Antivirus

May 9, 2013

Why Using Keygens In Windows 8 Is Not A Good Idea

UK Microsoft, Security Antivirus, malware, Windows 8 Product keys 0 Comments

The latest reports from Microsoft suggest that Keygens are the number one threat for Windows 8 and Windows 7 users. The research came in after analyzing the user submitted reports to Microsoft. The reports submitted by users are usually from Microsoft’s own security products like Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials.

What are keygens?

Keygen is a short form of key generator. Software make use of license keys to authenticate the original users who have purchased the software. Usually the license keys are generated automatically using a certain algorithm. Hackers and crackers crack that particular algorithm and create their own key generators. This will enable them to create unlimited number of licenses of that software.

Since this is not done without purpose, crackers will bundle the keygen software with malware and spyware. This means that the keygen will work perfectly but it will also install other malicious software in your computer or deceptively do anything like downloading other malware or force the user into buying a legitimate software from a trusted source.

According to Microsoft, keygens are the most used source of distributing malware across modern Operating Systems like Windows 8 and Windows 7 because they have already beefed up their security from outside. Here is the detection trend for a number of notable and potentially unwanted software families in 2012.

And here is the table of malware and potentially unwanted software families most commonly detected by Microsoft antimalware solutions in 2012 Q4.

Securing yourself from keygens malware

The best way to secure yourself from this type of malware is not to use any key generators because most of the times it is illegal as most of the times it is used for pirated software. Using keygens is synonymous to inviting malware to your own computer. This is because the keygens are being targeted by hackers and crackers for hacking into the Operating System especially the modern ones like Windows 7 and Windows 8.

If it is an absolute necessity to use a keygen, always have your antivirus solution active at the time of running the keygen. If the antivirus gives any warnings, don’t take it lightly and stop using the keygen. Secondly, take a backup of your computer settings and data. This is because if anything happens, you will be able to revert everything to normal. Third, if the keygen is not big in size, you can scan it using VirusTotal which will scan the file with many popular antivirus engines making sure that you remain absolutely safe while using the keygen.

Do you use keygens on your computer? What is your purpose of using keygens? Did any malware affect your system because of using keygens?

May 8, 2013

How to Manually Remove Virus From USB Flash Drive without Formatting

Abdullah Security, Tips/Troubleshooting Antivirus, usb first aid 20 Comments

In this article, we will discuss about how to manually remove virus from a USB Flash Drive without formatting it. This means that if you follow this tutorial, your data will not be deleted while the virus will be removed from the pen drive.

USB Flash drives are a major source of virus infection. Most computer networks will get infected if one computer gets infected. If this happens, it’s always a lot of pain removing viruses from the networks. Sometimes, users will need to format their hard drives to get rid of the viruses. By using this guide, you will be able to remove the virus without formatting the Flash drive.

Please note that this method will work on a system which is not affected by viruses. Otherwise you may not be able to delete virus files.

Indication of Virus

1. When you plugin a drive, Some Autoplay feature polls you to select an option. If you see a folder like icon that reads open using the program provided on the device. Does not select that. Also does not select Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer. Since the virus can execute with these options. Cancel it.

Note: Windows 7 has disabled the Autorun Option for Flash Drives, since the autorun source is usually unknown.

2. You will also see a folder like icon instead of Flash Drive Icon in my computer

Removal of Virus

Un-hiding hidden files

In Start Menu Click RUN and then type cmd. Type your Flash Drive Letter followed with colon. Here

type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press enter.

This will unhide all files.

Correct Way of Opening Flash Drives

Do not open the Flash Drive by double clicking the icon in my Computer or By Right clicking and then Open,Explorer

Open the USB Drive by using Folders Icon.

Click on the Folders icon then select your Flash Drive

You can select Your Flash Drive by using the Address Bar in Windows Explorer.

