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The Internet is a global collection of Interconnected Networks that facilitate information exchange and computer connectivity. The Internet is comprised of many different computers. Despite the many varieties of computers that combine to form the Internet, every computer connected to the Internet needs to be able to communicate with every other computer — without this ability, there is no Internet. All of these computers are able to communicate because in a sense they can all speak the same language. It is in computer terms what is known as a “protocol.” A protocol is simply a standard for transmitting and receiving bits of information. As long as all of the interconnected computers follow the same protocol, they can exchange information. Unfortunately, when data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet, every other computer in between has an opportunity to see what’s being sent. This poses an obvious security problem.

Security concerns are in some ways peripheral to normal business working, but serve to highlight just how important it is that business users feel confident when using IT systems. Security will probably always be high on the IT agenda simply because cyber criminals know that a successful attack can be very profitable. This means they will always strive to find new ways to circumvent IT security, and users will consequently need to be continually vigilant. Whenever decisions need to be made about how to enhance a system, security will need to be held uppermost among its requirements.

Say you decide to purchase concert tickets on the Web. To do so, you need to fill out an electronic form with your name, address and credit card number. When you submit the form, your information passes from computer to computer on its way to the concert ticket web server. It is possible that someone could be watching the data passing through one of the computers that is in between your computer and the concert ticket server. No one knows how often this happens, but everyone concedes it is technically possible. And its also possible off the web, too.

The point is, there are a lot of security issues related to a network such as the Internet. No FAQ could possibly cover them all. That is why this FAQ concentrates on Internet Explorer. Because there are millions of people who use Microsoft Windows family products, and because those millions have the ability to blend Internet Explorer with these products, the seriousness about security should be of paramount importance to everyone. Remember, software products are only as secure as the environment in which they operate. So everyone should be concerned about security on the Internet.

The following are some internet security tips and advice. Staying informed is the best way to fight online threats and keep your computer secure from virus and worm attacks. You can do so here with our continuous computer security products. Watch the hottest computer security products. Read what to be the most critical security and antivirus products, and review what all news wires are carrying regarding net security and security alerts.

Each of the internet application chapters has a section on security issues, and the section on internet hackers provides information about hacking related people, sites, and resources. This section describes Internet security issues related to the underlying network itself.

Internet security analysis is broken down into a consideration of threats and corresponding defenses. For most threats there is a defence. The short course advises you to ensure you always use a firewall, virus protection, and to use encryption when necessary.

There are many application software to protect your computer security in the market now, and they are very useful.For example, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 is a comprehensive data protection tool. The application ensures not only anti-virus protection but also protection against spam and network attacks. The application’s components also enable users to protect their computers from unknown threats and phishing, and to restrict users’ access to the Internet. The multifaceted protection covers all channels for data transfer and exchange. New security protection components has been added to Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 to enhance security level of your computer. Of course, it also has many other functions to keep your computer security. There are many other useful application software，such as STOPzilla Anti-Spyware and so on.

Thus,you need not worry too much about your computer security. The only thing you need to do is download the useful software to keep your computer security. If you do not know much about application software, I can introduce some best reviews of internet security products, such as Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0, Norton AntiVirus 2009. You can also find these application software on the website http://www.globalshareware.com/.

With so many horror stories of terrible things that could happen to you while you are on the Internet or connected to the Internet, it can be a little scary if you’re not even sure what you’re looking for. While having a vast knowledge of every possible threat or danger you could encounter is nearly impossible, you can stay informed about basic safety practices that should help you avoid putting you or your computer is danger.

There are three basic “safety issues” that could happen from email, web-surfing, and downloads: computer viruses, spyware, and identity theft. Here is a brief description, and basically how to avoid the risk.

Computer viruses—we will use this as a catch-all phrase for any malicious software that is destructive to your computer. This type of software is usually passed on through emails and networks. They usually get worse the longer they are on the person’s computer and can cause the computer to run slow, lose valuable system and personal files, or crash completely. Here’s what you should do to avoid viruses:
* Have a good antivirus protection program running on your computer at all times.
* The antivirus program should be scheduled to regularly scheduled to scan your computer for viruses.
* Don’t open or run files from the Internet that you do not recognize or did not initiate.
* Delete emails from people you don’t know and NEVER open an attachment you don’t recognize. Even with people you know, it might be a good idea to call or email them about the attachment to be sure they sent it.
* Make sure your antivirus or your email account (or both) have an email scanner for both incoming and outgoing emails.

Spyware—for the sake of this discussion, spyware is anything that can’t be caught be an antivirus program, including adware and other “disguised” malware. Spyware is software (or attached to software) that appears to be some helpful or necessary download, but instead collects information about you or your computer that could invade your privacy, takes over your Internet navigation or reassignes your homepage, be an annoyance, and use up your computer resources. Here’s what you should do:
* Download a spyware detector (make sure it’s legit and isn’t itself spyware) to remove existing spyware if you are suspicious of possible spyware activity.
*Don’t download any program unless you have seen several reviews from reputable websites.
* Have a good firewall enabled and downloaded on your computer.

Identity theft-this is a situation where your credit card or social security information, or any other identification information is stolen from you. This can happen easily over the Internet because it only takes seconds to transmit your personal information across the world. Here is how to avoid identity theft:
*Never submit identity information and passwords on a public computer or over a public internet connection.
*Don’t give out your personal information to a website with which you are unfamiliar, or if you must,
*Research new websites before giving out private information. Read the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy of the websites you don’t know. Sometimes your browser, antivirus, or other reputable websites can also attest to the veracity of websites.
*Never give personal identity information over email, chat, or instant messaging to a person you don’t know, regardless of how legitimate they sound.

Find out more about Internet safety on the web! Many reputable websites have published many helpful Internet safety articles and tips.

Internet has now become an important part of our lives. Almost everyone uses the net these days. The internet is a wonderful facility and helps many people in their work. Applications of the net include e-marketing, e-commerce, online banking, Email and much more.

However with such wonderful and important advantages there is also a very big problem and that is internet security. Once you are hooked up with a network you are no longer safe. There is a possibility of others viewing or hacking into your computer. This is the dark side of the net and the people responsible for such activities are known as hackers. These people search for open ports on a network and then try to get inside of what is called an open terminal or gate in technical terms. If successful then they can view everything in a hosts computer. They can steal critical information like credit card number etc etc.

Another dangerous aspect of the net is that your computer can catch viruses from the net. This can seriously harm your computer depending on the nature of the virus. A virus is a code or an application which again is developed mostly by hackers.

To protect your computer you need a good antivirus. An anti virus defends your system from network attacks and dangerous viruses.

