Fix My Broke PC!

We learned in my previous post that a firewall is only good if we, as the user, manage the program correctly. Microsoft now bundles Firewall software in their operating systems starting with Windows XP SP2. Windows XP SP2 and older operating systems are no longer supported by Microsoft, If you are running any operating system less than Windows XP SP3, you should look into upgrading for security purposes. Here we will go over a few quick and easy ways to check your firewall settings in Windows to Make sure they are satisfactory for your internet use. Please note, if you use a third party firewall, such as Zone Alarm, these settings will not apply to you. If you are unsure of what firewall you are using, please contact your local computer technician for assistance.

Windows XP

• Verify the XP Firewall is turned on
  • Click Start
  • Click Control Panel
  • Click Security Center (If you are in classic view you will not see this option)
  • Click Windows Firewall (double click in Classic View)
  • Verify that your Firewall setting is set to On (recommended)
  • The “Don’t allow exceptions” box should only be checked if you really want to lock down your firewall
• View the programs that are marked as Exceptions to being blocked
  • From above location
  • Click on the Exceptions tab at the top of the window
  • The Program Name that is allowed (or denied) is listed here, if the check box next to the name has a checkmark in it, Windows has allowed that program to be able to communicate over the network. If it does not have a check box, it is currently being blocked from accessing the network.
  • Scroll through the list and see if there are any Program names that you may not want to be able to access the internet. Be careful when unchecking boxes here, it could turn off network access to something that you really wanted to be able to access.
• Add a program to the exception list
  • From above location
  • To add a program to your allow list
    • Click add Program
    • Select your program from the list provided, or click Browse… to browse to your program
  • To add a known Port for your program
    • Click on Add Port…
    • Fill in the Name with a recognizable name for you (I.E. Quake 3 Arena)
    • Fill in the Port number and select TCP or UDP depending on traffic (You can usually find this information by googling firewall and the program name)
    • For advanced use, if you only want to allow access to certain IP ranges, or just to your network, not external (internet) networks
      • Click on Change scope…
      • Select your option that you fit is best. You can use a custom list here. If you require a custom list, you probably should already know how to fill it out. For most users, selecting either “Any computer” or “My network only” should be sufficient.
      • Click OK
    • Click Ok
• Advanced Tab Settings
  • By this point, you may be wondering about the advanced Tab
  • Click on the Advanced Tab
  • Here you will see a list of Network Connections for your machine. The Network connections that are checked have Windows Firewall currently protecting those connections. If they are unchecked, that network connection is unprotected.
  • Feel free to look around at the rest, just remember not to make any changes here unless you are sure of what you are changing.

Windows Vista

• Windows Vista is kind of a cross between Windows 7 and Windows XP. I currently do not have access to a Vista machine to write up an adequate step by step guide, so I am going to link you to a good article (not so much step by step) explaining the settings available in Windows Vista.
  • The Windows Vista Firewall

Windows 7

• Verify Windows 7 Firewall is turned on
  • Click the Windows Button
  • Click Control Panel
  • Click System and Security
  • Click Windows Firewall
  • Verify Windows Firewall State is set to On
    • Notice in WIndows 7 you have Home or Work Network and Public Network
      • Public Networks should be used in unsecured wireless places
      • Home or Work Networks should be used when you are at home or work, or a trusted secure site
  • To turn on Windows Firewall
    • Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off
    • Select Radial buttons to turn on or off Windows Firewall
    • Select the Check Box for Notify me when Windows Firewall blocks a new program (this will let you know if a program is being blocked)
    • Only check the box for Block all incoming connections even to allowed programs only if you want to shut down network traffic
• View the programs marked as exceptions to be blocked
  • Click Allow a program or feature through Windows firewall
  • The Program Name that is allowed (or denied) is listed here, if the check box next to the name has a checkmark in it, Windows has allowed that program to be able to communicate over the network. If it does not have a check box, it is currently being blocked from accessing the network. Notice how you can configure the selections for separately for Home / Work Network and for a Public Network.
  • Scroll through the list and see if there are any Program names that you may not want to be able to access the internet. Be careful when unchecking boxes here, it could turn off network access to something that you really wanted to be able to access.
• Add a program to the exception list
  • From above location
  • To allow a program to your allow list
    • Click Allow another program…
    • Select your program from the list or click Browse and navigate to your program.
    • Click OK
  • To allow a known port for your program
    • Click Advanced Settings in the left column
    • Click Inbound Rules on the left
    • Click New Rule… on the right
    • Select Port from the radial box
    • Click Next
    • Specify your port(s) and whether you want TCP or UDP
    • Click Next
    • Select the radial box appropriate to your needs, most likely choice is Allow the connection
    • Click Next
    • Uncheck any boxes that you don’t want to be able to access the open port
    • Click Next
    • Describe the Open Ports (like what program you want in there)
    • Click Finish
• Advanced Settings
  • The advanced settings in Windows 7’s Firewall is far superior to Windows XP’s. Here you can use wizards to add or remove ports, programs and view advanced Firewall logs and settings. Feel free to look through here, but it may be best not to adjust these settings unless you told to do so. The link found above in Windows Vista Firewall explains some of these more advanced settings.

