If you are giving away or selling your old computer, then you should keep in mind that any sensitive data on your computer’s hard disk can be restored even after it is deleted. To make sure that nobody is able to recover your sensitive data, you should completely wipe your hard disk and then re-install the operating system before giving it away or selling. Here is how you can completely wipe your hard disk using Dariks Boot and Nuke (DBAN) CD.
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How to Generate Strong Passwords Using KeyPass
The most common cause of your web site, email account, bank account or some other online account getting hacked is that you were using a very weak password. A weak password is a password which is short in length, uses dictionary words, letter or number patterns, pet names, spouse names etc. If you use a weak password, then it makes hacking you a piece of cake for a hacker – because all he has to do is run a dictionary attack or a brute force attack.
Read moreHow to Remove Rootkits Using Sophos Anti-Rootkit
A rootkit is a Trojan or technology that is used to hide the presence of a malicious object from the standard computer user or the administrator. Although your antivirus program can detect and prevent a known rootkit from infecting your system, yet it cannot find if a rootkit has already penetrated your computer system. Sophos Anti-Rootkit scans, detects and removes any rootkit that is hidden on your computer using advanced rootkit detection technology.
Read moreOnline Safety Using Web-of-Trust Browser Add-on
The Web-of-Trust add-on works in partnership with the Panda Security. This add-on is available for all the major web browsers. It adds a button in the toolbar which shows the rating of the currently browsed website. When you search something in a search engine like Google, it also shows you the rating of each of the listed results. If you accidentally open a malicious website with poor ratings, then the Web-of-Trust add-on will block it.
Read moreStay safe online with McAfee SiteAdvisor
The Internet is full of various kinds of threats – malware, phishing, spyware, drive-by-downloads. The cyber-criminals are now working in a well organized manner in order to steal your financial information and turn your computer into a zombie. Would it not be nice if someone warns you before you visit a fraud web site or a web site designed to infect your computer with malware? The McAfee SiteAdvisor can warn you about a web site as you open it in your browser.
Read moreScan any link in Chrome browser with VTchromizer
How would you know if a link on a website is not malicious? How would you know if a file download link is not linked to a malware download? Do not worry, you can check and scan all links for malware using VTchromizer in the Chrome browser. VTchromizer is a Chrome browser extension using which you can scan any link for malware.
Read moreCreate your own EICAR test virus automatically
We have earlier covered an article about how to test your antivirus using EICAR test virus. That article covers, how to manually create the EICAR test virus. In this article, we will show you how to use the EICAR Test tool to automatically create the file for you.
Read moreIdentify file types using TrID file identifier
When you download a file from the internet you expose yourself to unknown threats. An attacker can easily change the extension of a file and disguise it as harmless file. For example, an MP3 file can be actually an WMA file containing code to download malware from a malicious site. The only safe approach left is to identify a file type using their binary signatures.
Read moreProtect yourself from USB malware using the Ninja Pendisk
We have earlier posted an article about how to automatically scan an inserted USB stick for viruses. That article makes use of the USBVirusScan tool from Didier Stevens. Pendrive Ninja Pendisk is another such utility which can be used to prevent infection from an inserted USB stick.
Read moreTest your antivirus with the EICAR test file
Is your antivirus software functioning correctly like it should? Will it detect if a virus is dropped on your hard disk? You can test your antivirus using the EICAR (European Institute for Computer AntiVirus Research) antivirus test file. The Eicar test file is recognized by all the antivirus products and they all should block it.
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