How to schedule/re-schedule Outlook 2010 to check for new mail items. If you’re a looking for changing the time duration after which Outlook has to look for new items then this post may help.

Outlook 2010 Send/Receive is the main instance carrying new mail send/receive processes, it starts up on launching Outlook. However, you can manually change time duration of looking up for new mail & items etc, by navigating to Send/Receive tab. From Send/Receive Groups options, click Define Send/Receive groups. This will open it’s dialog, now from Schedule an automatic send/receive every option, you can further shorten the time it takes for updating.

YOUR DETAILS BY PHONE SCAMMERS…

URGENT – PLEASE READ THIS…

Internet users in Tadcaster have become the targets for internet fraud scams. Several people have already become victims – Don’t be next.

The phone call usually starts with the caller stating that they are calling from your internet service provider, windows, or some other quite believable entity – but they are NOT!

During the conversation the caller will tell you that your computer is running slow due to an accumulation of error reports, they will even direct you to the administrative section of your computer to let you see these errors for yourself.

Once you have seen the errors, you will either be asked to pay them for software or a virus check. The most common is that you are directed to a website page and asked to enter a username and password which they provide – this will pair your computer with theirs and allows remote access to your computer – This is NOT RECOMMENDED

After you have allowed the scammer to access your computer, you will receive a web page on your screen which tells you that you need to pay between £100 – £200 to have the system cleaned and checked for viruses.

If you buy these services, you will NOT receive anything in return, you may also be billed again in 12 months as this is usually a subscription.

DO NOT GIVE ANY DETAILS TO ANYONE OVER THE PHONE.

DO NOT ALLOW ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER REMOTELY

DISABLE REMOTE ASSISTANCE ON YOUR COMPUTER

CALL TADCASTER COMPUTER SERVICES FOR FREE ADVICE

01937 519 668

Or use the CONTACT form

This video is from America but the problem is also here in the UK

In this Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 review, we’ll see how the new program will help users in protecting their computer from malware. Windows Gadget by KAV 2011Below are the available features in the program:

* Real-time protection – Kaspersky (KAV) 2011 will monitor the computer for malicious activity to prevent viruses, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, adware, worms, and other types of malware infections.
* Disinfection – Detected infections are easily removed.
* Proactive Defense – In addition to signature-based detection, KAV 2011 provides detection of malware that has similar behaviors of known malware.
* System Watcher – A new feature in Kaspersky AV is that it will monitor application activities to allow roll-back changes from malicious actions.
* Windows Gadget – Users of Windows Sidebar for Vista and Gadget in Windows 7 will now see Kaspersky Windows Gadget, an easy access to the antivirus settings or reports.
* Mail and Web Antivirus – KAV 2011 will monitor incoming and outgoing messages for viruses. It will also monitor the browsing activity for malicious content.
* IM Antivirus and Anti-Phishing – Fraud and instant messenger protections are also included in Kaspersky AV 2011.
* Virtual Keyboard – A tool to prevent keyloggers to intercept entered keys via keyboard.
* Privacy Cleaner – Clears IE history, cookies, logs, prefetch, and other data.
* Vulnerability scanner – An option to scan installed applications for vulnerabilities.
* Rescue Disk – An option to create a bootable CD or USB flash drive with tools to detect and remove malware.UI of Kaspersky AV 2011
* Automatic or Manual Updates – Kaspersky AV 2011 automatically updates its signature detection. Users may also install the updates manually.
* Quarantine and Exclusions – Detected or deleted threats are backed-up in the Quarantine Manager with the option to restore or clear from the system. There is also exclusion list, if you do not want the program to scan other partitions or folders.
* Scanning – Full, Critical and Context menu scans are also available in KAV 2011.
* Scheduler – An option to schedule an update or system scan.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 does not include anti-spam, anti-banner, parental control, password manager, backup, home network security or PC security tune-up. The said features are only available in Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky PURE.

Conclusion

The detection of Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is above average for it provides 97% of protection against Internet and PC threats. At less than £30 for single a PC that includes a one-year of subscription, Kaspersky AV 2011 is highly recommended.

Postal Scam:

Can you circulate this around especially as Christmas is fast approaching.

This scam has been confirmed by Royal Mail.

The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel

Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and

that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).

DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize.

