Software: Free add-on for Internet Explorer or Firefox can help prevent you from visiting a fake site that could infect your pc.

There is an add-on for Internet Explorer, Opera and Firefox that may help keep you from visiting a fake site that could infect your pc with malware or worse. The program called “Web of Trust” (From http://www.mywot.com/ (http://www NULL.mywot NULL.com/)), monitors trends (using their own information as well as information from other security providers) from the bad guys who set up these types of sites and either puts a marker or presents you with a message when a link that you are opening is considered to be either a known “phishing” site (a fake site meant to still your information) or a site that is high risk and could be a “phishing” site. The add-on does not actually block the sites, which means that you as the user still needs to use common sense while surfing the internet, as you could click on the message and tell it to continue to the site in question.

The add-on which is easy to install, will show the following type of notice on searches (Green as safe sites, Red as sites that would be recommended you avoid)

Panda WOT google search

In addition when visiting sites that could put you at risk you will see the following message

As already noted above, this is only an alert, this add-on with all of the browsers will still allow you to “Click here to continue to the page anyways”. That means that this program does not replace common sense, it is a tool to help you better chose but ultimately its still up to the user to use their own common sense.

Since I like giving real world examples to explain, here is how I explain Web of Trust. Consider WOT like your house or car alarm. When you leave your house, you set your alarm, but because you set the alarm doesn’t mean you don’t lock your doors (At least I hope it doesn’t). Consider your common sense as the looking of your door, if you don’t do it, your still at risk.

Internet Explorer Add-On (LINK: http://www.mywot.com/en/download/ie (http://www NULL.mywot NULL.com/en/download/ie))

Firefox Add-On (LINK: http://www.mywot.com/en/download/ff (http://www NULL.mywot NULL.com/en/download/ff))

Opera Add-On (LINK: http://files.myopera.com/PH%60/UserJs/wot.js (http://files NULL.myopera NULL.com/PH%60/UserJs/wot NULL.js))

Alert: Doing a search for DoorBuster sales could get you infected

It seems that the bad guys are at it again, and this time they are using the holiday shopping season to try and trick people into infecting their pc’s. Panda Labs released a post on their Panda Labs site (LINK:http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/archive/Black_2800_hat_2900_-Friday.aspx (http://pandalabs NULL.pandasecurity NULL.com/archive/Black_2800_hat_2900_-Friday NULL.aspx)) concerning the fact that if you go online and run a search that many of the links showing on search engines have been compromised and the results actually lead to fake sites that are just there to infect your pc.

From the Panda Labs post here is an example they show with results that will do nothing but infect your pc.

Google Search:

(http://www NULL.flickr NULL.com/photos/lithium-/4120742406/sizes/o/)

If you happen to access one of these fake sites you will get infected with an old favorite, the fake antivirus notices that wont go away until you give the bad guys your credit card information (One of the many others names you may have heard of this is AntiVirus2009 LINK:http://techgeekandmore.com/2009/10/19/rogueware-with-new-ranson-technology/ (http://techgeekandmore NULL.com/2009/10/19/rogueware-with-new-ranson-technology/)), since they will claim your infected until you but their product. At the moment you do, in a miracle your pc is clean, but a good chance that so would your bank account or credit card since you would have handed the bad guys your information.

In case if you do click on a bad link, you will see the screen just like it shows in the example below (or a slight variation). What you will need to do is follow the information from the recent post “What to do if you get a virus or malware” (LINK: http://techgeekandmore.com/2009/11/23/how-to-what-to-do-if-you-get-a-virus-or-malware-via-a-pop-up-message/ (http://techgeekandmore NULL.com/2009/11/23/how-to-what-to-do-if-you-get-a-virus-or-malware-via-a-pop-up-message/)) to attempt to clean your pc.

