Safe and Reliable Computing
This page will list several products that I use on a regular basis for securing a computer to keeping it healthy. I will only
talk about products I use and believe in, and this page will change periodically as I find something new or better.
Viruses and malware are the most common. Usually an expired or no antivirus is installed on a system, or someone clicked on a malicious
advertisement that was dressed to look like a legitimate windows warning (Scareware).
Have a question about my recommendations or anything else? Then please contact me.
An excellent antivirus system for protecting your home or office computers. Great product as a standalone antivirus system, or
you can utilize a Central administration console to manage multiple machines easily.
Version 12 of ThirtySeven4 has just been released, which now includes an improved user interface, a silent firewall with active defense, improved
browser protection, entertainment mode for gaming, and the strong protection as you would expect.
I can go on for quite a while about how agressive this antivirus is to protecting your users or yourself, but bottom line, if
you need to protect a networked system, a POS system, an office, church, business, or just your personal PC, I highly
recommend you check out Thirtyseven4. Top notch protection and support for a very resaonable price.
If managing multiple computers through your network, Thirtyseven4's admin console allows multiple methods of deployment. This is handy for mixed environments where
maybe not all the machines you want to manage are on the same domain, or workgroup, or both. The admin console allows you to remote deploy to multiple machine, specify individual admin accounts for the
machines if needed, or you can have the admin console send an email with a link to install the antivirus on the remote machine(s). I love the multiple deploy methods,
and this is easy for business, schools or church environments where a dedicated IT staff isn't available to manage your computers. Without
using any documentation, I had my whole networked system installed, and protected in just a few minutes. Not all antivirus admin consoles are
this easy. Trust me, I know.
I have posted a few screenshots of ThirtySeven4's Admin console and client HERE.
Comodo cleaning Essentials
If your Windows system has already been infected with malware, try Comodo Cleaning Essentials to disable the malware and allow you to install
a proper antivirus and malware protection.
My opinions vary sometimes about what tool in this classification to use. Comodo seems to have a neat tool now that appears to be able
to restore your machine into a usable state, which is great for then adding the proper protection and cleanup. This program does not need
to be installed, and appears to work well as a portable tool.
OpenDNS
Enables consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, protect users from phishing sites and provides
typo corrections for website addresses. Also this service usually resolves DNS names slightly faster than your ISP's DNS servers and can speed your internet
requests. This service is free and easy to start using. I highly recommend everyone to use OpenDNS!
On my home network, I have OpenDNS configured on my router so all the computers on my home network use OpenDNS for safe surfing. It's one extra level of
protection you should not go without. The service is free, and there is a subscription options available with expanded capabilities.
I have found that internet services like AT&T's U-Verse (DSL TV) does not allow you to change the DNS settings on the router they
provide to you. This is just plain stupid in my opinion. But, for everyone else, use OpenDNS! The OpenDNS website will guide you
through how to configure OpenDNS for your computer directly or internet router. Please, use OpenDNS if possible.
A firewall blocks unused ports and unauthorized traffic to and from your computer. A good firewall should also
offer intrusion detection and protection. The
Microsoft Windows firewall
is included with Windows XP and higher, and does a decent job. The Windows firewall is more powerful than most people realize,
though stealth protection on ports is not available until Windows Vista and higher. Unless you have another third party software firewall installed
then you should have this one activated. Even in your home network, protect your computer from any other machines that may
become infected and try to access your machine. Especially use a software firewall like this when you are using any free internet
access from coffee-shops, hotels, and anywhere else.
A software firewall should always be enabled.
For advanced troubleshooting and configuration of the Windows Firewall, Microsoft's support site has a page located HERE.
There are many other software firewall that are available that are quite good, and free. If you are someone that wants
to know everything, have proactive defense and not afraid of a few pop-up alerts, then I would recommend PrivacyWare Privatefirewall.
This is a very powerful and fairly easy to use software based firewall. I have seen this firewall rebranded and used on other retail antivirus products. The
only little complaint I have is that you cannot password protect the firewall from being disabled or settings changed. I like
being able to lock down the firewall so anyone else using the PC cannot disable or change the settings I have put in play. Other
than that, this is an excellent firewall.
Tweaking.com's Windows Repair (All in One)
This is a toolbox utility that provides an easy way to repair many windows settings that have been changed and can make your computer problematic.
Many of the fixes repair things that have been caused by virus and malware infections. A must-have for any desktop tech. This little app can
save you hours trying to repair settings that are hard to track down and identify/repair.
Data Backup
Maybe a couple of people a year I talk to actually back up their computer data regularly or at all. Bottom line, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR DATA! It's not a matter
of IF, but a matter of WHEN.
External hard drives are great, but you have to be disciplined to connect the drive and back up everything that is important to you on a
very regular basis. Bottom line, no one hardly does this, and if they do, it's not often enough.
Online backup services are a great and inexpensive way to ensure your computer is always backed up. the way they operate is that anytime your
computer is connected to the internet, it will connect to the backup service and trickle backup your data. The initial backup
can take several hours, obviously, but after that, its usually just a few minutes total each day. When you lose a file or your hard drive, you
can access the online backup service's website and download the data you need. Your data is safe and held in encrypted form on these sites.
