How
to build a FREE Internet Security Suite. A Step by Step Guide to help
you protect your computer and your family while surfing the
net.
Page 4 of 4.
Question:
What more
is there? Is there no end
to this? Answer: Where is your sense of adventure? No pain -
no gain.
:)
Yes, the end
truly is near. We are almost
at the point of becoming an obsessive compulsive, but we won't
go THAT
far!
:) We will soon cease trying to beat a dead horse.
Here are TWO more pieces
of ancillary software you can ADD. They will
make you even SAFER. They both require a little explanation.
The first suggestion is to create, or replace your
existing HOSTS
file with a GOOD one. Download it HERE
and place it in your windows folder. If you don't know where it goes,
"do a Google" and find the location by searchingh on "hots file."
When you type a URL, (or a sub-domain name), in to your
browser window,
or you click on a link,
guess what happens? If you said: "My browser takes me there." WRONG!
The first thing your browser does is to look
on your hard drive to see if a hosts file exists. This file
lists
all the sub-domain,
(our sub-domain name is www.antivirusyellowpages.com), names that are
BAD, and also those you regularly use, like your
bank, i.e. your "Favorites." If the sub-domain is good, the browser goes there; if
its bad, it
does not. Neat, huh?
"By using the hosts file function, built into your
computer, you will be able to block advertising sites (or any other
site you wish) without the need for any extra programs. This will cut
down on memory and processor usage, which will free up your resources
for other tasks."
"By placing sites into your Hosts file with their
correct addresses, your computer does not need to ask another computer
where to find a site. This can significantly speed up your surfing
experience because your computer will go straight to that site instead
of having to ask directions. Also, by keeping ads from being loaded
using the blocking technique in the Hosts file, web pages will be
viewable much more quickly since they won't have to load a lot of fancy
graphics."
Here
is a different link; one that will give you additional
information on hosts files. You can edit a Hosts file
using a text editor like Notepad and add your own
entries to stop more bad guys.
Definitions
It's important to differentiate
between what is meant by a domain name and
a sub-domain name.
First, a domain name is what you buy
(rent) from a domain name registrar. For instance, our domain name is
antivirusyellowpages.com A sub-domain is what is
used by
DNS
Servers to convert to a numerical I.P. address. Our sub-domain
name is: www.antivirusyellowpages.com
This is what some
call a URL, but that's not quite
correct. Our full URL is: http://www.antivirusyellowpages.com
There is a caveat
you should be aware of when using a hosts file.
Hosts
File
Caveat
A large
Hosts file may slow down web access as the large file is
scanned. To prevent
this, for sites you access frequently, like ours, and maybe
your on-line bank, <g> you need to tell the Hosts file
that these are "Favorites," and to bypass
a full file scan. To do
this make a line entry just above
the first blocked site in the file. This line should have the I.P.
address and the sub-domain name of any site you frequent that you don't
want slowed down. Create one
line for each site.
Here is an example of a Hosts file speed-up entry:
207.44.232.71
www.antivirusyellowpages.com
This is the top
line in our Hosts file. When it's encountered, by the browser, the scan
stops.
All you need do is find out the I.P. addresses of the sites you
frequent often. Converters to give you an I.P. from a sub-domain name,
and
vice
versa, are available
on the net. If you don't already have a favorite for this
task, try this
link. To try it, enter our web sub-domain as we list it above in bold, on
the right; you should get back
the I.P. we show on the left above.
Software
License Agreements
This second recommendation concerns software licenses. Have you ever
downloaded freebie
software
and NOT
read the Software User License Agreement? Ha ha.
We
thought so! You didn't, did you? Boring, huh? Yeah, right, it is because it was
written by lawyers, or worse. This
agreement that you commit to, by downloading the software, may ALLOW the
vendor
to place Malware on your computer that could 'phone home.' Yep. Its
true!
Don't want to allow that? Really? Then READ
the download agreement, Duh! :) We have a little utility for
you that will scan
such
agreements for you and pull out the BAD words, the words you
may not
like. Click
on this link to look at it; its named EULAlyzer. Oh, did we
mention, its also available on our Home
Page when you're ready.
CAUTION: If you use the FREE version of EULAlyzer mmentioned
above, do
NOT press the button on the lower left titled "EULA-Watch." Its for PRO
version Users only. If you press it, it may
freeze the free version of this program. Other than this one negative,
the program works
fine! You can test it by doing a search for "license.txt" or similar
files on your computer.
Here
is what our Level 3 Internet Security Suite looks like:
The Internet
|
|
Your
Dial-Up, DSL, or Cable Modem.
|
|Below
is for DSL or Cable Modem Users ONLY.
Dial-Up
Users don't have
a Router and a single
firewall handles inbound & outbound.|
|
Spybot
- Search & Destroy
Ad-Aware SE Personal
Spyware
Blaster|
Hosts
File on your hard drive
EULAlyzer License Agreement Scanner|
A simplistic view of
your computer,
with a connection to the internet, that now has Level 3
protection.
Do you feel
better now? You should. You're now one heck of a lot safer than you
were back at the beginning. We've done a LOT,
and you have to DO a lot to keep your protection up to date. Do it for
your own peace of mind.
Can we do any MORE?
Ha ha. Glad you asked that, and the answer is still YES!
At the risk
of trying to squeeze water out of a rock, or thumping the dead
horse
we mentioned earlier, we would suggest the FOLLOWING for even more internet
security:
#1
Stop using Internet Explorer. Switch to a kinder
and gentler
browser, one that doesn't have as many holes as swiss cheese.
Try
Firefox instead; its less vulnerable and has more features than
I.E.
#2
Dump your Outlook E-Mail client for the same reason as
above. Switch to Mozilla Thunderbird. It's very similar to Outlook, so
you won't have to re-learn a lot, and it has more
features. Hackers won't be so likely to grab your address file and send
junk e-mail
to
your friends.
#3
Use
Google and
find a program called Registry Clean Expert. It's not free,
but a good
thing to have. Its safe, and, unlike
some, it tells you up
front
what its found that it thinks is bad, and asks your permission before
doing anything. You can schedule it to check your Registry file every
other day or so and keep it clean.
#4
Up-date your Ancillary Software EVERY
single week. Do not
let it get out of date, or it will slowly become useless. After
up-dating, RUN
each piece of software ONE
at a time. Do NOT
run these tools at the same
time. After you're done running the ancillary utilities, use your
antivirus software to do a COMPLETE
scan of your hard drive.
#5
This last tip is for more experienced
Users. If you're a newbie,
ask a friend who knows more to help you. Keep your JRE,
your Java
Runtime Environment up to
date. Take care to remove old
versions.
Good
luck! We sincerely hope we have helped
you and that now you are a wizened netizen!
Copyright
(C) 2004-2010. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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