Internet Explorer Protected Mode and Vista Support

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software

Every online business is now competing to capture the most strategic real estate of the Internet—users’ browsers. Placing your branded toolbar in user’s browsers has become a vital part of your Web site strategy.

Other functional benefits of toolbar customization are as follows:

· For easy navigation of websites.

· For easy navigation of search keywords.

· For keeping the bookmarks of the websites.

· For creation of toolbar buttons by dragging and dropping the URLs

· For Blocking the Popup

· For giving notifications to users for IE Events

· For capturing the contents of webpage

· For getting the content of RSS Feeds…etc.

So bringing you to the latest news on the block is the Internet Explorer’s Protected Mode.

It’s certainly a new feature in the Microsoft Vista Operating System, also considered as one of the pieces of the User Account Control (UAC). The Protected mode is basically designed to protect the computer by restricting the parts of the system, which can effect the code running in IE. So if a malicious web page exploits a code-injection bug in IE or an IE plug-in, that code will not be able to damage the system.

Vista also introduces you to a new attribute on securable objects called the Mandatory integrity level. This comprises of four levels:

The “System” level, used by OS components, and should not be used by other applications. “High” which is the level of processes that are running, elevated with full admin rights. “Medium” the processes launched in the normal fashion, and the “Low” used by IE and Windows Mail to provide protected mode.

To further this discussion, Windows stored information about a process also includes which integrity level it was launched with. This level can never change once the process is started, it can only be set at the time the process is created. To make this simple, a process’s integrity level has three main effects such as:

· Any securable objects that the process creates get that same integrity level.

· The process cannot access a resource whose integrity level is higher than the process’s own level.

· The process cannot send window messages to a process that has a higher integrity level.

So if you want to determine, if your extension is running in a protected mode IE process? …. You can use IEIs Protected Mode Process which will return the BOOL Parameter whether protected or not. As good as it gets.

Now, the most obvious question would be ….How does VISTA support help in developing a toolbar here?

Most of the plug-ins need Registry and/or File system access for reading and/or writing operations, these operations can be done without problem when Internet Explorer Protected mode is Disable.

The challenge here lies is when the protected mode is enabled. An extension can only write to a few directories under the user’s profile. There are special low-integrity directories under the TEMP, Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, and Favorites directories that are writable. Internet explorer also has some compatibility shims, which virtualizes other commonly-used directories. The Write operations to those directories are redirected to a subdirectory of Temporary Internet Files. If an extension tries to write to a sensitive location, like the Windows directory, that operation will fail.

The Developers however need to use VISTA SDK for getting the File system Writable Location, for downloading any files OR for doing any File system operations.

If your wondering, How to Enable / Disable Internet explorer Protected Mode? You can simply open the Control panel from your Windows Login User account settings; you will see the optional mode to turn the User Account Control on or off. From this screen you can easily disable the Internet Explorer Protected mode, making sure that the “Use User Account Control (UAC) to help Protect your computer” option is unchecked. You need to remember to restart you PC once this setting is changed to proceed. Simple, isn’t it?

