Computer Tips

[usefullll]

INTRODUCTION

Forum name ''usefullll'' referring to this thread ''usefulness''... i know it's very childish ,did think of changing to another name but pointless since i aren't active on here.

This Thread not Meant to be Popular/Spam, hopefully benefit someone. It's one man's work so updates might be slow.

This Thread offers - Basically as stated below

1)Recommended Anti Virus - Anti virus,Anti Spyware etc

2)Software Recommendation - Registry Cleaner,Anti Rootkit,Defragmentation,Recovery

3)Recommended Settings - Including Firefox,Spybot,Avast etc + Screenshots etc

4)Useful/Recommended Firefox Add-on - Plus those Hardly known ones yet useful

5)Download Links - Added sites are Official or Trusted/Safe websites like Download.com & Filehippo.com

6)Useful Websites - Bottom section

7)Basic Tips - Thorough Scanning tips ,Reformat or Basic tips for Anti virus etc

RECENT UPDATES

Added links Redirect Remover and Form History Control add-on - Updated on 28th of August 2010
Articles and Official Forum links section Removed
Panda, McAfee Rootkit, Eusing Free Registry Cleaner Links
3 CNET Articles Links added
A-Squared Anti Dialer,Advanced Uninstaller Links
Dr Web Link Checker and Click&Clean add-on Links
KeyScrambler Personal, Nightly Tester Tools, CookieCuller
5 Articles links added and Avast image updated
Some Cleanups
Avast 5 Images
File Recovery section - Recuva,Pandora & Jfile recovery
Auslogics Registry,ToniArts & Temp File Cleaner Links
Defraggler download link updated
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer
TACO,LongURL,Webmail Ad,Speed Dial & IE tab add-on Links
Wise Disk,Registry Cleaner link
DejaClick add-on
Removed underlining in titles for easier to read
Several new articles links added
Article section
Download Links to all listed software
Separated Some Links from titles
Updates Analyzer section
Firewall section,Wikipedia,FAQ Links
Rootkit software and Comodo updates
A-Squared Image and Links cleanups
Window Cleanup Utility link
Nuke Anything Enhanced add-on
ATF,Regseeker,TweakNow added & Defragmentation section
Ad-Aware,Spybot,nCleaner,CCleaner,SAS Images
Ad-Aware section updates
Cleanups ,Colors updates
MV RegClean added
Offline Storage Firefox interface Image added
Avast,Spybot,Lavasoft,A-Squared,Norton Forum Links
IObit 360 Link and Settings Updated
Avast Registration Link & nCleaner Settings
Websites Information Updated
Infection section
Revo Uninstaller & some Cleanup
System Restore update
IObit 360 section
False Positive Basic Information
Avast Image
ThreatFire software
Firefox Add-On Links
Spyware Blaster issue - Firefox 3.5
Updated Firefox Image
How To Enable Spybot Paranoid mode
Avast Wikipedia Link
Edited Doubled section of Comodo BOClean.
Comodo BOClean been Removed since Discontinued
Avira Wikipedia Link
Avast Recommended Settings,Tick and Unticks

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Green - Title
Blue - Tips/Recommended
Red - Indication
Bold - Important

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BROWSER

•Mozilla Firefox



•^Under Privacy ,Tick Accept cookies from site,Un-Tick Third Party cookies settings

•^Under Advanced,Click Network - Offline Storage to 0 Mb



RECOMMENDED SECURITY FIREFOX ADD-ON

•Adblock Plus

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865

•NoScript

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

•BetterPrivacy

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623

•Web of trust

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3456

•Nuke Anything Enhanced

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/951

•DejaClick

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3262

•Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (TACO)

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/11073

•LongURL Mobile Expander

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8636

•WebMail Ad Blocker

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7560

•Speed Dial

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4810

•IE Tab

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

•KeyScrambler Personal

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3383

•Nightly Tester Tools

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6543

•CookieCuller

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/82

•Dr.Web Anti Virus Link Checker

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/938

•Click&Clean

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3100

•Redirect Remover

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/537/

•Form History Control

^https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/12021/

INTERNET OPTION SETTING

•Under Security,Internet Medium setting

•Under Security,Local intranet Medium or Custom setting

•Under Security,Restricted site High or Custom settings

•Under Privacy,Click Advanced & Block Third party cookies. Accept or Prompt for First party cookies.

