It’s been coming for some time now, but The Long Climb is going live with video tutorials to help you get the very best out of your PC.

The tutorials will feature everything you need to know about PC security, keeping your computer and your family safe, using your favourite programs, customising Windows and many many other topics.

Each video will walk you through the steps involved with full-screen, high-definition video tutorials and picture in picture displays.

As a teaser, you can watch the new videos online at http://www.youtube.com/user/thelongclimb

The programme will be available live online at this link or also through the BBC’s listen again service here.

It will take the format of an interview with regular presenter Rony Robinson about the period in Mike’s life when he switched from working in IT Support to become a teacher, but how this led directly back to first self-publishing his Windows 7 Power Users Guide, and then on to a book deal with Microsoft.

If you’d like to hear more about Mike’s work in IT and writing, including for TheLongCLimb, then tune in tomorrow.

Mike Halsey will also be appearing on a BBC Television special on Thursday 9th September about 10:30pm (channel and time to be confirmed) about the UK Government’s forthcoming budget cuts.

How Secure is My Password

A great, simple little site that checks your current password and reports back on how long it might take an average modern desktop computer to crack it.  There’s nothing on this site to identify you.  There’s no log-in or account needed so there’s no way for the site to ever be able to associate your password with any username or email address.

To use the site all you need to do is type your password into the white box on the screen and it will immediately report back on how long it would take to secure your password.

Simple dictionary words and names can be cracked in a matter of seconds using brute-force methods.  Adding a year or date of birth will make it more secure but it’s still something that a password cracker will check for early on.

Adding random characters such as * or & and subst1tuting numb3rs for letters can make the password more secure still but there’s no substitute for having a really long password, ten characters or more if you can do so.

You can find the site here www.howsecureismypassword.net

PasswordCard

This is a site for people who really do want a secure password and don’t mind a little inconvenience to get it.  The site will auto generate an image (one example is seen here) with completely random characters and two keys.

The first key is again random images along the top, the latter is a more conventional numbering up the side of the card.

You can print out your card (my advice would also be to save a copy or two in case you lose it).  You then choose a random character along the top, a number down the side and decide how long your password should be.

You now have a super-secure password and even if somebody gets hold of your password card, they’d never find your password hidden within it.

I’d always recommend having a secure password and these two sites can help keep you safe and secure on your computer and on-line.

You can find the website here www.passwordcard.org

Thanks to James Lidster for the tip

During the 2nd quarter of 2010 we have tested 19 security products in the areas protection, repair and usability. The “Protection” covers static and dynamic malware detection, including real-world 0-Day attack testing. In case of “Repair”, we check the system disinfection and rootkit removal in detail. The “Usability” testing includes the system slow-down caused by the tools and the number of false positives. A product has to reach at least 12 points total in order to receive a certification. 13 products have fulfilled our requirements and received an AV-Test certificate.

The following, in order from best score to worst, are the packages that have received certification, the top four also scored highest for anti-virus and malware protection.

1. AVG : Internet Security 9
2. G Data : Internet Security 2010/2011
3. Panda : Internet Security 2010
4. Symantec : Norton Internet Security 2010
5. F-Secure : Internet Security 2010
6. Kaspersky : Internet Security 2010
7. PC Tools : Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 7.0
8. BitDefender : Internet Security Suite 2010
9. Avira : Premium Security Suite 10.0
10. Microsoft : Security Essentials 1.0
11. Avast : Internet Security 5.0
12. Eset : Smart Security 4.0
13. Webroot : Internet Security Essentials 6.1

Old favourite McAfee failed to gain certification this year.

My personal recommendations are, as always, AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials.  Partly because they’re both free (AVG also has paid-for options). but also because they’re simple to set-up and easy to use.  Neither impact on your system resources very much either.

I will always recommend that you make sure you have anti-virus and anti-malware software installed and that you keep it up to date.

I performed an admittedly, not very scientific test on my own new USB3-equipped PC with an external hard disk connected firstly via USB3 and then USB2.

