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Is Windows Firewall enough protection?

Dave Farquhar security, Windows August 17, 2017August 6, 2018antivirus, firewall, spam, steve gibson

Windows versions from XP onward include a built in firewall. But is Windows Firewall enough protection?

Yes. And no. Security answers are almost always complicated. But I’ll explain.

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

dfarq.homeip.net

Watering hole attack prevention

Dave Farquhar security August 2, 2017August 1, 2017Adobe Flash, antivirus, breach, malware, malwarebytes, Proxy server, Whitelist, Windows 10, windows 7, Windows XP

A watering hole attack is an indirect attack on a victim. Rather than directly attacking the victim’s network, the attacker attacks a web site that the victim’s employees are likely to visit. Then the attacker attacks the victim’s network, via its own workstations, from that web site. A former colleague asked me how you protect against watering hole attacks, and I thought this was a good exercise. So here are some strategies for watering hole attack prevention.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

How easily can someone hack my home computer and steal personal information?

Dave Farquhar security March 11, 2017antivirus, CIA, cissp, command prompt, computer security, leaks

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. Here’s the scariest question he’s planning to ask: How easily can someone hack my home computer and steal personal information?

Someone asked me that question at work once, except it was about a work computer. I whipped out a copy of a book about Metasploit, flipped to page 137, and started reading. My point was that I could teach this guy how. He didn’t take it well, so I don’t recommend doing that.

My point that I could teach this guy how to do it still stands, though. And I think I could teach Andy how too.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Optimize Windows 10 for better performance

Dave Farquhar Windows February 8, 2017March 11, 20241990s, antivirus, ccleaner, chrome, defragmenter, Disk Cleanup, firefox, intel, micron, print spooler, ramdisk, receipt, Task Manager, unnecessary services, Windows 10, windows 7, windows 98, xbox

When I first installed it, I thought it was pretty pointless to try to optimize Windows 10. Of course, I installed it from scratch on a computer with an SSD and 16 gigs of RAM. Then I upgraded a couple of computers from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and I started to see why some people might not like Windows 10 all that much.

Upgraded systems almost always run slow, but I’d forgotten how much slower. And while you didn’t have to do much to Windows 7 to make it fast–that’s one reason people liked it–I find some Windows 10 optimization seems to be necessary. But don’t visit dodgy sites like downloadmoreram.com. Follow these tips for things that actually work.
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Dave Farquhar

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How to clean viruses off your computer for free

Dave Farquhar security December 14, 2016March 13, 2021antivirus, bitdefender, compaq, computer security, hp, malwarebytes, thumb drive, toshiba, Windows 10, windows 7

Whether you’ve gotten a tech support scam phone call or not, it can be helpful to know how to clean viruses off your computer for free. And yes, I do mean free.

A lot of people get ripped off due to virus scares and it makes me mad. I’m a computer security professional. I advise large companies on computer security for a living. Today I’ll take a few minutes to advise you.

Dave Farquhar

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Best free antivirus

Dave Farquhar security September 9, 2016November 21, 20181990s, antivirus, AV, malware, Microsoft Security Essentials, Task Manager, Windows 10, windows 7

What’s the best free antivirus? I have an answer that may surprise you. I also have a supplement that may surprise you. And I have a third supplement you already have but probably never heard of.

Keep something in mind. I don’t like using words like “good” and “best” in the same sentence as antivirus software. Imagine a college graduating class whose valedictorian is Chris Farley’s character from the movie Tommy Boy. What you want from your antivirus software is something that doesn’t do a lot of damage.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Do I have enough CISSP work experience?

Dave Farquhar security June 15, 2016October 8, 2016antivirus, CERT, cissp, firewall, passwords, vulnerability

It seems like about once a month an aspiring coworker asks me how to get enough CISSP work experience. I think this shows a misunderstanding of the requirement, so I’m going to try to clear it up.

You don’t have to get your five years of work experience in one big lump. And that’s a good thing, because that would be hard to do. Sometimes you can get a security job without a cert and work your way toward it, but a lot of employers want you to come in with the certification already.

But that’s OK. As long as you’re doing something more than selling computers at retail, odds are you have some security experience that can count toward the requirement.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Simple tips to prevent ransomware

Dave Farquhar security March 8, 2016April 23, 2017antivirus, malware, malwarebytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, oracle, Proxy server, psi, vector, Windows 10, windows 7

Last week at work, I noticed some odd events in an event log, and when I investigated them, I found they were part of a failed ransomware attack. This got me thinking about how to prevent ransomware at home.

Ransomware, if you aren’t familiar, is an attack that encrypts your data and demands a ransom, usually around $300, in bitcoins, and you get a short deadline until it destroys your files. More often than not, paying the ransom is the only way to get the files back, so it’s much better to prevent it.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Spot phishing e-mails with Outlook

Dave Farquhar Office, scams, security January 25, 2016October 22, 2022antivirus, breach, computer software, JPG, macintosh, spam

I got e-mail the other day from Turbotax saying someone had filed my taxes for me. Obviously a cause for concern, right? Here’s how I determined the message was fake in about three minutes. You can spot phishing e-mails with Outlook the same way.

Some people will tell you not to even open a message like this, but if you’re a computer professional, at some point someone is going to want you to prove the message was fake. I think this is something every e-mail administrator, desktop support professional, security professional, and frankly, every helpdesk professional ought to be able to do.

So here’s how you can get the proof. And generally speaking, Outlook’s default configuration plays it safe enough that this procedure won’t get you into any trouble, at least on modern versions of Windows.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Unchecky is another tool to help with staying out of trouble with malware

Dave Farquhar security October 22, 2015September 16, 2016Adobe Flash, antivirus, irony, malware, oracle, psi

I found a mention of a tool called Unchecky as a minor point in a story about something else entirely. Unchecky helps to solve the problem with downloaded programs including a bunch of extra junk you don’t want.

I won’t be running it myself. But the next time I fix a computer, I’ll probably install it on that one.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

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