Private Folder

I have recently had to reinstall my operating system and can not access the previous "Owner" folder, which was designated as "Private". Is there any thing I can do to retreive the data from the private folder?

KingWildOne wrote:
I have recently had to reinstall my operating system and can not
access the previous "Owner" folder, which was designated as
"Private". Is there any thing I can do to retreive the data from the
private folder?

How to Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;308421

How to disable simplified sharing & set permissions
on a shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=307874

Once you get your files, clean up thje machine and secure it!

Suggestions on what you can do to secure/clean your PC. I'm going to try
and be general, I will assume a "Windows" operating system is what is
being secured here.


UPDATES and PATCHES
-------------------

This one is the most obvious. There is no perfect product and any company
worth their salt will try to meet/exceed the needs of their customers and
fix any problems they find along the way. I am not going to say Microsoft
is the best company in the world about this but they do have an option
available for you to use to keep your machine updated and patched from
the problems and vulnerabilities (as well as product improvements in some
cases) - and it's free to you.

Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical ones as
you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see when selecting the
updates and if you have trouble over the next few days, go into your control
panel (Add/Remove Programs), match up the latest numbers you downloaded
recently (since you started noticing an issue) and uninstall them. If there
was more than one (usually is), install them back one by one - with a few
hours of use in between, to see if the problem returns. Yes - the process
is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I mentioned - but as
you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is MUCH better than the
alternatives. (SASSER/BLASTER were SO preventable with just this step!)

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The
manufacturers of the other products usually have updates as well. New
versions of almost everything come out all the time - some are free, some
are pay - some you can only download if you are registered - but it is best
to check. Just go to their web pages and look under their support and
download sections.

You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to interface
with the operating system. You have a video card that allows you to see on
your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your PCs sound output and
so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the latest downloadable
drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always (IMO) get the
manufacturers hardware driver over any Microsoft offers. On the Windows
Update site I mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware
drivers - no matter how tempting.

Have I mentioned that Microsoft has some stuff to help secure your computer
available to the end-user for free? This seems as good of a time as any.
They have a CD you can order (it's free) that contain all of the Windows
patches through October 2003 and some trial products as well that they
released in February 2004. Yeah - it's a little behind now, but it's better
than nothing (and used in coordination with the information in this post,
well worth the purchase price..)

Order the Windows Security Update CD
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

They also have a bunch of suggestions, some similar to these, on how to
better protect your Windows system:

Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/


FIREWALL
--------

Let's say you are up-to-date on the OS (operating system) and you have
Windows XP.. You should at least turn on the built in firewall. That will
do a lot to "hide" you from the random bad things flying around the
Internet. Things like Sasser/Blaster enjoy just sitting out there in
Cyberspace looking for an unprotected Windows Operating System and jumping
on it, doing great damage in the process and then using that Unprotected OS
to continue its dirty work of infecting others. If you have the Windows XP
ICF turned on - default configuration - then they cannot see you! Think of
it as Internet Stealth Mode at this point. It has other advantages, like
actually locking the doors you didn't even (likely) know you had. Doing
this is simple, the instructions you need to use your built in Windows XP
firewall can be found he

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320855

If you read through that and look through the pages that are linked from it
at the bottom of that page - I think you should have a firm grasp on the
basics of the Windows XP Firewall as it is today. One thing to note RIGHT
NOW - if you have AOL, you cannot use this nice firewall that came with
your system. Thank AOL, not Microsoft. You HAVE to configure another
one.. So we continue with our session on Firewalls...

But let's say you DON'T have Windows XP - you have some other OS like
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000. Well, you don't have the nifty built in
firewall. My suggestion - upgrade. My next suggestion - look through your
options. There are lots of free and pay firewalls out there for home users.
Yes - you will have to decide on your own which to get. Yes, you will have
to learn (oh no!) to use these firewalls and configure them so they don't
interfere with what you want to do while continuing to provide the security
you desire. It's just like anything else you want to protect - you have to
do something to protect it. Here are some suggested applications. A lot of
people tout "ZoneAlarm" as being the best alternative to just using the
Windows XP ICF, but truthfully - any of these alternatives are much better
than the Windows XP ICF at what they do - because that is ALL they do.