If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will

already have been billed £315 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail

Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

For more information, see the Crime Stoppers website:

http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention/helping-prevent-crime/scams/postal-delivery-scam

Stay safe this Christmas (and the rest of the year) be aware that some scams seem genuine but can cost you hundreds, or thousands in cash and even worse – you could be a victim of identity theft.

Keep your personal details safe and NEVER share passwords with anyone.

There are so many programs on the market that it can be difficult to choose, but! without any anti-virus software installed; you stand a greater risk of loosing the data and even your identity.

If you are unsure about why you need these programs, take a look at the Computer Virus section of this site…

The Internet has become an integral part of our lives today. It aggravates you when you have an Internet connection problem. When it comes to Internet repair, this can be one of the most challenging problems to solve. Before you look for and call professional help try some of the steps given bellow. If you find that you are getting an error report saying ’404 Error’ server not found, It means you need to look into the problem.

The first step is to try to restart your computer. After it reboots double click your browser Icon and try again.

If you are Unable to connect to Internet try the Internet repair tool. If you right click on network icon (looks like two monitors) visible on your computer at the right hand side at the bottom of the screen where you see the clock. When you right click it go to ‘repair’ and select it. If you can not find the icon then you will have to go to the control panel and access network connections. Then right click on the connection you are trying to repair, the wireless network or the LAN and then select ‘repair’. If you are using Windows Vista instead of XP then you will find the steps are the same only wording may be different instead of repair you will find diagnose and repair option. Once you select the correct option Windows will automatically try and repair itself. You will get the message once it is done and you should be able to use internet effectively.

If you are are still unable to connect to the Internet try to reboot your modem that your Service Provider gave you. The problem could be at your internet service provider’s end. Make sure to call him and ask him to reset it at his end if you still can’t connect. He can also check to see if your connection is good. Generally by taking these steps you can repair your internet connection.

Sometimes you get connected but the speed is very slow. To increase the internet connection speed you need to take few steps. (If you don’t understand this call your local service provider or contact a technician).

o You can check your IP address and gateway for internet connection. (normally you will need your Internet provider to help you with this)

o Disable network connection and again enable the connection.

o Restart your computer.

If your computer has viruses then it will affect the internet speed. To keep spyware, adware and Trojan viruses off your computer you need to use effective anti-virus program. Also Remove all history and temporary files from your computer. Go to internet option in Internet Explore and select ‘delete browsing history’ and ‘delete temporary files’. This may vary according to the browser you are using.

If none of these work then it is time to call for professional help and set things right! Most internet providers can help you work through these problems.

One the most common questions I get from friends and customers is, “What is a Computer Virus?” The short answer is, “A computer virus is a small program that is designed to interfere with the operation of your computer. The more difficult question is, “Why?” That unfortunately is a much more difficult question to answer. Why does anyone do malicious things? Some reasons include:

* To take control of a persons computer or network
* To generate money
* To steal sensitive information (Credit Card information, passwords, etc.)
* To prove it can be done or exact revenge
* To cripple a computer or network

Taking Control of a Computer

This is perhaps one of the most common types of viruses. Typically classified as ‘Trojans’ these viruses are mostly unknowingly downloaded via email or shared files from the Internet. The computer user believes the file is a legitimate one only to find out it is a virus.

Once the computer is infected, the Trojan can join a private chat network in the background unbeknownst to the user and await activation. Once activated by the Trojan creator, the virus can use your computer along with thousands of others to lodge an attack against another computer or network. The Trojan creator remains anonymous while your computer is used as a tool for attacking someone else.

Generate Money

In my experience, this type of infection masquerades itself as a Virus Removal Tool. It typically begins as a pop up ad indicating there are infections on your computer. Once activated, usually by the user who believes they are doing the right thing, the Virus will “Scan” your computer, indicate there are multiple infections, and offer to remove the infections upon purchase of the software. Upon purchasing, not only does the user either not get any software or get very low quality software, but the user has now provided their credit card and billing information to the creator. A very common instance of this type of virus is “AntiVirus 2009/2010″

Steal Sensitive Information

These types of viruses can sniff the traffic going in or out of a computer for interesting information such as passwords or credit card numbers and send it back to the virus creator. These types of viruses often use key logging as a method of stealing information where it maintains a record of everything that is typed into the computer such as emails, passwords, home banking data, instant messenger chats etc. This type of virus can be very effective in helping the creator steal the identity of the user.

