Black Device Keylogger DOES Exists?

Remember my previous post about the black device? Well, I found websites selling the black device as a keylogger. Here's one http://www.keyghost.com/USB-Keylogger.htm and the appearance is not the same as the black device. However, this proves the device does exists.

In my previous post, I'm skeptical about this black device and saying this black device is not practical to use and I'm still skeptical about it. If I'm a hacker, I'm not going to use this device.

Unless if you want to use it for your own PC, maybe it's possible. Or maybe you want to catch a cheating spouse. This device might prove useful.

So, how do you prevent this keylogger from recording everything that you type? Simple, just check the connection from the keyboard to your PC every time you use it and I think most people will use it for their own PC ( to catch a cheating spouse, lazy workers and such).

Still, I think most hackers will use software keyloggers and it's better if you know how to protect yourself from it.

BTW, if you want to join my 5 day PC Security e-course, you can do so by visiting this link http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day

.hk Websites Most Likely To Pose Security Threats To The Internet Users.

New survey done by McAfee found out that the world riskiest websites are from ".hk" domain. According to the research, more than 19% websites with ".hk" domains are dangerous.

The second most riskiest websites come from China. You can read the full story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080605/tc_afp/technologyhongkongchinausinternet

So, next time you visit websites with ".hk" domain, be careful. The Internet is always changing and if the websites that you are visiting today are safe, who knows what will happen tomorrow.

We need to arm ourselves with enough knowledge, or we will turn out as one of the victims.

Cannot Execute .Exe Files

I received a call from my friend yesterday asking me about a problem with his laptop. He said that he cannot execute .exe files and his anti-virus (Avast!) said the files are infected with virus. So, I asked him if he has any Firewall.

He said "What is a Firewall?". Now that's a problem. And then I asked him again if he has ran a virus scan recently. He said he did scanned his laptop 2 months ago. I told him to install a firewall and schedule his anti-virus to scan at boot-up time.

After he updated his anti-virus and performed the scan, the .exe files can be executed without any problem. His .exe files have been infected by a virus and everytime he tried to execute it, Avast! will not allow it because it contains the virus. The solution: Perform a scan and boot-up scan.

If you're having this similar problem. Do the above things and install a firewall. It will help.

P.S - If you would like to know more on protecting your computer, visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day

Safe Online Buying Practice Tips

Many people are using credit cards to buy things online. However, there are people out there who want to steal your credit card numbers and use it for themselves. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to know some safe online buying practice tips.

1. Make sure that you've already installed KeyScrambler before typing your credit card number in order to prevent any keyloggers to record it.

2. Make sure you're on a secure website where the connection to the server are encrypted. Look at the URL, 'https' means you're on a secure website.

3. Don't buy anything from spam emails. If the spam emails are selling some Rolex replicas, never buy from them and it's better if you don't open any spam emails.

4. Scan your computer with anti-spyware and anti-virus to make sure you have no keyloggers installed in your computer.

5. Install McAfee Site Advisor to prevent you from visiting phishing websites.

6. Always make sure you're on the correct website before entering the numbers.

These are some safe practice tips that you can apply.

Svchost.exe or Scvhost.exe?

Malicious software such as spyware, adware, viruses, trojan horses and much more are software that have malicious purposes. Sometimes, they can disguise themselves to look like a legit processes.

For example, svchost. exe is a process belonging to the Microsoft Windows Operating System and it's essential for this program to run and it should not be terminated. Scvhost.exe is another process that looks like svchost.exe but it does not belong to Microsoft Windows Operating System. It's a W32/Agobot-S virus process and it's a threat to your computer.

If you found this process in your computer, you should remove it immediately.

Therefore, if you found suspicious processes like this one, you need to scan your computer using spyware and virus scanner. I would also like to suggest you to install McAfee Site Advisor in order to protect you from visiting malicious websites in the future.

Do Not Rely Too Much On Windows Firewall

One thing that you should know about Windows Firewall is, it's not a reliable firewall and it cannot block malware from getting into your system. Therefore, it is a good thing to install a third-party firewall such as ZoneAlarm or Comodo Firewall Pro.

