The annual contest is under way. PCMag has early results here.

Avast screwed up today with their latest virus definitions.

Reporting viruses found on systems when programs were created with Delphi.

Skype, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Terminator, and many more are being reported as having a virus. This is a false positive. Choose to ignore warning or disable Avast until a fix has been implemented.

Spyware or virus removal is easy huh? Fire up your favorite spyware or virus removal program. Update the program with the latest definitions. Remove the found threats.

COOL!

Later you shut down your computer. The next day you go to turn your computer back on, but wait…the PC does not boot.

NOT SO COOL!

What happened? More than likely your favorite spyware or virus removal tool reported a false positive. A false positive is also known as a false alert. In other words the company you trusted to help your computer has now unintentionally caused harm to your computer. The malware removal company made a mistake. Actually you made the mistake. Their false positive is now a costly mistake for you in time and perhaps money to try to get things working again. (Definition -Malware means any software that may do harm to your computer. Common terms such as virus, spyware, rootkit, key-logger, back-door or trojan are all considered malware).

Most of the time malware removal tools do a wonderful job and remove the bad files as intended. But do yourself a favor and do a web search on your favorite malware removal progam and add the words false positive and read. At some point all vendors have removed files they shouldn’t. Some files are easily restored. Others provide more of a challenge. Some may require complete erasure of the hard drive and reinstallation of the operating system and files. Of course you wouldn’t be scared because you keep excellent backups… right?

I am not all that critical of malware removal and protection products for reporting false positives. It stinks when it happens but life goes on. I am very appreciative of these companies products that are there to help keep computers safe from threats. These vendors are on our side. Although it won’t seem like it when a false positive is reported and acted upon.

So how do vendors make such a mistake? Well… thousands of new malware hit the internet each day. In the race to diagnose and find a cure for each infection mistakes can happen. When the vendor realizes the mistake (usually after many angry support calls), they then remove the false positive from their database and release the new updated database version to the public.

So what can you do? It is important to keep up with definition updates. Update your malware removal and protection program with the latest definitions each time you run the program. An out of date program may be ineffective against new threats. Equally important is to be aware these vendors may make a mistake. If you are unsure about a file it is flagging as malware please research that file on the internet before removing the flagged threat. Better safe than sorry, the cure could be worse than the disease.

I am often asked if malware removal and prevention vendors are creating viruses and spyware in a backroom somewhere and releasing them on the unsuspecting public to help their business. I do not believe vendors take part in malicious activity as a business practice. That is not to say all employees of malware removal and protection companies are honorable. It is possible there may be a bad apple in the barrel, but sooner or later they would be found out and removed. The reality is there are simply too many a-holes in the world that love to cause harm either for bragging rights or money. I am a fan of people that are expert hackers or malware creators that work with the system to help software become safer. Those types of people are few and far between. Mostly it is about the money. The bad guys won’t stop. They will keep producing malicious software at a rate of thousands per day. They are out to get you, your money if they can and control of your computer to use for various nefarious actions. If your computer is connected to the internet then you are connected to the good and the bad. The bad can find you even without action on your part.

To help protect your computer run ONLY ONE anti-virus program. If you install more than one anti-virus program your computer performance will suffer as the two anti-virus programs fight each other in the background for the same space. You may run multiple anti-spyware programs. Although more may not be better in regards to system performance. When choosing a malware removal and protection vendor please stay with a well known company with a proven track record. If you receive a random popup on your desktop stating that your system has thousands of infections and you need to purchase this software now to remove - please do not purchase that program – it is most likely malware itself.

Ultimately the responsibility is yours to keep your computer safe (and backed up). Think before you click.

Windows Guru Ed Bott states his case against registry cleaners.

The article was written in 2005, but the recommendations are still as true today as the day he wrote about registry cleaners.

Please take registry cleaners out of your routine PC maintenance.

View article: here

Looking to register or re-register the Free version of Avast Anti-Virus?

Watch this video: here

I am often asked if the upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7 is worth it.

Yes…I love it. Faster, more secure, cooler.

To see if your system is capable download
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Run the advisor and follow the instructions.

Windows 7 has made my old laptop new again.

There is a simple way to test to see if your computer is infected with the conficker worm.

If you can visit http://www.symantec.com/ then your computer is not infected.

Conficker has blocked internet browsers from going to security sites such as Symantec, the maker of Norton security products.

Please keep your Windows operating system up to date, and keep your  current anti-virus up to date and active to help protect you from this and other viruses.

InfoWorld’s Roger Grimes Computer Crime Gets Worse,  Patching is still Trouble
-The article about Computer Crime is truly revealing about 2009 and beyond.
Roger also wrote a great article about home PC security.

NetworkWorld’s Andreas M. Antonopoulos On botnets, encryption and mega-worms
Interesting point about the escalated need for security while budgets are shrinking.

PC World’s JR Raphael The State of Spam This story is awesome. I have to quote it.

The Spam Equation

Many of the anti-spam precautions seem obvious — but, obviously, everyone isn’t taking them. The good news? The number of people still gullible is small. A recent University of California study (PDF) suggests only one in every 12.5 million spam messages gets a response.

The bad news? That tiny percentage is enough to generate $7,000 a day, or $3.5 million a year, for a decent-sized spam network, the study says. What’s more, the activity could add as many as 8,500 new bots into the spam network every 24 hours.

That is 8500 computers taken over every 24 hours without the computer owners knowledge. Scary.
Is your computer one of them? We hope the information and steps on this page help you find the answer.

Sort your start menu programs alphabetically on Windows XP.

View: StartMenuSort

Problem: Bluemountain.com won’t allow you to log in. The error message says you must allow cookies. But you have checked your security settings and everything seems OK.

Solution: This problem typically occurs because spyware prevention programs can block sites it has determines are exhibiting bad behavior. Programs such as the highly recommended “Spybot Search and Destroy” or “Spyware Blaster” may have blocked a particular site from placing cookies on your computer.

In this example, SpybotSD blocks Bluemountain.com from placing cookies on your computer. Bluemountain allows the placement of third party cookies. I have never had a bad experience with Bluemountain, but this practice is questionable.

Steps to Unblock:
First close your internet browsers if they are open.

Click along with your mouse:
Start Menu > Control Panel > Internet Options > Privacy Tab > Sites > Scroll to Blocked cookie…
(in this example scroll to bluemountain.com)

Left click bluemountain.com entry
Either right click the entry and select “Allow”
or…
Click the “Remove” button

Close the “Internet Options” Window
Close the “Control Panel” Window

Open your web browser and log into your website again. In this example bluemountain.com
The site will now be able to place cookies on your computer and allow you to login.