To Prove a Point

Some virus creators simply want to show that it can be done. It is the ultimate display of ego for a virus author to find out that their virus has infected enough computers to become a real nuisance, show up on Google or even the news. Some virus creators also want to demonstrate that the Microsoft Windows Operating System is easily exploitable. A perfect example of this is the infamous MS.Blaster virus, also know as “Lovesan.”

To Cripple a Computer or Network

Few viruses now days are intended to disable a computer because it stops viruses ability to spread to other computers. Computer crippling viruses still exist, but nowhere near as common as the viruses mentioned above. The worst type of computer crippling viruses were back in the days of the 486 computers where the virus would overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the computer which would often prevent the computer from starting up at all.

Unlike computer crippling viruses, network crippling viruses are all too common now days. Most viruses that are designed to launch a Denial of Service attack will cause a significant load on a computer network, often bringing it down completely.

Use Anti-Virus and Firewall Software

Using Anti-Virus and Firewall software should be considered a necessary practice no matter how or for how long you use your computer. There’s absolutely no way to be sure which files you download may contain malware. Using Anti-Virus and Firewall software helps to combat attackers and viruses from getting into your computer and causing damage.

What is a Computer Virus?

Computer viruses are unwanted computer programs that can invade your hard drive and cause many different types of damage. Usually viruses are created when someone writes a computer program and embeds harmful software within that program. As soon as other people begin downloading that infected program onto their computers, the virus finds it’s way in and negatively alters information stored in the computers. Not one computer virus is alike, there are millions of diverse programs that cause varying amounts of damage to a computer.

Just like human viruses, computer viruses spread rapidly as soon they are created and computers are exposed to the ‘infection’. Although instead of traveling through the air, computer viruses disperse themselves all over the internet, sometimes you can get a virus just by clicking on a certain webpage. Many of times computer users will have a virus in their computer for a long period of time before it is detected or before it starts causing greater damage. Even when you have anti-virus software in your computer, it will not always find every virus because the anti-virus software can only find threats already known through that program’s database.

You may ask, Why would someone create such counterproductive programs?

Well, there may not be an exact answer as to why humans knowingly create computer viruses other than to get some sort of revenge or to challenge their skills. No one will be able to prevent those people from creating viruses and exposing other computers to infection, the best thing for computer users to do to prevent such invasion is to use current anti-virus software and be cautious as to what sites they visit and what files they download.

When a virus finds it’s way into your computer, it will hide in your hard drive and rapidly duplicate itself just like virus cells do in humans. You may not be able to tell, but every time you save your data, you are also saving the virus. Soon enough the virus has multiplied to such a great extent that it damages your data and causes major problems.

Although the computer’s ROM (Read Only Memory) will not be affected by a virus, the RAM (Random Access Memory) and your computer’s disks will surely be damaged. So if the virus is only in the RAM data in your computer, when you shut the computer down the virus will be lost as well as any other memory that had been held in the random access memory (RAM).

Unfortunately if the computer virus is on your hard drive or computer disk it will remain in the computer after you restart it and it will be there whenever you use the program again. If you switch from the infected program to another program without shutting down your computer, the virus will then attach to the other program. With that happening, that virus will slowly go through infecting all of your computer’s programs before you have a clue that you computer is infected.

Currently, millions and millions of dollars are spent on efforts to protect computers from viruses and eliminate destructive virus programs.

Anti-virus programs offered by commercial and shareware sources were made solely to detect and fix programs that may be virus infected. These programs should be used to scan for viruses every time you put a disk into your computer and every time you start up your computer.

Use a Subordinate User Account

In plain English, don’t use the Administrator account for everyday computer use. Many viruses take advantage of user privelages associated with certain accounts, such as the Administrator. Also, make sure that each of the users registered on your computer has a password. If you have old accounts that are no longer in use, be sure to delete them.

By Penny Reyes

“Spyware” is no longer simply a nuisance to enterprises. It is estimated that 90% of desktop PCs are infected with some form of “Spyware” (Source : US National Cyber Security Alliance). According to Gartner between 20 and 40% of enterprise helpdesk calls are now related to unwanted “Spyware” programs.

There are different classes or types of “Spyware”. These are summarised below.

· Tracking Cookies. Cookies are text files saved by the browser that allow tracking of user activity on a website. Users typically allow cookies as some sites won’t work without them or they are useful in that they store information about personal preferences, IP addresses, login information, user options and date and time stamp of the last time the site was visited. Cookies may also contain any information provided by a user during a particular visit – including any personal information provided in the course of completing forms. Cookies are at the most benign end of the “Spyware” spectrum.