If you think your computer acts weird or if its performance is slower than you expect, then it maybe a virus. If it is then the best thing is to get it cleaned through a good anti virus program. If anti virus is already installed then the virus will automatically be detected and deleted or quarantined. Your computer will remain unharmed.

There are however some dangerous viruses that are difficult to detect. Therefore it is important that your antivirus program is always kept updated so that it can detect the most latest viruses. Sometimes if you do not have an anti virus then a powerful virus may damage your computer to such an extent that you may lose all your data and may have to renew you windows or whatever operating system you use.

Recovering Internet Explorer Passwords: Theory and Practice

1. Introduction

2. Types of passwords stored in Internet Explorer

2.1. Internet Credentials

2.2. AutoComplete data

2.3. AutoComplete passwords

2.4. FTP passwords

2.5. Synchronization passwords

2.6. Identities passwords

2.7. AutoForms data

2.8. Content Advisor password

3. Brief overview of Internet Explorer password recovery programs

4. PIEPR - the first acquaintance

5. Three real-life examples

5.1. Recovering current user’s FTP passwords

5.2. Recovering website passwords from unloadable operating system

5.3. Recovering uncommonly stored passwords

6. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Nobody will likely dispute the fact that Internet Explorer is today’s most popular Web browser. According to the statistics, approximately 70% of online users prefer to use just this program. Arguments about its pros and cons may last forever; still, this browser is the leader of its industry, and this is a fact that requires no proof. Internet Explorer carries several built-in technologies, designed to make average user’s life easier. One of them - IntelliSense - is made for taking care of the routine tasks, like the automatic completion of visited webpage addresses, automatic filling of form fields, users’ passwords, etc.

Many of today’s websites require registration, which means, user would have to enter user name and password. If you use more than a dozen of such websites, you will likely need a password manager. All modern browsers have a built-in password manager in their arsenal, and Internet Explorer is not an odd. Indeed, why would one have to remember yet another password if it is going to be forgotten some time soon anyway? Much easier would be to have browser do the routine work of remembering and storing passwords for you. It’s convenient and comfortable.

This would be a totally perfect solution; however, if your Windows operating system crashed or reinstalled not the way it’s supposed to be reinstalled, you can easily lose the entire list of your precious passwords. That’s the toll for the comfort and convenience. It’s good just about every website has a saving ‘I forgot password’ button. However, this button will not always take your headache from you.

Each software developer solves the forgotten password recovery problem their own way. Some of them officially recommend copying a couple of important files to another folder, while other send all registered users a special utility that allows managing the migration of private data, and the third ones pretend they are not seeing the problem. Nevertheless, the demand creates the offer, and password recovery programs are currently on a great demand.

In this article, let’s try to classify types of private data stored in Internet Explorer, look at programs for the recovery of the data, and study real-life examples of recovering lost Internet passwords.

2. Types of passwords stored in Internet Explorer

- Internet Explorer may store the following types of passwords:

- Internet Credentials

- AutoComplete Data

- AutoComplete Passwords

- FTP Passwords

- Synchronization Passwords for cached websites

- Identities Passwords

- AutoForms Data

- Content Advisor Password

Let’s take a closer look at each listed item.

2.1. Internet Credentials for websites

Internet credentials mean user’s logins and passwords required for accessing certain websites, which are processed by the wininet.dll library. For example, when you try to enter the protected area of a website, you may see the following user name and password prompt.

If the option ‘Remember my password’ is selected in that prompt, the user credentials will be saved to your local computer. The older versions of Windows 9a stored that data in user’s PWL file; Windows 2000 and newer store it in the Protected Storage.

2.2. AutoComplete Data

AutoComplete data (passwords will be covered further) are also stored in the Protected Storage and appear as lists of HTML form field names and the corresponding user data. For example, if an HTML page contains an e-mail address entry dialog: once user has entered his e-mail address, the Protected Storage will have the HTML field name, the address value, and the time the record was last accessed.

The HTML page title and website address are not stored. Is that good or bad? It’s difficult to determine; more likely to be good than bad. Here are the obvious pros: it saves free space and speeds up browser’s performance. If you think the last note is insignificant, try to imagine how you would have to perform several extra checkups in a multi-thousand (this is not as rare as it may seem to be) auto-fill list.

Another obvious plus is that data for identical by name (and often by subject) HTML form fields will be stored in the same place, and the common data will be used for the automatic filling of such pages. We will see this by this example. If one HTML page contains an auto-fill field with the name ‘email’, and user entered his e-mail address in that field, IE will put in the storage, roughly, ‘email=my@email.com’. From now on, if the user opens another website, which has a page with the same field name ‘email’, the user will be suggested to auto-fill it with the value that he entered on the first page (my@email.com). Thus, the browser somewhat discovers AI capabilities within itself.

The major drawback of this data storage method comes out of its advantage that we just described. Imagine, user has entered auto-fill data on a webpage. If someone knows the HTML form field name, that person can create his own simplest HTML page with the same field name and open it from a local disk. To uncover the data entered in this field, such person will not even have to connect to the Internet and open the original WWW address.

2.3. AutoComplete Passwords

In the case with passwords data, however, as you might have guessed, the data will not be filled in automatically. Since auto-complete passwords are stored along with the Web page name, and each password is bound to only one specific HTML page.

In the new version, Internet Explorer 7, both AutoComplete passwords and data are encrypted completely different; the new encryption method is free from the shortcoming just described (if that can be classified as a shortcoming.)

It is worth noticing that Internet Explorer allows users to manage auto-fill parameters manually, through the options menu.

2.4. FTP passwords

FTP site passwords are stored pretty much the same way. It would be relevant to notice that beginning with Windows XP FTP passwords are additionally encrypted with DPAPI. This encryption method uses logon password. Naturally, this makes it much more difficult to recover such lost passwords manually, since now one would need to have the user’s Master Key, SID and the account password.

Starting with Microsoft Windows 2000, the operating system began to provide a Data Protection Application-Programming Interface (DPAPI) API. This is simply a pair of function calls that provide OS-level data protection services to user and system processes. By OS-level, we mean a service that is provided by the operating system itself and does not require any additional libraries. By data protection, we mean a service that provides confidentiality of data through encryption. Since the data protection is part of the OS, every application can now secure data without needing any specific cryptographic code other than the necessary function calls to DPAPI. These calls are two simple functions with various options to modify DPAPI behavior. Overall, DPAPI is a very easy-to-use service that will benefit developers that must provide protection for sensitive application data, such as passwords and private keys.

