Koobface Checker

Here’s a very fast and free tool to see if your PC is part of a botnet and infected with the infamous Koobface virus. Thanks to Paretologic’s Zheng threat analysis team for packaging this quick little scanner completely free for all to use.

Koobface Infected? Check now

Safe Online Banking Practices

Your online banking password acts like a key; it opens your account when you need money, and it locks your account while you are away. Keeping your password safe is the easiest way to protect your life savings. Yet cyber criminals are keeping up with technology. Every day sees the launch of a new virus or worm capable of stealing private information from your computer - information like your banking passwords. A key alone cannot protect your bank account. You need a whole arsenal of weapons - from anti-virus software to personal firewalls - to foil a hacker.

Protect Your Password

The ideal password is a combination of letters and numbers that is at least six characters long. Avoid using your birthday or address as your password; you want a word that is hard to guess. Internet security experts recommend committing your passwords to memory, but remembering dozens of different words can be difficult. If you need a written reminder of your passwords, keep it in a safe location away from your computer. Never save your passwords in a file on your computer. A thief can hack into the files and steal your online banking password - and your entire savings account along with it.

Beware the Email

No bank or financial organization would ever ask for your credit card number or account password in an email. Yet messages from your bank clog up your inbox, each asking you to confirm your account information by clicking on a link. These emails are part of a massive phishing scheme, a process where cyber criminals disguise themselves as trustworthy banks in an attempt to steal your personal information. If you think you can spot the difference between a fraudulent email and a genuine one, think again - these phishing emails come complete with your bank’s logo at the top and a copyright logo at the bottom. Avoid being caught in a phishing scheme; never send out personal information through email. And never use a link in one of these emails - it leads to a fraudulent website. Instead, type your bank’s complete web address into the address bar of your browser. The next time you see one of these emails in your inbox, forward it to your bank. Your bank’s IT department can trace the source of the emails, giving law enforcement the ammunition it needs to stop phishing schemes.

Good Computing Practices

Your computer might use software that records passwords. To check, visit a website that has a log-in box and type in your username. If your computer automatically enters your password into the log-in box, then this feature is enabled. Anyone who uses your computer can access your bank account - a dangerous situation if your laptop is ever stolen. Disabling this feature will help protect your banking information. In addition, avoid using public computers; you have no way of knowing what viruses or Spyware programs may be running undetected on these systems. And before you download a program or sign up for an online service, carefully read through the service agreement. Hidden in the dry legal language may be a provision that allows for a third party to access your computer.

Use Anti-Virus Software

Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses can delete your files, erase your hard drive’s contents, or capture your keystrokes. In short, the information stored on your computer may not be as private as you think. Once a week, run a virus and a Spyware check. Make sure that your anti-virus software’s definitions are up-to-date. Stop viruses and Spyware programs at the source; never open an email if you don’t recognize the address, and never download content if you don’t trust the source.

Protect Your Internet Connection

A computer connected to a cable modem or a digital subscriber line (DSL) never has to dial into the Internet; it is always online. Unfortunately, a permanently connected computer is an easy target for hackers. Try unplugging your computer when its not in use; you’ll save on energy costs while keeping your passwords and banking information safe. If you can’t pull the plug on your computer, consider disabling your computer’s file sharing software. For specific instructions, visit the Help section in your Internet browser. A personal firewall helps prevent unauthorized access to your computer; install one along with your anti-virus software. And be sure to download Microsoft’s and Apple’s regular security updates. Errors in an operating system can leave your computer susceptible to viruses and worms; these downloads help correct the errors in the programs.

Encryption

Anyone with a wireless connection should ensure their computer uses encryption; a hacker cannot access your information if the data transferred between your computer and the wireless router is encrypted. Remember to change the default password of your wireless router. These easy-to-guess default passwords leave your system vulnerable to unauthorized access. While you’re changing the password, pick a unique name for your wireless network. This name, also known as the Service Set Identifier (or SSID), should be hard to guess - refrain from using your last name or your address. Also, be sure to switch off SSID broadcasting. Your network will be hidden from outside users, and unless a hacker can guess the name of your network, your system - and your banking passwords - will be safe.