When I don't know a thing about computer security, I used to use Windows Firewall. However, my computer has many symptoms of malware and viruses infection and I don't know that the cause is lack of protection.

After I learned a little bit about computer security, I begin to use a third-party firewall, install a good antivirus and anti spyware to protect my computer. Even though I have these protection, I cannot say that I'm secure enough from online threats.

In my opinion, there is no such thing such as a complete security for computer. The malware creators will always find loopholes and will try to breach into your system. The one thing that can protect you is your knowledge on computer safety.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you will notice that I talk a lot about computer security knowledge. It's because it's that important. So, learn everything that you can on computer security so you can protect your computer from online threats.

McAfee Site Advisor - In-Depth Analysis on Websites

If you read my previous posts, I think some of you already installed McAfee Site Advisor in your browser. For those who still haven't installed it, I suggest you to do it right away.

You will notice that when you search something on the search engines, the Site Advisor will advise you if the websites are safe to visit or not. However, if you want more and in-depth analysis of the websites, you can do so by visiting the Site Advisor website here
http://www.siteadvisor.com/analysis/

The analysis involves three main test, the email test, download test and affiliation test. The analysis will reveal what email messages that usually sent by the websites, download details and link details.

Another details are contact information, year established and how many users are using the website. It's a pretty useful analysis. For example, before you download anything from a website, you can use this analysis to learn what are the downloads.

Beware of Files With Double Extension

Files with double extensions are always a virus. It's because the virus tries to fool you into thinking that the files have only one extension. For example, if you found a file named image.jpg.exe, notice the last extension as .exe. This file tries to trick you into thinking that it's an image file and if you click it, you will execute the virus and your computer will be infected.

In order to prevent this from happening, you can always show file extension from Folder Options in Windows. By disabling the option, you can avoid from clicking virus files.

Trojan Horses and Viruses can also trick you by changing its file icons and make it look like file folders instead of executeable programs. By making you to think it's a folder, there is a chance that you will click it.

Next time when clicking a file, make sure you know its file extension.

P.S - Remember what I told you about my security test? Have you done it? If you have not, better do it right now to know and learn if you're secure enough from online threats. Check what my friend said about the test:

"I took the survey to found out how much I know about online security. I found that the quiz will help a lot of people to understand how to secure themselves from online threats and it shows how knowledgeable you are on the subject. I also refreshed my memory and found out what I was doing wrong by answering the test questions ..."

Karl
http://www.deletespyware-adware.com/blog

Online Security Test

I have just created a test to determine how secure you are. This test will ask you 10 questions on online threats and the result will show you how secure you are when going online. If you didn't have a high score on this test, don't worry. At least you've learned something when answering it.

If you have a high score, don't get cocky. Even a computer with top protection can get infected. Well, I hope you can learn something and if you want, you can post your score here in the comment section.

Here's the link

Chuang Online Security Test

If some of you have any suggestions regarding this test, feel free to drop it on the comment section.

P.S - First time here? Subscribe to my RSS so you will not miss any future contents

North America and Europe Have The Most Active Virus Threats This Year?

My friend, Karl Sultana, has agreed to share his six articles with me. So, that's why the previous six posts were Karl's articles and I hope you can learn something from his articles.

I've done a research about this year active virus threats and from the data that I've got from F-Secure website, http://www.f-secure.com/security_center/virus_statistics.html , I've found that the most active virus threats this year are in the North America and Europe.

If you see the above statistic, you can see that these two places have the most active threats. However, it's not as serious as in Mexico where the virus threats has reached medium level even though the virus threats in Mexico was not as much as in the U.S.

While in the Europe, active virus threats were detected in many places but Iceland, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Lithuania possessed the most dangerous threats that reached medium level.

Luckily, throughout the year, there were no high risk virus threats in North America and Europe and the only medium level threats that almost reach the high level was in the middle of April 2007.

