We hear about Windows security exploitations almost every day. Most of these exploitations are on computers which haven’t been updated with the latest security fixes through Online Update. We don’t though hear enough about exploitations through any other software we might have installed in our system.

In today’s world of freeware craze, we install tons of programs and some of us are even diligent about removing unused programs frequently. But, how often do we take the time to see if they are updated? Unless the program offers an automatic update check and you had enabled that option, you might have a year old software for all you know.

Secunia offers a Personal Software Inspector (PSI) tool to analyze your computer’s software and provides you with list of software that needs updated. Next time someone asks me to clean up their computer, I am going to run this first to see what needs to be updated.

Secunia Quick Facts

• Secunia is not a secutiry software – it is a great complement to one though
• It relies on metadata of executables and library files to determine versions and does not check for integrity of software files
• It collects all the metadata information to Secunia’s server to be analyzed to determine the applications installed in your system
• Provides a detailed report of missing security related updates
• Installs easy and runs quick too
• Provides a tabbed report with different sets of information – programs no longer supported, programs with all known patches, insecure programs, etc.
• Provides a useful ‘Toolbox’ offering a set of links related to a problem offering to help you determine a problem and how to resolve it quickly.
• You get an option to ignore an application or folder for future scans if you know it is not in Secunia’s database to avoid unnecessary warnings.
• You get have Secunia running actively (I know I won’t) to get alerted as you run and install programs. Some may find this useful.
• Plus, in the Overview tab you could see how your system security is improving over weeks as you use Secunia as well.
• FREE for personal use
• Web version is free for everyone to use.

I have reviewed AppSnap in ShanKri-la before which is similar to Secunia in its function. AppSnap offers install and uninstall options to some of the popular freeware which is very nice. Here are some links to get you started.

Secunia PSI

Secunia PSI FAQ

Download Secunia PSI

Here are some screenshots from PSI run in my computer:

Here is an example of a an Insecure application and what PSI offers to resolve it. (click to enlarge)

What do you think about Secunia? I think if they added a scheduled check like other security programs, it would be hard to ignore for a lot of security conscious folks.

Your computer is too sluggish, and doesn’t open your files quickly? May be it’s time you defragment your hard drive, but ironically the default Windows Defragmentation tool is even more slow. Here’s where these free defragmentation software can come to the rescue:

Defraggler – Download

Coming from the makers of CCleaner, this new tool on the block is gradually gaining popularity. With such a cute name, Defraggler is just a single .exe file, and hence is portable.

Defraggler can defragment not just an entire drive, but also the tiniest of files. Though 64 bit computers are not supported, this free defragmenter can run on Vista as well. Download Defraggler free defragmentation software from here.

JK Defrag – Download

This open source, free defragmentation software that can do all that a defragmenter should do. Additionally, there’s a command line version available in this free defragmentation software. You can also schedule defragmentation when the screensaver is running, using another customized version of JKDefrag.

Contig – Download

Contig is a command line defragmentation utility that is supposed to defragment a single file. However, new GUI frontends to Contig like the PowerDefragmenter can defragment not just a file, but also a folder and also disk drives.

Auslogics Disk Defrag – Download

This does not replace the default Windows free defragmentation tool, but works along with it to enhance its abilities. For instance, it works along with the default free defragmentation tool to help it defragment ‘locked’ files – files that’re being used currently by the system. It’s not intended to be a replacement, but it’s like an addon.

PageDefrag – Download

PageDefrag free defragmentation software can help in defragmenting registry hives and paging files that are active most of the time. It runs during system boot to defragment such files that cannot be defragmented using the normal defragmenter.

SpeeDefrag – Download

SpeeDefrag restarts your PC, and loads only the default Windows Defragmenter to the memory. This in turn speeds up the defragmentation process. Scheduling is possible.

A year has gone and the next is coming. Chances are you had enough of all virus threats this year, and can’t bear any more. Fed up with annoyances and programs that do nothing other than monitoring your activities and causing harm? Here are some tips and habits you can adopt to keep your computer and your valuable data secure the coming year.

May be you can take them as New Year’s Resolutions!

Put your Antivirus to good use

Do you find lazy to fire up your antivirus software and get your computer scanned, just because it takes too much time? I usually don’t like to do this because the anti virus tool steals focus (not all, but some). So I always find myself reluctant to to scan files using AVs. This time around, I’ve decided to schedule scanning when the computer is idle, when I’m away. No more need to wait patiently for scanning to complete.

Then comes updating. Make sure you set your antivirus to check for updates everyday. If you’re AV doesn’t provide a real time scanning feature, make sure you get one.

Because prevention is better than cure, it’s always better if your antivirus scans web traffic real time and stops viruses and malware if they intrude into your PC.

And having an antivirus isn’t just enough. Get an anti spyware too.

Get a Firewall Program

Firewall isn’t needed you think? Think again. Get your PC a firewall software, like the Kerio Firewall or Comodo PRO Firewall or even Zone Alarm. You’ll have a lot of control over what’s happening on your own PC. You’ll find programs that connect to the internet without your knowledge.

It may seem annoying at first with lots of warnings and stuff from the Firewall. But, at the end of the day, it does good to your PC. Feel safe, get a firewall now!