Protect Your PC From The Conficker Virus

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software
In the history of the use of the Internet, users all over the globe have faced tremendous attacks that has wrecked their businesses and rendered them financially bankrupt. To forestall the reoccurence of such experiences and aid internet users and computer users alike to accomplish their purpose for using the net, many companies have produced antiviruses to serve not only as a protection to one’s computer but also as a form of security to them while they are surfing the net or doing business online.
AVG was founded in 1991 to provide proactive protection against computer security threats in homes and business. With more than 80 million active users, AVG is designed to work with every major operating system and platform. AVG security products are readily available online and through resellers. Many products are free to download and there are never strings attached. A leading expert in software development, threat detection and prevention, AVG continues to invest heavily in research and development, as well as team with universities to maintain a technological edge. AVG provides software worldwide but operates out of Europe and the U.S.
Introducing the new AVG Internet Security 8.5. It detects and removes all variants of the latest conficker virus that has destroyed many internet business.This new antivirus has three basic features :Home Security, Business Security, and the New AVG LinkScanner.
This All-in-one protection includes the following:
Antivirus and Anti-Spyware: protection against viruses, worms, spyware, and Trojans
Identity Protection: helps prevent identity theft
Anti-Rootkit: protection against hidden threats (rootkits)
Web Shield: screens downloads and IM for infections
LinkScanner: blocks poisoned web pages in real time
Anti-Spam with anti-phishing: filters out unwanted and fraudulent e-mails
Firewall: blocks hacker attacks
System Tools: tailor AVG for your particular needs
Furthermore, it is Easy-to-use, automated protection. AVG Internet Security gives you maximum protection with real-time scanning, automatic updates, low-impact background scanning for online threats, and instant quarantining or removal of infected files ensures maximum protection. Every interaction between your computer and the Internet is analyzed to ensure nothing can get onto your system without your knowledge.
AVG checks in real time:
All files including documents, photos, music, and applications
E-mails (all major email programs like Microsoft Outlook and Thunderbird supported)
Instant messaging and P2P communications
File downloads and online transactions such as shopping and banking
Search results and any other web links you click on
Internet Security – prevention is better than cure
AVG Internet Security provides multiple layers of protection to ensure nothing slips through.
NEW Identity Theft Protection prevents new and unknown threats from stealing your personal information like bank and credit card details.
LinkScanner checks every link, making sure you’re safe searching the internet and surfing the web, minimizing the risk of you accidentally visiting a poisoned web page.
Web Shield detects and blocks malware threats in file downloads and instant-messaging conversations.
The Firewall stops hackers from accessing and misusing your computer.
Antivirus, Anti-Spyware, and Anti-Rootkit detect and root out all manner of malicious software, no matter how stealthy it may be.
You didn’t buy your computer to worry about security. So let AVG Internet Security do the worrying for you while you get on with your online life.

Protect Your PC and Data

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software

Online privacy and computer security has always been a common issue among all Internet users who have their own personal computers, be it a desktop or a laptop. There are a lot of things to be done in order to ensure that you have total protection. To avoid confusion here is a checklist that can serve as your guide:

Block Viruses and Hackers

Without a firewall and antivirus software, your computer will become vulnerable to threats such as viruses and hackers. It will be like leaving your house with the door unlocked.

Every Computer Needs a Firewall

Having a software firewall installed will regularly ask you to confirm if a computer program’s communication on a given port should be allowed or not. A hardware firewall may be able to block or allow all packets that pass in and out the port but it has no way of knowing which application started the communication on your computer system.

Use a Two-Way Firewall

The built-in Windows firewall is good but it would be better to use a firewall that has the ability to monitor and manage both incoming and outgoing network traffic. Any real-life backdoor program initiated on your computer will be blocked by a bidirectional firewall.

Update Your Internet Protection Regularly

Downloading and installing regular updates provided by vendors can help prevent email viruses from taking advantage of the flaws in your hardware and programs.

Set the Controls for Security

After updating the latest bug fixes and patches in your software, verify the security settings of the applications. Most commonly used programs offer minimal features in blocking viruses, stamping out cookies, and keeping spies off your computer and network.

Use Browser Privacy Settings to Block Unwanted Sites

You can use the settings on your browser to control the web content that you would allow. By doing so, websites can be prevented from doing nasty things on your computer.

Disrupt Email Threats

If your email program is prevented from carrying out attachments and scripts in the received messages and the program is updated to fix security flaws which have been recently discovered, you will have a better chance of keeping Trojan horse programs and viruses from invading your computer. Outlook and Outlook Express’ most recent versions have the wonderful ability of blocking dangerous attachments and all scripts through default settings. It will automatically place any incoming mail with HTML in the controlled security zone.

For those recipients who want to take a quick look into emails with attachments, Outlook Express allows them to see the files or scripts contained without even opening the email. By doing a right-click on the message, then Properties, Details Tab and Message Source in order, the exact text of the message can be seen.

Your Wireless LAN Should Use MAC Filtering

For maximum Internet protection, you should use multiple Internet security elements. If you have a wireless network, Media Access Control or MAC address filtering is a good security feature that your access point or wireless router can enable as an extra layer of protection to keep network hackers from gaining access to your system.

Internet Security

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software

As an online business owner, you face treacherous Internet security risks every single time you’re online. Viruses, hackers, and spam await you at every turn. The reality is that these threats are always going to be a component of being online and doing business online. Unfortunately, they seem to be here to stay.