USB2 gave us a maximum data transfer speed of 320 Mbps but USB3 raises the game to 480 Mbps, a speed increase of almost 25%.  USB2 has been with us now for over 10 years and has completely changed the world of computer peripherals, making it much simpler and easy to add external devices to our PCs and Macs.

In the test I transferred one large file, 3Gb in size to the disk and then a selection of 71 smaller files totalling 2.25Gb, recording the speed each time.  The results, you’ll be pleased to hear definitely bore out the promise of the new “super speed” standard.

The results of the test were…

1x 3Gb file, via USB2 > 1 min 47 sec…  via USB3 > 30 sec

71 files totalling 2.25Gb, via USB2 > 1 min 37 sec…  via USB3 > 34 sec

This is a clear speed and performance increase of far more than 25% for external USB3 devices.  This means that the next generation of mobile phones, tablet PCs and external hard disks that support it will perform significantly faster than their USB2 equivalent, and even faster than e-SATA can manage.

I then tried one more test, this time with a very large number of very small files, to see how USB3 equipped itself then.  I chose a collection of just under 32,000 files with a total size of 2.1Gb  The results were…

USB3 – 1 min 54 sec

USB2 – 3 min 11 sec

This is a very interesting result as while in the previous tests I was getting speed increases of about 3 to 3½ times (though still far lower than the advertised 10x speed), this was a much more modest speed increase.

As a baseline I also copied the files to another hard disk inside my PC using the standard SATA interface.  That copied the files in only 1 min 4 sec, much faster than USB3.  This clearly demonstrated the problem wasn’t caused by the mechanical limitations of the hard disk.

If you have lots of large files to transfer you’ll get the biggest benefit from the new faster USB, other than that, you might want to wait until the prices drop.  Whatever happens though you’ll certainly be happy with USB3 devices.

The attack was dreamt up by security expert Sam Kamkar who demonstrated at the Black Hat hackers conference a website exploiting common shortcomings in a router to reveal it’s real-world location.

He tricked the router into believing the request for it’s ID information was coming from the connected PC, not from the Internet.  He then used the revealed MAC address with a geo-location feature in Firefox to interrogate the database Google gathered when it made its Street View photographs.

The data, which was controversially gathered, linked the MAC addresses of routers to GPS co-ordinates.  “This is geo-location gone terrible,” said Mr Kamkar during his presentation. “Privacy is dead people. I’m sorry.”

Mikko Hyponnen, senior researcher at F Secure called the demonstration “very interesting” adding that such a technique could be used for “stalking or targeted attacks against an individual”.

“The fact that databases like Google Streetview’s Mac-to-Location database or the Skyhook database can be used in these attacks just underlines how much responsibility companies that collect such data have to safeguard it correctly.” said Mr Hypponen

In 2005, Mr Kamkar created a work that helped him gain more than 1 million MySpace friends in a single day.

Update: I’ve been beavering away to get the book finished and as a result the release schedule has now been brought forward to September.

This book will compliment my own Windows 7 Power Users Guide, which is still available to buy in paperback and as an eBook.  It will talk readers through every aspect of preventing, diagnosing and fixing problems with Windows 7.

For this I’ve drawn on years of providing IT support for Windows users.  The book will follow a similar style to the Windows 7 Power Users Guide and take you through everything from the basics of preventing problems from occurring and understanding how to fix simple problems, to complex troubleshooting for advanced users, and the most complex Windows problems.

Click the image to view a larger image of the cover.

Microsoft Press say of the book…

You’re beyond the basics, so dive right in and troubleshoot Windows 7 — from the inside out! This supremely organized reference packs hundreds of prevention tips, troubleshooting techniques, and recovery tools. It’s all muscle and no fluff. Discover how the experts keep their Windows 7-based systems running smoothly — and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery.

