Top Ten Free Programs

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Top 10 Free Programs

Over the years I have used many programs. During that time, they have served me well so I thought I would share them with you.

In no particular order, here they are:

  1. Avast Free Antivirus – A free antivirus and antispyware security software program for Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP. Download it here.
  2. SyncBack – A freeware program that helps you easily backup and synchronize your files to, the same drive, a different drive or medium (CDRW, Compact Flash, etc), an FTP server, a Network, or a Zip archive. Download it here.
  3. Malwarebytes – A free tool that can identify and remove malicious software from your computer. Download it here.
  4. GIMP – Image and photo editing software. Similar to Photoshop but free! Download it here.
  5. Open-Shell – Software that changes the Start Button on Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11 to make it act like the traditional Windows 7 Start Button. Download it here.
  6. FileZilla – A fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface. Download it here.
  7. Libre Office – An open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases. Download it here.
  8. Audacity – A free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder. Download it here.
  9. Lightshot – The fastest way to take a customizable screenshot. This app allows you to select any area on your desktop and take its screenshot with 2 button-clicks.  Download it here.
  10. AnyDesk – Secure & intuitive Remote Desktop software.  Download it here.

Great Security Myth: I Don’t Need Anti-Virus Protection because I Bought an Apple Mac!

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virus-detectedMelbourne, 28 May 2010 – AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd warns that Apple Macs running the OS X operating system, or some flavour of Linux distribution, are not immune to viruses, malware and other forms of Internet-carried spambots, Trojans, hacking and phishing.

That’s right, Apple Macs running the OS X operating system, or some flavour of Linux distribution, are open to attack from cyber criminals.

Now of course hackers and spammers are not stupid and they know that Windows users represent the ‘low hanging fruit’ in terms of potential targets. The sheer weight of numbers that the Windows’ user base carries with it makes it the primary target for malware attacks – and it’s going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

“But,” Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager, AVG (AU/NZ), says: “The web changes everything. More specifically, web services, social media and online applications change everything.

“Suddenly you are operating one step further away from your Mac’s desktop and you are at the mercy of live real-time contact from third parties and the World Wide Web in general. This levels the playing field in some senses, so that suddenly your Mac is not a Mac for a moment – instead it’s just a computer.”

With the growing popularity of web services from Twitter and Facebook and so on, the opportunity to spread malware hidden in a simple link has, arguably, never been greater.

So Mac’s do have vulnerabilities and people should be increasingly aware of browser security concerns. Without identifying specific security holes in Safari or Opera (or Firefox for that matter), the operating system is no longer the primary target for Internet-driven user attacks by cyber criminals. The target is the application itself and the user’s behaviour within it.

Apple’s popularity is growing all the time even if its market share is still somewhere around less than 10 percent globally. Just this year security researchers found eight fresh zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple’s Safari browser.

“What matters most is that viral attacks are constantly evolving and looking for fresh blood,” Borrett continued. “So, everyone needs to think about Internet security protection. It’s as simple as that.”

Technical Facts

Looking objectively at the Mac operating system and tools, there is arguably a larger total surface area of code open to potential attack.

Combining rich use of Flash and Java with support for multiple file formats does not exactly put up extra barriers. Digging deeper, Address Space Layout Randomisation (ASLR) has been around since Windows Vista as an anti-exploitation technology, yet it is only present in Mac OS X 10.5 in some library offsets and therefore does not offer complete protection in the way that the technology was designed.

Conclusion: Apple Mac, Windows or Linux, the fact is that regardless of the operating system each of us is using, we’re all in this together. Everyone needs to be aware of what they are clicking on and use their commonsense – if something doesn’t look quite right, it probably isn’t!

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Scareware Part 2

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Malware/Scareware Threatens to Sue BitTorrent Downloaders.

 

A new malware scam is trying to trick BitTorrent users into paying for illegally downloading copyrighted material.

The malware displays a box with the message “Warning! Piracy detected!” and opens up a web page supposedly run by a Swiss company which states thet are “committed to promoting the cultural and economic benefits of copyright.”

The fake company, the ICCP Foundation, claims to be sponsored by the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America and others. TorrentFreak, which was the first to discover the malware, wrote that, “It appears to scan the user’s hard drive for .torrent files and displays these as ’evidence’ of an earlier infringement”.

Victims are warned of possible imprisonment and fines, and given the option of “settling” the “case” for a one-time payment of $400, by credit card.

Obviously you would be crazy to hand over your Credit Card details, but it only takes a small percentage of victims to fall for the scam to make some serious cash, which is why the scammers go to the trouble.

Scareware Part 1

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So here’s a new term, “Scareware”.

Someone has coined this new term to describe fake antivirus and antispyware software.
Makers of fake antivirus and antispyware software are exploiting search engines and driving people to sites selling fake security products.

By slightly mis-spelling the name of popular security products, they trick you into visiting their malicious site, and bombard you with messages and pop-ups about how badly you are infected and how many viruses you have and “scaring” you into buying their product. This is fooling tens of thousands of people into purchasing this fake software, which in fact infects them further. I have seen figures that show these cyber-criminals may be making upwards of $10,000 per day.

Popular mis-spellings are Ad-Ware instead of Ad-Aware, Spywarebot instead of Spybot, and Spyware Blaster instead of SpywareBlaster.

There are a multitude of fake products out there. A couple that spring to mind, in addition to those above, are WinXP Antivirus, Antivirus 2009, but there are 1000’s more.

The golden rule is DO NOT just search the internet for a security product. Contact a reputable company for advice, or better yet, just read this Blog!!!!!

Is This The Future Of Coffee Tables?

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How cool is this?

Microsoft’s new touch screen technology in the form of a coffee table. It will eventually be used for self service kiosks etc.

Support Ending XP SP2

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This is why you should look at making sure you have Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed, or think about migrating to Windows 7 in the near future.

Microsoft has announced that support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) 32-bit operating system will end on 13th July 2010, and support for Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM) will end 13th April 2010.

If you are running the 64-bit edition of Windows XP with SP2, you will continue to be eligible to receive Microsoft support and updates until 8th April 2014. There is no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. To find out if you are running the 64-bit version of Windows XP, go to the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. If you don’t see “64-bit” listed, then you’re running the 32-bit version and need to install the Windows XP SP3.

Key Dates
  • 1st March 2010 – Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) will reboot or go to a blue screen every two hours, depending on the PC’s system failure settings.
  • 13th April 2010 – Support for Windows Vista RTM operating system ends.
  • 1st June 2010 – Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) licenses expire.
  • 13th July 2010 – Support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) 32-bit operating system ends.