Home Computer Aid

Headline

ZDNet announced a patch for a critical flaw is now available. Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-054 addresses the flaw and some others. You can do Windows Update and that should take care of it. If Windows Update is not working, download from here. Be aware, a zero day exploit is out there for this flaw!

Watch Out!

Your computer is under siege! Attackers are trying to e-mail you viruses, hack into your system over the Internet, and infect your computer with worms, viruses, Trojans, and spyware packaged in “free stuff.”

According to the latest statistics available on the SANS Internet Storm Center, your computer will probably only survive about 19 min. before being attacked if it's exposed to the Internet! If you check out the SANS Internet Storm Center using the link, click on Survival Time in the menu on the left then look in the upper right hand corner for the present average survival time between attacks. If you have an unpatched operating system, non-functional antivirus, or no antispyware, and it's exposed to the Internet your computer will be attacked. Protect yourself starting by patching your computer, then adding and updating antivirus software, then add antispyware software.

If you have, or are getting a new computer, you can follow the step-by-step procedures in this SANS Whitepaper on surviving your first day with Window XP. If your survival time on the Internet is about 19 min., and it takes 2 hours to do all of your patches using a High Speed connection, how do you protect your computer with the latest patches without getting hit with a virus? This article tells you how.

I will teach you how to protect your computer from the marauders. You'll learn how to test your computer and network for secure operation. I will also teach you how to do some Windows maintenance.

If you need immediate, realtime help with an urgent software or hardware issue, call your hardware and/or software vendor for support. If you don't have support, don't want to pay for support, or don't like waiting on the phone for support go to a forum like WindowsForum.org, or CNET Computer Forums. They can offer free help often within hours of the time you post your question. I like a smaller place like NeoPlanet, but some people like bigger sites like CNET. Those options are pretty useful if your computer is really in bad shape because of a virus, trojan, worm, or spyware or malware. If you want help from a forum, make a screen name, then ask your question with as much detail about your problem as possible. Look around a bit before you post and see how others have posted questions. If your computer is working well enough for you to do the things below, read on...

The #1 thing you MUST do is to make sure you have working Antivirus software with current virus signatures. If your computer is riddled with viruses, it will quickly become useless, and none of the other measures on this site will help. I have links to excellent, full featured, free Antivirus software on my page. I also have links to pay versions of McAfee Antivirus, and Symantec Antivirus for those who aren't comfortable with free software.

You should also remove and protect yourself against Adware and Scumware, keep intruders at bay with hardware and/or software Firewalls, make your Operating System (OS) harder to attack by installing Service Packs and Patches, and finally learn to Optimize your OS

It's a little off subject from the rest of the site, but Spam is unwanted or unsolicited e-mail. It's the equivalent of 'junk' mail in your regular mailbox. To get rid of (or at least sort) Spam, go to my Antispam page. Learn some spam protection measures and get free Antispam software.

Want to find out some cool stuff I've learned recently, but haven't fully incorporated into my site yet? Check out What's New?

Already know how to maintain your Windows based computer, and just want to know where to get the free stuff? Go straight to the Quick Links page.

A word of caution about free software. There are many free programs that are laden with spyware, including some free antispyware programs! The free stuff I offer here is tried and true. It comes highly recommended by people I trust, and I install it often. If you're in doubt about whether something you want to install contains spyware, visit a site like SpywareGuide.com or SpywareDatabase and do a database search for the product you want to use.

One of the sites I use to determine whether a new antispyware product is worth looking at is Spyware Warrior's Rogue/Suspect Antispyware site. Please check your antispyware program against those on the site. There are about 150 Rogue or Suspect programs and only 7 approved ones!

Learn much more about the topics covered at Learn More.