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...eeDownload.jsp

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up)
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
http://blackice.iss.net/

Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up)
http://www.tinysoftware.com/

That list is not complete, but they are good firewall options, every one of
them. Visit the web pages, read up, ask around if you like - make a
decision and go with some firewall, any firewall. Also, maintain it.
Sometimes new holes are discovered in even the best of these products and
patches are released from the company to remedy this problem. However, if
you don't get the patches (check the manufacturer web page on occasion),
then you may never know you have the problem and/or are being used through
this weakness. Also, don't stack these things. Running more than one
firewall will not make you safer - it would likely (in fact) negate some
protection you gleamed from one or the other firewalls you ran together.


ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
------------------

That's not all. That's one facet of a secure PC, but firewalls don't do
everything. I saw one idiot posting on a newsgroup that "they had
never had a virus and they never run any anti-virus software. Yep - I used
to believe that way too - viruses were something everyone else seemed to
get, were they just stupid? And for the average joe-user who is careful,
uses their one-three family computers carefully, never opening unknown
attachments, always visiting the same family safe web sites, never
installing anything that did not come with their computer - maybe, just
maybe they will never witness a virus. I, however, am a Network Systems
Administrator. I see that AntiVirus software is an absolute necessity. You
can be as careful as you want - will the next person be as careful? Will
someone send you unknowingly the email that erases all the pictures of your
child/childhood? Possibly - why take the chance? ALWAYS RUN ANTIVIRUS
SOFTWARE and KEEP IT UP TO DATE! Antivirus software comes in so many
flavors, it's like walking into a Jelly Belly store - which one tastes like
what?! Well, here are a few choices for you. Some of these are free (isn't
that nice?) and some are not. Is one better than the other - MAYBE. I
personally love Symantec AV.

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/
(Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
http://www.grisoft.com/

McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
http://www.mcafee.com/

AntiVir (Free and up)
http://www.free-av.com/

avast! 4 (Free and up)
http://www.avast.com/

Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.trendmicro.com/
(Free Online Scanner:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/hous...start_corp.asp)

Did I mention you have to not only install this software, but also keep it
updated? You do. Some of them (most) have automatic services to help you
do this - I mean, it's not your job to keep up with the half-dozen or more
new threats that come out daily, is it? Be sure to keep whichever one you
choose up to date!


SPYWARE/ADWARE/POPUPS
---------------------

So you must be thinking that the above two things got your back now - you
are covered, safe and secure in your little fox hole. Wrong! There are
more bad guys out there. There are annoyances out there you can get without
trying. Your normal web surfing, maybe a wrong click on a web page, maybe
just a momentary lack of judgment by installing some software packages
without doing the research.. And all of a sudden your screen starts filling
up with advertisements or your Internet seems much slower or your home page
won't stay what you set it and goes someplace unfamiliar to you. This is
spyware. There are a whole SLEW of software packages out there to get rid
of this crud and help prevent reinfection. Some of the products already
mentioned might even have branched out into this arena. However, there are
a few applications that seem to be the best at what they do, which is
eradicating and immunizing your system from this crap. Strangely, the best
products I have found in this category ARE generally free. That is a trend
I like. I make donations to some of them, they deserve it!

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder (Free!)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Hijack This! (Free)
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
( Tutorial: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

ToolbarCop (Free!)
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
http://kephyr.sureshot.xaviermedia.net/spywarescanner/

Browser Security Tests
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

The Cleaner (49.95 and up)
http://www.moosoft.com/

That will clean up your machine of the spyware, given that you download and
install several of them, update them regularly and scan with them when you
update. Some (like SpywareBlaster and SpyBot Search and Destroy) have
immunization features that will help you prevent your PC from being
infected. Use these features!

Unfortunately, although that will lessen your popups on the Internet/while
you are online, it won't eliminate them. I have looked at a lot of options,
seen a lot of them used in production with people who seem to attract popups
like a plague, and I only have one suggestion that end up serving double
duty (search engine and popup stopper in one):

The Google Toolbar (Free!)
http://toolbar.google.com/

Yeah - it adds a bar to your Internet Explorer - but its a useful one. You
can search from there anytime with one of the best search engines on the
planet (IMO.) And the fact it stops most popups - wow - BONUS! If you
don't like that suggestion, then I am just going to say you go to
www.google.com and search for other options.

