Microsoft Security Essentials Beta (First Looks)

Its been in the news since November, but its finally here. The public beta of Microsoft’s new free security offering, known as Microsoft Security Essentials, Codename Morro. It is intended to replace Windows Live OneCare.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free security offering that’s intended to replace Windows Defender and Windows Live OneCare. It offers real time protection and both antivirus and antispyware. Therefore, as you can guess, it was at very high demand.

It was released this morning as limited public beta to the first 75,000 people. I was able to grab a copy just a few minutes ago and install it on my Windows 7 RC system. The servers were extremely slow probably because of demand and the very small 4.7 MB download went no higher than 10 KB/s. To get it, you need to sign into Microsoft Connect with your Windows Live ID, then answer a quick survey. "This beta is available only to customers in the United States, Israel (English only), People’s Republic of China (Simplified Chinese only) and Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese only)" according to the beta site.

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Overall, this is an excellent new product and is likely to trigger some competition with the other free security products like AVG. It is based off of Windows Live OneCare, which has a reputation of having low false positives and strong new detection rates.

Being free and very light is already amazing. The scan took no more than 4.6 MB of RAM. However, I noticed that a SYSTEM process taking up almost 30-50 MB of RAM was always running and this was part of the program’s services. When I ended this process, Security Essentials gave an alert that the service was stopped. The process is MsMpEng.exe which is called AntiMalware Service Executable. In task manager, you need to show processes from all users to see this. The program overall is very resource friendly compared to other security products.

Update 6/26: I ran a full scan of my system (including both operating system partitions) and it scanned well over 2 million items and took 3.5 hours. If I recall correctly, my Windows Defender scan I ran in December 2008 when I only had one operating system took longer than that to scan around 600,000 items. In my experiences with MSE, it is faster than Defender.

The product, especially the About Window and the Settings tab looks very much like Windows Defender (Windows 7 version).

Overall, I’m very impressed by this new product. It would be nice however if they would bring back the Software Explorer from Windows Defender for XP and Vista.

My computer was not infected so I didn’t get a chance to test out the removal. While this is a great new product, I cannot place any recommendations just yet as there has not been any thorough testing for this beta product just yet for factors such as detection rates. It is likely to be similar to Windows Live OneCare, but there are no guarantees. However, I believe that this could be a great new product that could trigger some competition.

MSE also updates like Defender. Definitions are received through Windows Update. If will also disable Windows Defender after installing. You could turn it back on if you want but there isn't much benefit to that since both probably use the same engine. You could turn it on just to use Software Explorer if you are using XP or Vista, then turn if back off so your system performance won't be affected much.

Want to try it for yourself?

Microsoft Security Essentials

Keep in mind that this is BETA software.

Update 6/24: One day after the beta release, the 75,000 download cap has been reached and Microsoft is no longer accepting any more new downloads.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Security,Essentials,Morro

Surf Safely 1: Scan Links in Real Time. Not a Database.

Over my next few posts, I will be introducing a series of safe search advisors. Why have these? They help you know which sites are safe BEFORE you visit them and if you do visit them, most will warn you or even block the site. This is the first in the series.

Linkscanner (from Exploit Prevention Labs, now acquired by AVG) is back as an individual standalone product no longer requiring the AVG Suite.

Like other safe search tools, it puts tiny color coded icons next to search results showing if its safe. However, LinkScanner literally scans the links in real time rather than getting data off a database. This is a great way to protect from drive by downloads and other threats, but how effective is Linkscanner?

For Microsoft Windows only. Supports Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Download from AVG Site.
Download from CNET Download.com.
The following test was run on Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 on Mozilla Firefox 3.0.9.

Style: Real Time Scanning

Installation:
The installation is straight forward offering you the AVG Security Toolbar. The toolbar has a Yahoo! search bar that cannot be disabled, although the toolbar components can be. The box is checked by default. Remember to uncheck the box if you do not wish to have the toolbar, like me

User Interface:
Yes, it has a GUI. Basically the AVG Security Software one except just for LinkScanner. I found this to be unnecessary to be running in the background all day since Linkscanner isn't an antivirus product; it only runs in the browser.
Performance
Linkscanner's performance is actaully quite well. It barely slows the pages down. It scans each search result one by one, each taking a fraction of a second. The first few come out faster than other site advisors.

Known Malicious Site Test (Search-Shield)
Please do not visit any of the sites listed here unless you know what you're doing. They are known sites distributing malware. We will help but will not be held responsible for what may happen if you visit malicious sites.

screensavers.com: Linkscanner Scanned this as GREEN

warez.com: Linkscanner Scanned this as REDActive Surf-Search
Upon visiting a scanned malicious site, a warning appears preventing you from visiting the page with a small link to click if you really want to go anyway, like the following shown when I entered warez.com into the location bar.
Additional Note: Linkscanner supports Google Search, Live Search, and Yahoo! Search. When I tested it, it didn't work on Yahoo! Search. On both browsers, green ratings shows as a white space and only sites not green have an icon (can't find any yellow or orange), as shown below. Notice only RED ratings are shown here.


Also, I found it nearly impossible to find a site scanned as Yellow or Orange with the majority being scanned as Green.

I recommend having all 3 types of advisors for optimal security: Community Based, Web Crawler, and Real Time Scanner. I use WOT, Norton SafeWeb, and Linkscanner. I used to use McAfee SiteAdvisor, however, from personal experience, it slowed down browsing, has a lot of inaccurate and/or obsolete ratings, and commonly didn't show up on Google searches. The ratings on this blog have been generated by WOT.

I am not affiliated with AVG or Exploit Prevention Labs in any way.
Download AVG Linkscanner here.

That's all folks for today! Please comment on tech as we need comments to improve on the tech guide. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. Thanks!
By - WinTechpedia™ 2009 Contributors.