DPAPI is a password-based data protection service: it requires a password to provide protection. The drawback, of course, is that all protection provided by DPAPI rests on the password provided. This is offset by DPAPI using proven cryptographic routines, specifically the strong Triple-DES and AES algorithms, and strong keys, which we’ll cover in more detail later. Since DPAPI is focused on providing protection for users and requires a password to provide this protection, it logically uses the user’s logon password for protection.

DPAPI is not responsible for storing the confidential information it protects. It is only responsible for encrypting and decrypting data for programs that call it, such as Windows Credential manager, the Private Key storage mechanism, or any third-party programs.

Please refer to Microsoft Web site for more information.

2.5. Synchronization Passwords for cached websites

Synchronization passwords free user from having to enter passwords for cached websites (sites set to be available offline.) Passwords of this type are also stored in IE’s Protected Storage.

2.6. Identities passwords

So are identities passwords. The identity-based access management mechanism is not widespread in Microsoft’s products, except, perhaps, Outlook Express.

2.7. AutoForms Data

A special paragraph must cover the form auto-fill method, which constitutes a hybrid way of storing data. This method stores the actual data in the Protected Storage, and the URL, which the data belong to, is stored in user’s registry. The URL written in the registry is stored not as plaintext - it is stored as hash. Here is the algorithm for reading form auto-fill data in IE 4 - 6:

===8RemoveAll();

//Check if autoform passwords are present in registry

if ( EntryPresent(cszUrl) )

{

//Read PStore autoform passwords

return PStoreReadAutoformPasswords(cszUrl,saPasswords);

}

return FALSE;

}

//Check if autoform passwords are present

BOOL CAutoformDecrypter::EntryPresent(LPCTSTR cszUrl)

{

assert(cszUrl);

DWORD dwRet, dwValue, dwSize=sizeof(dwValue);

LPCTSTR cszHash=GetHash(cszUrl);

//problems computing the hash

if ( !cszHash )

return FALSE;

//Check the registry

dwRet=SHGetValue(HKCU,_T(“Software\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\IntelliForms\\SPW”),cszHash,NULL,&dwValue,&dwSize);

delete((LPTSTR)cszHash);

if ( dwRet==ERROR_SUCCESS )

return TRUE;

m_dwLastError=E_NOTFOUND;

return FALSE;

}

//retrieve hash by given URL text and translate it into hex format

LPCTSTR CAutoformDecrypter::GetHash(LPCTSTR cszUrl)

{

assert(cszUrl);

BYTE buf[0x10];

LPTSTR pRet=NULL;

int i;

if ( HashData(cszUrl,buf,sizeof(buf)) )

{

//Allocate some space

pRet=new TCHAR [sizeof(buf) * sizeof(TCHAR) + sizeof(TCHAR)];

if ( pRet)

{

for ( i=0; i0 )

pHash[dw]=(BYTE)dw;

//actual hashing stuff

while ( dwDataSize->0 )

{

for ( dw=dwHashSize; dw->0; )

{

//m_pPermTable = permutation table

pHash[dw]=m_pPermTable[pHash[dw]^pData[dwDataSize]];

}

}

}

===8

The next, seventh generation of the browser, is most likely going to make this user’s data storage mechanism its primary data storage method, declining the good old Protected Storage. Better to say, auto-fill data and passwords, from now on, are going to be stored here.

What is so special and interesting in this mechanism that made MS decide to use it as primary? Well, first of all, it was the encryption idea, which isn’t new at all but still simple and genius, to disgrace. The idea is to quit storing encryption keys and generate them whenever that would be necessary. The raw material for such keys would be HTML page’s Web address.

Let’s see how this idea works in action. Here is IE7′s simplified algorithm for saving auto-fill data and password fields:

1 Save Web page’s address. We will use this address as the encryption key (EncryptionKey).

2 Obtain Record Key. RecordKey = SHA(EncryptionKey).

3 Calculate checksum for RecordKey to ensure the integrity of the record key (the integrity of the actual data will be guaranteed by DPAPI.) RecordKeyCrc = CRC(RecordKey).

4 Encrypt data (passwords) with the encryption key EncryptedData = DPAPI_Encrypt(Data, EncryptionKey).

5 Save RecordKeyCrc + RecordKey + EncryptedData in the registry.

6 Discard EncryptionKey.

It is very, very difficult to recover password without having the original Web page address. The decryption looks pretty much trivial:

1 When the original Web page is open, we take its address (EncryptionKey) and obtain the record key RecordKey = SHA(EncryptionKey).

2 Browse through the list of all record keys trying to locate the RecordKey.

3 If the RecordKey is found, decrypt data stored along with this key using the EncryptionKey. Data = DPAPI_Decrypt(EncryptedData, EncryptionKey).

In spite of the seeming simplicity, this Web password encryption algorithm is one of today’s strongest. However, it has a major drawback (or advantage, depending which way you look at it.) If you change or forget the original Web page address, it will be impossible to recover password for it.

2.8. Content Advisor password

And the last item on our list is Content Advisor password. Content Advisor was originally developed as a tool for restricting access to certain websites. However, for some reason it was unloved by many users (surely, you may disagree with this.) If you once turned Content Advisor on, entered a password and then forgot it, you will not be able to access the majority of websites on the Internet. Fortunately (or unfortunately), this can be easily fixed.

The actual Content Advisor password is not stored as plaintext. Instead, the system calculates its MD5 hash and stores it in Windows registry. On an attempt to access the restricted area, the password entered by user is also hashed, and the obtained hash is compared with the one stored in the registry. Take a look at PIEPR source code checking Content Advisor password:

===8

void CContentAdvisorDlg::CheckPassword()

{

CRegistry registry;

//read the registry

registry.SetKey(HKLM, “SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\policies\\Ratings”);

BYTE pKey[MD5_DIGESTSIZE], pCheck[MD5_DIGESTSIZE];

if ( !registry.GetBinaryData(“Key”,pKey,MD5_DIGESTSIZE) )

{

MessageBox(MB_ERR,”Can’t read the password.”);

return;

}

//Get one set by user

CString cs;

m_wndEditPassword.GetWindowText(cs);

MD5Init();

MD5Update((LPBYTE)(LPCTSTR)cs,cs.GetLength()+1);

MD5Final(pCheck);

//Check hashes

if ( memcmp(pKey,pCheck,MD5_DIGESTSIZE)==0 )

MessageBox(MB_OK,”The password is correct!”);

else

MessageBox(MB_OK,”Wrong password.”);

}

===8

The first thing you may think about is to try to pick the password by using the brute force or dictionary attack. However, there is a more elegant way to that. You can simply remove the hash from the registry. That’s it; so simple… Well, it’s better to rename it instead, so that if you ever need it, you can restore it back. Some programs also let users check Content Advisor password, “drag out” password hint, toggle password on/off, etc.

