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When our first child was a year old, we had a childproofing company come to our house and give us a presentation about the threats that might endanger our baby. By the time it was finished, we had closed the college savings account because it seemed so unlikely that he would survive into his teens. The world seemed so dangerous!

At the moment, computer security threats are so overwhelming that it’s hard not to have that same level of dread. How can we possibly use computers when the bad guys are so smart and relentless?

Here are a few of the news items from the last few weeks. […] continued

Why are our computers running so slowly?

I began to notice it about six months ago. Everyone with a 3-5 year old Windows XP computer was complaining that their computers were running slowly. Occasionally I can still improve things by turning off unnecessary startup programs and services, but all too often there isn’t much that can be changed. It’s become common for older computers to need 3-5 minutes after the desktop appears before they are usable, and to have agonizing delays launching programs or switching windows.

At one time we bought computers with 256Mb of RAM. It was sufficient to run Windows XP and it was expensive to buy more. […] continued

If you’re like me, then you’ve been caught off guard in the last couple of years by something that you hadn’t realized was obsolete. Here are a few that still occasionally take people by surprise when they get a new computer.

• PS2 connections (the round ones) for keyboard and mouse are almost never included on new computers. There are USB adapters if you have a treasured old keyboard that you can’t stand to give up.
• Parallel printer ports are mostly gone, only included on the most staid and boring of enterprise level workstations. If you have one of those old HP Laserjets that were built like tanks, you’ll have to give it up unless you have an older computer in the corner to run it.

[…] continued

Small businesses running Microsoft Small Business Server have not had an easy time finding antivirus software.  Security suites designed for large companies are frequently complex, difficult to install and configure, and all too often require an inordinate amount of handholding.

On the other hand, every small business discovers a shortcoming of security software that is managed individually by each user: there’s always someone who doesn’t pay attention.  As a consultant collecting an hourly fee, I’m reluctant to log onto each workstation in a client’s office individually every couple of weeks to check whether updates have been installed and whether virus definitions are up to date.  These days though, the consequences of falling behind can be dire indeed. […] continued

In 2009, almost every security suite has been slimmed down and simplified. The vendors finally responded to years of criticism and have made their programs more stable, light on system resources, easier to understand, and less intrusive.

Although you can easily find comparisons showing that one or another antivirus and spyware program is more effective than another, the reality is that all of them are more or less equally effective – and you must use common sense and not click OK on everything, regardless of what security software is running.

FREE PRODUCTS

AVG still has a free bare-bones antivirus/spyware program, as does Avast. […] continued

Microsoft announced the different versions of Windows 7 today. You’re likely to see some reporting and commentary emphasizing the number of different versions and complaining that it’s too complicated. It’s not. The buying process will actually be more straightforward than it has been with Vista. For almost everyone:

• Home users will buy Windows 7 Home Premium.
• Business users will buy Windows 7 Professional, which includes all the features in Home Premium and adds the ability to be used in a company network run by a server plus a few other features.

That’s easier than it has been with Vista. The various versions of Vista have different features – Home Premium has multimedia features that Business does not, for example. […] continued

Several people have asked me about the most recent variations on old, old themes. Email warnings about dangerous messages, like the one on the right. Newspaper articles about the latest virus.

Nothing is new. The latest threats are the same as the old threats. Let’s go through the basics of PC security in 2009.

• Install updates from Microsoft promptly. (Look for the gold shield in the lower right corner. If you use Windows Live OneCare, keep the icon green.)
• Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.

• If you’re running Vista, you have adware/spyware protection.
• If ypu’re running Windows XP, make sure your security software includes adware/spyware protection, or install Windows Defender.

[…] continued

Windows 7 is the successor to Windows Vista. The new version of Windows went into worldwide beta testing this weekend and you will probably be buying it on your new computers by early fall.

Why a new version of Windows? Funny you should ask.

Windows Vista has been on the market for two years. It’s mature and stable. Everything works with it except a small number of rapidly aging devices and programs. It has improvements large and small over Windows XP and it’s far more secure. Most people using Vista wind up liking it quite a lot after a surprisingly short transition. […] continued

The headline tells the story of this Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Severe system performance problems occur on a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer after you install HP printer software, version 11 (Microsoft KB960673)

To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this problem in the real world. “On a Windows Vista or Windows XP-based computer, you install the HP Customer Participation version 11 software that is included with Hewlett-Packard’s new printers. After you do this, you may experience an overall slowing of your computer performance because of an error in this application.”

But I know that HP has been doing a terrible job of supplying software with their printers for the last few years, so this is just an extreme example of a bigger problem. […] continued

One glitch in the SBS 2008 migration nagged at me – it didn’t make sense that the computers with the individual version of Windows Live OneCare were not reporting in to the SBS 2008 console, which tracks the security status of all the workstations on the network.

This is a sample of the new console for managing workstations in SBS 2008.

A handful of the computers running OneCare were able to get through and the server reported they were secure. I looked in vain for firewall exceptions for ports or services that were different on those.

It took a while to track it down, and in the end it wasn’t the firewall after all. […] continued