· Adware. This form of “Spyware” is responsible for generating the by now familiar pop-up, pop-under, banner, floating and animated advertising seen whilst surfing the web. Adware typically uses advanced scripting that manipulates the browser by exploiting flaws in Java, ActiveX, the operating system and the browser itself. Adware may collect information for cookies and report information directly to sites on the Internet. On clicking-through ads additional cookies or utilities may be installed silently. Some adware makes changes to browser settings – resetting the homepage for example – or to the user system (including Windows registry changes). Often clicking on ‘No’ or ‘Cancel’ buttons within the advert result in the same code executing as if the user had clicked on ‘Yes’ or ‘OK’. Adware is the greyest area of “Spyware” – some Adware certainly should be considered as malicious ‘malware’.

· Scumware. Scumware modifies the contents of a web page adding hypertext links and alternative text. Scumware can also position competitive ads over the originals. Scumware can also install hidden or background processes and services and should therefore be considered as malware.

· Malware. Originally malware referred to viruses, worms and Trojan horses. The term also applies to the more disruptive forms of “Spyware”. Such programs might enable third parties to take control of microphones and web cams installed on a particular client, make changes to browser and systems settings, launch Web activity even when all browser sessions are shut down, install hidden or background processes and services. Keyloggers fall into this category. Malware is the most damaging of all types of “Spyware” from a risk perspective. It should be noted that this form of “Spyware” is increasingly being spread through Instant Messaging applications.

1.1 Different Variants, Different Risks

The different types of “Spyware” present different risks to enterprises. Cookies raise privacy concerns but are relatively low risk.

Adware can begin to impact heavily on productivity. Orthus are aware of several instances where close to 200 different pieces of Adware were present on a single client degrading performance to the point where the client was unusable. In addition to user productivity, productivity is affected through increased help desk calls and the time spent by help desk staff in cleaning up or re-building infected machines – which in turn further impacts user productivity whilst the infected machines are unavailable.

The risk of data leakage – of both personal and corporate information – is a very real threat with the most malicious type of “Spyware”.

Mitigating the Risk

The main technologies available to mitigate against the risks associated with “Spyware” within the enterprise environment are discussed below.

Mitigation techniques are two-tiered or two-part – at the gateway and at the desktop level.

Desktop Protection

At the desktop or client there are notably three technologies available to mitigate against the risks posed by “Spyware”. These are personal firewalls, dedicated anti-spyware programs, and traditional desktop anti-virus (AV) tools.

AV

In some respects forms of “Spyware” strongly resemble viruses. They are uniquely identifiable, can be detected by scanning the client machine and are sometimes packaged as a set of files that can be removed to clean up the infected system. However many forms of “Spyware” do not reside on disk as persistent files – such as hostile ActiveX and Java applets. The motives, delivery mechanisms and often the removal of “Spyware” is different however from the protocols followed for viruses and worms.

“Spyware” is also different in that there is no one definition agreed on what constitutes “Spyware”. Some programs that might be classed as “Spyware” – such as Microsoft’s Windows Update Notifications – are useful, disclose their tracking capabilities, do not disrupt desktop operation impacting user productivity, and are distributed by responsible companies. “Spyware” therefore needs to be classified and identified by the actions it performs and the level of risk – complicating detection and removal, as the users must be given a choice over what is permitted.

AV vendors – notably Trend Micro, McAfee and Symantec – already have software that is very good at scanning files before they execute. The software also has mature enterprise management suites and the vendors have support teams in place to handle enterprise customers’ needs.

Independent reviews and tests show repeatedly that AV tools are not as good at catching “Spyware” as dedicated anti-spyware programs. Whilst AV tools may detect 99% of viruses this number falls considerably to perhaps 70% – when considering “Spyware” programs.

Using the next releases of desktop AV tools to protect desktops against “Spyware” is extremely attractive to enterprises. There is no need to deploy yet another software agent on every machine within the desktop population, there is no need to monitor yet another ‘console’. AV already incorporates the management features that enterprises require – such as ‘headless operation’ and centralised reporting. Enterprises achieve greater consistency with standardisation on a smaller number of vendors, leading ultimately to cost efficiencies.

