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The Nutshell... Dear Reader, I got to reading this and realized - it was too long! So I decided to put this all in a nutshell. My computer got trashed when I visited an innocent looking site. It was so "innocent" I still can't figure out WHERE I got it! I was researching a site that lets folks put up personal web pages and I suspect I got if from there, but really, who knows? I ended up wiping out my hard drive and starting all over. And then I got mad. Okay I was mad before that but now I'm really ticked off. I've had it with these jerks who take joy in the fact they are ruining people's lives. So I put up this page. Big deal? Well...yes, it is. So What's the Big Deal? I'm going to show you how to stop these jerks cold. You can do it with just one inexpensive piece of software. If you want to go ALL out, I'll show you a second piece for a "one-two punch" that will allow you to surf to your heart's content and never worry about a thing. Furthermore, I'll show you a third program that will protect you if your hard drive one day (and they all do) decides to hurl. Bet you think this is going to be expensive, huh? It's NOT going to be expensive! Actually, it will save you money in the long run because you can dump your anti-virus program. Yep get rid of it entirely. You won't need it. Here are the three programs and how much they cost: Process Guard - This is a little known program that simply stops any "bad programs" - such as viruses and trojans - from installing or running on your computer. How simple is that? It costs a mere $29.95. Extreme peace of mind with no subscription. (NOTE: Don't waste your time with the "Free trial version" it does NOT protect you like the full version!) Next up... Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro - You've heard of Zone Alarm? This is cheaper and better than Zone Alarm Pro. You can get by with Zone Alarms Free version, but Outpost is well worth the $39.95 asking price. Did you ever wonder why anyone would give you a perfect firewall for free and then offer to sell you something "better"? I like Zone Alarm, but this always made me a tad uncomfortable. You'll get all the protection of Zone Alarms Pro Version at less cost. Now about protecting yourself from sick hard drives... Acronis True Image makes it quick and easy to recover from a hard drive crash. What it does is store a copy of your hard drive - from your operating system to your favorite programs to your data, all in a safe place. If you ever have a problem, simply boot up your "True Image" and go. It usually takes about 20 minutes and you're up and running. It's $49.95. And that's it. For a little over $100 you can completely protect youself against most any disaster. (I still shut down and unplug during thunderstorms :-) If you backup regularly or don't have important files on your computer, you can get along without Acronis True Image. If you are comfortable with Zone Alarm's free version, or without any firewall at all, you'll probably be all right without Outpost Firewall Pro. But I urge you - for your own safety and peace of mind - get Process Guard NOW. The Internet Wolves are at the door and they never bother knocking! Here's to safe computing!
Andy Havens Netrazine.com P.S. If you have more than one computer, you can get multi-computer licenses very reasonably. Process Guard only costs $39.95 to protect EVERY computer in your home (business licenses are slightly more). Outpost Firewall Pro costs $79.95 for all your computers. Acronis True Image doesn't offer multiple home computer discounts at this time. P.P.S XP users - you probably noticed your computer is a lot slower than when you first got it. It's because XP is a lousy secretary. It scatters your files all over your hard drive so every day it takes longer to find stuff. And Microsoft's built-in defrag program stinks. The best solution is Diskeeper. It will tidy up your hard drive in no time and it does it right. And the home edition is just $29.95. You'll be amazed at how much faster your computer is after a good defrag. If you're running an older version of Windows, you'll still gain a lot with Diskeeper. It's just that XP is becoming notorious for slowdowns due to fragmentation. That's it in a nutshell. If you still want the whole story, read on... |
Dear Friend,
I don't know how you found this page. I sent everyone I know a link to it and encouraged them to pass it on. I'm dead serious about stopping these insane "terrorist attacks" on innocent computers. Hopefully, you'll find this information useful and worthy of passing on yourself. Some of this information may surprise you. Some may shock you. You may be wondering why you haven't heard about this stuff before. I know I did. It's part of what made me so mad.
Not long ago I declared war on sluggish computers. The enemy I uncovered was a pussycat compared to the diabolical foe that shut me down for two entire days.
My computer was hijacked when I somehow snagged a "browser highjacker". CoolWebSearch is the most famous of these. I'm not sure the one I encountered even has a name yet, but it's the nastiest bugger I've ever seen. It not only bagged my browser - it crippled my com;puter worse than any virus ever tried. And that's not all...
I also found an insidious keylogger. This sent chills down my spine! A keylogger tracks everything you type into your computer and ships that info off to the slimeball who snuck it into your machine. So you say you never bank online or buy anything? And you think you're safe from that nightmare? Think again. Have you ever typed your social security number into your computer? How about your mother's maiden name or any other answers to common "security questions"? (Even so your mother's maiden name is not all that hard to get, it's laughable "security" at best, as is your social.) Those two tidbits of information are enough to steal your identity!
For the record, I'm not a "top nerd" by any means. I don't have certifications up the Ying Yang. I am a certified computer technician (A+ if that means anything to you). I also have real paid experinence working as a tech in a very challenging environment. In short, I know my way around computers enough to have A) prevented this disaster completely and B) salvage my "must have" files AND C) devise a strategy for stopping future attacks cold. This strategy is what this page is all about.