Given that, there are a number of precautions you can take to make yourself, your business and the visitors to your site as safe as possible. Here are 8 tactics proven to enhance your Internet security:

1. Virus Protection. Make sure you have the latest virus updates installed on your computer and let the software thoroughly scan your entire computer daily to ensure that no viruses successfully planted themselves on your hard drive. Set your virus checker to scan your email when it downloads, as well.

I use AVG Free to scan both my computer and my email. They also have a fee-based version that provides complete Internet protection. McAfee and Norton also offer similar products.

For spyware and malware protection, I use CounterSpy. The company that makes this software also has a new product to protect against viruses and spyware called VIPRE.

2. Spam Blocker. I have a spam blocker that I use with Outlook called Cloudmark Desktop that does a great job of helping me train my email program to recognize spam. What I like about this program is that the program users tell Cloudmark what spam arrives in their inboxes, and the programmers update Cloudmark accordingly to recognize those kinds of emails. Other spam blocker programs include IHateSpam and MailWasher.

3. Web hosting Spam Blocker. To block spam before it even hits my Outlook inbox, one of my hosting accounts offers Postini spam blocking on my server. I pay a few dollars extra each month to add this service, but it is well worth it, as it routinely blocks at least 100 emails per day that are spam. I always have the option to log into that account if I am missing an email that may have ended up there accidentally, and I can “whitelist” the sender so that it goes though without a problem the next time. Every night this service sends me a list of emails that are questionable (i.e. the service isn’t sure if it’s spam), and I quickly scan them to approve any that have been misidentified.

4. Email Address Spam. One of the easiest ways your email address gets added to massive lists of spammed email addresses is by including a clear link to your email address on your website. Spambots routinely patrol the Internet looking for readily available email addresses to harvest online. Even if you have the link “cloaked” by saying “click here to email”, which will bring up your email address in the visitor’s email program, the spambot is able to read the HTML sourcecode and harvest the email address.

Instead, remove your email address off of all of your websites. Use a contact form for people to email you that incorporates CAPTCHA technology (where the form filler has to read a graphic representation of a word or set or numbers to prove that s/he isn’t a spambot). I use the free version of Freedback for this task.

5. Discussion List Spam. If your email address must appear on any discussion lists, blog posts, or forum postings, use a free email address like the ones available at Gmail or Yahoo. In this way, you protect your “real” email address from being picked up by spambots.

6. Catch-All Email Address. If your web host company permits, create a catch-all email address that receives all email not specifically marked for a set POP email address or email forward you may have set up. When you sign up for someone’s free giveaway, for example, that will add you to their marketing list you can then enter an email address that reminds you of the site or giveaway where you used it.

For example, if I’m signing up for Jane Smith’s free dog training tips report, I might use dogtraining@mydomain.com, which will then end up in my catch-all domain email address. In this way, you don’t have to give away your “real” email address, and you can determine if the list holder sells or rents your email address to another. So, then, if you suddenly begin to get emails to your dogtraining@mydomain.com address from a dog food company you’ve never heard of, you’ll know that Jane sold or rented your email address to them.

7. Firewalls and Hackers. Make sure that you are using Windows firewall protection, at a minimum, to protect your computer from being hacked while you’re online. Or, use a free firewall like ZoneAlarm. You can also upgrade for a fee to get enhanced protection.

If you use a wireless router, be sure to set a password to secure it so that anyone passing by your home or office cannot hijack your signal and potentially hack your computer. I was resetting the wireless connection on my laptop just last week and discovered that there were 3 unsecured wireless connections in my neighborhood. I live in a residential section with no businesses, so I know that these were unsecure wireless routers in my neighbors’ homes.

8. Secure Server. If you’re selling something online, either your website hosting account or your shopping cart provider needs to have a security certificate so that any monetary transactions can be made over a secure server. You can check to see if your checkout process is secure by looking for https:// in the address window of your browser when browser when you are on the payment page of your site/shopping cart. Some browsers will also show a gold locked padlock icon when you are on a secure server.

I had to purchase a security certificate from my hosting company for my membership site, as the secure server wasn’t built into the shopping cart that is integrated into the membership site software. If you use Paypal or some version of 1ShoppingCart.com, you are safe, as your customers’ transactions are being carried over a secure server.