•Under Advanced,Un-tick the option Enable Third party browser extension

•Under Content,Un-Tick all Auto Complete Settings
^

Affects Internet Explorer Doesn't Save or Store visited websites,User names,Passwords forms etc

ANTI VIRUS

---------------------------------TIPS----------------------------------------

•Only One Anti Virus per computer. Two Anti virus will Conflicts & NOT Double protection

•Download Stuffs with caution and Scan before Open the file

•Need Help to Remove Infection? Use Trend Micro HijackThis Scan,Save Logs to Notepad (Copy&paste Whole Logs at Forum)

•Don't click Unknown Online Ads/Links Or Download/Install/Stream stuffs from Unknown Websites

•Clear caches after Finish internet-ing via Internet option or preferably Cleaner (CCleaner etc)

•False positive? Upload file to Virustotal.com with over 30 Scan engines, But cannot perform System wide scans

•Schedule/Check updates Daily etc for Anti Virus (If Manual updating Spyware Blaster,Check updates Weekly)

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•Avira AntiVir

http://www.avira.com/en/download/index.php

•Avast

http://www.avast.com/index

Registration Key License

•Basically changed all Scanner's Sensitivity levels to High etc

•Under Basic Settings and Show special scans in avast interface - Tick



Under Maintenance,there's shows the expiry date for Registered License

From its description ,meaning its Skip the scan on file if deemed clean previously
so i prefer to let it scan again to ensure computer safety. Including scanning operating system files too

•Do not Scan verified system DLLs, To let it Scan thoroughly - Un-Tick

[usefullll]

ANTI MALWARE

More information? : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

•Spybot Search & Destroy
Spybot-S&D written by the German software engineer Patrick Michael Kolla. Developed by Safer Networking Limited. Spybot's has Immunizations,while SD Resident blocks Bad downloads TeaTimer monitor changes and HOST file entries,blocks unwanted sites and Paranoid mode that asks on any Unknown changes.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_sp...earch_destroy/

•Go Setting,Advanced Mode. Under File Sets - Tick
Usage Tracking
Tracks.uti


•Enable Paranoid mode.
Right click Spybot Notification icon,include
Paranoid mode (its Tick-ed when its On)

•Spyware Blaster
Anti Spyware,Browser protections without running in background.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

•Ad-Aware
Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware and anti-virus program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on a user's computer. It detects spyware, viruses, dialers, Trojans, bots, rootkits, data miners, aggressive advertising, parasites, browser hijackers, and tracking components.

http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

•Under Setting,Profile Scans - Un-Tick
Executable File only
Skip files larger than


•Malwarebytes
Detects & Removal only in Free edition,Detects and removes malwares. Includes trojans,rogue software,browser hijackers and other spyware components.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ma..._anti_malware/

•Super Anti Spyware
Detects & Removal only in Free edition. Still effective for Spyware
and other infections.

http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

•Under Preferences,Scanning Controls - Un-Tick
Ignore files larger than 4mb
Ignore non-executable files
Scan only known files types


•A-Squared Free
Scans computer for malicious software, including Trojan Horses, Dialers, Worms,
Spyware, and Adware. A-squared Free is specialized in finding,removing them securely etc.

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

•Under Scan PC,Custom Scan -Tick


•A-Squared Anti-Dialer

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/antidialer/

•IObit Security 360

http://www.iobit.com/security360.html

•ThreatFire
Install Without Anti virus version,Free And Paid protection against zero day attacks.
Works well with Well-Known Anti virus like AVG,Avast and Avira etc.

http://www.threatfire.com/

•Dr. Web CureIt
Basically For me ,i use as Extra Scanner (Not protection) for virus removal. Description below.
Easy to use FREE curing utility to clean your computer infected with viruses and various unwanted
codes by the Dr.Web Anti-virus updated once or several times an hour. Paid version includes virus protections.

http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

ANTI ROOTKIT

•Rootkit Buster
Scans hidden files, registry entries, processes, drivers, and Master Boot
Record (MBR) rootkits. In addition,can also clean hidden files and registry entries.

http://download.cnet.com/Rootkit-Bus...html?tag=mncol

•Rootkit Hook Analyzer
Thoroughly analyzes the computer threads to detect rootkits and reveals its location.
Doesn't provide removal along with the software but manual removal is possible.

http://download.cnet.com/RootKit-Hoo...html?tag=mncol

•Sophos Anti-Rootkit

http://www.sophos.com/products/free-...i-rootkit.html

•F-Secure BlackLight

F-Secure BlackLight is a tool that detects files, folders and processes hidden from the user and other programs. BlackLight is also able to remove hidden malware by renaming them. Note: F-Secure BlackLight is a Response Lab Tool and is intended for use in customer cases. Product support is not provided.