Since April 2007, the only low level threats were in the end of August 2007 and all other threats were in the medium level.

Even though there were only medium risk threats throughout the year and there are no high level threats as of right now, but our computer is still got infected by virus and malware. What will happen if there is high risk virus outbreak? Will we be able to stand against it?

Discover How To Buy Online Safe And Secure

People are skeptic when it comes to paying online. That is a very good thing otherwise we become victims to fraud.

There are both dangerous places but on the other hand there are also secure and safe websites. You will learn how to identify safe sites and dangerous sites so you purchase only from safe sites.

Look out for these three signs that are a must for a site to be safe.

When you are on the order page the website url in the address bar should start with https:// and not http:// Also when the address bar starts with https:// the address bar color changes from white to yellow.

There should be an icon at the bottom of the browser. It is a yellow lock bar.

Is the process of buying easy and painless with no popups that deliver advertisements? It should be that way. The order form should not have any popups that deliver advertisements.

That is how to play it safe. Now some extra tips you can also do after verifying they are safe:

If they have a Live Chat Service contact them first so you verify they are real and honest.. Ask them something about the product guarantee or support service just to see if they reply.

If you are an eBay member you should never use money transfers like Western Union when paying at eBay. Instead use paypal or credit card.

Paying online is safe when you understand the risks and avoid them. You must also make sure you do not reveal your credit card numbers inside emails, instant messengers, phone, live chat. The safe methods to pay online are:

Payment on a secure website via credit card or online cheque.

Payment via paypal, bank wire and cheque.

A word about paypal:

Paypal allows you to send or receive money from different countries world wide. There are several others like Paypal but no all of them are safe and secure.

It is free to open an account. There are other similar services (if you are not allowed in Paypal) that are safe and work similar to Paypal.

A word about bank wire:

A bank wire is a very fast method to send money. It takes very little time for money to arrive in destination. You contact your bank for a bank wire transfer to another bank in a different country worldwide.

However make sure you know to whom you are sending money. Not everyone is honest, so they can quickly ran away with your money if you do not play safe. Know who you are dealing with.

A word about cheque

Like bank wires, play it safe.

Now you understood how to pay online safety, how to understand if a site is secure or not and what methods you need to use to pay for maximum security.

CopyRight All Rights Reserved

About the Author

Karl Sultana sells popular software NoAdware. Articles related to Internet security are updated regularly on his blog. Download NoAdware to remove adware & spyware today.

Computer Security - Books That I'm Reading Right Now

Today I decided to go to the library and find some books on computer security. I manage to find four books. However, I haven't finished reading it yet. Therefore, I cannot tell you if it's good or not.

This is the books that I'm reading right now

Computer Security Fundamentals by Chuck Easttom, Pearson Education Inc , 2006

Introduction to Computer Security by Matt Bishop - Pearson Education Inc, 2005

The Underground Guide to Computer Security by Michael Alexander - Addison - Wesley Publishing Company, 1996

The International Handbook of Computer Security by Jae K.Shim, Anique A. Qureshi, Joel G. Siegel - Glenlake Publishing Company Ltd, 2000,

These are the four books that I'm reading right now. Even though some of the books are quite old (One of it were published in 1996!), but I think I will gain valuable knowledge from it.

Fighting cybercrime will not be over as long as the Internet is here. Many malicious software are created everyday and removal or antivirus software alone are not enough. What we need is knowledge.

Protecting your computer is not just about you. It's about all of us. If you don't lock your house, you're the one that will have a problem. If you don't lock your car, it's you that will have a problem. But if you don't protect your computer, it will involve all of us.

Therefore, took action today and learn more about computer security. For starter, you can buy PC Safety 101 here - http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety or subscribe to my 5 Day PC Security E-Course for free here - http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day

Computer Safety Tips - Six Tips You Should Know Before Downloading Any Files From The Internet

The Internet contains vast amount of information and information such as ebooks and software can easily be obtained by downloading it into your computer. This will save time and effort and everything can also be automated. You can download the files even though you’re on a different time zone.