One more suggestion, although I will suggest this in a way later, is to
disable your Windows Messenger service. This service is not used frequently
(if at all) by the normal home user and in cooperation with a good firewall,
is generally unnecessary. Microsoft has instructions on how to do this for
Windows XP he
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...e/stopspam.asp


SPAM EMAIL/JUNK MAIL
--------------------

This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in one
sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you do? Well,
although there are services out there to help you, some email
servers/services that actually do lower your spam with features built into
their servers - I still like the methods that let you be the end-decision
maker on what is spam and what isn't. If these things worked perfectly, we
wouldn't need people and then there would be no spam anyway - vicious
circle, eh? Anyway - I have two products to suggest to you, look at them
and see if either of them suite your needs. Again, if they don't, Google is
free and available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)
http://www.spamihilator.com/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I have
seen function for hundreds+ people.


DISABLE (Set to Manual) UNUSED SERVICE/STARTUP APPS
---------------------------------------------------

I might get arguments on putting this one here, but it's my spill. There are
lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by default you don't

use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all of the
services you might find on your computer are and set them according to your
personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and take heed and write
down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large performance increase
or anything - especially on todays 2+ GHz machines, however - I look at each
service you set to manual as one less service you have to worry about
someone exploiting. A year ago, I would have thought the Windows Messenger
service to be pretty safe, now I recommend (with addition of a firewall)
that most home users disable it! Yeah - this is another one you have to
work for, but your computer may speed up and/or be more secure because you
took the time. And if you document what you do as you do it, next time, it
goes MUCH faster! (or if you have to go back and re-enable things..)

Task List Programs
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Black Viper's Service List and Opinions (XP)
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when you start
up the computer/logon. One of the better description on how to handle these
I have found he

Startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php


That's it. A small booklet on how to keep your computer secure, clean of
scum and more user friendly. I am SURE I missed something, almost as I am
sure you won't read all of it (anyone for that matter.) However, I also
know that someone who followed all of the advice above would also have less
problems with their PC, less problems with viruses, less problems with spam,
less problems with spyware and better performance than someone who didn't.

Hope it helps.

--
- Shenan -
--
The information is provided "as is", with no guarantees of
completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without warranties of any
kind, express or implied. In other words, read up before you take any
advice - you are the one ultimately responsible for your actions.

I have not been able to use the solution listed below
because I can't seem to find the options that are
listed. I believe this is due to my use of XP Home
Edition. If this is true is there anything I can do to
get to my data?

-----Original Message-----
KingWildOne wrote:
I have recently had to reinstall my operating system
and can not
access the previous "Owner" folder, which was
designated as
"Private". Is there any thing I can do to retreive
the data from the
private folder?

How to Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;308421

How to disable simplified sharing & set permissions
on a shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=307874

Once you get your files, clean up thje machine and
secure it!

Suggestions on what you can do to secure/clean your PC.
I'm going to try
and be general, I will assume a "Windows" operating
system is what is
being secured here.


UPDATES and PATCHES
-------------------

This one is the most obvious. There is no perfect
product and any company
worth their salt will try to meet/exceed the needs of
their customers and
fix any problems they find along the way. I am not
going to say Microsoft
is the best company in the world about this but they do
have an option
available for you to use to keep your machine updated
and patched from
the problems and vulnerabilities (as well as product
improvements in some
cases) - and it's free to you.

Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get
the critical ones as
you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you
see when selecting the
updates and if you have trouble over the next few days,
go into your control
panel (Add/Remove Programs), match up the latest numbers
you downloaded
recently (since you started noticing an issue) and
uninstall them. If there
was more than one (usually is), install them back one by
one - with a few
hours of use in between, to see if the problem returns.
Yes - the process
is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I
mentioned - but as
you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is MUCH
better than the
alternatives. (SASSER/BLASTER were SO preventable with
just this step!)

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your
PC. The
manufacturers of the other products usually have updates
as well. New
versions of almost everything come out all the time -
some are free, some
are pay - some you can only download if you are
registered - but it is best
to check. Just go to their web pages and look under
their support and
download sections.