3. Brief Overview of Internet Explorer Password Recovery Programs

It’s worth noticing that not all password recovery programs suspect there are so many ways to recover passwords. Most likely, this is related to the fact that some passwords (e.g., synchronization passwords) are not often used in the real life, and FTP passwords are not so simple to be ‘dragged out’. Here is a brief overview of the most popular commercial products for recovering passwords for the most popular browser on earth

Advanced Internet Explorer Password Recovery from the not unknown company, ElcomSoft - does not recognize AutoForm passwords and encrypted FTP passwords. Not to be excluded, the last version of the program may have learnt to do that. Simple, convenient user interface. The program can be upgraded online automatically.

Internet Explorer Key from PassWare - similarly, does not recognize certain types of passwords. Sometimes the program halts with a critical error when reading some uncommon types of IE’s URLs. Displays first two characters of passwords being recovered. The advantages worth noticing are the Spartan user interface and operating convenience.

Internet Explorer Password from Thegrideon Software - not bad, but can recover just three types of Internet Explorer passwords (this is enough for the majority of cases.) Deals with FTP passwords properly. Version 1.1 has problems recovering AutoForm passwords. Has convenient user interface, which in some way reminds one from AIEPR. One can be totally overwhelmed with the beauty and helpfulness of the company’s website.

Internet Password Recovery Toolbox from Rixler Software - offers some greater functionality than the previously covered competitors. It can recover encrypted FTP passwords and delete selected resources. However, it has some programming errors. For example, some types of IE records cannot be deleted. The program comes with a great, detailed help file.

ABF Password Recovery from ABF software - quite a good program with friendly user interface. The list of IE record types supported by the program is not long. Nevertheless, it deals with all of them properly. The program can be classified as a multi-functional one, since it can restore passwords for other programs also.

The major drawback of all programs named here is the capability to recover passwords only for user currently logged on.

As it was said above, the general body of stored Internet Explorer resources is kept in a special storage called Protected Storage. Protected Storage was developed specially for storing personal data. Therefore the functions for working with it (called PS API) are not documented. Protected Storage was first introduced with the release of the version 4 of Internet Explorer, which, by the way, unlike the third version, was written from scratch.

Protected Storage provides applications with an interface to store user data that must be kept secure or free from modification. Units of data stored are called Items. The structure and content of the stored data is opaque to the Protected Storage system. Access to Items is subject to confirmation according to a user-defined Security Style, which specifies what confirmation is required to access the data, such as whether a password is required. In addition, access to Items is subject to an Access rule set. There is an Access rule for each Access Mode: for example, read/write. Access rule sets are composed of Access Clauses. Typically at application setup time, a mechanism is provided to allow a new application to request from the user access to Items that may have been created previously by another application.

Items are uniquely identified by the combination of a Key, Type, Subtype, and Name. The Key is a constant that specifies whether the Item is global to this computer or associated only with this user. The Name is a string, generally chosen by the user. Type and Subtype are GUIDs, generally specified by the application. Additional information about Types and Subtypes is kept in the system registry and include attributes such as Display Name and UI hints. For Subtypes, the parent Type is fixed and included in the system registry as an attribute. The Type group Items is used for a common purpose: for example, Payment or Identification. The Subtype group Items share a common data format.

So, until very recent time, all programs for recovering Internet Explorer passwords used those undocumented API. That’s the reason why one significant restriction was applied to the recovery work: PS API can only work with passwords for user that is currently logged on. When the system encrypts data stored in Protected Storage, besides everything else it uses user’s SID, without which it is literally impossible (taking into account the current level of computers’ calculating performance) to recover stored passwords.

Protected Storage uses a very well thought through data encryption method, which uses master keys and strong algorithms, such as des, sha, and shahmac. Similar data encryption methods are now used in the majority of modern browsers; e.g. in Opera or FireFox. Microsoft, meanwhile, quietly but surely develops and tests new ones. When this article is written, in the pre-Beta version of Internet Explorer 7 Protected Storage was only used for storing FTP passwords.

The analysis of this preliminary version suggests that Microsoft is preparing another ‘surprise’ in the form of new, interesting encryption algorithms. It is not known for sure, but most likely the new company’s data protection technology InfoCard will be involved in the encryption of private data.

Thus, with a great deal of confidence one can assert that with the release of Windows Vista and the 7th version of Internet Explorer passwords will be stored and encrypted with fundamentally new algorithms, and the Protected Storage interface, to all appearances, will become open for third-party developers.

It is somewhat sad, for we think the true potential of Protected Storage was still not uncovered. And this is why we think so:

- First, Protected Storage is based on module structure, which allows plugging other storage providers to it. However, for the last 10 years while Protected Storage exists, not a single new storage provider was created. System Protected Storage is the only storage provider in the operating system, which is used by default.

- Second, Protected Storage has its own, built-in access management system, which, for some reason, is not used in Internet Explorer or in other MS products.

- Third, it is not very clear why MS have decided to decline Protected Storage in storing AutoComplete data and passwords. Decline it as a tried and true data storage, and not data encryption mechanism. It would be more logically proven to keep Protected Storage at least for storing data when implementing a new encryption algorithm. Without fail, there were weighty reasons for that. Therefore, it would be interesting to hear the opinion of MS specialists concerning this subject matter.

4. PIEPR - the First Acquaintance

Passcape Internet Explorer Password Recovery was developed specifically to bypass the PS API’s restriction and make it possible to recover passwords directly, from the registry’s binary files. Besides, it has a number of additional features for advanced users.

The program’s wizard allows you to choose one of several operating modes:

- Automatic: Current user’s passwords will be recovered by accessing the closed PS API interface. All current user’s passwords currently stored in Internet Explorer will be recovered with a single click of the mouse.

- Manual: Passwords will be recovered without PS API. This method’s main advantage is the capability to recover passwords from your old Windows account. For that purpose, you will need to enter path to the user’s registry file. Registry files are normally not available for reading; however, the technology used in PIEPR allows doing that (provided you have the local administrative rights.)

User’s registry file name is ntuser.dat; its resides in the user’s profile, which is normally %SYSTEMDRIVE%:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%, where %SYSTEMDRIVE% stands for the system disk with the operating system, and %USERNAME% is normally account name. For instance, path to registry file may look like this: C:\Documents and Settings\John\ntuser.dat

If you have ever been a happy owner of Windows 9x/ME, after you upgrade your operating system to Windows NT, Protected Storage will providently save a copy of your old private data. As a result of that, Protected Storage may contain several user identifiers, so PIEPR will ask you to select the right one before it gets to the decryption of the data.