Dedicated Anti-Spyware Programs

There is an ever-increasing list of dedicated anti-spyware programs available from vendors including Ad-Aware from LavaSoft which is the most popular product with some 128 million downloads to date. Other notable products include SpyBot Search and Destroy, CounterSpy and Spyware Eliminator. Microsoft has also entered the market with Windows Antispyware following their acquisition of Giant Company Software.

Whilst dedicated anti-spyware programs are more effective today at detecting and removing Spyware than AV products this will change over the forthcoming quarters. Most of the dedicated anti-spyware offerings are available as free downloads aimed at consumers / individual users and not at large enterprises. Site licensing is rarely available for example. Some of the emerging vendors have enterprise offerings on their roadmaps. However these companies are small, lack corporate / financial stability in some cases, and typically do not have the support teams and infrastructure in place to handle large enterprise customers.

Orthus are of the view that many standalone dedicated anti-spyware programs will cease to exist in the relatively near future and the dedicated anti-spyware market will not be significant in years to come as established vendors offer integrated AV/anti-spyware/personal firewall products.

Personal Firewalls

Just as AV tools now include some “Spyware” protection so many of the personal firewalls available offer a level of protection as well. These include McAfee, Check Point and Internet Security Systems (ISS) with the release of Proventia Desktop in March 2005. Sygate is following a similar path to Check Point and ISS.

Personal firewalls are recommended for particularly mobile clients that are regularly taken outside of the corporate perimeter and used to access corporate systems from DSL connections in the home and public WLAN hotspots, where typically direct Internet access is also allowed. They are also recommended for fixed desktop and mobile clients in smaller locations where there is little or no gateway level protection in place and where again direct Internet access is available from those locations.

Gateway Protection

Desktop protection is only half of the story when it comes to “Spyware” protection. Gateway level protection is also available.

Blue Coat offer a range of proxy appliances that, in conjunction with popular URL filtering solutions, offer a strong defence against “Spyware”. “Spyware” often secretly installs via “drive-by” installers, which install “Spyware” in the background without any user interaction. Blue Coat combats this with anti-spyware policy controls that inspect, filter and block web content associated with “Spyware” installation software. This preventive approach is critical when “Spyware” originates from an unknown web site – not yet categorised within URL filtering solutions – and when there is no known signature available to detect the malicious program.

Gateway protection incorporating a strong URL filtering solution is particularly good in preventing programs on infected systems from sending information back to “Spyware” sites, mitigating against the productivity impact of Adware but also the more serious privacy and data leakage concerns associated with more malicious code. URL filtering solutions also offer some protection from infection in the first place by preventing users from visiting known infected sites.

Gateway solutions typically incorporate logging and reporting features that can be used to identify infected systems thus facilitating a targeted “Spyware” clean-up periodically. This capability is also useful to target mobile clients (notebook PCs) that are not protected with Personal Firewalls that become infected whilst outside the corporate perimeter.

Recommendations

In light of the above Orthus suggest that enterprises take the following approach to mitigating the risks posed by “Spyware” today :

* deploy gateway “Spyware” protection to prevent back-channel communication by infected systems augmented with a leading URL filtering solution.

* use granular reporting capabilities from gateway solutions to identify infected systems and choose a dedicated anti-spyware tool to clean-up infected systems on a case-by-case / ad hoc basis.

* do not deploy dedicated anti-spyware programs across the desktop population – instead wait for AV vendors to add strong anti-spyware capabilities in future releases.

* force remote office branch office based systems to access the Internet via the corporate gateway (where gateway anti-spyware protection exists).

* for remote and mobile clients, in addition to AV, install a recognised personal firewall to increase protection.

Penny Reyes is an analyst at Orthus limited (http://www.orthus.com). Orthus is a leading provider of information risk professional services, helping orgnisations globally to measure, minimise and manage the information risks they face. Orthus provide end to end services for clients to comprehensivly address risk in their environments including Insider Threats, addressing issues including data leakage, sabotage and fraud; External Threats (http://www.orthus.com/dr_overview.htm) including wireless security, penetration testing, virtualisation security, vulnerability management and Secure Software Development Life-Cycle; Supply Chain Threats including securing cloud services and data processed by third parties; and Legal and Regulatory challenges including Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Penny_Reyes
http://EzineArticles.com/?Spyware—Understanding-and-Addressing-the-Risks&id=2468685