My goal is to provide a plan anyone can follow to lock down their computer and keep it safe from any attacker. What to do...
There is ONE inexpensive piece of sofware that stops viri (or viruses), keyloggers, browser highjackers, trojans, worms and other nasties STONE COLD DEAD - Process Guard.
What is Process Guard? Allow me to assume for a moment that you have no idea how computers work. If you're a techie, then please bear with me for a second...
Any running computer does several things at any given time - it's called multi-tasking. It keeps time. It checks to see if the mouse moves or someone is typing on the keyboard. It checks to make sure the monitor is still hooked up (Hey! I didn't say computers weren't neurotic!). All these things are called "processes". They are simply computer programs running certain "errands". Most of these errands you never think about. That's okay, because you never have to think about them. The trouble starts when someone injects your computer with a virus or some other malicious computer program to cause trouble. And that's where Process Guard steps in.
Process Guard monitors everything going in your computer and forbids any nasties from starting up - period. Open a virus? Process Guard denies it's request to start running around. If some hacker tries to install a keylogger, Process Guard just says "NO!". It's that simple. Just like a door-to-door salesman who's not allowed to get his foot in your door - computer nasties are completely shut out of your machine.
If Process Guard is so good does anyone even NEED anything else?
I almost want to say no. Almost...
The problem is NOT with Process Guard. The problem is with the devious nature of the cretins who create the nasties. They are relentless. Then they unleash their havoc to the Internet and to other, less talented, jerks who take great joy in destroying computers....and lives. So I'm suggesting an extra measure of safety...
Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro Maybe you've heard of firewalls. Maybe you even installed one. Good for you. I've used Zone Alarm for years and I'm happy I have. I held off installing in on my new computer and I'm certain this contributed to my problems. Before installing Zone Alarm on this computer, I came across Outpost Firewall Pro and I must say I'm impressed.
Not only does Agnitum offer top notch firewall protection for less than Zone Alarm Pro - it also includes protection from trojans - like keyloggers. Now I know with Process Guard installed, you don't really need the extended protection now, but who knows? Personally I feel better with a firewall. And personally, I don't EVER want to go through the past two days ever again. Isn't $39.95 cheap for peace of mind? It is to me. And that's it. You really don't need anything else to venture out on the Internet. You can dump your antivirus program and never again worry whether you're protected against the latest virus sweeping the 'Net. However, I do have a couple other suggestions...
Don't get me wrong - you need not worry about hackers and other slimeballs trying to sleeze into your computer. But there is one other thing you need to think about.
Your hard drive. It's the very heart of any computer and, because it's a mechanical device, it will crash. You just don't know when. If you backup your important files regularly - and you should - you are doing better than most. But what if you forget? Or what if your backup fails? It happens and usually at the worst time. If you've got important information stored on your computer - and who doesn't, please consider what I've found to be the best protection around - short of a high tech RAID5 hard drive system...
Acronis True Image This inexpensive program takes a "snapshot" of your hard drive and stores it in a safe place so if your computer "burps" or even "hurls", you can be back up and running in about 20 minutes - just like you never had a problem in the first place. No calls to your computer technician. No data loss. No worries. You can even safely store a hard copy someplace else for an added measure of safety. All it costs is $49.95. How much are your files worth? Now one last thing, especially if you've got Windows XP...
You may have noticed you computer is a lot slower than when it was new. What happened? Some of the slowness may be due to simply having too many programs running at the same time. If that's the case you'll need to shut some of them down (getting rid of your antivirus program may help a lot depending on which one you have. Some are incredible memory hogs.). If you still have problems and I'm betting you will, it's because Windows, XP especially, is a lousy housekeeper. It throws files all over the hard drive, virtually scattering them, in pieces, all over. And then when you need something, it runs all over the place trying to find all the bits of files and pasting them together again. No wonder it's slow. Imagine this scenario on a 180 gig hard drive...
You'll need to defrag your hard drive. You can try Microsoft's built-in defrag program but don't expect much. To really get the job done, you'll need Diskeeper. Diskeeper fast and efficient. The first time it runs it's almost always faster than Microsoft's. It doesn't "hang up" like MS does either. Best of all, after the first time, Diskeeper is really fast. Plus you can easily set it and forget it. Diskeeper will run automatically so your hard drive will always run at optimum speed and your computer will run like a deer. Diskeeper is $29.95 and worth every cent. You can visit Diskeeper's website here.
A Final Note
I tried very hard not to make this page sound like a "sales pitch" or fill it full of "geek speak". As someone who has worked in sales of some sort for most of my life and as a tech for a good chunk - it's hard to avoid either. The bottom line is there really are nasty folks out there who don't give a whit if your computer, or your life, crashes and burns. In fact, they would gleefully hand you a can of lighter fluid and some matches if they could.
My only hope is this page saves a few computers from these jerks. I may not know you, but I'm certain you don't deserve the headaches (or worse) that I've suffered the past few days. If you do nothing else - download Process Guard. It's only $30 bucks. ($40 to protect more than one computer and don't EVEN gripe if you run a business :-) You'll be glad you did. I put links at the bottom of the page for your convenience.
Here's to safe computing...
Andy Havens, Netrazine.com