Have you ever been on vacation, or at work, or even over at a friends house, and wished you had access to your computer for any reason? There are numerous simple programs that you can use to accomplish this task, and each with their own features. Today we are going to go over, non-commercial use, features of a few of my personal favorites; Logmein and TeamViewer. (I included GoToMyPC Features and a quick blurb on why I did not trial their service.)

Here is my scenario for what I was looking for: I have multiple computers that I use. I have multiple Windows machines ranging from Windows XP to Windows 7 and I have one Macbook. So I was looking for something that worked with both the Mac and the PC. I also have a few friends that I wanted to support that use Windows and Linux, so I wanted to research how I would be able to assist them as well with this. All three of these platforms are compatible with the PC and Mac. Now there are other programs you can use, like VNC, but they usually require some sort of tweaking in firewalls or routers to get them to work from outside internet access. This post is looking at simple, easy to install and use remote access. One of the three remote access program even covers Linux! LogMeIn has a free version and a paid version that increases the amount of benefits you can get from the program. So here goes!

LogMeIn has, by far, been my favorite. You sign up for an account at LogMeIn’s website and click on Add Computer. When you initially start, it automatically installs the Pro version under a 30 day trial. You can try the extra features out for a bit if you would like to, then to change it over to the free version you click on Properties next to the computer name, go to Subscription and change the subscription in the drop down box to free. Okay, back to the review! After installing I was able to log in to my LogMeIn account (first set of login credentials needed). Then when I went to remote access my computer, I was asked for my computers credentials (second set of login credentials). The speed was very reasonable and I was able to remote access my computer from a Mac and from a PC. I looked at the Security settings in the Program and found that I could also set a “computer” password (third set of login credentials). After verifying your second set of login credentials, you would be prompted with Random characters from your “computer” password that you have to select from a drop down box. I found this to be an awesome addition to the already double credential login. (Plus it helps prevent hacks from key loggers as you are not typing keys but selecting from a drop down box. Meaning, if you HAD to remote into your computer from a cyber cafe, or a public computer, you could feel a little better about doing so.) The Free service allows you to install the service on as many computers as you want, so if you want to be able to “assist” friends and family, you can get their permission to install it so you can. To top it all off, for a $29.99 fee, you could purchase the LogMeIn iPhone app to remote control your computers from your iPhone. So far this has been the best service I have found. Their service provided quality speed, good service, and has been reliable.

GoToMyPC is the priciest, and thus because of the cost, I did not review their services adequately. The Citrix online company is the only one that did not have a “free” service for consumers. They also won’t allow you to test drive their software without putting in your Credit Card data. I have heard a lot of people speak well about the speed and functionality of GoToMyPC, but we’ll have to leave that one to someone who has more money on their hands and wants to play with something different. I prefer more features for a lesser cost.

TeamViewer is the only simple remote access program that also covers Linux. Once installed, it assigns an arbitrary number and a random password. The number you will have to memorize, because that is the number you will need when trying to access your computer using another TeamViewer. Unless of course, you use their online web application. It is optional and you can sign up for it from their website, input your number, and assign a description to simplify the access to your computer. The random password can be regenerated at will, or after each connection. You can also assign a static password so that you won’t have to worry about not having the next random password in the list. The random password is helpful when desktop sharing with other friends and family or providing remote support. Remote connecting into a computer requires that either you have the logon credentials for the optional web app, and then the password to connect to the remote computer. Or, you can just download the TeamViewer application and type in the arbitrarily assigned login and either the set password or random password to login. Using the web app, you still have 2 credentials to verify, however, with the TeamViewer application there is only 1. Unless of course you already have your computer password protected, which you should, and as long as it is locked. If you are using it at the time when you remote in, you come in right where you are at. They also have an iPhone app that is free, and you can put your arbitrary number and password in to connect to your remote computer. I was not impressed with the screen refresh rate (set at Auto) within TeamViewer while remote controlling another computer. We were both connected via DSL and it just seemed to crawl.