Type your Drive letter in the Address Bar

After Opening the drive. Select Details View using this icon

Identifying and removing the virus

You can now see what the virus does with your Flash Drive. The Virus disguises itself as folder. You can see that system file icon as illustrated here is like folder icon. You actually click on the file.

Actually you click on those virus file thinking of them as folder and the virus executes. In the detailed view you can clearly see that the system file has a Type description of Application and the system folder has a Type description of Folder.

Delete all such files. Carefully do not delete the folders.

Delete the Autorun.inf file

You can also delete these files using 7-ZIP. Since it shows such virus files as having application file icon.

Open 7-ZIP and Type your Flash Drive Letter in the Address Bar. Here J:\

Delete all the folders and files you think that you did not save them.

The folders could have names like Recycler,System Volume. Delete them also.

You can also see the Recycle Bin like icons delete them too.

In this illustration these files are virus files

0o.com,system.exe,2m66sr.exe,abk.bat

Now Scan your Flash Drive with some Anti-Virus to delete exe infecting viruses. You can also use a portable antivirus. This is because some application files (which can be some programs like Adobe Reader Setup or else) be affected with exe virus.

If you do not have a proper Anti-Virus then Click on Search and select All files and Folders

In the All or part of file name field type *.exe

In the Look In field select Your Flash Drive

In the More Advanced options select Search System Folders and Search Hidden files and Folders.

When search is complete delete all files

May 8, 2013

Avast 8 Free Antivirus Direct Download Links

UK Security, Software Antivirus, AVG, free antivirus, Offline Installer 0 Comments

Avast Free Antivirus is one of the very best antivirus programs. The latest version of Avast 8 Free adds a lot of new features to keep the system in good shape. The biggest benefit of Avast over other free antivirus like AVG or Avira is that it uses comparatively fewer resources. If you are using Windows 8, Microsoft has already included a free antivirus called Windows Defender. You will need to disable Windows Defender if you are installing any other antivirus.

Features and setup of Avast 8 free

The free version of Avast 8 blocks viruses and spyware and will allow help from a friend if your computer needs fixing. Avast 8 Free Antivirus also introduces add-on features like a software updater and browser cleanup tool. Software updater will check all installed software for new versions and let you download and automatically upgrade to the latest versions of installed software.

When you run the installation setup of Avast 8 Free antivirus, it will ask you whether you want to pursue an express install or install the program manually. I recommend installing the program manually because Avast will try to install some extra add-on software like browser plugins and toolbars which can make your system slow. You will need to un-check those add-on software so that only Avast antivirus is installed in the system.

Standalone full setup installers

Nowadays most software offer web-based installers instead of the full ones. There are pros and cons of this. The biggest advantage of web-based online installer is that it will always be updated and the latest software will be downloaded and installed. The disadvantage of this approach is that if a user want to install the software on many computers, it will be a huge waste of Internet bandwidth and time because the installer will download the setup as many times as it is run.

We are providing full standalone installers for Avast 8 free antivirus for the user’s ease so that you can download the latest free antivirus and install it even when you are offline.

Download Avast 8 Free Antivirus (Standalone installer direct download link)

This free antivirus is fully compatible with Windows 8. In fact, Avast 8 free is certified from Microsoft to run on Windows 8 although some users have reported BSODs when running the antivirus software.

Update (9-May-13): The latest version of Avast Free Antivirus 8.0.1489 comes with the BOSD fix which it used to cause for Windows 8 users. You can either update Avast through the Avast updater inside the antivirus or download a fresh copy from the direct download link above.

February 22, 2013

Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2 Full Offline Installers [Direct Download Links]

UK Microsoft Antivirus, free antivirus, microsoft security essentials, Offline Installer 5 Comments

The users of Microsoft Security Essentials 4 (MSE4) have been quite satisfied with the product because of its effectiveness and performance. If you have installed MSE on your Windows computer, you will barely realize that it is installed and running. Microsoft Security Essentials 4 got a performance score of 99.3 in AV-Comparitives latest performance tests. It was almost close to 100% in tests like copying files, archiving/unarchiving, installing/uninstalling application, encoding/transcoding, launching applications and downloading files from the Internet.