You also have hardware on your machine that requires
drivers to interface
with the operating system. You have a video card that
allows you to see on
your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your
PCs sound output and
so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the
latest downloadable
drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always
(IMO) get the
manufacturers hardware driver over any Microsoft
offers. On the Windows
Update site I mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting
their hardware
drivers - no matter how tempting.

Have I mentioned that Microsoft has some stuff to help
secure your computer
available to the end-user for free? This seems as good
of a time as any.
They have a CD you can order (it's free) that contain
all of the Windows
patches through October 2003 and some trial products as
well that they
released in February 2004. Yeah - it's a little behind
now, but it's better
than nothing (and used in coordination with the
information in this post,
well worth the purchase price..)

Order the Windows Security Update CD
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

They also have a bunch of suggestions, some similar to
these, on how to
better protect your Windows system:

Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/


FIREWALL
--------

Let's say you are up-to-date on the OS (operating
system) and you have
Windows XP.. You should at least turn on the built in
firewall. That will
do a lot to "hide" you from the random bad things flying
around the
Internet. Things like Sasser/Blaster enjoy just sitting
out there in
Cyberspace looking for an unprotected Windows Operating
System and jumping
on it, doing great damage in the process and then using
that Unprotected OS
to continue its dirty work of infecting others. If you
have the Windows XP
ICF turned on - default configuration - then they cannot
see you! Think of
it as Internet Stealth Mode at this point. It has other
advantages, like
actually locking the doors you didn't even (likely) know
you had. Doing
this is simple, the instructions you need to use your
built in Windows XP
firewall can be found he

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320855

If you read through that and look through the pages that
are linked from it
at the bottom of that page - I think you should have a
firm grasp on the
basics of the Windows XP Firewall as it is today. One
thing to note RIGHT
NOW - if you have AOL, you cannot use this nice firewall
that came with
your system. Thank AOL, not Microsoft. You HAVE to
configure another
one.. So we continue with our session on Firewalls...

But let's say you DON'T have Windows XP - you have some
other OS like
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000. Well, you don't
have the nifty built in
firewall. My suggestion - upgrade. My next suggestion -
look through your
options. There are lots of free and pay firewalls out
there for home users.
Yes - you will have to decide on your own which to get.
Yes, you will have
to learn (oh no!) to use these firewalls and configure
them so they don't
interfere with what you want to do while continuing to
provide the security
you desire. It's just like anything else you want to
protect - you have to
do something to protect it. Here are some suggested
applications. A lot of
people tout "ZoneAlarm" as being the best alternative to
just using the
Windows XP ICF, but truthfully - any of these
alternatives are much better
than the Windows XP ICF at what they do - because that
is ALL they do.

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...ny/products/zn
alm/freeDownload.jsp

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up)
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
http://blackice.iss.net/

Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up)
http://www.tinysoftware.com/

That list is not complete, but they are good firewall
options, every one of
them. Visit the web pages, read up, ask around if you
like - make a
decision and go with some firewall, any firewall. Also,
maintain it.
Sometimes new holes are discovered in even the best of
these products and
patches are released from the company to remedy this
problem. However, if
you don't get the patches (check the manufacturer web
page on occasion),
then you may never know you have the problem and/or are
being used through
this weakness. Also, don't stack these things. Running
more than one
firewall will not make you safer - it would likely (in
fact) negate some
protection you gleamed from one or the other firewalls
you ran together.


ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
------------------

That's not all. That's one facet of a secure PC, but
firewalls don't do
everything. I saw one idiot posting on a newsgroup
that "they had
never had a virus and they never run any anti-virus
software. Yep - I used
to believe that way too - viruses were something
everyone else seemed to
get, were they just stupid? And for the average joe-
user who is careful,
uses their one-three family computers carefully, never
opening unknown
attachments, always visiting the same family safe web
sites, never
installing anything that did not come with their
computer - maybe, just
maybe they will never witness a virus. I, however, am a
Network Systems
Administrator. I see that AntiVirus software is an
absolute necessity. You
can be as careful as you want - will the next person be
as careful? Will
someone send you unknowingly the email that erases all
the pictures of your
child/childhood? Possibly - why take the chance?
ALWAYS RUN ANTIVIRUS
SOFTWARE and KEEP IT UP TO DATE! Antivirus software
comes in so many
flavors, it's like walking into a Jelly Belly store -
which one tastes like
what?! Well, here are a few choices for you. Some of
these are free (isn't
that nice?) and some are not. Is one better than the
other - MAYBE. I
personally love Symantec AV.