When you make sure that your computer and email are protected from spam, viruses, malware and the like, your customers are then safe when you email them or upload something to your site for them to access. Responsible online business owners need to take every precaution available to them to enhance Internet security for all involved.

Mcafee Internet Security Suite

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software
Computer viruses, spywares, adwares, hackers and identity thieves are easily found and yet are growing rampant on the internet. Everyday, more and more people are becoming victims of this very serious crime and some people even lost money because of identity fraud.

Because the internet is now used to do business dealings and also used for credit card purchases, the threat of getting victimized by identity theft is very possible. You have to consider the fact that you will be using the internet to make purchases by using your credit cards. A simple key logger will record everything you type and automatically email it to the people who have developed the particular program.

This means that these people will know all about your personal information, your passwords, your credit card information and others just because you typed it.

Viruses are also destructive to your computer and can render your files useless once your computer is infected with a computer virus. This particular malicious software will be able to destroy your files, slow your computer down or it can also contain spyware along with the destructiveness of the computer virus.

Not only are you letting someone access your computer from somewhere in the world, but you are also letting them destroy your files in the process. It’s like letting a stranger in your house, install surveillance equipments and plant bombs around your house without you ever knowing about it before it’s too late.

The thought of having someone access your computer without you knowing about it can really be scary, especially if you keep all your important documents and all your financial records in your computer.

However, there are companies today that also develop programs that secure your computers from these ever growing threats. These programs are called internet security programs. One program developer that offers great internet security is called McAfee. They offer people the McAfee Internet Security Suite for people to be able to fight off these malicious software programs and prevent someone from taking a peek in your computer.

You may now ask why choose McAfee Internet Security Suite instead of other internet security programs available. This is because McAfee is a known company that develops great programs to fight off viruses and other malicious software. The Internet Security Suite that McAfee offers has different protection features in one package. They offer protection against viruses, protection against spywares, protection against adwares, protection against spam and phishing emails, protection against hackers, backup features, intercepts websites that contain offensive graphics and images, offers protection for your computer 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and it also offers updates for new threat definition to improve protection.

Since McAfee offers all of this in one package, you will have it all in a single installation. By purchasing McAfee Internet Security Suite, you will protect yourself and your computer from the different threats circulating in the internet today.

So, if you are looking for an internet security software program that offers all protection features in one package, it is a great idea if you should consider McAfee Internet Security Suite. It is recommended that you should purchase the latest internet security suite in order to maximize protection against malicious software found in the internet. Protect yourself with McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006 Edition.

Kaspersky Internet Protection

Posted by: norton  :  Category: Norton Anti-Virus, Software
Picking a excellent internet security software is pretty difficult. Exactly why ? Since there are many different types of internet security applications out there plus they all assure that they can guard your Pc from various Trojan’s, spy-wares as well as other kinds of malware actions. So what one to exactly select will probably be really puzzling. If you ask me which one to select, id propose kaspersky internet security. Exactly why? Because kaspersky includes a effective antivirus engine, which is actually capable of detecting 97% of recognized and also unidentified Trojan’s. Also it includes a powerful anti-spy-ware engine, which has a spy-ware detection rate of 99.2% There are several additional helpful features found in kaspersky internet security. Presented underneath are some.

1. Combine Detection Technology :

This is really a really incredible function released in the new 2010 edition. Because of this technology, the different defense engines (Firewalll Engine, Two-Way-Firewalll Engine, Anti-Spam Engine mainly) found on kaspersky internet security 2010 can easily combine with each other. Put simply, the Firewallll protection engine is able to merge with the anti-virus engine in the event that it scans your network traffic. Because of this it helps to make the safeguard more efficient, and also making it very difficult for any virus or spy-ware or any other type of malware to attack your Pc.

2. Parental Control :

Kaspersky Internet security offers the most effective parental control when compared with other internet security applications. It’s got a constantly expanding database so in the event a fresh unnecessary content web page is opened up, kaspersky is the first to add it to its database. Also it checks the particular web page for any kind of repeating unwanted words and if it finds anything like that, it strictly blocks the relevant web page. Because of this smart feature, you’ll be able to leave your Pc with your kids and never have to worry about what they are viewing.