Fake Antivirus Page:

(http://www NULL.flickr NULL.com/photos/lithium-/4120742422/sizes/o/)

As always take precautions and use common sense when going to links including those that come up on search engine sites (Like Google, Bing, Yahoo). If your trying to get to the site of a major site, but the link showing says pleaseclickme.cm/SoIcanmesswithyou (This is just an example), then you may really want to think about it before clicking on the link.

**Images for this post are from the Panda Labs Post. Presented for the benefit of TGM readers.

TGM: Privacy Policy

Not only as Tech’s but as extreme power users, the privacy policy of sites is very important to TechGeekandMore(TGM). The following information is the TechGeekandMore(TGM) privacy policy as of 11/29/2009.

To see the Complete Privacy Policy for TechGeekandMore (LINK: http://techgeekandmore.com/privacy-policy/ (http://techgeekandmore NULL.com/privacy-policy/))

Software: Windows 7 – Changing the log-on screen picture

Customizing the way Windows look is something everyone does, from the picture you choose as your background, to the colors of your windows, to the way your start menu shows the program list, to numerous other possible changes. One of the things that I like about Windows 7 is changing the log-on screen, I think it makes my pc more “ME”.

Windows 7 – Default Log-On Screen

There are various ways to manually change the log-on screen, plus numerous applications that say they will let you change the log-on screen, however, the one we are going to talk about in this post I would consider as the best and easiest application to change your log-on screen (That’s opinion of course).

The programs called Tweaks.com Log-On changer (From Tweaks.com) allows you in a simple fashion to pick the image you want to use and makes all the changes for you. It even allows you to test the image you choose and to change the image back to the default Windows 7 log-on screen if you are just not happy with your choice, so the changes are completely reversible.

All the you need to do is download the program, and run the TweaksLogOn.exe file (Nothing actually gets installed on your pc), at which point you will see your default screen with the choices of

- Change Logon Screen – Which is how you select your image

- Test – Which allows you to test your image change

- Revert to Default Logon Screen – Which puts your Logon Screen back to the Windows 7 default

Once you select Change Logon Screen and select your image, if you test it and its to your liking, all you do is close the Tweak.com Logon Changer program and your done. That’s it.

Here is what my pc looks like now with the changes.

My New Windows 7 Logon Screen

The software for this change can be found at Tweak.com (LINK: http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/ (http://tweaks NULL.com/software/tweakslogon/))

And More! To all the TGM readers in the United States – Happy Thanksgiving

Soapbox! – Some companies out there just take advantage and have no morals. SoftwareCandy is one of those.

**I will start by saying that this post is entirely my opinion. There is a company that I just became aware of called SoftwareCandy (I will not put their link as they really don’t deserve that). The company claims that they are

Inspired by a Vision

At Software Candy, we believe that your computer should serve you, not the other way around. We believe that your Windows® XP, Windows Vista® or Windows® 7 experience should be fun, easy and productive.
That is why and how we came up with the concept of "the perfect software":

The problem is that what they are doing is going around the web and taking posts and solutions from many sites (sites that do not charge for their time and efforts) and then using that information like if SoftwareCandy was the one who came up with it (not giving credit to the original person), and on top of that SoftwareCandy proceeds to charge for this as well.

So they take others works (things that took and time and effort for the original person to develop) and than take credit for the work and make money from unknowing and unsuspecting visitors to their site.

We as techs all face similar if not the same issues, computer issues are computer issues, but for someone else to wait until you do all the work and then take all the credit for it shows a company with serious moral issues.

To those readers of TGM, I can’t tell you want to do or not do, but remember that you have options. If you don’t see answers to a needed solution here on TGM, you can always search the web for others who work just as hard as TGM to provide assistance without charging you, or you can send TGM and these other sites requests. TGM (as well as many other sites on the web) work very hard to help answer questions sent in by our readers. I’m sure you will be able to get a solution without having to pay a site like SoftwareCandy.

This ends my Soapbox**

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Monthly Archives: November 2009