Feature Chart:

My recommendation is to look over the list and see what best fits your needs. I like TeamViewers ability to provide remote support, without installation, for free. I am not keen on the security of allowing TeamViewer run 24/7 on my computer with the current lack of security features it has. For providing needed remote support, the security is fine, just make sure you close out the program when done. LogMeIn’s additional security features give me a “warm fuzzy” feeling, and thus I don’t feel as bad running it on my computer 24/7. If you have any other services like the above mentioned, please provide your own review and if possible compare some of the features to the services provided.

It’s been a while since I posted to Fix My Broke PC! I have been working on advancing my knowledge of Information Technology. I just finished a Data Communications and Networking class as well as a Discrete Mathematics course. I passed both courses and have decided to try doing one course per semester instead of two so that I can have more time to focus on Church and hobbies. Needless to say I am behind on the times and a lot of new or neat stuff has come out. I am back to start sharing some of it.

My first order of duty is to brag about an antivirus suite that I am highly recommending to all of my clients. The cost of this antivirus is, FREE! Normally I do not promote free antivirus suites, especially after running both AVG and Avast antivirus on my home computers. I have had more calls from clients running those two free antiviruses and getting infections than any other problem. This new software is supported and developed by Microsoft and is called Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE).

Here is how I tested this software. During the beta phases I signed up (prior to starting classes in August which was the reason I had not posted during that time) and started testing it on my personal machine. After a while of running it and testing stability I decided to put it to the test and created a virtual Windows XP Machine. I fully patched the machine (if you don’t keep your machine patched you might as well just install the trojans and viruses yourself) and installed Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). I then tested the machine using Secunia PSI to make sure I had no vulnerabilities.

I then researched on the Internet about known malware sites and came across a database of sites at MalwareURL. Using these known malware sites I attempted to infect my virtual machine over and over with Malware. Internet Explorer allowed the install to start and MSE blocked the installation. Firefox allowed the download of about 4/5ths and blocked 1/5ths and MSE blocked the installation of the ones that got through. Amazingly, Google Chrome allowed the download of about 1/5th of the programs and the others were blocked by Google Chrome itself.

I am unable to verify the sites that supposedly had keyloggers or viruses that I attempted to install but “supposedly” they were legit. I had a bunch of blocked notices from MSE so maybe they were. Either way I have been completely happy with the program and have replaced using ESET’s Nod32 Antivirus for this free application (not because I would cheap out on security either). So head on over and try it out before renewing your antivirus software again. Also I highly recommend everyone trying out Secunia before I blog about it.

Microsoft Security Essentials

As some of you might know from following our Facebook page, I have been previewing Office 2010 and have done an “At First Glance” analysis comparison to Office 2007. At first glance is just a comparison of the bare bone upfront features looking at Office 2010 and Office 2007 to compare differences between the interfaces and features available to the users. Here are my results:

Office 2010 visually changed a few buttons which is to be expected. I did not attempt to dig deep into any changes, I clicked a few buttons to see if there were additional features or settings that could be different between the two.

• Word 2010 and 2007 functions are identical.
• Excel 2010 and 2007 functions are also identical.
• PowerPoint 2010 now has a new tab on top for “Transitions”. They are the same transitions found in 2007, but I guess they found a reason to add that as its own tab.
• Outlook 2010 now has a “Suggested Contacts” feature that was not found in 2007 and also sports the 2007 “tabs”.
• Onenote 2010 now has a revisions button when sharing and also a Onenote recycle bin built in. Onenote is also sporting the new Tab bar which I find convenient when used on a Tablet PC.

Disappointments:

• I was still unable to sync up a Onenote 2010 notebook with anything other than Sharepoint or a Shared Folder.
• I was unable to give any good information about performance because the preview is a Virtual program to protect the computer from any negative affects it could have on the O/S but this made it impossible to tell how it will perform come release day.

Overall, I won’t be rushing out to purchase 2010 as of this moment. The additional features are few and does not appear to be anything worth spending the couple hundred dollars for the upgrade. If Microsoft can complete the task of allowing Onenote sync on Office Live Workspaces or through Skydrive I would be more inclined to rush out and purchase the upgrade. As I continue the testing process I will post any more in depth findings.

Last week I signed up for and started Beta testing Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). I am currently running it on a live machine (I was going to do Virtual but was having an issue with hard drive space) so I haven’t been able to test it with live viruses or malware. I plan to overcome this hard drive space issue so that I can continue testing within a virtual environment.