http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/secu...ght/index.html

•RootkitRevealer

http://www.filehippo.com/download_rootkit_revealer/

•Panda Anti-Rootkit

http://download.cnet.com/Panda-Anti-...-10717196.html

•McAfee Rootkit Detective

http://download.cnet.com/McAfee-Root...-10720121.html

[usefullll]

JUNK/REGISTRY CLEANER

•Advanced Systemcare 3
Registry,Junks cleaning. Defragmenter,Spyware defenses all available in the
free version. Paid edition includes Deep scan,scheduling etc.

http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-Sy...=dl&tag=button

*Advance Systemcare 3 Function : ''Delete Window Temporary Files
Older than a week'' means Only delete temporary files older than a week.

•Go Settings,Junk Files Clean. Under Scan For - Tick
Recycle Bin
Temporary
IE Temporary Files

Under Additional - Tick
Enable Secure Deletion


•CCleaner
Popular and Free Registry cleaner.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

Under Setting - Tick
Secure file Deletion to Gutmann (35 passes)


•Under Advanced - Un-Tick
Only Delete Files In Window Temp Folder Older than 24 hours


•Comodo System Cleaner
Deep Registry Scan,Tuneup functions etc,entirely free.
Never delete Unsafe to delete entries.

http://system-cleaner.comodo.com/

•nCleaner
Effective Junk Cleaning & Tweaks & Real Time System Monitor
and lot more functions. Its entirely free as well.

http://www.nkprods.com/ncleaner/

•Go Info (Top Right Corner) ,Under Statistics. Click More ,Under General of File Security - Tick
Shred Files (secure but slower) using Gutmann (35 Pass)


•Glary Utilities
More than a Registry Cleaner,100% Freeware for this version.

http://download.cnet.com/Glary-Utili...html?tag=mncol

•MV RegClean
An advanced registry cleaner for Windows that can clean and repair problems with your registry. It can help fix problems with the Windows registry that are a common cause of crashes, slow performance and error messages. (Taken from Freeware file site)

http://www.freewarefiles.com/MV-RegC...ram_34489.html

•ATF Cleaner
No Install required and Freeware,its provides cleaning for Windows,User,All User temp,Cookies,Tempo files,
History,Prefetch,Java Caches and Recycle bin. Includes Firefox and Opera cleaning too.

http://download.cnet.com/ATF-Cleaner...html?tag=mncol

•TweakNow RegCleaner
Suitable for Safe registry cleanups. Its Freeware,Publisher Description : When applications fail to remove their own Registry entries when uninstalled, TweakNow RegCleaner will help you get rid of them. To keep your computer at top performance, it is recommended you periodically clean your Windows Registry to prevent slowdowns. TweakNow RegCleaner has been designed to do this. It has been made to quickly remove unwanted registry items accurately.

http://download.cnet.com/TweakNow-Re...html?tag=mncol

•RegSeeker
Powerful Registry cleaner that can displays can display various informations like your startup entries, several histories (even index.dat files), installed applications and much more can search for any item inside your registry, export/delete the results, open them in the registry. RegSeeker also includes a tweaks panel to optimize your,also includes a file tool to search for duplicate files, bad shortcuts and more etc.

http://download.cnet.com/RegSeeker/3...html?tag=mncol

•Eusing Free Registry Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/Eusing-Free...-10521691.html

•Wise Registry Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/Wise-Regist...html?tag=mncol

•Wise Disk Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/Wise-Disk-C...html?tag=mncol

•Auslogics Registry Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/Auslogics-R...html?tag=mncol

•ToniArts EasyCleaner

http://download.cnet.com/ToniArts-Ea...html?tag=mncol

•Temp File Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/Temp-File-C...html?tag=mncol

•HLP Free PC Cleaner

http://download.cnet.com/HLP-Free-PC...html?tag=mncol

UNINSTALLER

•Revo Uninstaller
Revo Uninstaller was designed to remove unnecessary files and registry entries left behind
by Add/Remove Programs etc.

http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_..._download.html

•Window Installer Cleanup Utility

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

•Advanced Uninstaller

http://www.iobit.com/advanceduninstaller.html

DEFRAGMENTATION

•Defraggler
Under the same CCleaner Developer,Use Defraggler to defrag your entire hard drive, or individual files. This compact and portable Windows application supports NTFS and FAT32 file systems. Easy to use and small file size as well.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_defraggler/

•Smart Defrag
Increases PC speed,including automated defragger,easy to use interface and Low memory usage in background.