One of the listed SIDs will contain data left by the old Windows 9x/ME. That data is additionally encrypted with user’s logon password, and PIEPR currently does not support the decryption of such data.

If ntuser.dat contains encrypted passwords (e.g., FTP sites passwords), the program will need additional information in order to decrypt them:

- Logon password of user whose data are to be decrypted

- Full path to the user’s MasterKey

- User’s SID

Normally, the program finds the last two items in user’s profile and fills that data automatically. However, if ntuser.dat was copied from another operating system, you will have to take care of that on your own. The easiest way to get the job done is to copy the entire folder with user’s Master Key (there may be several of them) to the folder with ntuser.dat. Master Key resides in the following folder on your local computer: %SYSTEMDRIVE%:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Application Data\Microsoft\Protect\%UserSid%, where %SYSTEMDRIVE% stands for the system disk with the operating system, %USERNAME% - account name, %UserSid% - user’s SID. For example, path to the folder with a master key may look as follows: C:\Documents and Settings\John\Application Data\Microsoft\Protect\S-1-5-21-1587165142-6173081522-185545743-1003. Let’s make it clear that it is recommended to copy the entire folder S-1-5-21-1587165142-6173081522-185545743-1003, for it may contain several Master Keys. Then PIEPR will select the right key automatically.

Windows marks some folders as hidden or system, so they are invisible in Windows Explorer. To make them visible, enable showing hidden and system objects in the view settings or use an alternative file manager.

Once the folder with user’s Master Key was copied to the folder with ntuser.dat, PIEPR will automatically find the required data, so you will only have to enter user’s password for recovering FTP passwords.

Content Advisor

Content Advisor passwords, as it was said already, is not kept as plain text; instead, it is stored as hash. In the Content Advisor password management dialog, it is enough to just delete (you can restore the deleted password at any time later) or change this hash to unlock sites locked with Content Advisor. PIEPR will also display your password hint if there is one.

Asterisks passwords

PIEPR’s fourth operating mode, which allows recovering Internet Explorer passwords hidden behind asterisks. To recover such password, simply drag the magnifier to the window with a **** password. This tool allows recovering passwords for other programs that use IE Frames as well; e.g., Windows Explorer, some IE-based browsers, etc.

We have reviewed the basic Internet Explorer password recovery modes. There is also a number of additional features for viewing and editing cookies, cache, visited pages history, etc. We are not going to cover them in detail; instead, we are going to look at a few password recovery examples done with PIEPR.

5.1. Three Real-Life Examples.

Example 1: Recovering current user’s FTP password

When opening an FTP site, Internet Explorer pops up the log on dialog.

If you have opened this site and set the ‘Save password’ option in the authentication dialog, the password must be saved in Protected Storage, so recovering it is a pretty trivial job. Select the automatic operating mode in PIEPR and then click ‘Next’. Locate our resource in the dialog with decrypted passwords that appears (the site name must appear in the Resource Name column.)

As we see, the decryption of current user’s password should not cause any special difficulties. Oh, if the password is not found for some reason - don’t forget to check IE’s Auto-Complete Settings. Possibly, you have simply not set the program to save passwords.

5.2. Three Real-Life Examples.

Example 2: We will need to recover Web site passwords. The operating system is unbootable.

This is a typical, but not fatal situation. The necessity to recover Internet Explorer passwords after unsuccessful Windows reinstallation occurs just as often.

In either case, we will have user’s old profile with all files within it. This set is normally enough to get the job done. In the case with the reinstallation, Windows providently saves the old profile under a different name. For example, if your account name was John, after renaming it may look like John.WORK-72C39A18.

The first and the foremost what you must do is to gain access to files in the old profile. There are two ways to doing this:

- Install a new operating system on a different hard drive; e.g., Windows XP, and hook the old hard drive to it.

- Create a Windows NT boot disk. There are many different utilities for creating boot disks and USB flash disks available online. For instance, you can use WinPE or BartPE. Or a different one. If your old profile was stored on an NTFS part of your hard drive, the boot disk will have to support NTFS.

Let’s take the first route. Once we gain access to the old profile, we will need to let the system show hidden and system files. Otherwise, the files we need will be invisible. Open Control Panel, then click on Folder Options, and then select the View tab. On this tab, find the option ‘Show hidden files and folders’ and select it. Clear the option ‘Hide protected operating system files’. When the necessary passwords are recovered, it’s better to reset these options to the way they were set before.

Open the program’s wizard in the manual mode and enter path to the old profile’s registry file. In our case, that is C:\Documents And Settings\ John.WORK-72C39A18\ntuser.dat. Where John.WORK-72C39A18 is the old account name. Click ‘Next’.

This data should normally be sufficient for recovering Internet Explorer passwords. However, if there is at least a single encrypted FTP password, the program will request additional data, without which it will not be able to recover such types of passwords:

- User’s password

- User’s Master Key

- User’s SID.

Normally, the program finds the last two items in user’s profile and fills that data automatically. However, if that didn’t happen, you can do that by hand: copy ntuser.dat and the folder with the Master Key to a separate folder. It is important to copy the entire folder, for it may contain several keys, and the program will select the right one automatically. Then enter path to file ntuser.dat that you have copied to another folder.

That’s it. Now we need to enter the old account password, and the recovery will be completed. If you don’t care for FTP password, you can skip the user’s password, Master Key, and SID entry dialog.

5.3. Three Real-Life Examples.

Example 3: Recovering uncommonly stored passwords.

When we sometimes open a website in the browser, the authentication dialog appears. However, PIEPR fails to recover it in either automatic or manual mode. The ‘Save password’ option in Internet Explorer is enabled. We will need to recover this password.

Indeed, some websites don’t let browser to save passwords in the auto-complete passwords list. Often, such websites are written in JAVA or they use alternative password storage methods; e.g., they store passwords in cookies. A cookie is a small bit of text that accompanies requests and pages as they go between the Web server and browser. The cookie contains information the Web application can read whenever the user visits the site. Cookies provide a useful means in Web applications to store user-specific information. For example, when a user visits your site, you can use cookies to store user preferences or other information. When the user visits your Web site another time, the application can retrieve the information it stored earlier. Cookies are used for all sorts of purposes, all relating to helping the Web site remember you. In essence, cookies help Web sites store information about visitors. A cookie also acts as a kind of calling card, presenting pertinent identification that helps an application know how to proceed. But often cookies criticized for weak security and inaccurate user identification.

