PC Tools launches new security solutions

PC Tools has expanded release of its 2011 performance and protection portfolio, including PC Tools Spyware Doctor, PC Tools Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus and PC Tools Internet Security, PC Tools Registry Mechanic and PC Tools Performance Toolkit.

According to the company, the 2011 portfolio aims to remove the many challenges consumers face when considering performance or protection options, and developing comprehensive portfolio that delivers simplicity, effectiveness and affordability to customers.

"We have been witnessing tremendous growth in India with the total number of internet users growing to 71 million last year. With this growth emerges a greater need to ensure online safety and to improve PC performance. Our aim with the 2011 portfolio is to accomplish exactly that, with simple, effective and affordable solutions," says Shafi Shanavas, Director, Product Management PC Tools.

"We've listened to our customers and solved their biggest challenges in developing tools that are simple, effective and affordable," said Tom Powledge, Vice President and General Manager , PC Tools. "It's really all about protection and performance minus the fuss and confusion. Simply put, our 2011 products get the job done."

The PC Tools 2011 protection portfolio enhances real-time scans and threat remediation while improving performance behind the scenes without impact to the user or slowing the PC down. The new flexibility options allow consumers to choose an automated experience or to customize advanced settings.

Protection advancements against spyware, viruses, malicious email and social networking threats offer a simplified experience that makes scans and fixes faster and easier. AV-Test.org found that the average scan times improved by up to 90%, while internal testing shows that average launch times have been reduced to less than 1 second

Source : The Times of India

Tips and tricks Using Antivirus

A computer virus is a frightening specter for computer users, some time ago I had written about what a computer virus. To overcome the problem of computer viruses requires a reliable antivirus, there are many antivirus software that you can use to eradicate a virus that attacks your pc / notebook you. Before Virus Scan you can have look at these tips.

Among the many anti-viruses, there are 10 best antiviruses which can eradicate the virus that attacks your computer. But the use of antivirus also may not arbitrarily, in order to work effectively. There are a few tips you can use to secure your computer safe from computer viruses. Although not able to counteract the virus 100% but it can minimize the entry of virus into your computer. Here are tips and tricks to use antivirus:

• Avoid the use of two or more antivirus simultaneously, except if it is needed.
• Check the Virus Vault (quarantine viruses) regularly and if it is too much of its contents, delete the real virus or a file that is not used anymore. If many files of the same size, the possibility that the virus, so deleted it or leave one alone.
• Always activate the Resident Shield / Guard, because it is always monitoring these files at any time.
• Activate the facility Report, and save his report on the folders that are easy to find.

In addition there are a few tips and tricks to streamline the process of virus scan, virus scan on the computer process can take quite some time, even hours if the files you very much, then, could you do the following things:

• Non-enable (disabled) scans Archive (a compressed file, like zip, rar, cab, etc.), but had plenty of time to scan for viruses. Because if this is enabled scanning process can be very long. Also if there is virus inside zip / archive the original files are not harmful in it not running.
• Avoid setting to simply delete / heal / remove files that are considered as a virus, better choose Quarantine (Move to Quarantine) or rename. Unless already sure that the file was a virus, not a document or program that is infected with a virus.
• If there is an option scan certain files / options (smart extensions) and all files, then better choose smart extensions, scans will be much faster.
• In the Scheduler scans (Scan automatically every time), be sure to set the times when the computer is rarely used or in the off (non enabled / disabled) only and scan in doing it manually. Because sometimes we do not know that the antivirus is doing a scan that can take very long, so the work computer is very slow.
• If the scan is in the process, you should not run other programs, let alone the weight. Also be sure to turn off the screensaver when the computer was left out.

For you who rarely used internet an computer (offline), there are some additional tips and tricks that you need to do, namely:

• Download virus definition (update) once a week, more often is better.
• If any facility or Email Anti Spyware Scanner, or other facilities associated with an Internet connection, just switch off to reduce memory and CPU usage. If the computer is sometimes connected to the Internet, spyware scans can be done manually, every few days or once a week.
• Turn off Auto Update facility, updates done manually, by downloading virus database or when connecting to the Internet only.

If you often connect to the Internet (online), there are a few tips you can use antivirus settings to counteract the virus infecting your computer, including:

• Enable Auto Update, once a day is enough, more is often better.
• If there is an email facility, or anti-spyware scanner, preferably activated, unless use of other anti-spyware programs.

New Exploit Resists Windows Security Software

A just-published attack tactic that bypasses the security protections of most current antivirus software is a "very serious" problem, an executive at one unaffected company said.

Last week, researchers at Matousec.com outlined how attackers could exploit the kernel driver hooks that most security software use to reroute Windows system calls through their software to check for potential malicious code before it's able to execute.