Overall, Microsoft Security Essentials 4 is a handy antivirus from Microsoft. It comes absolutely free of cost and can be installed in Windows Operating System. The only catch is that the Windows should be genuine. Otherwise if you are using a pirated version of Windows, this antivirus will not let you work anyway.

Microsoft has released a new version of MSE. The latest version becomes Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1. Before releasing the final version of MSE 4.2, Microsoft released a Pre-release version which was also available for download but the final version came out shortly announcing the Pre-release version.

Although I have tried hard to find a changelog of the latest version of Security Essentials 4.2, I haven’t been able to find one. So I will not be able to tell what has been added to the new release of MSE. But since keeping updated is the best strategy to survive on the Internet, you should update your installation of Microsoft Security Essentials to 4.2.223.1 for now.

If you are a Windows 8 user, Windows Defender does the same job as Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows 8 users don’t need to install MSE. They will automatically get the latest version of Windows Defender if they have automatic updates enabled.

Download links for Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 64-bit English [en-US]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 32-bit English [en-US]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 64-bit French [fr-FR]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 32-bit French [fr-FR]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 64-bit German [de-DE]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 32-bit German [de-DE]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 64-bit Portuguese [pt-BR]

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2.223.1 32-bit Portuguese [pt-BR]

There are many more languages available. You can see all languages for MSE 4.2 from here. Just select the language and download MSE in your own localized language.

December 24, 2012

Download Offline Installers For Bitdefender Free Antivirus

UK Security, Software Antivirus, Offline Installer 0 Comments

Bitdefender has entered the free antivirus race by introducing Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Bitdefender had a free virus scanner previously but it was not real time. It only scanned for viruses on demand. It seems that now Bitdefender wants to compete free antivirus champions like Avast, Avira and AVG.

I was surprised by the size of the Bitdefender free antivirus setup file. Even the offline installer is less than 10 MB. The definition updates are not included in the initial setup and will be downloaded once the application is installed. Bitdefender free edition comes with an absolutely zero configuration installation. You just have to run the installation and after some moments, the antivirus will start running on your computer.

After downloading the installer setup (download links at the end of the article), run the installer and it will ask to accept the end user software license agreement.

On the next screen, it will give you two options, one the choice of installation location and two whether you want to run an initial scan or not. This will be a quick scan without compromising the performance of the system. You can choose not to scan by unchecking “Perform an initial system quickscan”.

After the installation process, you will see the Bitdefender free antivirus window above the system tray.

You may notice that there are only two options available at the time. Bitdefender has cleverly taken the dashboard online. Now you will need to login to your account for all the configuration options. To sign in or sign up for My Bitdefender membership, just click on the Login button.

Bitdefender only allows 30 days to use the product without registering. Registration is free and recommended.

After the signup process, you will need to click the link sent to your email address. After this, you can go to my.bitdefender.com and login with your credentials. You will be greeted with a dashboard with different options that you can enable for the Bitdefender installation on your computer. You will also see your computer name listed on the dashboard.

You will have the following features that you can enable for your computer:

Facebook protection
Twitter protection
Safebox
Anti-theft
Parental control

You can activate any of the option by clicking on the icon.

For Safebox, Anti-theft and Parental Control, you will need to download and install separate setups which will be provided once you click on the appropriate icon.

Overall Bitdefender free antivirus seems to be very light on resources. I have been running it for a few hours with heavy work but haven’t seen any noticeable change in system performance. One strange thing is that when I am running the application on Windows 8, it does not ask to disable Windows Defender which is Windows 8 default antivirus. Running two antivirus at the same time may reduce system performance to some level.