If the password field is filled with asterisks, the solution is clear: select the ASTERISKS PASSWORDS operating mode and then open the magic magnifier dialog. Then simply drag the magnifier to the Internet Explorer window.

The password (passwords, if the Internet Explorer window has several fields with asterisks) is to appear in the PIEPR window.

But it’s not always that simple. The password field may be empty or that field may indeed contain *****. In this case, as you have guessed by now, the ASTERISKS PASSWORDS tool will be useless.

We can suppose, the password is stored in cookies. Let’s try to locate it. Choose the IE Cookie Explorer tool.

The dialog that appears will list the websites that store cookies on your computer. Click on the URL column header to order the websites list alphabetically. This will help us find the right website easier. Go through the list of websites and select the one we need. The list below will display the decrypted cookies for this website.

As the figure shows, in our case the login and password are not encrypted and are stored as plain text.

Cookies are often encrypted. In this case, you are not likely to succeed recovering the password. The only thing you can try doing in order to recover the old account is to create a new account. Then you will be able to copy the old cookies in a text editor and replace them with the new ones. However, this is only good when the worst comes to the worst; it is not recommended to use it normally.

Don’t forget also that just about all pages and forms with passwords have the ‘Forgot password’ button.

Conclusion

As this article shows, recovering Internet Explorer passwords is a pretty simple job, which does not require any special knowledge or skills. However, despite of the seeming simplicity, password encryption schemes and algorithms are very well thought through and just as well implemented. Although the Protected Storage concept is over 10 years of age, don’t forget that it has proven the very best recommendations of the experts and has been implemented through three generations of this popular browser.

With the release of the next, 7th version of IE, Microsoft is preparing fundamentally new schemes for protecting our private data, where it uses improved encryption algorithms and eliminates shortages peculiar to Protected Storage.

In particular, the analysis of the preliminary beta versions of Internet Explorer 7 has revealed that autoform password encryption keys are no longer stored along with data. They are not stored, period! This is a little know-how, which is to be estimated at its true worth by both professionals and end users, who, finally, will benefits of it anyway.

But the main thing is, the release of the new concept will eliminate the major drawback peculiar to Protected Storage, which is the possibility to recover passwords without knowing the additional information. Better to say, was enough for a potential hacker to gain physical access to the contents of a hard drive, in order to steal or damage passwords and user’s other private data. With the release of Internet Explorer 7, the situation will somewhat change.

Meanwhile, we will only have to wait impatiently for the advent of Windows Vista and IE 7 to take a closer look at new encryption mechanisms used in the next generation of this popular browser.

This document may be freely distributed or reproduced provided that the

reference to the original article is placed on each copy of this document.

(c) 2006 Passcape Software. All rights reserved.

Unauthorized Access

Unauthorized access is a big risk for your computer. If your computer is not properly secured it is exposed to threats. For example, you may be visiting a website and all of the sudden a small popup window appears with a message which look like a useful information and will tell you to click on “yes”. As soon as you click on “yes” some thing will be installed on your computer quickly. There are two types of Internet services that ISP (Internet Service Provider) provides. They are dialup and cable or DSL services. The dialup is a slow and low cost but less security threat. Cable or DSL is a fast Internet and more security threat if the computer is not protected properly. Anyone can easily transfer viruses or install any software for their own purposes. The best defense is turn off your computer if you are not using it or if possible connect to Internet on demand and disconnect when you are done with it. Anyone can connect to your computer using your computer unique address with the help of software that can scan and get this number.

Downloads

Downloading free music, movies, games, pictures and other software from Internet can bring viruses into your computer. What happens when you download something from the Internet, all invisible doors of your computer are opened and anything thing like virus, spyware or other threats can enter your computer. The number one source of bring viruses is the free downloading programs that people use to get music, games etc. The software client programs search on the Internet for required content on different people computers. If those computers have viruses, yours will also get it because viruses travels with files which may be a song, movie or other software and enter your computer easily without your notice. Remember when you open these doors antivirus software cannot stop them.

Unknown Emails or Spam

Unknown emails are dangerous. Suppose someone you don’t know, send you an email. As soon as you click on a link inside that email your computer may go crazy and if that email contains a photo or any type of attachment and you open it, it may bring a virus into your computer.

Clicks

Any wrong clicks can get you a spyware or adware. There are so many websites on the Internet with a lot of attractive links. For example you will see a link that says click here to claim your laptop. As soon as you click on it you will get a spyware or any other type of threat in the background. Sometimes you will notice it, other times you will never see it installing on your computer unless your computer become unstable or it starts doing funny things. There are many websites that are not trustworthy and those websites brings spyware when you visit them. Many websites when you visit them automatically display popups with attractions. They could be different type of attractions like “make this your home page” or your computer is not protected go to the following website and download a certain program to protect your computer. Or it will say your computer is corrupt download certain program to clean it and they will give you the website address.

Mistyping a Website Address

Sometime when you want to visit a website and you mistype its address in the browser i.e. Internet explorer, it will open automatic pop ups which will attract you to click on a certain link. When you click on any of those links you can get these threats.

Lack of Security

You will get these threats if your computer is not properly secured. It’s like human body; if it is weak any disease can easily attack it and do the damage. The same is the case with computers. There are certain necessary steps that are required to secure your computer.

Connect Your Entire LAN to the Internet with a Single IP Address Simply and Securely.

If you want to connect a local area network (LAN) in your office to the Internet today, you have a number of options to choose from. The simplest is to buy a small stand-alone router or gateway. These devices are inexpensive, reliable and mostly plug-and-play. If you know what you’re doing, you can configure a router and network in less than an hour. However, this might not be your best choice.

There are significant reasons why a router is not the best solution. How secure does your data need to be? Do you need (or would like) to know exactly how much Internet traffic each of your PCs consumes? Do you have priority traffic that must get through? Do you have employees that might be using the Internet for purposes other than work?

A simple hardware gateway will not satisfy these conditions. You could invest a small fortune for a sophisticated device that would satisfy some of these and still not have the optimum solution.

An alternative to expensive hardware is setting up a dedicated computer to control Internet access and connectivity. In this case, your choice is economically limited to one of two platforms: *nix or Windows. While *nix (Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, etc) is technically terrific for the task, it is not as cost effective in a typical company with a multitude of Windows PCs. A *nix system bears a very important drawback: you will either have to hire a system administrator to manage it, or be unable to fine-tune Internet access and constantly risk network failure.

