Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2007 Free Edition

Lavasoft believe that every individual, regardless of
economic status or geographic location, should have the
power to control their individual privacy and security.
Lavasoft is the original anti-spyware company, and they are
still delivering the best protection today. After all, over
300 million computer users around the world can’t be wrong!

With the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives,
and external storage devices for known data-mining,
advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware 2007 easily
can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher
degree of privacy while you surf the Web.

Ad-Aware 2007 includes a redesigned engine, improved code
sequence identification, incremental definition updates,
one-click Web-history cleanup, multiple browser support,
and other new features.

One of the first applications built to find and remove
adware and spyware, Ad-Aware 2007 maintains Lavasoft’s
excellent reputation.

The interface features two skins and six tabs in the. The
first two, Status and Scan, initiate file scans for adware.
After scanning is complete, the program presents a results
summary, followed by a line-item list from which you can
select which components to remove. There is also an option
to create a system restore point. Right-clicking an
individual entry gives some information about suspected
adware.

The third button offers real-time defenses but only in the
paid version. Web Update, the next button, controls
definition file updates. The fifth button, Tools and Plug-
ins, shows you which plug-ins are installed and controls
TrackSweep, the new browsing tracks cleaner. TrackSweep is
the only free function here. Smoothly integrated into the
application, it wipes the cache, cookies, and history, and
other traces left by browsing.

Settings is last, and provides access to auto-scans,
browsers, scanning, the interface, and log files. The
application does an excellent job of removing most malware
components. Despite the restrictions on the free edition,
this is a fully functional adware remover, and Ad-Aware
2007 should be part of your defence system.

More Key Features
User-Controlled Spyware Removal - Decide for yourself what
to delete from your system and what to keep.

Extensive Detection Database - Stay protected with regular
updates from the extensive library of identified and
analyzed spyware.

System Restore Point - Easily revert back to your clean
system to recover from a spyware attack.

Surf the Internet with peace of mind and let Ad-Aware
shield you from dangerous intruders and prying eyes.

Preserve your computer investment with regular scans to
identify and remove malicious applications that eat up
memory and steal bandwidth so your computer runs as
smoothly as the day you bought it.

At present it is not compatible with Windows Vista, which
can install the program, but it sometimes crashes or hangs
during scans. A Vista-compatible edition will be released
in August 2007.

Download it free from here:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Note: Ad-Aware 2007 Free is free of charge for personal
home use only. Commercial use is prohibited. For real-time
protection and advanced options, paid versions are
available from Lavasoft at www.lavasoft.com.

Safe P2P File Sharing

GigaTribe (also known as TribalWeb) is a revolutionary program that lets you share entire folders with friends in a private peer to peer (P2P) environment. Share all your files (home movies, pictures, documents…) no matter how large they are.

It’s secure, encrypted…and free!

You create your private network by inviting your friends.No one can join your network unless invited. You can dismiss or ban your guests at any time. Your guests can’t see each other on your network.

EasyInstall
GigaTribe, select the folders you want to share and invite your friends to join your private network! Share all your files (movies, pictures, documents…) no matter how large they are. Interrupted exchanges automatically resume with no data loss. All files are exchanged at maximum speed.

Secure
Only the folders you want to share are visible. Only the users of your network can see your shared folders. When exchanging a file, only the sender and the receiver are aware of the exchange. All data exchanged on your network is encrypted (Blowfishencryption with a 256-bit key).

Free
All these features are included in the standard version and are totally free. GigaTribe contains no adware and can be uninstalled easily.

Pick of reviews:
PC Plus June 2007 Monthly DVD - The PC Plus Essential Collection” Harnessing the power of peer to peer, GigaTribe provides a network to exchange large files with your friends.”

Computer Shopper May 2007 DVD Edition: Expert Toolkit - MaySpecials” Create a private network over the internet to share files with friends.”

Download it HERE

What Is Clipperz

Clipperz can be used to store and freely organize any kind
of confidential textual information, such as passwords,
confidential notes, burglar alarm codes, credit and debit
card details, PINs, software keys, and so on.
Clipperz is free and completely anonymous.
Nothing to install. Nothing to backup.

Clipperz lets you submit confidential information into
your browser, but your data are locally encrypted by the
browser itself before being uploaded.

The key for the encryption process is a passphrase known
only to you. Clipperz simply hosts your sensitive data in
encrypted form and could never actually access the data in
its plain form.

To quickly grasp features and benefits of Clipperz, please
refer to these resources:

1. A video tutorial to learn how to access your web
services without typing username and password
http://www.clipperz.com/support/video

2. An introduction to “Clipperz Compact”, the edition for
the Firefox sidebar
http://www.clipperz.com/support/user_guide/clipperz_compact

3. Discover the “offline copy”, a read-only version to be
used without Internet connection (and maybe moved on USB drive)
http://www.clipperz.com/support/user_guide/offline_copy

For any further information about features and security
http://www.clipperz.com/

What are the system requirements?

To date, you only need any recent version of a Internet
Explorer, Opera or any Mozilla-based browser, such as
Firefox. Support for other browsers is coming soon as well.
It is recommended that you use a reasonably powerful
computer, and a fast Internet connection, because that will
make it more fun.

IE7 needs a custom procedure to install the bookmarklet
Instead of dragging it, you should right-click
on the link, and choose the “Add to favorites …” menu
item.
After selecting “Add to favorites …” (and having
dismissed a warning message), a dialog appears where you
have the option to choose where to add the bookmarklet:
Favorites, Links, etc…
Beware that IE7 comes with most panels hidden, so you may
need to make them visible using the contextual menu on the
browser toolbar, or clicking on the “star” button to make
the favorites panel visible.
Then when you open an account that you need to log into,
go to the account and enter your details then go to the
Favourites Menu and click on the Clipperz bookmarklet that
you have installed, then simple copy the code and enter it
into a new card in your Clipperz account.

