http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:31:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/09/29/scan-and-detect-spyware-and-suspicious-files-in-windows/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/09/29/scan-and-detect-spyware-and-suspicious-files-in-windows/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:54:18 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=16772 Hijack This is probably one of the most popular security tools to scan a computer system for spyware and suspicious files. It’s rather cryptic reports makes it sometimes difficulty to distinguish between harmless and potentially dangerous files on the computer system. That’s what the comparable software program Free Fixer tries to make better

Free Fixer will also scan various critical components of a Windows operating system including running processes, autostart entries, Browser Helper Objects or TCP/IP settings. The difference becomes obvious after the report is being displayed on the screen. Free Fixer will for example whitelist critical system files which means that they will not show up in the default report. This is done to decrease the number of entries that are displayed making it easier for the user to concentrate and analyze the remaining items. There is however no way of displaying whitelisted items in the application, something that the developer’s might want to consider integrating in their security software program.

Another important difference is the “more info” link that is displayed next to each item that was found during the scan. A click on the link will open a page (in Internet Explorer) on the developer’s website that is listing information about the specific entry. Files from trusted companies like Apple or Mozilla are highlighted in green giving the user another indication of potentially safe applications and processes.

The program displays delete or repair checkboxes next to each entry that has not been whitelisted or indicated as being trustworthy. Additional information like the system path are displayed for each item which, combined with the link to display more information on a website, can be a great asset of identifying potentially dangerous items quickly.

Free Fixer is compatible with most versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system (including Windows Xp, Windows Vista and Windows 7). A download is provided at the developer’s website.

Tags: free fixer, hijack-this, security-software, Spyware, windows software

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/09/29/scan-and-detect-spyware-and-suspicious-files-in-windows/feed/ 5 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/03/12/hijack-this-20-beta/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/03/12/hijack-this-20-beta/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:57:27 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2007/03/12/hijack-this-20-beta/ HiJack This is a very sophisticated security analyzer that generates an advanced report of various registry settings and files in your computer. The difference to many other security analyzers such as Trojan scanners is that Hijack This makes not difference between “good” and “bad” settings but displays everything that it founds in its security log. It is then up to the user to find potentially harmful files and settings and remove them from his computer.

It is no security software for beginners but excellent for advanced users and users who know someone who is able to draw the right conclusions from the security logs that have been generated. Another way to receive fast results would be to use the online script Hijack This logfile analysis. You can paste the logfile into the form field or upload the log from your computer and the script analyzes the logfile of Hijack This automatically.

It uses user input to determine whether something is a potential threat or not. This works most of the time but leads sometimes to unjustified ratings. I installed AV Antivir in a custom directory and the analyzer used this to indicate a possible problem. I think the best way to cope with this situation would be to briefly analyze the elements that could be malicious and decided if that is really the case. To use the above example: I knew that I did install it in that directory and therefor decided that the warning was not justified in this case.

If you are insecure about a certain setting ask in the well frequented support forum or search the internet for clues on the subject. Hijack This has a similar analyze this button build in which takes you to the website of the developer of Hijack This. They display information about everything that was found on your computer and how frequent it was found in other computers.

This could be an indicator for safeness but I would suggest that you perform additional searches to be on the safe side. You can download the newest version of Hijack This from TrendSecure by following the link in the first paragraph.

Tags: hijack, hijack-this, hijackthis, registry, Security, security-scan, security-software, trojans, virii, Windows

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