Computer Help Thread
This has some basic programs to help you solve computer problems.
Reading Material
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Emergency Tools
Use these tools in an emergency situation where you have a virus or
spyware installed and cannot remove it by normal means.
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Free Anti-Virus solutions
All have a paid versions which offer more functionality. Only run one
anti-virus software on your computer, more than one can cause a conflict,
and do more harm than good. In other words: If you already have AV software
installed, don't install one of these unless you intend on uninstalling
your current AV first.
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Software Firewalls
All have a paid versions which offer more functionality
Only run one software firewall on your computer if needed
This includes the one built into WindowsXP, Windows Server 2003 SP1
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Free Cleaning utilities
Automatically cleanup your temp folders, and other added features---Please
read the instructions before using
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Free Online Malware scanners (Virus, Trojans, Worms)
Ensure you set to Autoclean when possible. Safe to run, even if you
have Anti-Virus software installed. Most of these require IE to run.
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Downloadable Spyware and Malware Scanner
These do not replace Anti-Virus software
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Root-Kit Removal Tools
Rootkits are a newer type of software threat that can be installed into
Windows without your knowledge. They are hard to detect and remove,
and it is hard to determine whether or not you may possibly have a rootkit
installed. Some rootkits are used legitimately by software vendors,
and some are malicious. Learn more about rootkit's on Steve Gibson's
Security Now,
Cnet, and Wikipedia.
Multimedia Software
Many times you will find that you need a certain codec to play a
video or audio file. Below are some players and codec packs that make
this process very simple.
This has some basic programs to help you solve computer problems.
Reading Material
- Basic Home Computer Security from CERT
- Secure Your Web Browser
Most spyware is installed through backdoors in your web browser - How to Secure Your
Wireless Home Network and Basic Wireless Security from CNN (Slightly Outdated) - Home Network Security
- Recover from a Trojan or Virus Attack (PDF)
- Overview of spyware and viruses
for novices - OnGuardOnline.gov
Tips about viruses, spyware, spam, worms, phishing and more - Understand & Using Firewalls
- More
Helpful Tutorials - Windows Optimization Guide Includes many helpful tips, tricks,
tweaks, and free software. Also debunks many myths about certain
aspects of Windows. - Tasklist.org
- List of items that you might have running in your startup list
or task manager. Find out if they are legitimate or malicious.
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Emergency Tools
Use these tools in an emergency situation where you have a virus or
spyware installed and cannot remove it by normal means.
- Merjin's Tools Download HiJackThis and other tools you may
need to diagnose any problematic programs you have running in the
background. See this tutorial on analyzing a HiJackThis log. - Ultimate
Boot CD for Windows or Ultimate Boot CD
Provides a functional boot up CD with many tools and features to
correct problems if you can't get on your system. There are slight
differences between the two and I'm not sure if they are one in
the same or include different tools. I have only used the 2nd one. - Bootdisk.com
provides emergency boot disks for almost any occasion
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Free Anti-Virus solutions
All have a paid versions which offer more functionality. Only run one
anti-virus software on your computer, more than one can cause a conflict,
and do more harm than good. In other words: If you already have AV software
installed, don't install one of these unless you intend on uninstalling
your current AV first.
- AVG Free by
Grisoft - Avast
Home Edition by ALWIL - AntiVir Personal Edition Classic
- BitDefender 8
- Comodo
Free Anti-Virus
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Software Firewalls
All have a paid versions which offer more functionality
Only run one software firewall on your computer if needed
This includes the one built into WindowsXP, Windows Server 2003 SP1
================================================== ====================
Free Cleaning utilities
Automatically cleanup your temp folders, and other added features---Please
read the instructions before using
- Windows
CleanUp! by Steven Gould - CCleaner (Crap
Cleaner) - System
Security Suite by Borland Delphi - Internet Sweeper
by Allume Systems - Evidence
Eliminator - MRU Blaster MRU (Most recently used) Blaster will remove most
tracks and traces of recently visited web pages, and other similar
things.
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Free Online Malware scanners (Virus, Trojans, Worms)
Ensure you set to Autoclean when possible. Safe to run, even if you
have Anti-Virus software installed. Most of these require IE to run.
