antivirus Archives

How to make finicky 32-bit applications install and run in 64-bit Windows

Dave Farquhar Windows January 10, 2013January 10, 2013adobe creative suite, antivirus, irony, x86

Certain older 32-bit applications (notably Adobe Creative Suite CS2 apps, but there are probably others) object to being installed in “C:\Program Files (x86)\”, which is where 64-bit Windows wants to put legacy 32-bit apps.

The solution is easy but non-obvious, as is true so much of the time.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Mobile malware is coming. Get prepared.

Dave Farquhar security December 28, 2012December 28, 2012android, antivirus, avast, firewall, malware, Nook Color, Play Store, samsung

One thing I’m seeing in the predictions-for-2013 columns is that mobile malware is going to increase this year. While I can’t be certain it’s going to happen, all of the ingredients are there. The only thing stopping it is motive.

I’m familiar with Avast antivirus on Android. It’s nice. Whenever I download an app from the Google Play store, it scans it, and if it finds something it doesn’t like, it intervenes. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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How to schedule scans with Avast (even the free version)

Dave Farquhar security December 20, 2012antivirus, avast, defense in depth, performance penalty

Scheduling scans with Avast is easy, as it turns out, if non-obvious. Launch Avast, then, non-intuitively, click Scan Now. Click Settings, then, buried on the left is an option called Scheduling.

I recommend doing a quick scan at least once a day and a full scan at least once a week. If you’re using Avast as a secondary scanner, be sure to have your primary scanner scheduled to perform scans too. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Get defense in depth with antivirus by installing Avast as a secondary scanner

Dave Farquhar security December 13, 2012December 5, 2015antivirus, avast, chrome, defense in depth

Two antivirus programs on one system? Heresy, right?

Well, not if one is designed to play second fiddle. As it turns out, Avast, one of the best free antivirus programs, can do just that. Just download it, run the installer, and pick the second option–“Compatible install – install as the second line of defense.” Be sure to de-select the option to install Google Chrome and make it your default browser, unless you want that. Free programs often come with ridealongs.

Dave Farquhar

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8-character passwords are obsolete

Dave Farquhar security December 11, 2012November 3, 2025antivirus, Password Safe, passwords

In case you missed it, a researcher has built a system that can crack every possible 8-character password in less than six hours. 8-character passwords are obsolete.

If he’s got it, so do the bad guys. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Scratch one fake antivirus vendor

Dave Farquhar security October 5, 2012April 16, 2017antivirus, malware

The FTC appears to have sued the makers of XP Antivirus, among others, out of business–to the tune of $163 million.

There will be no tears from me.

Dave Farquhar

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CISSP vs. CASP vs. CEH

Dave Farquhar security October 3, 2012November 24, 2018antivirus, CEH, certifications, cissp, datacenter, DBA, firewall, IDS

One of my coworkers invited me to watch a webinar with him today that promised to compare CompTIA’s new high-end certification with the CISSP.

I was skeptical at first, especially when I heard it was an 80-question, 150-minute test. But by the end, I mostly liked what I heard.

Dave Farquhar

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Thanks for the misinformation, Disney

Dave Farquhar security August 21, 2012android, antivirus, apache, BSD, computer security, iphone, mac os x, os x, sony, spyware

In one of its throwaway kid’s sitcoms, Disney insinuates that open source software contains spyware and using it is a ‘rookie mistake’.

Open source software rarely contains viruses or spyware. Since it’s open for examination, changes to the code that have any funny business in them tend to be rejected. For that matter, code with unintended bad consequences tends to either be rejected, or quickly changed.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Windows 8 promises better security–to a point

Dave Farquhar security August 12, 2012antivirus, malicious code, windows 8

At the summer hacker conferences, researchers have been talking up Windows 8 and its improved security. They talk a good game, but here’s the end run around it.

Dave Farquhar

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Ping sweep from Windows

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking, Windows July 1, 2012August 21, 2022antivirus

Here’s the best Windows command-line one-liner I’ve seen in a very long time: a ping sweep from Windows. Ping sweeps, also known as ping scans, are something every sysadmin and security analyst is likely to need at one point or another. You don’t need a special tool either. It can be as simple as a one-line batch file. Ping sweep scripts for Unix are common, but you won’t always have a Unix box available. You can almost always find a Windows box anywhere you go. That makes a Windows ping sweep useful.

If you’re not familiar with a ping sweep, read on. If you need to quickly scan your network to see if anyone’s added any new systems without telling you–something that only ever happens to me, right?–this tool will help you detect that, then head off those questions about why you haven’t patched and installed antivirus on that new server yet. Sometimes I run this on my home network too, to help me jog my memory.

Dave Farquhar

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