Using a dedicated Windows PC to control how your LAN users access the Internet is the only remaining choice.

While Windows itself provides a limited set of basic connectivity features, you will need to purchase and set up dedicated gateway server software to use advanced features. UserGate 4.1 by Entensys is a proxy server for Windows that is not only the simplest gateway server to configure and use, but also has all the advanced features your company may require.

There are two ways UserGate can share an Internet connection among your LAN users. One way is to configure it as a gateway, very similar to stand-alone hardware routers. UserGate supports NAT and port mapping in order to share a single IP address between multiple LAN users. Using NAT requires no additional configuration on client computers, and is the fastest way to set up Internet access.

If you want more advanced features such as caching your Internet connections, you can set up a User Gate Proxy Server. The proxy server automatically caches the web resources your LAN users access most often, saving significant Internet bandwidth and seriously increasing access speeds.

There is no way for your LAN users to bypass UserGate to access the Internet, so you can create powerful rules to control user access to certain resources or protocols.

You can also set up content filtering to block unwanted Web sites, resources, or specific file extensions (such as MP3 music).

Your LAN is always protected from external attacks by UserGate’s built-in firewall. The built-in anti-virus quickly scans all Internet traffic to protect your network from spyware, viruses and malicious software.

If you have different kinds of traffic, such as VoIP, you can easily limit the maximum bandwidth for every user in order to ensure that time-sensitive clients get the necessary bandwidth. You can also limit the connection speed for any network user and can control the maximum load of your Internet connection.

UserGate keeps complete statistics on every LAN user, including the list of visited URLs and their online time.

Its built-in billing makes UserGate a perfect solution for splitting a single Internet connection between several users.

The latest version adds VPN support, providing the same connection sharing and statistics features for private and public networks. Support of VPN and transparent proxy makes UserGate a perfect solution for safe and secure Internet connection sharing.

UserGate is powerful, user-friendly and simple to use. Download your free evaluation version at: http://www.entensys.com/

Kaspersky anti-virous win a lot of people’ popularity , and the latest kaspersky internet security 2010 comes up,I am sure you want to know more about it,then the followings are for your reference.
The kaspersky internet security 2010 has the following functions :
1.Essential Protection
* Protects from viruses, Trojans and worms
* Blocks spyware and adware
* Scans files in real time (on access) and on demand
* Scans email messages (regardless of email client)
* Scans Internet traffic (regardless of browser)
* Protects instant messengers (ICQ, MSN)
* Provides proactive protection from unknown threats
* Scans Java and Visual Basic scripts
2.Preventive Protection
* Scans operating system and installed applications for vulnerabilities
* Analyzes and closes Internet Explorer vulnerabilities
* Disables links to malware sites
* Detects viruses based on the packers used to compress code
* Global threat monitoring (Kaspersky Security Network)
3.Advanced Protection & Recovery
* The program can be installed on infected computers
* Self-protection from being disabled or stopped
* Restores correct system settings after removing malicious software
* Tools for creating a rescue disk
4.Data & Identity Theft Protection
* Disables links to fake (phishing) websites
* Blocks all types of keyloggers
To view videos ,photos and other details about kaspersky internet security 2010,please visit cheapsoftwareonline.com,and if you have any problem about kaspersky software,you can contact us as well,we will be very pleased .
Then at last ,we reminder you update it every day. Each day new viruses are created and put on the internet. This is the best computer protection against viruses but, does no good if not kept up to date.

Browsing the internet can be dangerous to your computers health, but if you follow these 5 steps you can reduce your chance of installing a Trojan virus like vundo onto your computer significantly.

After you have removed vundo or any other spyware, adware, trojan or computer virus make sure it doesn’t happen again by employing these safe browsing tips.

5 Safe Internet Browsing Tips

#1 Install an Automatic Scanning Anti-spyware program

We recommend Spyware Doctor with Antivirus, having a program like this should stop allmost all problematic files from being installed in the first place.

#2 Don’t Go To Bad Sites

What is a Bad Site you ask? A bad site is any non-reputable site that can potentially download bad files onto your computer without your knowledge. A few examples include;

Some Adult Sites that have lots of text links Link Farm Sites Torrent Downloading Sites Redirection Links Fake Spyware and Adware Removal Sites

The best way to realize what sites you are going to is by looking at links as you click them, we will go over that below.

#3 Don’t Click on Pop up Ads- EVER!!!

This is a big one, never click on pop up ads that appear without you clicking on any link. These types of pop-ups are commonly used by spyware and adware to send you directly to sites that install bad files onto your computer. Although not all of the pop-ups are bad links, it is better to avoid them all. Again if any ad appears seemingly out of nowhere- just exit out with the top right X box.

Installing a Antispyware program like Spyware Doctor or Spyzooka will stop most bad pop ups from opening with their ad-blockers

#4 Be Aware of link urls

Look at the URL of Links before you click on them, and make sure that they are complete URLs and look normal. When you hover over a link with your mouse cursor, if you look in the bottom left hand corner you will see the full destination url of that link.

If the link looks normal like this pages link you are good:

website dot whatever/vundo-trojan/how-to-never-get-vundo-again/

But if it looks like this:

website dot whatever/ihopaf09238rfa/78asi?udf87-jkdfu3c

you might want to watch out for that link unless you are on a site that you know is legitimate. Not every link that looks like this is bad, just sometimes so it is up to you to determine which sites you trust.

#5 Know When It is safe to give your information away!

Commerce on the internet has exploded in the past couple of years, and everyone is starting to shop online. This is great, but you have to know when your credit card information is safe. Having a computer clean of any spyware, adware or Trojans is very important to being safe online because of keyloggers. The Trojan.vundo can download them and they are very bad, it is keyloggers that record all information input into text fields and sends them to a database without your knowledge.

After you have removed all infections with a vundo removal tool, it is easy to tell if a page is safe to input your credit card or other personal information. First off there are two different ways internet pages show up: With a http at the beginning, or with an added s, https. The second is the one that you want on the order page, as https indicates a secure server. Also depending on your browser, a picture should appear with a closed lock to indicate encryption on the page. Only the closed lock icon is sure to be secure.

Other Tips:

-Use the newest version of your browser for the best protection from viruses and Trojans.
-Use a Credit Card Online If You have one- they are safer online than Debit.

In Review, if you purchase a good Antivirus/Spyware program like Spyware Doctor and follow these tips, you should never have to deal with a computer virus again.

For steps on how to Remove Vundo, please click the link. Also Here is a Vundo Removal Tool guide that is proven to work.