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/
(Free Online Scanner:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
http://www.grisoft.com/

McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
http://www.mcafee.com/

AntiVir (Free and up)
http://www.free-av.com/

avast! 4 (Free and up)
http://www.avast.com/

Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.trendmicro.com/
(Free Online Scanner:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/hous...start_corp.asp)

Did I mention you have to not only install this
software, but also keep it
updated? You do. Some of them (most) have automatic
services to help you
do this - I mean, it's not your job to keep up with the
half-dozen or more
new threats that come out daily, is it? Be sure to keep
whichever one you
choose up to date!


SPYWARE/ADWARE/POPUPS
---------------------

So you must be thinking that the above two things got
your back now - you
are covered, safe and secure in your little fox hole.
Wrong! There are
more bad guys out there. There are annoyances out there
you can get without
trying. Your normal web surfing, maybe a wrong click on
a web page, maybe
just a momentary lack of judgment by installing some
software packages
without doing the research.. And all of a sudden your
screen starts filling
up with advertisements or your Internet seems much
slower or your home page
won't stay what you set it and goes someplace unfamiliar
to you. This is
spyware. There are a whole SLEW of software packages
out there to get rid
of this crud and help prevent reinfection. Some of the
products already
mentioned might even have branched out into this arena.
However, there are
a few applications that seem to be the best at what they
do, which is
eradicating and immunizing your system from this crap.
Strangely, the best
products I have found in this category ARE generally
free. That is a trend
I like. I make donations to some of them, they deserve
it!

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder (Free!)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Hijack This! (Free)
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
( Tutorial:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

ToolbarCop (Free!)
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
http://kephyr.sureshot.xaviermedia.net/spywarescanner/

Browser Security Tests
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

The Cleaner (49.95 and up)
http://www.moosoft.com/

That will clean up your machine of the spyware, given
that you download and
install several of them, update them regularly and scan
with them when you
update. Some (like SpywareBlaster and SpyBot Search and
Destroy) have
immunization features that will help you prevent your PC
from being
infected. Use these features!

Unfortunately, although that will lessen your popups on
the Internet/while
you are online, it won't eliminate them. I have looked
at a lot of options,
seen a lot of them used in production with people who
seem to attract popups
like a plague, and I only have one suggestion that end
up serving double
duty (search engine and popup stopper in one):

The Google Toolbar (Free!)
http://toolbar.google.com/

Yeah - it adds a bar to your Internet Explorer - but its
a useful one. You
can search from there anytime with one of the best
search engines on the
planet (IMO.) And the fact it stops most popups - wow -
BONUS! If you
don't like that suggestion, then I am just going to say
you go to
www.google.com and search for other options.

One more suggestion, although I will suggest this in a
way later, is to
disable your Windows Messenger service. This service is
not used frequently
(if at all) by the normal home user and in cooperation
with a good firewall,
is generally unnecessary. Microsoft has instructions on
how to do this for
Windows XP he
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...g/howto/commun
icate/stopspam.asp


SPAM EMAIL/JUNK MAIL
--------------------

This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get
50 emails in one
sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What
can you do? Well,
although there are services out there to help you, some
email
servers/services that actually do lower your spam with
features built into
their servers - I still like the methods that let you be
the end-decision
maker on what is spam and what isn't. If these things
worked perfectly, we
wouldn't need people and then there would be no spam
anyway - vicious
circle, eh? Anyway - I have two products to suggest to
you, look at them
and see if either of them suite your needs. Again, if
they don't, Google is
free and available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)
http://www.spamihilator.com/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are
reliable ones I have
seen function for hundreds+ people.


DISABLE (Set to Manual) UNUSED SERVICE/STARTUP APPS
---------------------------------------------------

I might get arguments on putting this one here, but it's
my spill. There are
lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on
by default you don't

use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to
see what all of the
services you might find on your computer are and set
them according to your
personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and
take heed and write
down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large
performance increase
or anything - especially on todays 2+ GHz machines,
however - I look at each
service you set to manual as one less service you have
to worry about
someone exploiting. A year ago, I would have thought
the Windows Messenger
service to be pretty safe, now I recommend (with
addition of a firewall)
that most home users disable it! Yeah - this is another
one you have to
work for, but your computer may speed up and/or be more
secure because you
took the time. And if you document what you do as you
do it, next time, it
goes MUCH faster! (or if you have to go back and re-
enable things..)