http://download.cnet.com/Smart-Defra...html?tag=mncol

•Auslogics Disk Defrag
Disk Defrag will speed up your computer by optimizing file system. It can defragment files, consolidate free space and move system files to the faster part of the disk. Also includes simple user interface, defragmentation report,Low system resources usage. It's also freeware.

http://download.cnet.com/Auslogics-D...html?tag=mncol

[usefullll]

FILE RECOVERY

•Pandora Recovery

http://www.pandorarecovery.com/

•Recuva

http://www.filehippo.com/download_recuva

•JFileRecovery

http://www.jfilerecovery.com/

UPDATES ANALYZER

•Secunia
Basically analyzes your computer,all programs for newer updates if available

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/

•Update Checker

http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

•Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

http://www.filehippo.com/download_mbsa/

INFORMATION AND TIPS

•Infection

Malware that installed on computers and collects information about users without their knowledge. Slows down computer,System crashes, change browser page without permission,Unknown disconnects from internet etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus


•False positive

Scan result Indicates that file being infected. But in Fact They didn't contain Any infections. Which sometimes may lead to deletion of important files which might cause system crash,unstable performance etc. Post at Forum (example if use Avast,then post at Avast forum)

•Firewall

Basically like a shield to allow or block access for programs in your computer,also can block malicious software,hackers etc.
Every computer must have a Firewall installed. Only One Firewall per computer,if not will conflict (crashing etc).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall


http://www.microsoft.com/security/firewalls/faq.aspx

•Reformat

Deep reformat only,Longer duration but effectively erase all the file.
Though not permanently,still useful for clearing up the junks and stuffs.

•Window Update

Install all High Priorities Updates,Some stuffs Listed as Custom update,
make sure check all of them before installing. Since it'll took quite sometime to install all of it.

•System Restore

Useful for Reverting back to Any Saved points when accidentally deletes Registry Stuffs or Others. If Infected with Spyware,Trojans and use System Restore,can reinfect your System. Decrease amount of spaces to 1~3%.

Please Do NOT turn off System Restore on your own trying to remove an infection Unless Advised to Do so

•Thorough Scanning

Restart computer in Safe mode F8 Key.
Under Control Panel then click Folder Options
Shows hidden files and folders
Un-tick hide protection operating system files
Un-tick hide extension for known file types
One scan at a time

•Website Recommendation

Download.com (Useful downloads,not 100% free of spyware,Be careful of what you download)
Filehippo.com (Useful downloads, not 100% free of Spyware,Be careful of what you download)
Comodo.com (Comodo products)
Glarysoft.com (Glarysoft products)
Virustotal.com (Testing False positives in Files)
Secunia.com (Secunia inspector and more information)
Safeweb.norton.com (Many Ratings/reviews on different websites ''is this Safe?'')
Siteadvisor.com (Same as Safeweb norton)

[enoskype]

Hi usefullll,

Thank you for the link, but because of the RED alert of McAfee SiteAdvisor I have delinked your link, and copied the content of your that post in to the post#1 of this thread.

I had to copy the plain text as this forum only permits 10000 characters per post compared to your original 14000+.
If you find it inappropriate, please feel free to delete.

Thank you for your understanding.

Cheers.

[usefullll]

Originally Posted by enoskype

Hi usefullll,

Thank you for the link, but because of the RED alert of McAfee SiteAdvisor I have delinked your link, and copied the content of your that post in to the post#1 of this thread.

I had to copy the plain text as this forum only permits 10000 characters per post compared to your original 14000+.
If you find it inappropriate, please feel free to delete.

Thank you for your understanding.

Cheers.

I see,i went check. It's because of excessive pop ups. Sorry didn't notice because was using Firefox + Adblock plus.

''I had to copy the plain text as this forum only permits 10000 characters per post compared to your original 14000+.''

You mean you copied the whole colored text from there then to here it's whole plain text? so that means you didn't delete any of the words in the settings etc?

[enoskype]

Yes, I didn't delete any of the words in the settings etc., copying to notepad, and then here, not even one word is deleted.
FYI, it is exactly 10000 characters together with my EDIT: De-linked Link is in the signature. note now.
............................................................. ..........-------------------
Cheers.

[IcyFrostPyro]

this post is a bit outdated. avira now scans for rootkits and im not going to name whats horrible on this list :) glary cough woops!

[usefullll]

Originally Posted by IcyFrostPyro

this post is a bit outdated. avira now scans for rootkits and im not going to name whats horrible on this list :) glary cough woops!

Thanks for your wonderful comment. I'll edit and update it,Thanks.

[usefullll]

Bring up my thread,note...thread located at comodo forum has been closed.