However, even though downloading files from the Internet have many advantages, there are some disadvantages because the files that you’ve downloaded maybe are malicious threats. Before downloading any files to your computer, I have six tips you should know so you can be more secure when downloading files from the Internet.

1. File Size

First of all, look at the file size of the files that you want to download. For example, you want to download freeware software from a web site and you know that the software file size should be around 12 or 13 MB. But on that web site, it says 234 kB. You need to be very careful with this as it might be a virus or trojan because the size is just not right.

Many people have been tricked to download this type of file and the files turn out to be malicious software.

2. Firewall

Use a firewall before downloading any files. If the files you’ve downloaded are trying to send privacy information to the hackers, it will not be able to do so because the firewall will block its outgoing traffic.

3. File Extension

File extensions is very important when downloading files from the Internet. File extension with .exe and have a small file size might be malicious software. It would be better you have an antivirus that will terminate the connection every time you tried to download any malicious software.

I have this one time when I was trying to download a files with .exe extension from the Internet without knowing it’s a trojan. My antivirus (I used Avast! at that time) terminate the connection immediately because it recognizes the file as a trojan. So, when you want to download any files, watch the extension. Files with double extension such as FILENAME.img.exe are mostly malicious software because it tries to trick you to think that it’s not malicious software.

4. Antivirus

As I told you from my story, I was saved from downloading malicious software by my antivirus and therefore, I strongly advise you to find an antivirus right now. If you don’t have any antivirus or anti-spyware programs on your computer, your computer might be infected.

5. Feedback

Websites such as download.com provide comment section or feedback for the download. Always read the download feedbacks before downloading because it will help you to know if the files are malicious software.

6. Internet Explorer Add-On

Use Internet Explorer Add-On that will tell you if the website you’re visiting contains threats that can affect your computer. Use add-on such as McAffe Site Advisor that you can download for free because this add-on will advise you which websites are safe to visit.

As I mentioned in the first tip, you need to know the file size before downloading. If you don’t know the file size, google it and visit the website which the site advisor add-on consider as safe.

There is no complete solution to computer security. The only way you can be sure your computer will be safe from any threats is by turning it off and sealed it in a sealed box. But what we can do is arm ourselves with essential security knowledge as it will help us in many ways.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips - http://chuangcomputer.blogspot.com/ - Want to know the secret of securing your PC from dangerous spyware, adware, and malware programs that can ruin your PC, your finances, and your sanity?! Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety/ for more info.

Computer Threats - Ten Computer Security Threats That Can Cost You $2000

Computer security threats have cost most people around $2000 to buy a new laptop. When the threats are infecting their computer, they cannot do anything and have to buy a new computer. Have you ever wondering why your computer is running slow? Or why your memory usage is always 100%? Or are you getting the same pop-up every time you open your web browser? These are caused by the nasty threats that lurk in your computer.

Therefore, computer security is important to all Internet users. These threats bring nothing but trouble and it can also cost you your personal and confidential information. There are ways to remove the threats that didn’t cost you near a price of a laptop. But, before you learn how to remove the threats, first you must know what the threats are.

In this article, I will explain ten must-know threats for any computer and Internet users.

1. Internet Worms

Internet worms are programs that can affect another computer on the same network and it works differently from virus. It doesn’t need to attach itself to another programs to be harmful and can create an exact copy of itself. Worms spread via network and consume bandwidth. Have you ever wondering why your network connection becomes so slow? It might be because of the worms. Worms can have many malicious effects such as causing a server to crash, make a user’s files unusable, or creating a backdoor on target computer.

2. Rootkit

Rootkit can hide it presence in a computer and can avoid detection while running its utilities. It can create a backdoor on target computer and allow hacker to send spam emails or use the target computer to perform denial-of-service attack on servers. Detecting it is difficult as it can conceal its presence in a computer. One way to detect it is by running virus scanner while it’s not running. In this case, running the antivirus before the system boots the hard disk.