Task List Programs

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Black Viper's Service List and Opinions (XP)
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that
startup when you start
up the computer/logon. One of the better description on
how to handle these
I have found he

Startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php


That's it. A small booklet on how to keep your computer
secure, clean of
scum and more user friendly. I am SURE I missed
something, almost as I am
sure you won't read all of it (anyone for that matter.)
However, I also
know that someone who followed all of the advice above
would also have less
problems with their PC, less problems with viruses, less
problems with spam,
less problems with spyware and better performance than
someone who didn't.

Hope it helps.

--
- Shenan -
--
The information is provided "as is", with no guarantees
of
completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without
warranties of any
kind, express or implied. In other words, read up
before you take any
advice - you are the one ultimately responsible for your
actions.


.

KingWildOne wrote:
I have not been able to use the solution listed below
because I can't seem to find the options that are
listed. I believe this is due to my use of XP Home
Edition. If this is true is there anything I can do to
get to my data?


No - you have not been able to use the solution below because you failed to
read carefully. *grin*

In the first link on "How to Take Ownership..", there is a section titled
"MORE INFORMATION". In that you find the answer to your XP Home dilemma...

Quoting the article (First link in my original response):

Note You must be logged on to the computer with an account that has
administrative credentials. If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition, you must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the Security tab.

Please notice what the article says about Windows XP Home Edition. =)

KingWildOne wrote:
I have recently had to reinstall my operating system and can not
access the previous "Owner" folder, which was designated as
"Private". Is there any thing I can do to retreive the data from
the private folder?

How to Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en- us;308421

How to disable simplified sharing & set permissions
on a shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=307874

Once you get your files, clean up thje machine and secure it!

Suggestions on what you can do to secure/clean your PC. I'm going to
try and be general, I will assume a "Windows" operating system is
what is being secured here.


UPDATES and PATCHES
-------------------

This one is the most obvious. There is no perfect product and any
company worth their salt will try to meet/exceed the needs of their
customers and fix any problems they find along the way. I am not
going to say Microsoft is the best company in the world about this
but they do have an option available for you to use to keep your
machine updated and patched from the problems and vulnerabilities
(as well as product improvements in some cases) - and it's free to
you.

Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical
ones as you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see
when selecting the updates and if you have trouble over the next few
days, go into your control panel (Add/Remove Programs), match up the
latest numbers you downloaded recently (since you started noticing
an issue) and uninstall them. If there was more than one (usually
is), install them back one by one - with a few hours of use in
between, to see if the problem returns. Yes - the process is not
perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I mentioned - but as
you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is MUCH better than
the alternatives. (SASSER/BLASTER were SO preventable with just
this step!)

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The
manufacturers of the other products usually have updates as well.
New versions of almost everything come out all the time - some are
free, some are pay - some you can only download if you are
registered - but it is best to check. Just go to their web pages
and look under their support and download sections.

You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to
interface with the operating system. You have a video card that
allows you to see on your screen, a sound card that allows you to
hear your PCs sound output and so on. Visit those manufacturer web
sites for the latest downloadable drivers for your
hardware/operating system. Always (IMO) get the manufacturers
hardware driver over any Microsoft
offers. On the Windows
Update site I mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware
drivers - no matter how tempting.

Have I mentioned that Microsoft has some stuff to help secure your
computer available to the end-user for free? This seems as good of
a time as any. They have a CD you can order (it's free) that contain
all of the Windows patches through October 2003 and some trial
products as well that they released in February 2004. Yeah - it's a
little behind now, but it's better than nothing (and used in
coordination with the information in this post, well worth the
purchase price..)

