How to Stop Malware

I subscribe to a Windows Secrets Newsletter that monthly, shares articles on Windows use and tips. This month's featured article was Malware and how most originates from Russia, Eastern European and China.

a quote from the summary ...

"When asked the top three ways to deter malware on a PC, Brandt's suggestions are ones we should all know — and follow — by now.

• Stop using Windows XP.
• Install and keep updated security software such as the free AVG (site) and Malwarebytes (site).
• Most important: Think before clicking any link and whenever Windows unexpectedly asks whether you want to proceed with a change to your PC settings."

Make Your PC Faster and Better

Over time, it's almost impossible to prevent unsavory apps and other files from infiltrating a Windows PC, regardless of how careful a user you may be. There are simply too many ways for junk to seep its way in.Here is a great article most non-techs can follow. Rule #1 'When in Doubt - Leave It Alone'

Approach: Update > Uninstall > Clean > Disable > Optimize

Was Your Online Account Hacked

PwnedList is a tool that allows an average person to check if their accounts have been compromised. You can read more about where our data comes from here. Just enter an email address associated with any of your accounts to see if it's on our list.

Find Lost Photos in Your Email Account

Lost Photos (free for Windows, $3 for Mac) is a handy application that finds photos buried in the depths of your email account. Simply install it, enter your email address and password, and let it go to work. Lost Photos can scan AOL, Gmail, Google Apps, iCloud/MobileMe, and Yahoo email accounts for — you guessed it—lost photos.

What To Do if Your PC Gets a Virus

If you saw a message pop up that says a virus was detected, that's a good thing. Your antivirus noticed a virus and likely removed it without prompting you.

This sort of message doesn't mean that you ever had a virus running on your computer. You could have downloaded a file that contained a virus and your antivirus removed the file before it could ever cause a problem. Or, a malicious file on an infected web page could have been noticed and dealt with before it caused any problems.

http://www.howtogeek.com/126911/what-to-do-if-you-get-a-virus-on-your-computer/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=181012

Dropbox Makes Sharing Photos Easy

Managing photographs just keeps getting easier and easier. Now we snap images with our phone or tablet and immediately e-mail them to friends or family or post them on Facebook for all to see. Here is another way to leverage the features of Dropbox to share digital photos. Note: this may be a little technical for some, but worth considering.

Read It Later - now Pocket

A great free application for the PC and/or iPhone, Pocket provides a simple way to capture web related content (articles, websites and information  that you find interesting BUT prefer not to take time - at the moment, to stop and review the article. With a simple 'one-click', you save (or bookmark) that web page and site address for later reading. You can then return to Pocket on your i OS device or PC and view captured list of sites you collected/saved and read them at your leisure. Check it out http://getpocket.com and on the App store 

AES Encryption for DropBox - SecretSync

Many have learned the value of DropBox for sharing and syncing files across your PC's and devices. You know that it installs a special folder on your computer. Anything you put in that folder gets synchronized to all your other computers and devices. Now, even though DropBox encrypts files before syncing, you can add significant additional security to your very important and private files and documents. 

SecretSync works together with the Dropbox service to securely sync your files. It does this using client-side encryption, which means that before your files are added to Dropbox, they are encrypted first, on your computer. SecretSync also installs a special folder, separate from Dropbox, for confidential or sensitive documents. After installing SecretSync, you will have two folders on your computer, the SecretSync folder and the Dropbox folder.

Read more ... SecretSync

Have Your Account Passwords Have Been Leaked?

If you're curious whether your email address appears on collected leaked password lists, you can use a tool that quickly checks for you. Check out this site PWNLIST. Scroll down and enter your email address. Don't get nervous if your email was leaked (mine was in 2010). Your action is simple - change your password soon. Also, the site offers leak monitoring for free (personal). I have not checked that feature out. For those with time on their hands, read the article here.

Best Free PC Anti Virus

So Which Is Best?

Avira is the technical standout. It has posted excellent scores in recent protection tests and it also ran away from the competition in our performance metrics. The downside is a confusing user interface. I had to explore the software for a few minutes before I understood how to operate it. If Avira could make the software just at tad more intuitive it would have the perfect product.

Avast! may be a better option for users who want to fuss with protection as little as possible. It is nearly as good as Avira in our performance benchmarks and it offers a slick, simple interface. Advertising is kept to a minimum, as well.

Lavasoft and AVG are suitable choices, but both have a catch that may be significant for some users. Lavasoft uses far more resources than the competitors while running in the background and AVG has an unattractive interface loaded with advertisements for the full version and other AVG products. Both offer competent protection, however.

Last, and least, is Microsoft Security Essentials. It was not the slowest in our tests, nor did it eat the most RAM, but protection studies have shown it to be the least effective at stopping threats by a large margin. Missing 5% of recent threats in the AV-Test roundup doesn't sound like much, but all other competitors missed 2% or less. Going with MSE makes you substantially more vulnerable. See Best PC AV