3. Zombies

When a virus or trojan has infected a user’s computer, it will open a ‘backdoor’ to allow hackers use the infected computer for malicious purpose without the owner knowledge. This infected computer is called the zombie. Furthermore, the hacker can sell the target computer access to others and others can use if for their own purpose. If a spammer has gained an access to the target computer, it will use it to send spam.

4. Browser Hijacker

A browser hijacker can change your browser home page or search pages in your browser. In worse cases, it can disable your internet option so you cannot change the home page to the default home page. Furthermore, the browser hijacker can edit the registry so it can run every time you restart the Windows.

5. Email Virus

Email virus can distribute itself using email as an attachment. When you open the attachment, it will launch the virus and the virus will use the target computer to send the same email with the same attachment to other computer. It can also find files containing email addresses in the target computer and send the same email to the email addresses that it found. Sometimes, it can launch itself when the user views the email even though the user didn’t launch the attachment.


6. Mousetrapping

Was there a time when you cannot leave a website? This is called mousetrapping. The website will use a script preventing the Internet user from leaving the website. Sometimes, it will open a new browser and will display the same website. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to disable java script so the script no longer working.

7. Phishing

This is another threat that we faced online. Phishing is a term comes from fishing because the phisher will try to obtain your private information using bogus emails or bogus websites. If the phishers want to obtain your PayPal username and password, they will create a website that is the exact copy of PayPal and will email you asking you to enter your username and password using the link provided. The link they provided in the email will not go to PayPal, instead, it will go to the phishing website and if you enter your username and password, they will use it to get your money out of PayPal.

8. Spam

Spam is the junk emails or bulk emails send by the spammer to numerous recipients aimed to advertise something, scam, or sending virus. Spam can disguise itself as a personal email to bypass the spam blocker. Some spams do no harm but it’s a waste of time deleting it and it’s also annoying.

9. Spyware

A spyware is software used by hackers and advertisers to gain information about you. When visiting certain websites, you’re asked to install this type of software or updates that you need and the updates that you installed are actually spyware. Spyware can also install itself in your computer and it consumes memory usage and will slow down your computer.

10. Adware

Software that displays advertisement in your computer is adware and some of it installed itself in your computer without you knowing. However, not all adware are bad. Some of it is used to advertise something to fund the company. This type of adware will ask and tell you that they will install software that will display related advertisement in your computer. But, adware is a problem if it’s too difficult to uninstall, or it installed itself without you knowing, or it hijack your web browser and slow down your computer. This type of adware needs to be removed.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips. Want to know the secret of securing your PC from dangerous spyware, adware, and malware programs that can ruin your PC, your finances, and your sanity?!! Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety/ for more info.

Social Networking Websites Are Teaching People Wrong Lesson?

Social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Friendster and many more are teaching users wrong lesson? This news was featured yesterday in Yahoo News (Original article from InformationWeek.com). Here's the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20070906/tc_cmp/201804314

I think it's must be because of the news on 4th Sept when personal details of numerous users based in U.S, has been discoverd in a server located in France. The personal details were gathered by exchanging it with freebies. The websites offered freebies to get their personal details. However, no financial information were found.

So, why the social networking websites are teaching users wrong lessons? It's because the social networking websites are asking personal information and when the users found another websites (phishing websites) asking for the same information (name, address, age,job, etc), users will tend to give it away. Even their financial information because they're used to give personal information to social networking websites.

Therefore, in my opinion, we need to be careful when certain websites ask too much information. To be safe, NEVER give your financial information to websites you don't trust. If they ask your name and email, maybe we can give it away. But when they ask about address, company, hobbies, spouse name, credit card or other sensitive information, better leave that websites before they installed keyloggers to your PC.

P.S - Do you find this post helpful and know someone who can benefit from this post? Point them here and I'll be glad to have them here. Remember to comment this post and subscribe to my RSS.

The Free 5 Day Ecourse!

Hi guys,

The 5 Day PC Security E-course is officially launched right now! You can sign up at http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day . I will teach you 5 proven ways to improve your PC security.