Calling the technique an "argument-switch attack," a Matousec-written paper spelled out in relatively specific terms how an attacker could swap out benign code for malicious code between the moments when the security software issues a green light and the code actually executes.

According to Matousec, nearly three-dozen Windows desktop security titles, including ones from Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, BitDefender, Sophos and others, can be exploited using the argument-switch tactic. Matousec said it had tested the technique on Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 on 32-bit machines.

Some security vendors agreed with Huger. "It's a serious issue and Matousec's technical findings are correct," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Finnish firm F-Secure, in an e-mail.

Other antivirus companies downplayed the threat, however. "Based on our initial review of the public documentation, we believe this is a complicated attack with several mitigating factors that make it unlikely to be a viable, real world, widespread attack scenario," a McAfee spokesman said in an e-mail reply to a request for comment. "The attack would require some level of existing access to the target computer, as the attack described by Matousec does not on its own bypass security software or allow malware to run."

Kaspersky Lab had a similar reaction. "[We] have analyzed the published material and concluded that the issue is only linked to certain features of [our] products," Kaspersky said in an e-mailed statement. "Kaspersky Lab products implement not only [kernel] hooks, but a wide range of technologies, including secure sandboxing and other methods of restricting suspicious kernel mode activity."

Huger confirmed that attackers would have to drop malware of some sort on the targeted machine in order to utilize the argument-switch strategy, and that there are "lots of easier ways to game antivirus" than Matousec's technique.

Huger's greatest fear is that others take Matousec's findings, weaponize the argument-switch attack, and add it to one of the numerous underground exploit kits. "If someone packages this into an easy-to-use library, I think it'll be in play pretty quickly, with widespread adoption," said Huger. "Why wouldn't it?"

Several researchers with antivirus companies, including Huger, noted that security software isn't defenseless against attempts to use argument-switch, in large part because attackers would still need to plant malware on a machine, and on-demand scanning would theoretically block any malicious downloads, at least of known threats.

Huger expects that attacks using argument-switch will target 32-bit Windows XP machines, both because that operating system continues to dominate the Windows ecosystem, and because it lacks the PatchGuard kernel protection that Microsoft added to 64-bit versions of XP in 2005, then later to 64-bit editions of Vista and Windows 7 .

Microsoft faced resistance from several antivirus companies, notably Symantec and McAfee, before the release of Windows Vista. They complained that PatchGuard would prevent them from delivering key functions in their Vista-compatible products, including behavior-based virus detection, host-based intrusion prevention and software tamper protection. Microsoft relented and eventually made security application programming interfaces (API) available to allow vendors to do what they needed without accessing the kernel.

Those APIs first appeared in Windows Vista SP1 in 2008.

Matousec claimed that 64-bit versions of Windows boasting PatchGuard could be vulnerable in some instances. "[This] will work against all user mode hooks and it will also work against the kernel mode hooks if they are installed, for example, after disabling PatchGuard," Matousec's paper stated.

Microsoft did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Matousec's claim.

Other problems security vendors face in blocking argument-switch attacks could arise if or when they release updates, argued Huger. "Kernel driver programming is pretty tricky," he said. "Redeployment [of updates] will complicate things. Any vendor nervy enough to put out new kernel drivers will have to do a pretty significant gut check. If something goes wrong, millions of machines could be blue-screened."

Huger pointed to the recent fiasco with a faulty McAfee signature update that crashed thousands of PCs running the company's security software as an example. "Enterprises would be very reticent to update because of the risk," he said.

Source: pcworld.com

How to detect boot sector virus

This post provide further information about how to detect and remove virus from boot sector. Boot-sector viruses infect computer systems by copying code either to the boot sector on a floppy disk or the partition table on a hard disk. During startup, the virus is loaded into memory. Once in memory, the virus will infect any non-infected disks accessed by the system. Examples of boot- sector viruses are Michelangelo and Stoned.

Boot-sector viruses are spread to computer systems by booting, or attempting to boot, from an infected floppy disk. Even if the disk does not contain the MS-DOS system files needed to successfully boot, an attempt to boot from an infected disk will load the virus into memory. The virus hooks itself into memory as if it were a device driver. The virus moves the Interrupt 12 return, allowing itself to remain in memory even after a warm boot. The virus will then infect the first hard disk in the system.

Because the virus moves the Interrupt 12 return, the MS-DOS system memory will be 2K (2048 bytes) smaller than normal. This can be verified by running the MS-DOS CHKDSK command.

For example, if your system has 640K, CHKDSK will report:
655360 Total Bytes Memory

If the system is infected with a boot-sector virus, CHKDSK will report:
653312 Total Bytes Memory

Some systems use 1K (1024 bytes) of memory for the BIOS. Other systems use 2K (2048 bytes) of memory for shadow RAM. You must take this into account before CHKDSK can be used as an accurate measure of whether or not a system is infected with a virus. Please refer to the hardware manufacturer to see if the system uses part of the MS-DOS 640K of memory.