Download Bitdefender free antivirus 32-bit edition (8.3 MB)

Download Bitdefender free antivirus 64-bit edition (8.7 MB)

October 18, 2012

Download Kaspersky PURE 2.0 Total Security With 6 Months Free License

UK Security, Software Antivirus, facebook, Security 5 Comments

Kaspersky PURE 2.0 is an advanced PC protection and management solution for home users from Kaspersky. In addition to securing all the home PCs from malware, viruses, trojans and hackers, Kaspersky PURE 2.0 takes care of identities, passwords, documents, photos etc. Using this suite, a home user can easily manage the security of all the home computers from a single PC.

Let’s take a look at some major features of the product.

It comes with hybrid protection feature which means that in addition to the security suite running on your PC, you will get the protection from Kaspersky’s global security information delivered by the cloud. This makes sure that you are protected from the latest threats.
System Watcher monitors suspicious activities within the applications and allows you to reverse system changes made by malware.
File Advisor lets you receive information about a suspicious file from Kaspersky Security Network.
Home Network Control makes it easy to manage home PCs from a single location.
Kaspersky PURE 2.0 also includes a password manager to keep your passwords in a secure location.
The suite also comes with backup and restore features to protect your important files. The backup and restore feature makes files fully encrypted so you don’t have to worry about your sensitive data in case of theft or loss of computer.
And the most of all, Kaspersky PURE 2.0 Total Security is fully compatible with Windows 8.

Kaspersky PURE Total Security usually costs $99.95 for three PCs per year. But if you are a Facebook user, you can enjoy this security suite for free for 6 months. Yes! you can get a free 6 months license of Kaspersky PURE 2.0 with just one FB like. Here’s the step by step information.

Just go to this FB page.
You will get an option to download and use one security product for 6 months. The security products include Kaspersky PURE 2.0. Select it and click on the like button.
Click on the Authorize button.
Click on the Download now button.

That’s all. You will get a free Kaspersky PURE 2.0 6 months license. Use it and enjoy solid security with performance.

September 29, 2012

Download Avira Free Antivirus 2013 With Social Networks Protection

UK Security, Software Antivirus, News 0 Comments

Since 2012 is about to end and the holiday shopping season is about to start, the security companies have been busy releasing their 2013 line of products. Previously we reported the latest release of Bitdefender 2013, F-Secure 2013, Microsoft Security Essentials 4.1, Norton 2013 and AVG 2013.

We have already written about the upcoming features of Avira 2013 Free Antivirus. At that time, the product was still in beta but now the final version has been released.

The worst we can get from Avira 2013 is that it still does not officially support Windows 8. If you are using Windows and and try to install the antivirus, you will get the following warning message:

Moving from system to user security

The Avira team is taking a positive approach in that they are moving their focus from system focused security to user security. Now the new security products from Avira will consider user security instead of the system security. From this release onwards, Avira will no longer the year in their versioning. This may be good for them to push more updates to the user but the user may feel better with year versioning.

New integrations and improvements

1- Integration of social networks

This feature is more of a parental control option. with the social networks feature, you will be able to monitor the social network accounts of your children. Avira will keep a close eye on their activities e.g, commenting etc.

2- Enhanced child protection

This is also more of a parental control feature. You will be able to control the Internet activities of specific Windows user accounts. You can specify which content categories can be accessed and seen in that particular Windows user account.

3- Android security integration

Now Avira provides free Android security which will protect you from loss or theft of the smartphone.

4- Avira Protection Cloud (APV) and ProActiv

Avira now uses cloud technology to know about the latest threats as they occur and provide its users with the latest protection. This feature speeds up the update cycle and protects from even the latest threats. Unfortunately, this feature is available only with paid versions of Avira 2013.

5- Web safety advisor

This feature is very similar to WOT (Web of Trust) which will let you know about the links on a web page. It will specify the links as safe, low risk, verifying, unknown or high risk. This will give you an idea of whether to open the link or not.

Avira 2013 Free Antivirus will have the update frequency set to every 6 hours meaning that you will be protected from the latest threats.

