2009-01-20

Malware, Spyware, Trojans, and More

Those of you who came to class since Saturday may have noticed that I used the laptop in the classroom instead of the desktop computer sitting on the cart at the head of the table. The reason for the change has been due to the desktop not booting correctly.

Since Wednesday or Thursday, I thought that the computer wouldn't boot properly because of the classroom being so cold in the morning (for visitors to this blog who live outside of Japan, most Japanese apartments lack central heating, which accounts for the cold conditions). After the classroom warmed up, I was able to boot the computer. Another possible reason for the computer not booting properly might have been due to an infection. I scanned the hard drive for viruses and malware (spyware, Trojans, trackers, etc.).

All scans revealed no infection whatsoever. On Saturday morning, however, the computer failed to boot beyond the Windows XP logo. So, hopefully, I will be able to purchase a new computer for the classroom sometime this week or next week.

So, what software did I use to scan the hard drive? Although there are many programs to choose from, I have traditionally used programs that are available for free to home users. After evaluating the programs, I convert to a paid subscription for the programs that require paid subscriptions for company use.

My students, however, I think would benefit from the use of free programs that seem to work well for home use. Today, I want introduce some programs to you that I currently use on several of my Windows computers:

Anti-virus (Install ONLY ONE anti-virus program on your computer):

avast! Home Edition, Japanese version available, and free for home use.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0; Japanese version available; free for home use.
Anti-spyware (Install at least two or three of these anti-spyware programs on your computer):

CA Anti-Spyware; Japanese version available; paid subscription required.
Windows Defender; Japanese version available; free.
Ad-Aware; no Japanese version available; free for home use (This software is VERY good!).
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA); Japanese version available; free.
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal; no Japanese version available (?); free.
CCleaner: No Japanese version available; free
If you want to try to use any of these programs on your laptop, feel free to bring the computer to your next class and I will be happy to help you with installing the programs during our next class!

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Posted by ANMI English Tools at 03:06

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