F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)
I'll be adding to the F.A.Q. over time, so check back
occasionally to see what's new!
- General
- Is it true that Firefox is safer than Internet Explorer?
- Yes... and no. It used to be much more true than it is today, but recent versions
of Internet Explorer (first 7, and now 8) are much safer than Internet Explorer 6 was.
However, using Firefox with some extra security in the form of an
extension like
NoScript, especially when combined with a tool like
Sandboxie, will go a long way to preventing any
future problems from drive-by
malware infections.
- Are Macs (and/or Linux PC's) really more secure than Windows PC's?
- Yes... and no. I'm not trying to be funny, but the fact is, both answers can be true,
depending on context.
It's really just a matter of proper configuration and usage. If you are using a Windows PC
with an Administrator account, and engaging in risky behavior (ie, downloading pirated songs,
movies or software and/or browsing porn sites), it is only a matter of time (usually sooner rather
than later) until you get infected, even if you have decent Security software installed and up
to date. On the other hand, if you are using a
'Limited'
(in Windows 2000/XP) or
'Standard'
(in Vista and Windows 7) User Account for your day to day activities, and are careful with
email attachments, it is entirely possible to never become infected, even if you don't use
Antivirus/Security software.
Now - the reality is, most virus/malware is written specifically to attack Windows PC's,
simply because the vast majority of PC's run Windows, so running a Mac or Linux PC will mean
you are immune to a large majority of the virus/malware out there.
- What is 'free software', and is it any good?
- 'Free Software' can have more than one meaning, but usually people mean software that is under one
of the many Open Source licenses available.
I use a lot of free software, both personally, and in my business. A partial list of the
software I use and enjoy can be found on my links page.
But to answer the question: well, it depends. The truth is, there is excellent commercial software, and
there is crap that I wouldn't touch, and some of it is very expensive. The same is true of 'free'
software - there is excellent free software, and there is junk that I wouldn't touch. What you have
to do is learn how to evaluate any software you are considering - free or commercial - using the most
valuable free (well, except for the connectivity cost) tool that you have at your disposal - the internet!
Just google it - I usually start with two simple searches: 'SOFTWARE-NAME+reviews', and 'SOFTWARE-NAME+malware'.
99% of the time you'll find out really quick if the software you're looking at is any good, and/or malware
infested. And again - always be very careful when evaluating free software, because a lot
of it does come with either really nasty malware (that can take over your PC and/or encrypt/destroy your files),
or less nasty 'annoy-ware' (that can change your browser home page and/or search engine settings, etc).
Usually you can avoid these (for example, SuperAntiSpyware tries to do this when you install it - just un-check
the boxes on the appropriate screen).
- Windows
- What do I do if I encounter a Rogue Security Software pop-up/warning?
- In most cases it is actually quite simple to not get infected by these monstrosities.
The main thing to understand is, if you click anywhere on that pop-up window - yes,
even the close box - you will get infected.
What you need to do is kill the browser process using the Windows Task Manager. To open it, press
'Ctrl-Shift-Esc' on your keyboard (press the Ctrl-Shift keys, then while holding them down, press/release
the Esc key at the same time - and this works in all versions of Windows from Windows 98 thru Windows 8).
Next make sure you're on the 'Processes' tab, then find the browser process (newer versions of Windows sort
them in alphabetical order, but XP and older do not, so if the processes aren't sorted alphabetically, you can click
on the 'Image Name' column header to make it easier to find the process(es) you are looking for):
- Firefox is named 'firefox.exe'
- Internet Explorer is named 'iexplore.exe'
- Safari is named 'safari.exe'
- Google Chrome/Chromium is/are named 'chrome.exe'/'chromium.exe'
Select each browser process, then click the 'End Process' tab and click 'Yes' to confirm. Do this for every
browser process that is running. If there is more than one, do it for all of them.
- Question 2...
- Question 3...
Mac
- Question 1...
- Question 2...
- Question 3...
Linux
- Question 1...
- Question 2...
- Question 3...
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