Best of all, it's free!

So, subscribe now and you will receive a special offer from me.

Here's the link again
http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day

Azwan Asmat

5 Reasons Why You Need PC Protection Software

The Internet is a place with loads of information. In just one
click, we can find what we need in one place.

As of right now, there are 6,574,666,417 Internet users worldwide
(stats by Internet World Stats) and this number is increasing
everyday. Because of the number of users, security become an issue
for Internet users.

Internet users are faced with many online threats everyday. In the
nineties,the Michaelangelo virus storm through the Internet and in
the year 2000, the ILOVEYOU worm appeared.

Let me tell you five reasons why you should protect your PC and
why I should do the same.

1) Adware

Have you ever wondered why you're getting the same popup everytime
you open your web browser? This software is called adware and it
displays advertisement in your PC. The software will installs
itself in your PC and it's difficult to uninstall it and it also
can slow down your PC.

2) Browser Hijackers

When you open your web browser, your home page has changed.
In this case, it is the browser hijackers that changed your home page.
Other than changing your home page, it can disable your Internet Options
so you cannot change the current home page.

3) Phishing

The hackers can steal your confidential information or personal information
using phishing techniques. Phishers will duplicate trusted websites
and ask you to enter your information. Many people are fooled using
this technique and many has suffered. Therefore, if you don't learn
how to protect your PC, you're risking your confidential information to
other people.

4) Spam

Spam is junk emails or bulk emails aimed to send advertisement
to your inbox. Sometimes, the emails will send virus in its attachment
or a link that will point you to download a virus or Trojan Horse.

5) Spyware

Spyware is software used by the advertisers to gain information
from you such as your browsing habit, which websites that you visited,
and it will send that information to certain people without you knowing.
It also can change your home page.

These are the 5 reasons why you should protect your PC. Leaving your
PC unprotected while using the Internet will make you vulnerable to
these threats. Learn how to protect your PC by reading articles, ebooks,
participate in tech forums and reading books. It can help you to
avoid these threats.

Want to learn more on PC safety? Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety

Video Invitation In MSN and Yahoo Messenger?

A video conversation trough MSN and Yahoo Messenger are ways to communicate with other people. However, recent discovery has shown that there is a malicious attack using video invitation in MSN and Yahoo Messenger. I have two tips on how you can avoid this attack and use the video conversation safely.

1. Run Updates

As for this issue, Windows Live Messenger 8.1 is not vulnerable to this attack and to avoid the attack, you need to upgrade your MSN messenger to Windows Live Messenger 8.1 for better security. However, it has been confirmed that the hole in Yahoo Messenger has been patched and it's safe to use it. But, in my opinion, I suggest you to upgrade your MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger to the latest version.

2. Don't Receive The Invitation

You're only vulnerable to this attack if you accept the invitation, therefore don't receive a video invitation from someone that you don't know. Only accept a video invitation from those that you know.

Update your security often by obtaining the latest security patch from Microsoft and upgrade your software to the latest version.

Would you like to learn more on PC safety? visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety

P.S - The free 5 day PC Security e-course is almost ready! Visit this blog again if you want to receive the e-course for free. Maybe it'll be ready in next week.

How To Guard Your Computer From Virtual Threats

I love to surf the Internet. Why? Because there are too many information available and it will always growing. New websites are created everyday and this means more information.

However, more information equals to more threats. People are creating viruses, spyware, adware, malware and many more everyday.

Why are people creating this stuff?

There are several reasons why they're doing this. For example, maybe they want to test an OS security system. They want to know if they're good enough. Well, maybe if it can bypass the firewall or the antiviruses, then they're good. But, who are the victims here? Of course one of them will be me. Because I use the Internet daily.

There was one time when I was attacked by many viruses, spyware and adware and I don't know what should I do.

At that time, I only know how to format my computer and it was not a good solution because in two days, the same thing happened to my computer. What the hell? I just formatted my damn computer.