• Use quick and simple guides to prevent problems such as data loss and identity theft
• Get the very best out of Windows 7’s built-in features
• Make your own quick fixes to the most common problems
• Handle viruses and other threats, and get tips to help protect against cyber-crime
• Learn advanced troubleshooting techniques by understanding how Windows 7 works
• Use step-by-step guides to diagnose and repair system and hardware issues
• Recover and restore the operating system — and your files — in the event of a disaster
• Use power utilities built into Windows 7 for performance, maintenance, and advanced diagnostics
• Get a companion eBook and additional content online

For readers who might wonder if writing for Microsoft Press could affect my objectivity here, I would like to reassure you that I will continue to criticise and take the mickey out of Apple given at least the smallest opportunity, and I’ll be happy to praise Microsoft products for as long as they continue to be excellent.  So normal service shall continue.  Seriously though, when Microsoft makes a cock-up I’m always more than happy to criticise them for it, and that won’t change either.

The book is available from Amazon for pre-order now in the US for $39.99, UK £30.99 and in other countries around the world, in Europe it is retailing at around €34.99.  The Windows 7 Power Users Guide is available now to buy as an eBook or in paperback from only £3.99 here.

The vulnerability potentially enables hackers to take remote-control of a PC and isn’t limited to Windows.  Apple Macs and PC’s running Linux are also apparently open to attack!  Even the excellent UAC security system in Windows 7 is apparently not enough.

In a security announcement the company said…

There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat

It’s long been known that Adobe Acrobat files are excellent carriers for viruses, they carry at least as many viruses worldwide as Microsoft’s Office documents, and Adobe a rushing to provide patches for the software.

In the interim, the company says that users could rename or delete the affected “authplay.dll” file on their computer to prevent their computer from becoming compromised.  They do say though that doing this will result in…

users will experience a non-exploitable crash or error message when opening a PDF file that contains SWF [Adobe Flash] content.

Obviously I’m not going to suggest that people uninstall Acrobat and Flash from their computers, as they’re both too useful.  I would recommend that you make sure your anti-virus and anti-malware software is up to date, and that you have the Adobe Updater software running too.

The software affected by this bug is…

Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2, 9.0.262, and earlier 10.0.x and 9.0.x versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris

Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.3.2 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX

Franck Laloe, of the Centre said “In the most severe cases, which were happily quite rare, the data on some discs lasted just one year”, as reported by the BBC.

This will no doubt come as a surprise to many because, unlike the magnetic tape backup mediums of yesteryear, optical discs are read with a laser and, as such, there’s no physical contact but Laloe added “Disc production varies. In the same brand we find discs produced by different manufacturers which means their quality and how long they last for is not necessarily the same.”

The researchers tested a whole variety of discs by  artificially aging them with heat, water vapour and light.

Moreover they discovered that a manufacturer’s branding on a disc could cause it to fail earlier due to problems with the ink on the surface.

As I say none of this will come as any surprise to a great many people and it’s no doubt why completely unmarked discs are so popular today.  It’s interesting however to see actual test data to back up what so many people have believed for so long.

The general advice is to re-burn your discs every two to three years to ensure data integrity.  Another way I personally have found useful is to simply read the disc every year or so.  For a reason I’ve never been able to explain, this seems to refresh the data charge on the surface so they can last a little bit longer.

It’s important though to note that, as so many more people are using optical discs on which to store their only backups of invaluable photos and videos, we should all take a step back and rethink our data backup plans.

Fortunately there are alternatives as the price of hard disks falls every year, and cloud-based storage becomes cheaper and easier to access.

The company said it had spotted the virus in the wild on 3,000 out of the 5½ million computers it monitors in the UK and the USA.

Zeus, which can infect users through either the Internet Explorer or Firefox web browsers steals login information by recording keystrokes from its list of target websites.  This data is then sold on to criminals.

“We expect this new version of Zeus to significantly increase fraud losses, since nearly 30% of internet users bank online with Firefox and the infection is growing faster than we have ever seen before,” said Amit Klein, chief technology officer at Trusteer.

Zeus was dealt a heavy blow back in March when the Kazakhstani ISP, the host for the Zeus botnet, was cut off.  However internet fraudsters and criminals are usually quick to respond and it doesn’t take long for new hosting to be found.

My advice at www.thelongclimb.com as always is to keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware up to date.  Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 also include as standard an on-screen keyboard.  This can be used when logging into websites, especially banking sites, to make the process much more secure.

Source : BBC