If your PC has fallen ill and you want to get it back into running condition, read on as WINDOWS talks you through 10 ways to nurse your PC back to health...

1. Install security software

If your computer is giving you random problems and crashing or is even performing poorly, the first port of call when it comes to recovering is to check for viruses, Trojans, malware and more. To do this, you'll need to get hold of security software. Keep in mind however that these days it is better to have a fully-fledged suite that includes antivirus, antispyware and a firewall rather than investing in a single antivirus-only package.

You can buy a complete security suite from various vendors [such as ESET]. These are easy to install and make it quite simple for novice users to maintain a smooth running rig that's free from trouble.

There are also free alternatives available for download which perform the same functions. The bottom line is that if your computer is unprotected, you need to install a security suite immediately. If something is not quite right with the running of your system, run a scan, and you might just detect something malicious - whether it's a virus, Trojan or other mal-ware.

Posted by Annette King in Virus & AntiVirus News at 16:59

Microsoft update hits Zone Alarm users

A Microsoft update is causing problems for Zone Alarm users, causing a complete loss of internet access.

The KB951748 update is the offending piece of software, which alters files relating to Windows networking.

Zone Alarm reportedly interprets this as a malicious attack and completely blocks all internet traffic in response.

"For those of you using ZoneAlarm who installed the windows updates today, you probably already know that your internet connection has died," warns a user of the Broadband Reports forum. "It appears that KB951748 made changes to the networking files that ZA doesn't see/recognise."

"After two hours of messing around, I found an inelegant solution that will work temporarily... set the Internet Zone Security permission slider from high to medium. The connection will be restored," continues the user.

"We are investigating the issue with the MS update KB951748. For the time being we suggest you uninstall KB951748 until the issue has been resolved," says a company spokesperson on the Zone Alarm forum.

This is not the first time that Zone Alarm has fallen foul of a Microsoft update. Earlier this year Windows Vista was found to conflict with the software, prompting the removal of several key features of the program.

COMPUTER SECURITY SOLUTION STATEMENT: This update has no affect on Smart Security firewall. You will not have to make any changes or adjustments after installing the Microsoft KB951748 update.

Original Story

Posted by Annette King at 14:43

Computer industry heavyweights are hustling to fix a flaw in the foundation of the Internet that would let hackers control traffic on the World Wide Web.

Major software and hardware makers worked in secret for months to create a software "patch" released on Tuesday to repair the problem, which is in the way computers are routed to web page addresses.

"It's a very fundamental issue with how the entire addressing scheme of the Internet works," Securosis analyst Rich Mogul said in a media conference call.

"You'd have the Internet, but it wouldn't be the Internet you expect. (Hackers) would control everything."

The flaw would be a boon for "phishing" cons that involve leading people to imitation web pages of businesses such as bank or credit card companies to trick them into disclosing account numbers, passwords and other information.

Attackers could use the vulnerability to route Internet users wherever they wanted no matter what website address is typed into a web browser.

Security researcher Dan Kaminsky of IOActive stumbled upon the Domain Name System (DNS) vulnerability about six months ago and reached out to industry giants including Microsoft, Sun and Cisco to collaborate on a solution.

Posted by Annette King at 13:46

There's no fix yet available for the latest attack against Microsoft's browser.


Microsoft yesterday warned of a new attack underway against a flaw in the ActiveX control for the Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Access, used by IE. There is not yet any patch available for the zero-day security hole, and the attacks likely focus on business targets.

In its security advisory, Redmond says the vulnerable control installs with "all supported versions of Microsoft Office Access except for Microsoft Office Access 2007. The ActiveX control is also shipped with the standalone Snapshot Viewer." A poisoned Web page that exploits the hole could surreptitiously download malware to a victim PC.

Posted by Sean Cannon in Adware, Spyware and Trojans at 10:59