Order the Windows Security Update CD
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

They also have a bunch of suggestions, some similar to these, on how
to better protect your Windows system:

Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/


FIREWALL
--------

Let's say you are up-to-date on the OS (operating system) and you
have Windows XP.. You should at least turn on the built in
firewall. That will do a lot to "hide" you from the random bad
things flying around the Internet. Things like Sasser/Blaster enjoy
just sitting out there in Cyberspace looking for an unprotected
Windows Operating System and jumping on it, doing great damage in
the process and then using that Unprotected OS to continue its dirty
work of infecting others. If you have the Windows XP ICF turned on
- default configuration - then they cannot see you! Think of it as
Internet Stealth Mode at this point. It has other advantages, like
actually locking the doors you didn't even (likely) know you had.
Doing this is simple, the instructions you need to use your built in
Windows XP firewall can be found he

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320855

If you read through that and look through the pages that are linked
from it at the bottom of that page - I think you should have a firm
grasp on the basics of the Windows XP Firewall as it is today. One
thing to note RIGHT NOW - if you have AOL, you cannot use this nice
firewall that came with your system. Thank AOL, not Microsoft. You
HAVE to configure another one.. So we continue with our session on
Firewalls...

But let's say you DON'T have Windows XP - you have some other OS like
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000. Well, you don't have the nifty
built in firewall. My suggestion - upgrade. My next suggestion -
look through your
options. There are lots of free and pay firewalls out there for
home users. Yes - you will have to decide on your own which to get.
Yes, you will have to learn (oh no!) to use these firewalls and
configure them so they don't interfere with what you want to do
while continuing to provide the security you desire. It's just like
anything else you want to protect - you have to do something to
protect it. Here are some suggested applications. A lot of people
tout "ZoneAlarm" as being the best alternative to just using the
Windows XP ICF, but truthfully - any of these alternatives are much
better than the Windows XP ICF at what they do - because that is ALL
they do.

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...ny/products/zn
alm/freeDownload.jsp

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up)
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
http://blackice.iss.net/

Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up)
http://www.tinysoftware.com/

That list is not complete, but they are good firewall options, every
one of them. Visit the web pages, read up, ask around if you like -
make a decision and go with some firewall, any firewall. Also,
maintain it. Sometimes new holes are discovered in even the best of
these products and patches are released from the company to remedy
this problem. However, if you don't get the patches (check the
manufacturer web page on occasion), then you may never know you have
the problem and/or are being used through this weakness. Also,
don't stack these things. Running more than one firewall will not
make you safer - it would likely (in fact) negate some protection
you gleamed from one or the other firewalls you ran together.


ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
------------------

That's not all. That's one facet of a secure PC, but firewalls
don't do everything. I saw one idiot posting on a newsgroup
that "they had
never had a virus and they never run any anti-virus software. Yep -
I used to believe that way too - viruses were something everyone
else seemed to get, were they just stupid? And for the average joe-
user who is careful, uses their one-three family computers
carefully, never opening unknown attachments, always visiting the
same family safe web sites, never installing anything that did not
come with their computer - maybe, just maybe they will never witness
a virus. I, however, am a Network Systems Administrator. I see
that AntiVirus software is an absolute necessity. You can be as
careful as you want - will the next person be as careful? Will
someone send you unknowingly the email that erases all the pictures
of your child/childhood? Possibly - why take the chance?
ALWAYS RUN ANTIVIRUS
SOFTWARE and KEEP IT UP TO DATE! Antivirus software comes in so many
flavors, it's like walking into a Jelly Belly store - which one
tastes like what?! Well, here are a few choices for you. Some of
these are free (isn't that nice?) and some are not. Is one better
than the other - MAYBE. I personally love Symantec AV.

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/
(Free Online Scanner:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
http://www.grisoft.com/

McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
http://www.mcafee.com/

AntiVir (Free and up)
http://www.free-av.com/

avast! 4 (Free and up)
http://www.avast.com/

Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.trendmicro.com/
(Free Online Scanner:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/hous...start_corp.asp)

Did I mention you have to not only install this software, but also
keep it updated? You do. Some of them (most) have automatic
services to help you do this - I mean, it's not your job to keep up
with the half-dozen or more new threats that come out daily, is it?
Be sure to keep whichever one you choose up to date!


