Reuters - Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, today announced that PandaLabs, the company’s laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, has launched a beta version of its Panda 2010 security solutions to be compatible with the Windows 7 beta. Users who have installed the beta version of the new Microsoft operating system will benefit from the best protection against malware. Consumers can download it free from http://www.pandasecurity.com/windows7. The general release version will be available as soon as the new operating system is launched on October 22.

Panda’s 2010 solutions use Collective Intelligence, the company’s exclusive cloud-computing technology, to leverage the knowledge gathered from the community of millions of Panda users around the world. Each new file received is classified automatically within six minutes. The Collective Intelligence servers automatically classify more than 50,000 new malware samples every day. These technologies correlate information on malware received from each computer to continuously improve the protection level for the worldwide community of users. In addition, Panda’s 2010 solutions have perpetual, real-time contact with this vast knowledge base, guaranteeing users the fastest response against new malware that appears every day.

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DON’T CLICK IT!

I can’t tell you how many times I have had a user call or email me stating that he/she saw a pop-up saying they needed antivirus so they clicked the ad. As someone that has been around the block as far as computers and viruses go I know how the story is going to go: “Hey, I saw an ad for *** and clicked it… Now my computer is *** and I can’t ***. What happened and what should I do?” Ouch. Those times for the user is not fun and many feel helpless and at the mercy of the technician helping them.

Some nasty ads have hit the Web browsers of visitors to NYTimes.com and some other sites in recent days. The ads, which are not authorized or endorsed by The Times, can hijack a person’s browser and make it appear as if a scan for viruses is running. The ads then promote “antivirus” software that is itself virus-like. The Times believes it has eliminated these ads, but if they popped up on your screen, here’s what you need to know about your computer’s security.

According to Rik Ferguson of the security-software maker Trend Micro, a malicious ad sparked a pop-up window with a bogus claim that the PC was infected with malware. It urged the user to run a system scan with its “Personal Antivirus” program — a convincing-looking ruse, but a complete fake — to clean out the infection.

If you closed this box, you should be O.K., though it’s a good idea to empty your browser cache — which stores temporary copies of many of the files used by your browser to render Web sites and, thus, can store malicious content.

This story reminds me that I need to recreate an antivirus section as the BYKYC website once had one before evolving to a Wordpress setup. I will see what I can come up in the next few weeks.

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Microsoft (MSFT) thinks everyone who runs Windows should be using antivirus software. I can just hear the cynics saying: “They ought to know—it’s their buggy software the hackers are exploiting.” In fact, over the past five years, Microsoft has made huge strides in protecting its systems against attacks. Now it’s moving to the next level.

Microsoft works hard to make sure its programmers write secure code. But the company’s executives know that even with the most diligent process, there will always be flaws that provide openings for the bad guys. They also know that an unprotected system is a peril not only to its owner, who risks the loss of user names, passwords, and other vital information, but also to the community. A large percentage of the malicious programs out there are designed to capture PCs so they can be used to spew spam or launch attacks.

A few years ago, Microsoft tried, unsuccessfully, to get into the paid security business with a service called OneCare. Now management has decided that if they can’t sell it, they will give it away. Microsoft Security Essentials is a basic antivirus program­ that scans your system for malware, checks files that you bring into your computer through downloads or media such as flash drives, and tries to block sneak downloads from hostile Web sites. It works with Windows 7, Vista, and XP and is available for download now as a test version. The final product is due before yearend.

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Comodo Firewall + AntiVirus will help you detect and remove viruses, Trojans, and other malicious software and hackers, and keep them out of your computer. In one easy-to-use bundle that won’t slow down your computer. All free, really!

Comodo Internet Security 3.10 includes many new features and services, including Comodo Secure DNS, Comodo HopSurf and the ability to specify alternative URLs for program and virus updates.