Think about this: Is a simple antivirus application enough to protect your PC against all threats?

No longer are viruses the only threat on the internet. In recent years other threats have evolved which include spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, information theft, pop-ups and the loss of information.

Let’s begin with the basics. We all need to protect our PC in the same way we protect our home, car and bank account. We wouldn’t give a stranger the keys to our car, home or bank account now would we. If you don’t protect your PC it is like giving the keys to a stranger and letting him/her have full access to your PC. Once the stranger has the keys they can snoop around and take whatever they want. I know, your thinking how can they do this, my computer is in my house and my doors are locked. Well, today you can be anywhere in the world and access someone’s computer via the internet. Since the introduction of cable modems and DSL everyone’s PC is online all the time and accessible.

Why do I need to protect my PC, I don’t keep any important information on it? Ask yourself a couple of questions.

1. Do I bank online?

2. Do I shop online?

3. Do I create documents, spreadsheets?

4. Do I let other people use my PC?

5. Do I download music, files onto my PC?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then your PC is vulnerable. If you bank online then you are sending personal confidential information to your bank via the Internet. For Example: Let’s say you are infected with spyware and you are typing in your account number plus password. A spyware installation can record key strokes and then send them off to a site on the internet. Now the person who setup the site has your account number and password to your bank. Here is one more example, if you answered yes to I let other people use my pc, here is what happens. The other person decides that they like this new cool piece of software. They download and double click on the exe, msi or whatever installs the software. The adware, spyware or virus installs. Now the infection is installed and now it can start stealing confidential information or cause havoc on your PC. You get onto the PC as always, since you don’t know this has happened and start doing what you always do, type documents, go to chat rooms, do your banking online, reconcile your banking with quicken and all this time your confidential information is stolen and you are completely unaware that this occurred.

The million dollar question, what do I do? Well, you can follow this approach.

1. Install a Spyware application and install and configure correctly. If you already have spyware application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

2. Install an Adware application and install and configure properly. If you already have adware application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

3. Install an AntiVirus application and install and configure properly. If you already have antivirus application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

4. Install backup software, why because if something does get through your defenses or delete something by accident you always have a way of retrieving the information. You should try to backup your system at least every other day.

5. Install Encryption software. This software will encrypt files like word docs, spreadsheets, banking file on quicken. This way if someone does steal your information they will not be able to read it.

6. Install a Firewall. The Firewall can either be software or hardware based. I would install both especially if you bring your laptop with you and connect to the internet at different locations. The Firewall will block hackers trying to scan your system while you are on the Internet.

Many people have these applications installed but they do not configure them correctly. Just installing the application does not mean that the application is working properly to stop the threat/infection. On some applications you need to configure the setting to make the application work the way it was designed to. Find out how to configure and install the software properly either by reading a how to book or getting someone to help. If you already have the application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly. All of the software needs to be up to date and kept current. As new threats are release on the internet, all applications will need the current updates to fight these threats.

If you would like to find out if you’re PC is protected you can take the test. This will not harm your PC it just checks for vulnerabilities and lets you know if you passed or failed. The application is a single exe and DOES NOT NEED TO BE INSTALLED. All you need to do is run the test application and follow the instructions. http://www.mweffa.com/urltrak/control/redirect.php?id=273

All articles are written by HowtoPCGuru!

HowtoPCGuru http://www.howtopcguru.com.com/ You may reproduce and use this article just so long as you add a link (http://www.howtopcguru.com) down at the bottom.

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Think about this: Is a simple antivirus application enough to protect your PC against all threats?

No longer are viruses the only threat on the internet. In recent years other threats have evolved which include spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, information theft, pop-ups and the loss of information.

Let’s begin with the basics. We all need to protect our PC in the same way we protect our home, car and bank account. We wouldn’t give a stranger the keys to our car, home or bank account now would we. If you don’t protect your PC it is like giving the keys to a stranger and letting him/her have full access to your PC. Once the stranger has the keys they can snoop around and take whatever they want. I know, your thinking how can they do this, my computer is in my house and my doors are locked. Well, today you can be anywhere in the world and access someone’s computer via the internet. Since the introduction of cable modems and DSL everyone’s PC is online all the time and accessible.

Why do I need to protect my PC, I don’t keep any important information on it? Ask yourself a couple of questions.

1. Do I bank online?

2. Do I shop online?

3. Do I create documents, spreadsheets?

4. Do I let other people use my PC?

5. Do I download music, files onto my PC?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then your PC is vulnerable. If you bank online then you are sending personal confidential information to your bank via the Internet. For Example: Let’s say you are infected with spyware and you are typing in your account number plus password. A spyware installation can record key strokes and then send them off to a site on the internet. Now the people who setup the site have your account number and password to your bank. Here is one more example, if you answered yes to I let other people use my pc, here is what happens. The other person decides that they like this new cool piece of software. They download and double click on the exe, msi or whatever installs the software. The adware, spyware or virus installs. Now the infection is installed and now it can start stealing confidential information or cause havoc on your PC. You get onto the PC as always, since you don’t know this has happened and start doing what you always do, type documents, go to chat rooms, do your banking online, reconcile your banking with quicken and all this time your confidential information is stolen and you are completely unaware that this occurred.

The million dollar question, what do I do? Well, you can follow this approach.

1. Install a Spyware application and install and configure correctly. If you already have spyware application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

2. Install an Adware application and install and configure properly. If you already have adware application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

3. Install an AntiVirus application and install and configure properly. If you already have antivirus application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly.

4. Install backup software, why because if something does get through your defenses or delete something by accident you always have a way of retrieving the information. You should try to backup your system at least every other day.

5. Install Encryption software. This software will encrypt files like word docs, spreadsheets, banking file on quicken. This way if someone does steal your information they will not be able to read it.

6. Install a Firewall. The Firewall can either be software or hardware based. I would install both especially if you bring your laptop with you and connect to the internet at different locations. The Firewall will block hackers trying to scan your system while you are on the Internet.

Many people have these applications installed but they do not configure them correctly. Just installing the application does not mean that the application is working properly to stop the threat/infection. On some applications you need to configure the setting to make the application work the way it was designed to. Find out how to configure and install the software properly either by reading a how to book or getting someone to help. If you already have the application installed make sure it is up to date and make sure that is configured properly. All of the software needs to be up to date and kept current. As new threats are release on the internet, all applications will need the current updates to fight these threats.

If you would like to find out if you’re PC is protected you can take the test. This will not harm your PC it just checks for vulnerabilities and lets you know if you passed or failed. The application is a single exe and DOES NOT NEED TO BE INSTALLED.