What to do if …

Just as no home is safe from burglars, no bank account is impervious to hackers. A cyber criminal may one day gain access to your personal banking information. Keep a close watch on your banking and credit card statements. If you see a discrepancy, notify your bank immediately. With a vigilant eye, a clever password, and a protected computer, you can keep your money out of a cyber criminal’s reach.

We have always had a few casinos downloaded and would play them regularly. A few days ago out of the blue, none of them will connect to the server. We are not having Internet connection problems with anything. When we try to log in, it gives the message cannot connect to server, please try again. We contacted customer support for the casinos and they are not having any other complaints from others saying they cannot connect. We are thinking maybe my young son who likes to click all over the place may have changed something that will not allow them to work. Any suggestions what that might be?

My guess is that you’re right and that your son did accidentally press something that is causing the problem - kids and buttons, they’re hard to resist. I’m thinking that the problem is in your security settings somewhere, so let’s start with the most likely cause and work our way down.

Turn Off Internal Firewall

Online gaming sites are notorious for causing problems and are usually scanned very carefully with both internal security and third-party security software. If you have a third-party security suite - and if you don’t, you should - it can cause a conflict with internal Windows security that comes with your operating system. In general, we recommend turning Windows Firewall off, and letting your third party firewall run - running two firewalls at one time is practically guaranteed to cause problems. To do this, you’re going to have to know what version of Windows Service Pack you’re running. If you don’t know, go to Start and then Run. At the prompt, type in: sysdm.cpl and then click Ok. This will bring up lines of text on your screen - the last line under System will tell you what Service Pack you have.

Once you know what version you’re running, you can turn off the internal firewall. These directions are only for those with Service Pack 2 and 3 - if you have another version, you can go to the Microsoft website and find directions that will work for your system. Go to Start and then Run. In the dialog box, type in: Firewall.cpl and click Ok. Find the General tab and click Off. Then click Ok to exit out. Once that is turned off, you can try to access the games once again. As a test, you can TEMPORARILY turn off your third party firewall if you’re still having trouble, but I don’t advocate turning your third-party firewall off for any length of time.

Check Security Settings

If your firewall isn’t the culprit, check the security settings on your machine. If your security settings are too high, it will block access to sites like gaming sites. There will usually be an icon for your security software on the taskbar - click on that and it should be easy for you to find where to adjust your security.

I think that adjusting your security will do the trick. If you need any additional help, let us know.

I am the administrator for a small office, but I do not seem to be able to find information on the computers I am supposed to be administrating. Example: an employee left abruptly and we need to check his office email for unfinished work he may have not told us about. But I am unable to find his password to logon. Can you help?

There are several ways to get into a computer that is locked by a password - one requires a little more work, but it’s free while the others are easy but will cost a little bit of money.

Windows XP Security Hole

If you are using Windows XP and you have the CD, you can use a built-in security hole that will let you reset the password. Follow these steps exactly and pay attention to step number 7:

1. Put the Windows XP CD in the disk drive and make sure the computer is set to boot from CD first. If not, you may have to change the boot order in the BIOS.
2. When you see the Welcome screen, press Enter.
3. Accept the licensing agreement by pressing F8.
4. Select the XP installation you need (there will probably only be one) and press R to being the repair process.
5. Now you let it run. If your computer asks you to press a key to reboot from CD, don’t press one. Let it reboot on its own.
6. You will see a highlighted message that the system is installing Windows.
7. Now you need to watch the lower left hand corner of the screen carefully - you will see “Installing Devices” - immediately press Shift+F10. This is the security hole.
8. You will see a command console open. When you see the prompt, type in: NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter.
9. You should now have access to the User Accounts on the control panel. You can get in here and change any passwords that you need to.
10. If you don’t want a password on this machine, type in: control userpasswword2 at the prompt and you won’t be asked for one when you log in.
11. Exit out of the command box and let the repair continue to run.
12. To complete the repair you will need to enter the product key that came with the CD. You should then be able to log in using the new password you created (or using none at all if that’s how you set it up). All the data and programs will remain intact.

However, since you need to check his e-mail, if his e-mail account is password protected, you may need to crack that software as well.

Password Reset Software

If you don’t have the Windows CD or you don’t want to go to the trouble of doing the repair, there are many downloadable options for cracking a password. Most of these will either recover an encrypted password or remove it from the system entirely so that you can start fresh. There are so many of these on the web these days it is hard to recommend one, but two to try are Office Password Recovery Software (for recovering passwords for Microsoft Office products like Excel, Outlook, and Word) and Password Changer .