One thing to note here is that Avira has partnered with Ask and Uniblue so most probably the free antivirus will come equiped with these toolbars and extra products. You may be careful when installing the product. Just select custom installation and then uncheck any additional or optional software which the installer wants to install. If you install Avira from the direct download link below, you will be asked to install Web Protection with the Avira SearchFree Toolbar. In my opinion, it is just a hindrance to your everyday browsing and should not be installed. It is only useful for aggressive blocking of websites.

Download Avira 2013

You may go here and select Avira Free Antivirus from the list. Otherwise, you can use the following direct download links for downloading the product:

Download Avira Free Antivirus 2013 Installer [97 MB]

You may also download and read the release notes in PDF form.

Source: Avira blog

September 29, 2012

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 4.1 Full Offline Installers (All Languages)

UK Microsoft Antivirus, microsoft security essentials, Offline Installer 1 Comment

Microsoft Security Essentials is a very good antivirus and anti-malware from Microsoft which has been performing well in most of the AV-Comparitives reports. It comes absolutely free of cost and can be installed in Windows Operating System. The only catch is that the Windows should be genuine. Otherwise if you are using a pirated version of Windows, this antivirus will not let you work anyway.

Microsoft Security Essentials latest update

MSE or Microsoft Security Essentials provides real time protection against most of the Internet threats out there in the wild and protects the computer from major virus, spyware and malware threats. The new version of Security Essentials is out and can be downloaded freely from Microsoft. The latest version is 4.1.0522.0.

The best thing about Microsoft Security Essentials is that it is provided by the same company as the Operating System. They would know more about the Operating System than anyone else will. It is very easy to install and will automatically update itself silently without annoying the user. It will run in invisible mode and protect your PC without any interruptions.

Like any other security product, MSE should not be installed along with any other antivirus or security suite. This is because if two antivirus products are installed, they will not protect the system better. Instead, they will interfere with each other’s operation and ultimately the system will become unresponsive.

Microsoft Security Essentials can be installed in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you are using Windows 8, MSE comes pre-installed and will be integrated with Windows Defender.

Microsoft Security Essentials can be downloaded from Microsoft using this link. But if you want direct download links of MSE, you can select from the following links. We are providing direct download links for all the supported languages.

Update (22-Feb-2013): Now you can download the latest Microsoft Security Essentials 4.2 (direct download links).

If I have missed anything, please let me know through comments.

September 14, 2012

Download F-Secure Internet Security 2013 With 3 Months Free License

UK Security, Software Antivirus, Offline Installer 0 Comments

In the chain of releasing 2013 version of security products, F-Secure joins hands and releases F-Secure Antivirus 2013 and F-Secure Internet Security 2013. Previously we have seen that security products like Bitdefender, AVG and Norton have updated their products with 2013 versions. Although seeing the change log does suggest that it is not a major release with no major changes. Some changes and bug fixes include the support for Google Chrome which was not present in the previous releases. The firewall in F-Secure Internet Security 2013 has also been redesigned to give more configuration and control to the user. The new firewall integrates seamlessly with home or public networks. The most of all, now F-Secure Antivirus 2013 and F-Secure Internet Security 2013 both come with support for Windows 8.

Perttu Tynkkynen, Director, Consumer Sales and Marketing at F-Secure, says:

“Our aim is to provide the safest online experience for our customers and we have been continuously rewarded for it. We are proud of our achievement”

Here’s the list of some of the major features added to the security suite:

Instant protection against all new threats
Worry-free surfing, banking and shopping online
Protects your identity online
Blocks spam and phishing e-mails
Safeguards your children when they are online
Online chat or phone support
Windows 8 support

Download F-Secure Internet Security 2013 (30 day trial)

Please note that the above link is an online installer of the product. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any offline or stand alone installer of F-Secure 2013. Even when I tried to extract the download path from the online installer, I encountered so many files that were downloaded but there was no stand alone installer. If anyone finds a direct download link, kindly share it in the comments below.