9f'4]2ou is my Password!

Welcome to Freedomstar Tech Guide 8!

Keyloggers.... what are they and what do they do? To keep things short, they basically track all your keystrokes (yes, including passwords and credit card info), then secretly sends them to third parties. How harmful are they? Very very high. You could fall victim to identity theft. So.. protect yourself!

KeyScrambler Personal (Pro/Premium Version available too)
Developer: QFX Software

Recommended by PC World as part of 15 Great, Free Privacy Downloads.

I am NOT affiliated with QFX Software in any way. The following is for Windows ONLY.

The free "Personal" version is a free add-on to Mozilla Firefox, Flock, and Internet Explorer. Its available on the Mozilla Add-ons site however it requires a local install first so I suggest you get it from the main site, which usually has the more updated version. After installing, if it doens't automatically open Firefox and install, go to C:\Program Files\KeyScrambler or where you installed it, and drag keyscrambler.xpi into the Firefox add-ons window (or sidebar if you use AiOS).

Unlike antivirus and antispyware software, this works at the keyboard driver level to encrypt all your keystrokes then decrypts it at your browser so keyloggers in between will not see you actual keystrokes. As of Version 2.0, the free version protects all parts of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Flock.

See how a little overlay window comes up showing you the encrypted keystrokes. Thats what keyloggers would see. A meaningless string of random characters.

Very light weight and unobtrusive software at around only 1.22 MB installed. You also control where the window comes up and how it comes up or if it comes up at all.

KeyScrambler is a lightweight, non-obstrusive essential addition to your computer's security. Protect from both known and unknown keyloggers!

Make sure you use the latest version. Previous versions were known to have bugs such as excessive CPU usage in Firefox and failing to decrypt it, therefore submitting the encrypted keystrokes. I have not encountered any of these bugs in Version 2.4.1.1.

KeyScrambler Pro and Premium formerly protects all parts of the browser with Premium protecting some other apps. However, as of Version 2.0, Personal protects all parts of browser, so Pro protects nearly 80 applications with Premium protecting more than 100. Comparison chart is here. Protected apps of Pro include Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, 7-Zip, Pidgin, Trillian, and much more. Premium even protects Windows Log-in and UAC (Vista and 7) Controls.

Note that even though Chrome and other Pro supported browsers is a browser, its not protected by Personal because it does not support extensions. The Pro and Premium are not add-ons. They run all day on your computer.

Remember that Mozila Add-ons often does not have the latest version. To check for updates, it should do so automatically or go to KeyScrambler options (right click on taskbar icon) and click on Options. If you disabled the icon, click on the Tools icon in the overlay window.
GREEN indicates KeyScrambler is on. YELLOW means its inactive (not in a protected application). RED indicates that you turned it off.

Once again, I am not affiliated with QFX Software in any way.

Download KeyScrambler today!

That's all folks for today! Please comment on tech as we need comments to improve on the tech guide. Thanks!
By - Freedomstar & Creastery™ 2009

Get A Browser safer than Firefox!!

Welcome to Tech Guide 7 from Freedomstar!

Security is always very important for your computer although at least 50% of web users completely disregard it.

Obviously, having up to date antivirus, antispyware, firewall, and computer updates is important (even though most people disregard this also), but that might not be enough, as certain threats can bypass security controls. So, protect yourself from security threats, both known and unknown!

All platforms supported, but Gecko (Mozilla) based browsers ONLY.

"Whats more secure than Firefox? Firefox with NoScript!!"

First, get a recent Gecko based browser such as Mozilla Firefox (recommended), Flock, or Seamonkey. Only these browsers can you install a special add-on known as NoScript. Awarded as one of the best 100 products of 2006 by PC World.

Recommended Installation Locations:
Official Mozilla Add-ons Site
NoScript Download Site

I am not affiliated with Informaction (developer of NoScript) in any way.

You may have read that the best way to stay safe from online threats is by disabling Javascript. But what does that leave you with? Nearly every single site wouldn't work properly with some not working at all. Online threats often execute through Javascript, Flash, Java, and other plugins. So how do we let Javascript run, yet still stay completely secure.

The answer is NoScript, a simple yet extremely powerful add-on. Scripts only run from trusted sites, which are those that you explicitly allow.
A side effect is that it also blocks certain ads. To fully block ads, use Adblock Plus along with an add-on to Adblock Plus known as Adblock Plus: Element Hider Helper, both of which are fully compatible with NoScript.

NoScript is the one and ONLY Clickjack and Clearclick protection available. Also known as "UI Redressing" is hiding an element behind an interface element that you trust. If you don't use a supported browser, then you're basically out of luck for protection. Click here for more info on Clickjacking and Clearclick Protection from NoScript.

You can also temporarily allow scripts for a certain domain(s) to just allow them for the current session. There is also an untrusted blacklist. Sites you add there will not be allowed to run scripts and also removes the option to allow it until it is removed from the blacklist.

Most browser exploits come from scripts and plugins, making NoScript the absolute best protection you can get in a web browser.

Nice bonus: You are invulnerable to "Rick Rolls" The concept of the "Rick Roll" doesn't directly involve this however many sites of this gives you an endless stream of dialogs and moves your window preventing you from closing it. With NoScript and the site not allowed, you are unaffected.

If you find it annoying (which you shouldn't), you can Allow Scripts Globally (not recommended) and still use the add-on for Anti-XSS, Clickjacking, and Clearclick protections as well as Force HTTPS and other useful features.

Once again, I am not affiliated with Informaction in any way.
Get a browser thats safer than Firefox today! (Requires Gecko based browser)

If you have questions, contact me in the Digsby widget in the sidebar, leaving a comment in the comments section, and/or sending an email to techpedia.mail@gmail.com.