- Trend
Micro's HouseCall - Kaspersky's
Online Scanner - BitDefender
Free Online Virus Scan - Symantec's
Security Check - eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
- TrojanScan
- Windows Live OneCare Full Security Scan
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Downloadable Spyware and Malware Scanner
These do not replace Anti-Virus software
- AVG
Anti-Spyware 7.5 (previously Ewido Anti-Malware) - A-squared
Free by Emsisoft Malware scanner, compliments your AV - Prevx
Malware Removal Free Trial - Removes most malware- Ad-Aware
2007 Free It does have a paid version that offers other functions... - Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4 Includes many useful
tools and functions - Microsoft Windows Defender (Beta) - Requires WGA
authentication Includes Realtime protection - CWS Shredder Removes the infamous CoolWebSearch bugs
- Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool Removes a
limited number of software and requires WGA authentication - Malware
Killer 0.90 Includes Spywareblaster, Adaware, Spybot S&D, NOD32
Anti-Virus Standalone, and removal tools for cleaning IE temp files -
good for emergencies
Prevent Spyware from ever being Installed with these tools - SpywareBlaster by JavaCool - HIGHLY Recommended
*Will block bad ActiveX
*Block malicious cookies in IE and Firefox
*Restrict actions of potentially dangerous sites in IE & Firefox
*Does not have to be left running as a background process. Just update
it every couple weeks and close. - SpywareGuard 2.2 by JavaCool (Slightly Outdated)
provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great
addition to SpywareBlaster - Script Sentry Prevents potentially malicious files
from being executed by prompting you before they run (these include,
.VBS, .JS, .SHS, and more) - IE-Spyad Puts over 5000 sites in your restricted
zone so you'll be protected when you visit innocent-looking sites that
aren't actually innocent at all. You don't need this if you use
Spywareblaster & the Hosts file included with Spybot. - BlueTack Hosts Manager
& Lists highly maintained hosts
file to load into Windows to prevent certain sites to be accessed
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Registry Cleaners
Registry Cleaners are useful for removing old and obsolete entries from
your system's registry. However, you should be careful with these tools
and always make a restore point and backup your registry before
cleaning it, as sometimes these tools can remove more than you want them
too. CCleaner has a very good built in registry cleaner in it also.
- RegSeeker One of the best and most popular tools.
Has an autoclean or manual cleaning function. See this article for a short
overview of how to use the program. - RegCleaner
4.3 This is the last free version of RegCleaner made by the author
of jv16 powertools. RegCleaner still works fine on it's own on XP,
although I'm not sure about Vista. - WinASO RegDefrag I
have no experience with this program, but it has a good rating by Cnet.
It claims to run a defragmentation procedure on your registry. - PageDefrag This isn't a registry tool per say, it
defrags your page file, which can become overloaded and needs to be run
every so often. - Axcel216
Registry Guide An overview of Windows registry tips, tweaks, and
cleaning methods. See more documentation below in the Microsoft Support
Articles.
- Ad-Aware
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Root-Kit Removal Tools
Rootkits are a newer type of software threat that can be installed into
Windows without your knowledge. They are hard to detect and remove,
and it is hard to determine whether or not you may possibly have a rootkit
installed. Some rootkits are used legitimately by software vendors,
and some are malicious. Learn more about rootkit's on Steve Gibson's
Security Now,
Cnet, and Wikipedia.
- Sophos Anti-Rootkit
- F-Secure
Blacklight Rootkit Removal Technology - UnHackMe
Rootkit Killer 30 day trial - Rootkit Revealer by Microsoft (formally Sysinternals)
- AVG Anti-Rootkit Free New Rootkit removal tool from AVG
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Multimedia Software
Many times you will find that you need a certain codec to play a
video or audio file. Below are some players and codec packs that make
this process very simple.
- VideoLAN
VLC Player Will play most all types of media, DVDs, CDs, and
any media file types. All codecs are integrated. - ffdshow codec
- Includes codecs required to encode and decode most all popular
audio and video formats - DivX -
The DivX Codec has a free and paid version. It will play most media
types (including Xvid and DivX encoded movies, which are the most
popular encoding forms). It includes a player, the codec, a web
player, a file converter and more. - Final Builds - Includes the K-Lite Codec Pack, which has codecs
or almost all known media types, and includes many players for all
types of formats. Also has Quicktime and Real Player alternatives
which are less bulky than the official players, and many other good
software. - Winamp -
Formally just an MP3 player, Winamp will play most audio and video
types, and has built in streaming radio stations, including a free
broadcast of XM Satellite Radio