Get F-Secure Internet Security 2013 3 months license for free

If you’re not interested in the 30 day trial, you may not proceed with the above download. Use the steps given below to get 6 months license for free instead.

Go to F-Secure promotion page for Chip.de users. Since the promotion is for Chip.de German users, the promotion page will be in German language. But don’t worry, the promotion can actually be availed by everyone.
Tip: If you open the above link in Google Chrome, it can automatically be translated into English.
Fill the form. You may see the screenshot below to make sure you’re entering everything right.
Check your email. You will get a free license key of F-Secure Internet Security 2012 which can also be used with the 2013 version.
Download the security product from the download link listed above, install it and enjoy it free for the next 90 days.

If you are having problems with the above method, kindly let me know through comments below.

September 12, 2012

Download Bitdefender 2013 Offline Installers With 1 Year Free License

UK Security, Software Antivirus, Bitdefender, Bitdefender Safebox, Offline Installer 3 Comments

The 2013 chain of updates from the security companies continues. Bitdefender joins hand with Norton and AVG to release their 2013 line of products. Bitdefender Total Security 2013, Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 have been released to date. All the products have been updated to release no. 16.20.0.1483. If you are already using any Bitdefender product, the new update will be applied automatically but if you want to download the free trials of Bitdefender 2013 products, you’ll find the direct download links to offline installers of all the Bitdefender products at the end of this article.

Some of the new and improved features and fixes include the following:

New registry keys are added to enhance self protection of the security suite.
Fixes the sandbox does not work in Windows 8 problem.
Added system tray icon for laptop mode.
Create separate folder for backed up files disinfected by the antivirus.
Rescue mode now detects USB drives.
Integrated new on demand scanning with QuickScan feature.
Now the anti-theft PIN can not be bypassed as was in the previous versions of the product.

If you want to go through the complete list of changes, just go to Bitdefender forum thread which discusses all the new features and fixes.

So what is the difference between the Bitdefender 2013 products? Let’s take a look at the comparison.

Bitdefender Antivirus 2013 free is a free antivirus from Bitdefender which does not include real time protection. It is only for troubleshooting and should not be used for real time protection.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013, as the name implies is only an anti-malware product. It includes an antivirus and antispyware along with other Bitdefender features like remote management tools, Bitdefender Safepay, Autopilot and Search Advisor.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 includes all the features of Antivirus Plus with additional features like Antispam, parental control, Bitdefender Safebox, two way firewall and file shredder.

Bitdefender Total Security 2013 is the most complete security suite from Bitdefender which contains all the features provided by Bitdefender. It has all the features of Internet Security with additional features like anti-theft protection, file encryption and PC tune-up.

For complete comparison chart, go to Bitdefender comparison page.

Download the installers

Bitdefender Antivirus 2013 Free offline installer

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 offline installer

Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 offline installer

Bitdefender Total Security 2013 offline installer

The installers are for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. All these offline installers are are 30 day trials of the products meaning that you can use the products for 30 days for free. After that you will need to buy a valid license to keep using it.

Bitdefender License deals

Get Bitdefender Total Security 2013 90 day trials

If you think 30 day trial is not enough for you, you can go to this Facebook page and like it. It will unlock a 90 day trial version of Bitdefender Total Security 2013.

Get any Bitdefender product in $19.95

If you don’t want to purchase an expensive Bitdefender product, you may avail their end of summer offer which will give you a huge discount and you will be able to purchase Bitdefender Total Security 2013 for $19.95. Normally the cost of this product is $70.95.

Get Bitdefender Total Security 2013 one year license free

There is another promotion of Bitdefender going on. It is called Bitdefender back to school promotion. If you enter the following coupon code while purchasing Bitdefender Total Security 2013, you will get two years of protection instead of one year. So you will get one year of Bitdefender license for free. The coupon code is: BTSTS2013.

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