These tools should let you access a company computer. Please let us know if you need any further help.

Every time I turn on my PC, the firewall icon comes on stating it isn’t turned on. I go to Windows to enable it and message states: sorry etc. Why do I have to go to Windows Firewall and turn on the firewall every single time I go online? Why does it go off? Can other people find info on my PC if I have wireless?

What Does Windows Firewall Do?

First, let’s talk about what Windows Firewall is designed to do. It is intended to protect you from computer worms that are sent over a network. It is also intended to hide your computer from outside users and to prevent them from gaining unauthorized access to your computer and its contents. Therefore, if you do not have Windows Firewall enabled and you do not have another firewall of some type on your computer, then it is not protected.

Troubleshooting Windows Firewall: Possible Reasons behind the Problem

A number of different scenarios could lead to the turning off of your Windows Firewall. In particular, since it is such a superior application, the presence of Norton Antivirus is known to turn off Windows Firewall. As long as you have that application installed, then you will continue to experience this message. In this case, it’s okay as the firewall found in Norton is providing the protection that you need.  

Other applications that include a firewall of their own can also cause this to happen. This includes the following: Zone Alarm, Norton Internet Security, and Comodo Firewall.

Basic incompatibility between applications will make one or both of them fail to function properly. If you recently installed a new computer security application, this could be creating the problem.

Troubleshooting Windows Firewall: Leaving it Disabled

If you have another firewall on the computer that can protect you from viruses, worms, hackers, and Trojans, then you could allow Windows Firewall to remain off. Alternatively, you could decide to continue using Windows Firewall and uninstall the other firewall.

Troubleshooting Windows Firewall: Scan for Malware

Scan your computer now to see if it has been infected with a virus, Trojan, or other form of malware. If it has, this infection could create this type of problem. If you don’t have a reliable anti-virus application, I can recommend that you try Anti-VirusPLUS. Once you remove the infection, this problem should go away.

Troubleshooting Windows Firewall: Additional Tips

• Uninstall any recent hardware additions and reboot the computer.
• Uninstall any recent software additions and reboot the computer.
• Complete a “System Restore” with a date that occurred before this problem began.

How to Turn on Windows Firewall

To enable Windows Firewall, you can follow these directions:

• Select “Start.”
• Select “Run.”
• Type “Firewall.cpl” and select “OK.”
• Select “On (recommended)” under the “General” tab.
• Select “OK.”

If none of the above information helps to resolve the problem for you, please submit the entire error message that you are receiving.

What does Security Center do? Does it conflict with Verizon Security Suite?

What is Security Center?

Windows Security Center is a tool that is located in the Control Panel of your computer, usually with an icon also located in the computer’s system tray (near the clock). Within the Security Center, you will find links to various security-related tools as well as notifications that provide you with a snapshot of your computer’s security settings.

Security Center Tools

In the left side pane of Windows Vista Security Center you will find links to: Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, Internet Options, “Get latest security and virus information from Windows online,” and “Change the way Security Center alerts me.” Clicking on any of these links, launches the corresponding tool. For example if you want to run a spyware scan on your computer, launching the Security Center and then clicking the Windows Defender link is one way to accomplish this.

In the middle section you will see four security categories: Firewall, Automatic Updating, Malware Protection, and Other Security Settings. Each category is color coded and is expandable. If the category is green, then the security settings are at acceptable levels. A red category needs attention.

Compatibility with Verizon’s Security Suite

As long as Verizon Security Suite is compatible with your version of Windows, you shouldn’t have any problems with Security Center and your 3^rd party computer security software. Security Center is simply a collection of Windows components and alerts, not a standalone software application. It makes it easy for users to access the security-related tools.

Fake Security Center

However, before you get too comfortable with Security Center, be aware that malware developers and advertisers have created popup windows that look extremely similar to Security Center. The difference is that these windows contain so-called security alerts that prompt you to download and install a specific product. If a Security Center alert suddenly popups on your computer, be safe by going into the Control Panel and launching the real Security Center to make sure that you are looking at the real thing and not malware or an advertisement.