Windows Repair and Tech Support Software

Having completed my first round of attempting to get spyware, I am not entirely certain that I going about this correctly. Maybe I should remove my “Computer Tech” hat and become more of an “Average Joe”.

I have been using Internet Explorer 7 and Spybot with TeaTimer installed as my real time spyware blocker and even after going to known malware sites, I came up with very little spyware. I received many notices from Internet Explorer that software was attempting to install itself but I declined it every time. I didn’t get a single warning from Spybot’s TeaTimer. This leads me to think that people either aren’t using IE7 or FireFox as their browsers. Or possibly they are completely ignoring the warnings that they are getting.

Warnings from web browsers are NOT to be ignored. They are what protect you from keyloggers, adware, spyware and other sorts of malware. Even spyware blockers won’t help if you bypass their warnings and choose to install the software anyway.

Thanks,
The Free Downloadable Software Fan

written by Tim \\ tags: Spyware Blockers, Web Browser

I just want to let you, my readers, know that for the next couple weeks (maybe longer), I will not be posting as much as I have been. I have decided to do a series of posts that require a good amount of testing.

I am going to test a series of Spyware Blockers to see which Spyware Blocker program really blocks the most spyware. These must be Real-Time spyware blocking programs. Simple removal tools are NOT being tested here.

I am going to test freeware applications but I am also going to test paid and commercial spyware blocking packages in this test because I really want to see which one is the best and see how much spyware the freeware blockers are able to block in comparison to the commercial programs. I especially want to see if the freeware and commercial versions of the same program fare differently!

Methodology: To test these spyware blockers, I am going to use my test Windows Vista PC (fully patched) in an Administrator’s login with UAC and Windows Defender turned off. I will use Microsoft Internet Explorer and it will be set to accept all cookies as well as pop-ups the security tab will be as low as I can go (medium). I will create a complete system backup so that I can refresh it to the same settings after each test. I am then going to install a single spyware blocking program and search around the web for spyware. I am then going to use a series of spyware removal programs to see what I was infected with. By comparing which programs found which spyware on my system, I will be able to see which blockers fared best. I am going to do this with as many spyware blocking programs as I can find. I am going to use the same websites in the same order to get infected and I am going to use the same spyware removal programs in the same order to see how infected my computer becomes.

Programs: I am going to test Spybot S&D with TeaTimer, Avira AntiVir Premium, AVG, MalwareBytes Anti Malware Professional, SuperAntiSpyware Professional, Spyware Terminator, and PC Tools Spyware Doctor, Windows Defender. I will add more to this list as I think of them or become aware of them.

Submission: If you have a real-time spyware blocker that is not yet on the list, please share it with me by leaving a comment HERE.

Once I have completed the test with each software I will post a short review (with screenshots). When I have concluded my tests, I will put together a monster post to compare the PROs and CONs of each program.

I can’t wait to see the results!

Thanks,
Tim, the Free Downloadable Software Fan

written by Tim \\ tags: AntiSpyware, Spyware Blockers

CrossLoop is a popular free free program for doing remote computer repair.

Description: CrossLoop is a great way to perform screen sharing for computer training and remote desktop services for computer repair over the internet.

Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista and Apple OS X

Necessary Info: CrossLoop is a free software that MAY allow you to get free remote computer repair service. Some of the members do it for fun but others charge for their services. If your friend or neighbor is a computer guru, he will probably do it for free. Just tell him to get the free software. I have been using it for a number of months and I have to say that it really is great free software.

PROs:

• The CrossLoop software is extremely intuitive. The person receiving help gives the person providing help a 12 digit access code and they both click connect. Then after a few confirmations by the person receiving help and they are sharing their screen.
• The features are here and there are still more coming. You can easily transfer files from 1 PC to the other, chat with the other person, and it keeps track of how long your session was.
• The CrossLoop team is constantly working to make CrossLoop better and better. The updates are often on the server side and therefore you don’t have to upgrade your software every time there is a change. But when an upgrade is necessary, they will let you know.
• If you don’t have your own computer Guru, their Marketplace can point you to one that as the skills to solve your specific issue.

CONs:

• On occasion I have had the service become extremely slow and even crash. It is kind of like a cell phone, you are at the mercy of the service provider (the ISP, not CrossLoop) for your connection quality.

Rating:

Conclusion: I have used CrossLoop many times and I highly recommend it to everyone.

CrossLoop: Download free software HERE.

Thanks,
The Free Downloadable Software Fan

written by Tim \\ tags: Computer Repair, Free Software, OS X, Remote Desktop, Speed Up, Tech Support Software, Windows Repair Software, Windows XP

SEObook’s Rank Checker leaves a lot to be desired even considering the fact that it is a free program.

Description: Check your SEO rank in 3 different search engines.

Compatibility: Firefox 2 and Higher.

Necessary Info: Rank Checker is a plugin for Firefox that advertises that it will check the rank for websites in 3 different search engines. There are a few things that it does well but its main feature is a flop.

It has a nice but relatively basic interface which allows you to input your domain and then input as many keywords or keyword phrases as you would like. You can also save the entire list to check them again later. Nice feature  because no one wants to have to type each and every key word in every time they do a rank check.

Rank Checker’s main function is to check rank for the domains that you specify and it does this with 3 search engines. It seems to check Yahoo well but Google and Windows Live don’t seem to do very well with this program if they show up at all. I have a ranking on the first page of Google with some of the keywords that I checked… And they came up as having no ranking at all. To me that earns it about a 1/3 ranking…

Rating:

Conclusion: It does a good job of checking yahoo so use it for that. But if you want to check your rankings for Google, (doesn’t everyone???) I recommend that you look for another piece of software. Rank Checker can’t do it.

Rank Checker: Download free software HERE.

The Free Downloadable Software Fan

written by Tim \\ tags: 2 Thumbs-Up, Free Software, SEO, Web Browser, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Today’s free software title up for review is Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is a free web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer but much better. It has tons of add-ons and ways to customize it, but it is great just straight out of the box.

Description: Killer web browser

Compatibility: Linux, MacOs 10.4 and higher, Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Server 2003

Necessary Info: Firefox, like Internet Explorer and others before it, is a web browser. These days, web browsers are our window to the world and what you are reading this with.

There is currently a battle raging over which browser is going to be King. Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are both fighting to become the king and Internet Explorer is losing ground.  According to http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp, Firefox currently has approximately 42% of the browser market share while IE has approximately 51%. Yes there are others that take up the remaining 9%.

Firefox is an open source program and anybody can donate their time and/or effort to help the cause. And that is part of what makes Firefox so cool. You have a ton of add-on programs that you can use for purposes such as

• Blocking ads
• Checking SEO rankings
• FTP (File Transfer protocol)
• Download management
• Bookmark management
• Change the appearance

These are capabilities that Internet Explorer just doesn’t have.

Firefox is also more secure against spyware because it automatically tells you when there is an update so the program is almost always up to date and protecting you against the latest web vulnerabilities.

In short, Firefox is a great browser that is more customizable and more secure than the competition.

Rating:

Conclusion: Quit wasting your time and get it now!

Download free software here.

Thanks,
The Free Downloadable Software Fan

written by Tim \\ tags: 5 Thumbs-Up, Free Software, Open Source, OS X, Web Browser, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows XP