Once a system is infected with a boot-sector virus, any non-write-protected disk accessed by this system will become infected. For example, simply doing a DIR command on a floppy disk will cause the disk to become infected with the virus. Note: MS-DOS version 5.0 disks are shipped without a notch; therefore, they are write-protected. The chances of these disks containing a virus are close to none. The MS-DOS 5.0 disk files are compressed, so the actual file sizes are different. You can determine a compressed file by the underscore character (_) that is the last character of the filename extension. To expand a compressed file, use the EXPAND utility on Disk 5 (5.25-inch disk set) or Disk 3 (3.5-inch disk set).

Why Anti Virus Spyware Utility Is Vital

Anti-Virus Spyware has become very important for Computers. There are some personal computers which contain adware and shareware piece of program even before you buy them. Due to this fighting spyware and adware and removing spyware from computers is becoming even harder today. The only way to fight back is to have a Anti Virus Spyware Utility.
And what exactly does Anti Virus Spyware Utility do to protect our privacy?

Spyware programs?

When a Computer is infected by a Spyware it may be harmless or it may be dangerous. Spyware programs is any piece of program that collects information about computer usage and/or the computer user.So is there any protection whatsoever against Spyware programs? How do we fight back against Spyware programs? The only way to protect our online privacy is to use Anti Virus Spyware Utility.

You need to get some form of protection against Spyware programs.

Spyware programs: What Does Spyware programs Do to Your Com?

Frequent popups are common features and ways to tell that you have been taken over by some sort of spyware and that you should rid your system of it immediately by getting a Anti Virus Spyware Utility. A search toolbar or other browser toolbar appears even though you didn't request it or install it. The smart thing to do is to get yourself a Anti Virus Spyware Utility. Anti Virus Spyware Utility are not hard to find, all you need is a Anti Virus Spyware Utility with a reputable reputation.

source:ezinearticles.com

Anti Virus Test Program For You

How often do you test your anti virus program to check that it is functioning correctly?
There is a very simple way to check any anti virus program, simply go to eicar and download the test file.

IMPORTANT: This is NOT a real virus and can do no damage

The following files were created by the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research - EICAR - so that users could physically test the effectiveness of their chosen anti virus product.
Read the page carefully. There are four options to download using the standard http protocol and four for using the secure, SSL enabled https protocol.

The first file contains an ASCII string, the second file is a copy using a different filename, the third is contained within a zip archive folder and the fourth contains the third zip file within a zip archive folder. This is to see if your anti virus will scan deeper than just the first level.

Any good antivirus support canada program will stop you from downloading any of these and will inform you that 'A Virus Was Found' and abort the connection. Others will allow you to download any of the files and save them to a folder from where you open them. Upon opening, your anti virus should warn you that a virus has been found and you should choose the option to put it into quarantine.

You can also write the ASCII characters in Notepad and save the file as 'eicar.com' and again your anti virus should warn you that a virus has been found and you should quarantine it.

When you have run any of the tests delete any eicar files that you have saved and also delete them from quarantine.

source:ezinearticles.com

Protect Your Computer by using Anitvirus Software

There are quite a few manufacturers that make a variety of security software to combat viruses, worms, malware, spyware, phishing software and other threats. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009, Norton Anti-virus 2009 and BitDefender Anti-virus 2009 are three of the most frequently used anti-virus programs available.

Norton Anti-virus 2009 not only is a total anti-virus platform; it includes anti-spyware as well. Norton Anti-virus 2009 can be set up pretty easily and it protects your personal computer very well. Previous versions of the Norton Anti-virus software tended to be a drain on the resources of your personal computer, making your PC run slowly. The latest release is garnering rave reviews from the Norton faithful, marveling at the ease of use and increase in speed.

Kaspersky Labs Anti Virus Support Canada 2009 is also a fully featured anti-virus and anti-spyware software program which has fully configurable features. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 does its job very well, and is very simple to use once you have it installed. An additional benefit is that when compared to previous versions of Norton Anti-virus, it is pretty light on your computers system resources.

Kaspersky Anti Virus 2009 does very well in tests from respectable places like ZDNET for anti-virus protection. Some end user feedback is that Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 can be a cumbersome installation and the lack of an efficient customer service department.

Overall, BitDefender Anti Virus 2009 is a fantastic choice. It does not require much of your computer system resources to run, and it does not require a lot of end user intervention, all the while providing all of the functions and features you need. Their technical support teams whether over the phone or through live chat are very responsive and knowledgeable. It's also a great offer because it is so affordable, especially considering all the built in flexibility and features you get for the cost.

source:ezinearticles.com