There is an excellent Forum and Discussion group which
will assist with any problems that you may have.
I suggest that you go to http://www.clipperz.com/ and watch
the video. It is an amazing program where all of your
passwords are fully encrypted and saved, and you need never
remember another password.

This program is simplicity in itself, have a look and give
it a try.

As with all the safety and security items that I look
at it is free. So what have you got to lose?

Virus Protection from AVG - Tutorial included

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software. Become familiar with the software’s real-time scan feature.

Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.
Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

I suspect a lot of people get virus infections because they download random files off the internet. Kazaa/eMule and other peer-to-peer are great places to download infected items. It is important that if you use such programs that you have one dedicated folder to download too, and before opening or running anything scan it first with an anti-virus program. I recommend that people who want to exchange files over the internet (including entire folders of files) do so using encrypted solutions (and only with friends or people they know). A great new application is GigaTribe, it encrypts all exchanges, no files size limits, and is free from any spyware/adware.
Their website is http://www.gigatribe.com

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable antivirus program that has received high marks for its reliability. In the past, free downloadable antivirus programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues relating to its reliability.

However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs available. While AVG cannot be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it still makes a good choice for many home computer users.The best part is that it is free for both Windows and Linux and it checks for updates on a regular basis.

I have been using AVG free Anti-Virus for many years and install it as first choice on other peoples machines.

Get yours here:http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

Save the program to a folder which is easily accessible, I created one on my desktop and renamed it Downloads, this is where I download all of my utilities etc. so I have them in one easily accessible location.

Once installed AVG loads at startup and sits in your system tray.It will carry out a complete scan on a daily basis, but you can schedule it to do this at a time convenient to you. When it has completed its scan a small window will pop up with the results.

You also have the added benefit of real-time scanning as it runs in the backgound and will warn you if something you are downloading is infected.

You can also left click any folder or an item within a folder and scan it with AVG.

Important: Do NOT use more than one Anti-Virus programas it will give you false readings.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

Windows Media Player Tutorial - Click Here

CCleaner - clear your browsing history safely

I have covered this previously, but have added some new
information to this.

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy
tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing
Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk
space by automatically cleaning the cache when run. It also
cleans traces of your online activities such as your
Internet history. It also only takes a few seconds to run
and remove these unwanted files from your pc.

There have been over 55 million downloads of this program

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

Internet Explorer
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form
history, index.dat.

Firefox
Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.

Opera
Temporary files, URL history, cookies.

Windows
Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log
files.

Registry cleaner
Advanced features to remove unused and old entries,
including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs,
ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files,
Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more…
also comes with a comprehensive backup feature

Third-party applications
Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many
apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar,
Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce,
WinZip and many more…

This software does NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or
Viruses.

I set mine up as follows:
Click on the Cleaner Tab on the left and under Windows I
tick all boxes in Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer and
System. Under Advanced tick only the first 2 boxes. Then
click on the Applications tab and tick all.

Issues tab:
Unless you are competent at dealing with the registry then
leave this one alone and DO NOT run it.

If you wish to run the Issues to clean the Registry, carry
out the following first:

Backup your Registry. Go to Start, Run and type in regedit
click on OK and the Registry Editor will then open. Go to
the top Tabs and click on File, scroll down until you see
Export, left click it and this will open Export Registry File
window. Save this file to your desktop and in the File Name
box enter Registry Backup File.
Click on Save and it should now be on your desktop.
Verify the file is a good copy, in the Registry Editor
window click on File, select Import, in new panel where it
says ‘Look in’ select desktop and then click on your saved
file then click ‘Open’. Once it says it has been read in
successfully, you have a good backup.
Now if you find that some programs are no longer running
in the way that they should, restore your Registry as detailed
above. CCleaner will also create backup copies of your Registry
and I suggest that if you do choose to run the Registry Issues
untick all of the boxes and tick one box at a time and run each
one separately.

Tools tab:
Here you will find a list of Uninstall options to remove
programs from your pc, use with caution. I prefer to use
the Add/Remove function or the programs own uninstaller.

Startup:
Lists all programs that are set to run when you boot up,
if you are unsure about deleting any of these then leave it
as it is.

Options tab:
Settings - Choose your language, untick Run CCleaner when
the computer starts, tick the next 3 boxes, then look at
the Secure Deletion, tick the radio button ‘Secure file
deletion (Slower) and set it to NSA (7 passes)

Cookies - entirely up to the individual, but I don’t save
any cookies.

Custom - You can drag and drop files or folders into the
window or browse for them and on the next run they will be
securely deleted.

Advanced - Untick boxes 1-3 tick all others.

Finally click on the Cleaner tab on the left and you have
the option to Analyze or Run Cleaner. When you are
comfortable using this program you won’t use Analyze, but
initially do use it to see what can be deleted and the
approximate size of files to be deleted.

Important
This will remove any saved passwords and usernames that
you have, so make sure that you have a copy of them all
before proceeding to clean.

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

Windows Media Player tutorial:

http://www.a1-ebooks.co.uk/tutorials/CCleanerSetup.wmv

Open a text document, enter the URL, username and
password, save this to floppy, external drive or print it
off. Do NOT save this text file to your hard drive.

There is an excellent program for saving your passwords
etc available from http://www.roboform.com/
I will cover this in more detail another time.

As always, back-up your system or create a restore point
before making any changes.

To your safety and security online
cotojo