Download from trusted sources

Sure there’s a hell lot of places where you can download programs from on the internet. But most of these places contain crappy programs and are pages literally stuffed with ads.

Make sure that you download the program from the official site itself, or a mirror that’s listed on the official site of the manufacturer.

Very so often, people find themselves downloading programs from untrusted sources, and this leads to virus infections.

Just make sure that you always download files from trusted sources, and for that extra security, scan your downloaded files using your antivirus tool.

Beware when you’re installing programs

If a program asks you to install something like a toolbar or any little program, OPT OUT. You don’t want to compromise on your security for a freeware program, do you?

Most of the time, you permit the software to install junk on your PC. “Me?”, you’re asking? Yes, you. But how? Just by skimming through the EULA (License Agreement), agreeing to it, thereby permitting the software to install what you really didn’t want to, on your PC.

So here’s a nifty little tool called EULAlyezer to hep you. Just copy and paste the EULA from anywhere to this tool, and it will warn you about potential spyware installations by analysing the license text.

If the program policies don’t permit you to use it without the bells it comes with, just go search for an alternative. There are scores of them on the web.

Be alert when you’re browsing

Yes, keep watching. Check your status bar before you click on a link. The link may not always be pointing to where it seems to lead to.

Make sure you’re on secure mode when you’re transacting money. Look for https:// URLs. Also keep an eye on the padlock symbol at the bottom of your browser.

Don’t fall prey to phishing scams. Dismiss those victorious messages that glorify you by telling that you’ve won a lottery. They’re just spam.

All these can help you have a more secure online life than ever before. Enjoy the new year, safe and secure!

Are you the kind of a person who always keeps working on data across different drives and disks – moving them and copying them over and over. Then, most probably, the inbuilt Windows file copier is very inefficient to you.

You can’t pause copying files, and if you’re in the middle of copying 100 files or so, and just that 51st file proves problematic, the entire copying process abruptly stops. If you’ve encountered such situations before, TeraCopy is what you really need to have.

Here’s what you get with TeraCopy. It does more than just copying your files faster.

• TeraCopy easily replaces your default system files copy utility
• Pause and resume file transferring
• If a file is corrupted, TeraCopy tries its best to recover data from that file. Unlike the default windows copier, it doesn’t terminate the entire copying process just because a single file could not be copied

Just select the files/folders you want to copy, right click and select ‘TeraCopy’ from the menu. TeraCopy opens, and use the ‘Copy To’ and ‘Move To’ buttons to specify the destination. The copying process begins.

TeraCopy is a free download, you can get it from the site. There’s a Pro version available with more advanced features.

Ever wondered whether you could add your favourite folders to the Open/Save Dialog in Windows? There’s a way to do that. Here’s a little tool that can help you add custom locations to the open/save dialog in Windows.

Places Bar Editor is a tweaking tool that does the job for you. It can help you add your favourite, custom locations to the Windows Open/Save dialog.

With no installation needed, just download the Places Bar.exe from here and fire it up.

A window pops up, and now you can edit to specify the custom locations that should appear in the Open/Save dialog. It’s as easy as that.

You can click on the ‘Default’ option to revert the changes you’ve made.

Applications these days eat up large resources and memory. Checking memory usage is important and is only good for your computer. I’m presenting you with details on four nifty tools that just serve the purpose of checking memory usage in Windows:

SysTrayMeter – Download

Requiring no installation, this little tool sits in the system tray and continuously checks and displays memory usage and CPU usage neatly. Memory usage is better conveyed with colour codes.

MemInfo – Download

Once installed, MemInfo checks memory usage, and warns you when memory usage is very high. It also includes a memory defragmenter. It’s just like SysTrayMeter for checking memory usage, but comes with a few customization options included.

Performance Monitor – Download

In addition to checking memory usage, this tool can also check disk and network usage. Working from the system tray, this tool shows you graphs on top of your screen indicating RAM, disk and network usage.

FreeRAM XP Pro – Download

A more complex and feature rich program this is. It’s more than a memory monitor. It’s one of the best tools available for optimizing your RAM for speed. Auto freeing of memory, logging, usage reporting, memory compression technologies are some of its best features.

Many programs these days install themselves to the start up menu, slow down the windows starting up time, and make a lot of hassles. There also comes a threat of viruses and trojans occupying the startup list, and causing harm. So, you need a tool that is specifically made for managing startup programs to get rid of the unwanted.

So, here goes a list of the a few best freeware startup managers:

1. Startup Control Panel

This free startup manager installs itself as an applet in the Windows Control Panel, and has good features. You can manage your entire startup list, delete items from startup, and also let applications run only once on the consecutive startup. Download

2. Startup Run

Yet another simple startup manager utility, listing out all the programs that load on startup. You can, as always, edit, enable, disable, delete startup entries. Additionally, you can export the list to a html/text file. Download

3. Scott’s Startup Manager

This one is much straight forward and does just the job. The simple interface lets you add, edit, delete startup programs. Download

4. Startup Manager

Another one, a bit more comprehensive than the above. This tool can be used to edit the Win.ini file that Windows uses to load settings on startup. Recommended for advanced users. Download

Did I miss out anything? Tell us in the comments.