Version 3.11.108364.552 : 25th August, 2009
* IMPROVED! Memory scanner now includes more advanced techniques to detect viruses in memory
* FIXED! AV consumes huge memory while scanning some compressed files
* FIXED! AV reports incorrent archive names under some circumstances
* FIXED! AV causes freezes in 64 bit operating systems under certain circumstances
* FIXED! AV crashes while scanning certain packed files
* FIXED! Sometimes windows updates can not be installed while CIS is installed

Installation Options:
During the setup process you will be given the choice to:

* Install the AntiVirus as a standalone
* Install the Firewall as a standalone
* Install both Firewall and AntiVirus

Download Comodo Internet Security 3.11.108364.552 – Vista 32/XP
Download Comodo Internet Security 3.11.108364.552 – Vista 64

Trend Micro’s bread-and-butter security package provides protection from both viruses and spyware. AntiVirus+AntiSpyware is designed for home users and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Trend Micro says their software is quick to install and easy to use; read on for our take.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware provides no-frills protection for the home user. The software is advertised to block unwanted changes to your computer and prevent computers from becoming infected with viruses. AntiVirus+AntiSpyware provides real-time protection by scanning files that are transferred, downloaded, or attached to email. The software updates itself automatically.

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Basic antivirus and antispyware protection for Windows available to download for free. Limited features, no support, for private and non-commercial use only.

* The most downloaded software on CNET’s Download.com
* Quality proven by 70 millions of users
* Easy to download, install and use
* Protection against viruses and spyware
* Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP

Download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 Build 176a1399

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 PDF User Manual

Basic antivirus and antispyware protection for Windows available to download for free. Limited features, no support, for private and non-commercial use only.

* The most downloaded software on CNET’s Download.com
* Quality proven by 70 millions of users
* Easy to download, install and use
* Protection against viruses and spyware
* Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP

Download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0.138

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 PDF User Manual

Symantec claims its 2009 Internet Security products will have “zero impact” on PC performance…

“Fundamentally, consumers don’t want to be bothered at all. We’ve set as our goal zero-impact security,” she said…

Symantec claims one of the ways the product will make less demand on system resources is by scaling back on the amount of scanning. “Our new technology allows us to scan less,” claimed Chaffin. “We know which files are good files and we can scan those less.”

“If software runs on millions of systems, it’s going to be good software,” Chaffin added. “If software only runs on a small number of machines, chances are it’s bad.”

Is there not a chance malware writers will quickly cotton on to which applications Norton is scanning less frequently and target those? “If they modify a file in any way, we can scan,” claimed Mallon.

Norton will also use the past history of the user to gauge how much scanning is necessary. “If someone’s not been infected before, the chances of them being infected are low.”

Norton Internet Security 2009 and Antivirus 2009 will be out this autumn.

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Bootzilla is a toolkit designed with the intent of creating a simple toolkit that an help the computer user or technician in removing pesky virus and malware infections. It can also help in the diagnosis of severe hardware failure, such as memory or hard drive failures. The entire toolkit offers a BootCD functionality, which is a heavily modified, slimmed-down version of the Ultimate Boot CD.

Download Bootzilla 4.2.6

Installable Apps:

AIM Ad Hack v5.54 With this small file you can effectively remove all the ads from AIM v6.x

Belarc Advisor Free Utility that can catalog an entire system into a single HTML file. Can grab many serial numbers and keys.

CCleaner 2.06 Free Utility for cleaning up temporary files. Also has a decent Registry cleaner.

ERuNT/NTRegOpt Registry Backup and Restore for Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista

Firefox 2.0.0.x Free, Alternative web browser

Java Runtime 1.6u5 Official Java Runtime Environment for Windows

Microsoft Installer Cleanup Utility Free Utility to repair broken MSI installations

Prime95 Free burn-in Utility designed to calculate the next mersenne prime number; offers a torture test for CPU and RAM testing.

PCI FileRecovery Free File Recovery utility

DVD Decrypter Free DVD Ripping tool. Burning functionality superceeded by ImgBurn.

ImgBurn Free CD/DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD burning software. Highly Recommended.

Unlocker Utility that can unlock files that are in-use, and rename/delete/move them.

Victoria for Windows Free hard drive testing utility. Can report SMART data, and remap failing sectors. Highly recommended.

Anti-Malware Tools

AIMFix Simple Instant-Messenger virus removal tool. Detects several different variants of viruses and rootkits. Highly Recommended.

Combofix Free utility that detects several different variants of malware, viruses, and rootkits. Highly recommeneded.

NOD32 AntiVirus 3.0 Trial 30-Day Trial of one of the best Antivirus products available for Windows. HIGHLY Recommended.

HijackThis 2.0.2 Free utility designed to allow reading of hidden startup programs, and Browser Helper Objects. A well-known tool, highly recommended.