But, when I met this one guy (he is a software engineer), he taught me that formatting my hardisk is the last solution to my computer problems. Because if I don't learn how to protect my PC, it will always get infected by viruses.

From that day onwards, I never formatted my computer and it has been four years since the last time I formatted my computer.

But, I have to learn how to guard my PC the hard way. Luckily, you don't have to do the same. I have one ebook on how to you can guard your computer from virtual threats. This ebook will teach you things that you should know to protect your PC.

Learn more about this ebook here http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety

Basic Computer Security Tips

Computer security is important and one shouldn't take it lightly. Everytime you go online without taking any security measure, you're increasing the risk of leaking your private information stored in your computer to an outsider. In this article, I will explain four basic computer security tips that you should know.

1. New Computer

When buying a new computer, it is important for you to turn the firewall on. For example, you're buying a Windows XP operating system computer, what you need to do is turn on the Windows Firewall first before going online. Even though it cannot protect you completely, but it is good enough to protect your PC before you buy a new firewall.

2. Email

Attachments in unknown emails are usually a threat. Never open any attachment from an unknown email. Sometimes, the email subject said something about you getting a greeting card and ask you to click the link inside that email. I've opened this type of email and was attacked by a trojan horse. Luckily my antivirus aborted the connection.

If the link inside that email is something like an ip address (http://aaa.bbb.x.y/) instead of a domain name, never click it.

3. Update Your Virus Definition

Installing an antivirus will not be enough. Constant update is needed so you can receive new virus definition. New threats are being created everyday and updating your virus definition on regular basis is crucial to detect newer threats.

4. Don't Surf Suspicious Sites

Opening a porn site or a warez site will also increase your risk of getting a virus. Application such as cracks and patches from warez sites will also increase your risk. Furthermore, it's illegal.

Using these tips will decrease the risk of getting your private information stolen by an outsider. However, these tips are not enough to protect your computer as this is only a basic computer security tips. Learn more so you can create a virtual wall around your computer.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips. http://chuangcomputer.blogspot.com/. Would you like to learn more about PC protection? Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety/

How To Protect My PC From Online Threat?

This is one question that I often heard people asked. There are many ways on how you can protect your PC. However, in this article, I will tell you five tips on how you can protect your pc from online threat.

1. Antivirus

Antivirus can protect your PC from viruses and can warn you if there are some suspicious activity going on in your PC. Some antivirus have email shield and will scan your email for threat. I personally recommend Avast! Antivirus. If you don't have any antivirus, get one immediately.

2. Firewall

Firewall is a great way to prevent traffic going in and out from your PC. This way, information stored in your PC will never be stolen and you can watch your network for suspicious applications.

3. Never Open Any Unknown Email

Email is a good way of communicating and it is also a good way to send virus attachment. Opening an unknown email will increase your risk of getting a Trojan Horse attack or spyware attack. If you received an unknown email, delete it immediately.

4. Uninstall All The Unwanted Software

Unwanted software could be a spyware or adware and it could slow down your internet connection. Therefore, if there are software that you don't know in your add/remove list, uninstall it.

5. Use Other Web Browser

Many people use Internet Explorer as a web browser, however I suggest you to use other web browser so you can reduce the threat. People tend to hijack Internet Explorer because it is a widely used browser.

Having a PC is not only about using it, protecting it is also important. Therefore, learn more about PC protection so you can protect your PC.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips. http://chuangcomputer.blogspot.com. Would you like to learn more about PC protection? Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/pcsafety

General Tips To Solve Your Computer Problems

Owning a computer doesn't mean that you only need to know how to use it. Knowing what to do when your computer is having a problem is also important. I saw many people (mostly my friends) who knows how to use a computer but don't know what to do when his/her computer is having a problem. The only solution that they can come up with is formatting the computer.

Knowing how to format your computer is important. However, formatting a computer can only be used when THERE ARE NO OTHER SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE. As one of my friend said,

"Formatting is the last solution to your computer problems when there are no other solution."