Please, if you are not already,start using an online backup service today!
Carbonite
is an online backup service that will back up of all your important files on your computer for 55 dollars per year. This is a great
price to backup all your information on your computer, for less than 5 dollars per month.
Maintenance Utilities
There are many free utilities out there for disk cleanup, performance improvements, and such. Below I have listed the ones
that I use and would recommend.
Most performance applications and commercials that promise a faster computer are really full of false promises. There are some
things you can keep on top of that help, but overall, your computer is only going to run so fast and perform at a certain level.
Keeping simple maintenance on your computer and keeping your computer virus free is the main trick. Secret Windows settings that
you may read about are mostly false, and could even cause more problems. You can always contact me if you hear about a performance
tweak or application you would like to know if it is legit or not.
Microsoft Fixit Center
This is an easy to use way to find and resolve many common problems and device issues with your computer. Very easy to use, and a great way to
possible fix your problem before needing to call someone else for help.
This tool is still in Beta, and doesn't always start. The solutions is does provide are fine, but this tool will keep getting better.
CCleaner
is a free tool that removes garbage files (Temp files and other system
files that are no longer needed) that accumulate from your system to improve
performance and free up disk space. The program is small, fast, and easy
to use. CCleaner also includes a Windows registry cleaner option that removes registry
entries that are no longer needed or point to dead entries. Great little tool
to have and regularly updated with new cleanup definitions.
CCleaner contains a simple registry cleaner. I am not a fan of registry cleaners, and for the most part,
most of them do more damage than good. The registry cleaner function in CCleaner does a mild scan and what it
does remove is safe, dead entries. Also, if you use the Windows Update Uninstaller cleanup option in CCleaner, the registry
cleaner will remove those entries from the Add/Remove programs since they are no longer needed. I may use the registry
cleaner the first time I clean up a system after I install CCleaner, but unless I have oddball problems later from
uninstalling or installing other applications, I normally do not use this one function again.
PC Decrapifier
A great little utility to remove common trial software that is usually installed on a new PC.
This utility does not need to be installed. Just download and run. A great way to remove all the bloat
quickly and easily from a new computer. You can choose the items to be removed from a list, and
also create a restore point to undo any changes.
PerfectDisk
Disk defragmentation is a problem with any Windows file system. There are many disk defrag
tools out there that all promise the same thing, but only one product actually seems to do what it says, and does it
better than any other. PerfectDisk is that tool. Keep your system running at peak performance with a real disk
optimization tool. PerfectDisk is not free, but worth it. It goes above and beyond what the built in Windows defrag tool
does. Many defrag tools that are free, actually use the Windows built in defrag engine, since it is a very complicated
process, so with many of those tools you are getting the same Windows defrag tool with a prettier interface.
PerfectDisk now offers a program called, "PerfectSpeed PC Optimizer".
This is an all-in-one package that includes registry cleaner/repair, Defrag, duplicate file finder, and windows cleanup. There are
separate products that may do a better job of registry and junk files cleanup, but for a single all-in-one package,
I really like this one, and run it on my personal desktop and laptop. Very simple interface and you can configure it and forget
it by setting the autopilot options.
Diskeeper
Diskeeper is another commercial
disk defrag tool available. The Windows defrag tool was originally built from an earlier version of this product. Diskeeper
has evolved drastically over the years, and while I am using Diskeeper in a couple of machines to do a comparison, I still lean
slightly more to PerfectDisk as my choice program.
There are reasons why I like both products, but PerfectDisk is cheaper, and appears to do a dang good job at keeping my drives defragged.
bottom line, it's your choice. Either product is worth the money.
Rescue and Deployment.
Not exactly tools for maintaining a good running system, these tools are more for working on machines that are not able to
run and provide the ability to access and repair the troubled machine, or aid in deployment and staging.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 recovery disc.
A system repair disc can help you repair Windows if a serious error occurs. To use system recovery options, you'll
need a Windows installation disc or access to the recovery options provided by your computer manufacturer. If you
don't have either of those choices, you can create a system repair disc to access system recovery options.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure you have a recovery disc for your computer.
How to create a system repair disc
What are the system recovery disc options
Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
is a bootable recovery CD that contains software used
for repairing, restoring, or diagnosing almost any computer problem. UBCD4Win is based on
Bart's PE©. Bart's PE© builds a Windows "pre-install" environment CD, basically a simple
Windows XP booted from CD. UBCD4Win includes network support and allows you the ability
to modify NTFS volumes, recover deleted files, create new NTFS volumes, scan hard drives
for viruses, etc. An incredible tool to have.
You may have noticed that I didn't list anything from some of the more popularly known security suites like Norton, McAfee, and Kaspersky.
There is a reason. Regardless of what the magazine reviews say, I've had my share of issues with those packages, and prefer
only what I list here. Maybe the price is too high for what it is, or with some, I have results and screenshots where some of
these have listed malware/scareware as safe when it isn't. In my business, a security breach of any type means I can lose my job.
I only stand by the products I know will help me protect those I am responsible for.
If a product fails me, then it is from first hand experience that I have seen this, not because I didn't like the company name,
or something I heard. If I am not familiar with a product, I'll be honest and tell you.