E-Musings Mon Immorata

Your Holy Anti-Malware Triad SpywareBlaster, Spybot Search & Destroy and all new Ad-Aware SE 1.06 together put Microsoft Antispyware to shame and catch lots of malware too. This week there are some pretty critical anti-spyware product updates. But first some bad new for those still wedded to Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). The forthcoming IE7 Beta will not support versions previous to Windows XP. According to Microsoft this is on account of security issues that can only be resolved if you have Windows XP SP2. Truth is Windows 2000 will no longer be 'officially' supported as of June 30, 2005. So Microsoft is rather ironically unable to deliver a secure browser on its own code while other developers, notably those in the Mozilla Foundation and in Opera Software can. I guess its official then: non-Windows XP SP2/2003 users must upgrade to Firefox (if they haven't done so already). My favorite ActiveX, dialer software and general bad site blocked JavaCools SpywareBlaster 3.4 has been updated to include 13 new malware. Spyware is so insidious (since it comes from dorks dark side) that a single of layer of defence proves insufficient. I have at any point between 4 to 5 layers. Each software has its pros (strengths) and cons (weaknesses). But can pull together--like the reindeer on a sleigh--to keep your computer relatively safe from various forms of malware. So what really are my Favorite Tools? There's the aforementioned SpywareBlaster. That works very well with Spybot Search & Destroy. That too has a new updated set of detection signatures. Actually Spybot contains so many features that you can effectively use just these two to deliver on 90% protection. Besides its ability to call on SpywareBlaster to block malicious ActiveX including dialers from being installed, the included TeaTimer runtime can stop Internet Explorer from opening malicious web sites (any site that attempts to write data not specifically permitted to a user's computer) . SpyBot also includes a specially-configured version of the Windows Hosts file that lists the prominent adware and spyware sites on the Internet but redirects all requests to the system's local IP (localhost = 127.0.0.1 on Windows). For non-technical readers, every time a web site attempts to contact one of the listed host domains in the Windows Hosts file, the TCP/IP stack (known as Winsock - WINdows SOCKets) checks the Hosts file and redirect the query to the local system. The result is usually a blank area within the browser and bandwidth saved. Pretty neat all around. There's also a great tutorial Hosts File And What It Can Do For You about leveraging the power of the Hosts file as a first line of defense. But if you like exploring the Internet's Dark Side beware. As using the Windows Hosts file may not be for you. Access to many hacking and warez sites is blocked. You'll need to manually edit the Hosts file to comment out your favored haunts. Member Three is Ad-Aware SE that was recently upgraded to version 1.06. Designed to ferret out and delete known data miners, parasites, scum ware, Trojans, dialers, browser hijackers, usage trackers and cookies, the new version uses Lavasoft's CSI (Code Sequence Identification) technology to protect against both known malware and variants that use a portion of their signatures. Significantly Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition can now scan and list Alternate Data Streams (ADS) on NTFS enabled volumes. However to delete these you do need a copy of Ad-Ware SE 1.06 Plus or better. Other enhancements include faster disk scanning and the application uses less CPU and memory resources. And has a smaller resource footprint. There are 4 product types available: Personal (free), Plus, Professional. The all-new Enterprise version also includes a special Control Panel so administrators can view what happening on client-side scans. The Personal Edition is very basic. And for the features offered you may be better off without it! Even Microsoft Antispyware offers you more control as does the older Ad-Aware SE 1.05. The only version I recommend is Ad-Aware Professional. This includes not just the scanning engine but also lots of Add-Ons such as Tweak SE, VX2 Cleaner, Messenger-Control (enable/disable Windows Messenger), OE-W Messengerctrl (manage Windows Messenger integration with Outlook Express) and LSP Explorer (check code bits inserted by Windows applications). Plus Process Explorer and Ad-Watch. However what's missing is RegHance; an enhanced Windows Registry Editor and manager. While on the topic you might want to check out the free Event Log Explorer. This Beta extends the Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Event Viewer. With an MDI (Multi-document user interface) to view several event logs together. You can also assign Favorite computers then group them with their logs into a tree. Lists can be sorted by any column in both ascending and descending order. Fast Search is included. And logs can be exported to HTML and CSV formats. If you are being phished more often that you'd like to fall victim, do consider the all-new Netcraft toolbar. Available in separate Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer versions. Installing the toolbar adds you to a neighborhood watch-style scheme that empowers alert members to defend the community against fraud. Sites reported to the network are also available in an RSS feed. Once a URL is reported for suspected phishing, access to it is blocked for all community members. The toolbar also traps cloaked URLs or those with characters that only plan to deceive. It also enforces the display of browser navigation controls in all windows and defends against pop-ups that hide such control. You can also displays the web server hosting location and services it supports. As a matter of fact I usually use Netcraft quite extensively at work to verily the services a URL supports and where possible the operating system powering it. And if you have installed Netscape 8 you have probably managed to bust IE's XML rendering engine! Post Netscape 8, attempting to open a file with a .XML extension results in a blank page. Microsoft's developers are investigating the issue, but until they find a solution, you have to make do with a workaround

Uninstall Netscape 8
Next from Start->Run, open Regedit and locate the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Plugins\Extension"
Highlight and right-click the node titled "xml" and select delete.
Restart Internet Explorer.

Unfortunately re-installing Netscape 8 reintroduces the error by over-writing the registry key! That's it for now. May the Force Be With You! Click Here To Send Feedback