I can’t express enough how you need to be very aware when opening email attachments. Just because an email came from someone you know doesn’t usually mean the attachments are safe to open. Your friend could have dowloaded a trojan that uses their address book to create fake emails packed with bugs then sent to you without their consent. Any email attachments ending with .zip, .exe, .msi, or .com should be opened carefully.

Spoof Emails

Surf The Internet With Both Eyes Open

When surfing the Internet, pay attention to what sites you are visiting. You maybe clicking links from your Facebook profile, and next thing you know you’re in a very unsafe website! Luckily, Firefox has some security measures that are pretty good and usually will notify when a site is trying to install malicious software.

Don’t just click OK, read the popup notifications before proceeding any further. If the site keeps giving you Warning messages, it’s best to just leave the site as soon as possible.

What Are Your Computer Tips?

Got any tips you would like to share? Let me know! If you are local in the Southern California area and need immediate help with your computer, please contact us now.

Microsoft might have been feeling like the little Dutch boy over the last month, plugging holes with regular patches and with rare out-of-cycle fixes in an attempt to prevent attackers from pouring through.

The out-of-cycle patch, critical for all versions of Internet Explorer on 2000, XP, and Vista, addresses IE’s handling of flawed ActiveX controls created with the Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL), a developers tool included with Visual Studio. At-risk PCs could be hit by a drive-by-download attack. This serious vulnerability affects many ActiveX controls. For example, Adobe confirmed on its security site that its Shockwave and Flash Player ActiveX controls “leverage vulnerable versions of ATL,” and that it is working on a fix. The issue also affects IE on Windows Server 2003 and 2008, but is rated moderately severe on those OSs.

Read more at the source, PCWorld.com.

In the Internet equivalent of the old “whack-a-mole” game, Trend Micro researcher Rik Ferguson — who helped call attention to the Conficker worm early on — has this week been calling attention to rogue Facebook applications whose main purpose appears to be to collect users’ passwords. Using the usual attention-grabbing headings to grab users (repeating the word “sex” is apparently still effective), these apps redirect users to what looks like a legitimate login page, making users believe they need to log into Facebook again.

Read more about Facebook phishing app article at betanews.com.