SPYWARE/ADWARE/POPUPS
---------------------

So you must be thinking that the above two things got your back now
- you are covered, safe and secure in your little fox hole. Wrong!
There are more bad guys out there. There are annoyances out there
you can get without trying. Your normal web surfing, maybe a wrong
click on a web page, maybe just a momentary lack of judgment by
installing some software packages without doing the research.. And
all of a sudden your screen starts filling up with advertisements or
your Internet seems much slower or your home page won't stay what
you set it and goes someplace unfamiliar to you. This is spyware.
There are a whole SLEW of software packages out there to get rid of
this crud and help prevent reinfection. Some of the products
already mentioned might even have branched out into this arena.
However, there are a few applications that seem to be the best at
what they do, which is eradicating and immunizing your system from
this crap. Strangely, the best products I have found in this
category ARE generally free. That is a trend I like. I make
donations to some of them, they deserve it!

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder (Free!)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

Hijack This! (Free)
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
( Tutorial:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

ToolbarCop (Free!)
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
http://kephyr.sureshot.xaviermedia.net/spywarescanner/

Browser Security Tests
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

The Cleaner (49.95 and up)
http://www.moosoft.com/

That will clean up your machine of the spyware, given that you
download and install several of them, update them regularly and scan
with them when you update. Some (like SpywareBlaster and SpyBot
Search and Destroy) have immunization features that will help you
prevent your PC from being infected. Use these features!

Unfortunately, although that will lessen your popups on the
Internet/while you are online, it won't eliminate them. I have
looked at a lot of options, seen a lot of them used in production
with people who seem to attract popups like a plague, and I only
have one suggestion that end up serving double duty (search engine
and popup stopper in one):

The Google Toolbar (Free!)
http://toolbar.google.com/

Yeah - it adds a bar to your Internet Explorer - but its a useful
one. You can search from there anytime with one of the best search
engines on the planet (IMO.) And the fact it stops most popups -
wow - BONUS! If you don't like that suggestion, then I am just
going to say you go to www.google.com and search for other options.

One more suggestion, although I will suggest this in a way later, is
to disable your Windows Messenger service. This service is not used
frequently (if at all) by the normal home user and in cooperation
with a good firewall, is generally unnecessary. Microsoft has
instructions on how to do this for Windows XP he
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...g/howto/commun
icate/stopspam.asp


SPAM EMAIL/JUNK MAIL
--------------------

This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in
one sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you
do? Well, although there are services out there to help you, some
email servers/services that actually do lower your spam with
features built into their servers - I still like the methods that
let you be the end-decision maker on what is spam and what isn't.
If these things worked perfectly, we wouldn't need people and then
there would be no spam anyway - vicious circle, eh? Anyway - I have
two products to suggest to you, look at them and see if either of
them suite your needs. Again, if they don't, Google is free and
available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)
http://www.spamihilator.com/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I
have seen function for hundreds+ people.


DISABLE (Set to Manual) UNUSED SERVICE/STARTUP APPS
---------------------------------------------------

I might get arguments on putting this one here, but it's my spill.
There are lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by
default you don't

use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all
of the services you might find on your computer are and set them
according to your personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to
manual, and take heed and write down as you change things! Also,
don't expect a large performance increase or anything - especially
on todays 2+ GHz machines, however - I look at each service you set
to manual as one less service you have to worry about someone
exploiting. A year ago, I would have thought the Windows Messenger
service to be pretty safe, now I recommend (with addition of a
firewall) that most home users disable it! Yeah - this is another
one you have to work for, but your computer may speed up and/or be
more secure because you took the time. And if you document what you
do as you do it, next time, it goes MUCH faster! (or if you have to
go back and re- enable things..)

Task List Programs

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Black Viper's Service List and Opinions (XP)
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when
you start up the computer/logon. One of the better description on
how to handle these I have found he

Startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php


That's it. A small booklet on how to keep your computer secure,
clean of scum and more user friendly. I am SURE I missed something,
almost as I am sure you won't read all of it (anyone for that
matter.) However, I also know that someone who followed all of the
advice above would also have less problems with their PC, less
problems with viruses, less problems with spam, less problems with
spyware and better performance than someone who didn't.

Hope it helps.

--
- Shenan -
--
The information is provided "as is", with no guarantees of
completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without warranties of any
kind, express or implied. In other words, read up before you take
any advice - you are the one ultimately responsible for your actions.


.

--
- Shenan -
--
The information is provided "as is", with no guarantees of
completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without warranties of any
kind, express or implied. In other words, read up before you take any
advice - you are the one ultimately responsible for your actions.