Therefore, when having a problem, formatting your computer to make the problem goes away is not right. Let's say you cannot open your task manager or task manager is disabled, there are many solutions to this problem. Formatting the computer will solved the problem, but, it'll take longer time and your data will be erased. Furthermore, you will not know what is the source of the problem and you will not be able to learn how you can prevent it from happening again.

Let me tell you some general tips that I always do when facing computer problems.

There is one 'default' method that I always use. First of all, you need to download all of these software:

1. Spybot Search & Destroy
2. Ad-Aware SE Personal 2007
3. Antivirus (any antivirus will do)
4. Windows Defender
5. CCleaner
6. Eusing Free Registry Cleaner
7. SmitFraudFix
8. HijackThis
9. Comodo Firewall Pro

All of these software are free and you don't need to pay a dime. Except for the antivirus. However, there are free antivirus out there such as Avast!(recommended) and AVG.

After you have all the software, next you need to find what is your problem. Let's say your problem is you have a slow internet connection in your PC eventhough you're subscribing to a broadband ISP. You know that your ISP is not the problem because when you use other computer, it's as fast as usual. What you should do is you need to run the number 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 software from above list.

Usually, after you run these software, your problem will cease. However, if it does not, you need to run the number 7 software (safe mode recommended)and choose clean registry and if the problem stays the same, run the number 8 software.

But, be careful when running this software (number 8) as it will affect your computer if you delete the wrong entries, therefore, please consult an expert before deleting any entries. To do this, participate in a computer tech forum and ask people there nicely after introducing yourself.

After your problem is solved, run the number 9 software so you can protect your computer from any threat. When doing this method, you can also know what is the source of your problem, if the problem is solved after you run the Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware SE Personal, then you know it was a spyware, malware or adware that was causing your problem. Therefore, you can prevent the same thing from happening again in the future.

This is my 'default' method of solving a computer problem. Knowing this method and having these software are important because it will help you in many types of computer problems. Remember to update the software regularly and I also advice you to save these software in a USB memory stick (pendrive, thumbdrive or whatever you people call it) so you can help your friend anytime if they're having the same problem.

Things You Should Know When Downloading Files From The Internet

So, you are a new member of some underground forum which you have found from a friend. Suddenly, you find links to some warez software or some movies that you want to buy yesterday. But because of your empty pocket, you cancelled it. Then you download the files but it turns out to be a virus or spyware.

What I want to tell you here is just for information purpose. I don't recommend you guys to download illegal software or movies. But, this is The Internet, people can download whatever they want. Not just warez software, but downloading any files from the internet can become very risky if you don't know what you're downloading.


When downloading any files from The Internet, the safety and the security of your computer are important. You don't want to download any viruses or spyware to your computer. Therefore, I'm going to give you some advice on how you can keep your computer spyware-free when downloading files from the internet.

First, you need to look out for the file extension. Sometimes, files with .exe extension are viruses. But not all of them. So, when you've finished downloading the .exe extension files, scan the files with whatever antivirus you have. If you don't have any antivirus, GET ONE NOW.

There are lots of free antivirus out there. Go to download.com and search for Avast Antivirus or AVG or Antivir Personal. Download one of these antiviruses and scan the files.

Second, you need to look out for its size. Let's say you know that the software file size is 15 MB or 18 MB. But, the file that you want to download from the suspicious website is around 256 KB. This file might be a virus. Because the size is just not right. If you don't know what your file size is, search for it first on Google and look for its file size on different web sites.

If you've opened 20 sites and all the sites showing the same size, it might be the correct file. But, there is no guarantee because maybe all the files are a virus. However, this is unlikely to happen. But just be careful.

Third, use a firewall on your computer. Because, if the files you've downloaded is a threat, it will attempt to send personal information about you or download a software from the internet.

By having a firewall, you can block it. I use COMODO Firewall Pro. It's a good firewall and it's free.

So, you need to know these things if you want to download any files from the internet. Downloading files from The Internet is easy. However, many people are trying to take advantage of this by uploading viruses, spyware and such. Before this people know your credit card number, you better protect your computer from any threats.