The test that I did use was the Eicars test virus. It’s a known test virus string that is used to test how the antivirus will react to certain situations. So far I am impressed with the way the it reacts. I copied the text into Memory and before I could paste it into a text file MSE already recognized and cleaned the memory. I downloaded the string within a text file and it allowed the download, but upon opening before it would show the string on the screen MSE had already cleaned the file. The responses cleaned the file and left a message on the bottom right of the screen asking for a response to Clean the computer. Very easy to use and notification was sufficient for my use.

Downsides so far include not having the ability to schedule an update. There is a check box to check for updates before running “A” scan, but you can’t configure updates any other way. Also, it only has the ability schedule one scan, and by default that is a quick scan. I personally prefer having a quick scan done nightly and a full scan done weekly but at this time we are unable to configure both. It’s one or the other!

These downsides have already been submitted as feedback via Microsoft’s beta test site. I eagerly await the full release of MSE and feel that it will have a strong impact on the security of Microsoft’s software.

The first step is to set up your GMail account in Outlook using IMAP. Google has done a very good job on teaching people how to do that. Here is how:

GMail’s Instructions for setting up GMail in Outlook 2007

The recommended IMAP Settings at the bottom of this list are the whole reason that I am making this post. That and the normal IMAP settings take away some of the features of Outlook that I found with some tweaks can be brought back.

Number 1 Calendar Syncing

• Google has a FREE Calendar sync program that you can download here
• Paid options also include Calendar, Contacts, and Sometimes Tasks one of the options I found include all three of these, sells for a fee of 29.95 and is listed here (I am only listing one so that others can share there favorite Google sync program in the comments)
• Note: When syncing the calendar, be sure that your calendar on one side is either empty or does not have the same appointments. The free calendar syncs when starting out will sync duplicates if you have the same appointments on both sides.

Number 2 Shared Calendars

• I view shared calendars by bringing the Private ICal into my Outlook, to do this log into Google Calendars.
• On the left hand side under My Calendars click Settings
• Select the name of the calendar you would like to be able to view in Outlook
• Scroll to the bottom and under Private Address click the Green ICal button
• Open the Download and it will automatically load into Outlook Calendars to be viewed under your Calendar Tab

Number 3 IMap Settings

• In Outlook press Ctrl + Alt + S, this will bring up the Send / Receive Groups
• Click Edit under All Accounts or under the account that has your IMap Google Account
• Make sure the GMail IMap account is selected in the left column
• Under Receive Mail Items click the radial button for Use the custom behavior defined below
• Highlight the Inbox by clicking on it and select on the right hand side Download complete item including attachments
• Click the + next to [Gmail] and do the same as above for Drafts and Sent Mail
• Click the Check Boxes next to Drafts and Sent Mail, this will assure that you get e-mails to your computer that you send or start working on via webmail or other IMap enabled clients configured properly
• NOTE: I also recommend doing this for any folders (Labels in GMail) that you have already to start with so that all your files will be downloaded to your computer to start with for speed, but then unchecking them (with the exception of the ones that you have GMail auto forwarding to) when done otherwise it will slow down the send / receive process.

Number 4 Activities (My Favorite)

• Click on the Folder List button on the left column at the bottom
• Under Personal Folders, right click Contacts and click Properties
• Click the Activities tab
• Click to highlight All Items and click Modify
• Uncheck Personal Folders and Check GMail
• Click Ok
• Click to highlight E-mail and click Modify
• Uncheck Personal Folders and Check GMail
• Click Ok
• Click Ok
• Now click on the Contacts button on the left column and find a contact you have listed
• Double click a contact
• Under the Contact tab click Activities
• Notes: The all items and e-mail slots will now search your GMail Imap folders for e-mails associated to that person. You can not have both Personal Folders and Another personal or IMap folder selected. Microsoft only allows one or the other.

Summary:

The main calendar can be synced easily using a program. The other calendars I recommend only viewing, but if you find a good sync program, some of them can sync multiple calendars into Outlook. If you are like me and prefer to have something that will sync your contacts, calendars andtasks, I’d recommend a paid program, but for most it won’t be completely required. You can manually export and import your Contacts occasionally for backup purposes.

The only three check boxes that are checked in the Send / Receive Settings are the Inbox, Drafts and Sent Items and they all are set to Download complete item including attachments. This is the ideal setting, for speeding up your GMail IMAP.

The activities button found under each of your contacts information is very useful for finding all the information related to that contact. This took me the longest to find this tweak and I am very glad I did.