Test 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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Test your firewall using the LeakOut tool

Even if you have a firewall software installed, it can allow some information to be leaked without your confirmation. The LeakOut tool checks if your firewall is configured in such a way as to leak any information easily. LeakOut is a simple tool to demonstrate how it is possible, in certain circumstances, to circumvent the outbound control/filtering systems of personal firewalls. So why not test the configuration of your firewall?

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Install a new font in Windows 7

Though Windows 7 comes with few standard fonts pre-installed, yet they may not fulfill your requirements. You can always download more fonts from web sites offering free fonts, if you think you need more fonts for your documents. Once you have the new font, you have to install it in Windows so you can use it.

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Rebuild icon cache in Windows 7

If you are seeing mixed up or misplaced icons in your Windows Explorer – for example, Notepad icon for picture files, Internet Explorer icon for text files etc. – then it may be a case of corrupt icons cache. Sometimes Windows’ icons cache gets corrupted and you see mixed up icons in Windows Explorer for different kind of files. The icon cache can be rebuilt using the following process.

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Reset Windows HOSTS file back to default

The Windows HOSTS file can be used to redirect a domain name to a different IP address. This technique is often used by malware programs to redirect users of infected computers to phishing websites or to infected websites. You can always reset the HOSTS file back to the default – restoring its contents to the same state as they were when you installed Windows.

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