RogueRemover Free SFX Free utility that can detect and remove rogue anti-spyware programs and traces in the registry. Highly Recommended.

RogueRemover Free Installer If the SFX fails to launch for you, use this to install RogueRemover onto your system.

Spybot Search & Destroy v1.5.2 Beta Free tool that can scan and remove thousands of spyware threats. Can also immunize a system against over 100-thousand threats.

Spybot Definitions Update Latest definitions for Spybot

Spybot Search & Destroy SFX Don’t want to install Spybot? Run this fully updated SFX.

VundoFix Free utility designed with one thing in mind – erradicating Trojan.Vundo infections.

Runnable Utilities

ATF-Cleaner Utility designed to quickly remove temporary files from a system.

FAB’s AutoBackup Free utility designed to quickly backup and restore a user profile and all data under a user profile. Highly Recomended.

CCleaner SFX Portable version of CCleaner application. Designed to remove temporary junk files. Also offers a decent registry cleaner.

CPU-Z Utility designed to detect the current CPU, and various aspects of the system. Can detect frequencies of cpu/memory. Highly Recommended.

Dial-a-Fix Utility that offers several repair functions for Windows-internals. Can detect and remove local policies, as well as several other tools. Highly Recommended.

Drive Dismounter Script, designed to quickly dismount an NTFS drive or volume from a Windows XP system. For Technician use only.

ERUNT Emergency Registry Backup Utility. Recommended.

EZPCFix Free utility designed to read and write remote registries off of hard drives. Can also be used to recover corrupted registry keys. Recommended.

FSOptimizer SFX Free disk defragment utility based on JKDefrag. Optimizes boot files to promote a faster boot time. Highly Recommended.

HostsXpert Free utility designed to manage the HOSTS file. Can also be used to restore a default HOSTS file or import known-good HOSTS files from the internet. Highly Recommended.

JKDefrag GUI Free disk defragment program, based on JkDefrag, with a GUI. Offers customizabilty of the defragmentation process. Highly Recommended.

KeyFinder Free program serial-number retriever.

LSPFix Free utility designed to allow access to the Layered Service Providers in the registry. Can detect improper settings and remove them.

McAfee Product Removal Tool Official McAfee Removal tool designed to remove all McAfee security products.

Norton Removal Tool Official Norton-branded product removal tool. Recommended.

PC-Decrapifier Free utility designed to detect and remove junk-ware pre-installed on Dell and other OEMs Systems. Highly Recommended. Technicians must purchase a license.

RegScanner Free utility designed to allow quick-searching through the registry. Can also create deletion registry files. A life-saver if you are manually removing symantec products.

Silent Runners SFX VBS script designed to find all applications that startup with Windows. Can detect hidden applications as well. Log file is placed in %Temp%/7z*.tmp folder.

System Information Viewer Utility designed to quickly and efficiently display all information about a system.

System Info for Windows Free utility that can display secrets such as passwords and network keys. Offers full system information gathering as well.

StartUpLite Free utility that detects and prompts the user about several un-needed startup programs. Can either disable, delete, or ignore the choices it auto-selects as un-needed. Highly recommended.

Sysinternals Tools Suite The entire Sysinternals Technician Tools Suite. Highly Recommended. Select utilities listed below:

AutoRuns – Free utility designed to allow viewing and deleting auto-running applications on system bootup, including services and drivers.

Process Explorer – Free taskmanager-like application. Can replace taskmanager, and displays much more information than taskmanager.

RootkitRevealer – Free utility designed to detect and show rootkits found on a system.

TCPView – Free utility to monitor TCP/IP connections incoming and outgoing from the local machine.

SysVolInfoUnlock Script designed to take ownership of the System Volume Information (System Restore) folder on a user-input drive letter. Only works on XP Pro.

Undead Pixel Utility designed to test LCD monitors and repair stuck pixels.

UnknownDevices Utility designed to detect and report hardware that is missing drivers. Provides an easier way to search the internet for a proper driver.

Unstoppable Copier Free utility designed to copy files from failing media (hard drives, network drives, and optical media only)

ViewpointKiller Free utility designed to detect and remove Viewpoint from a system.

WinsockFix Utility designed to perform one function – restore the Windows TCP/IP stack to its default settings.

ZonedOut Utility designed to detect and manage internet zones settings.