Frequently asked
PC security questions:
PC And Server Remote Support Assistance Online Evening
And Weekend IT Support
What is spyware?
How can I remove spyware?
How to protect yourself from hackers?
Internet Explorer - Internet Security Registry Zone
Settings
Why do I get error: "Windows cannot access the specified
device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access
the item"?
How can I check for settings that may have been changed
by spyware, malware and other unwanted programs or check startup running
processes?
Useful security sites to visit:
ITsafe
Cert Coordination Centre
SANS - Internet
Storm Centre
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What is spyware? |
Spyware and other unwanted software refers to software
that performs certain tasks on your computer, typically without your
consent. This may include giving you advertising or collecting personal
information about you. Typical symptoms of an infected PC are:
1/ Pop-up advertisements appear all the time.
2/ Your IE Home page or search settings have changed.
3/ PC appears sluggish or crashes.
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How can I check settings that may have been changed by spyware, malware and
other unwanted programs or check startup running processes? |
One program that can check settings
that may have been changed by spyware, malware and
other unwanted programs or check startup running processes is
HijackThis by TrendMicro. Microsoft
also provide a process explorer which can show information
about identifying running program processes which can be downloaded from
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.mspx.
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How can I remove Spyware? |
There are several programs you can
download and install for free to remove Spyware and backdoor Trojans, or
alternatively you could install a combined anti virus, spam package:
1/
Microsoft AntiSpyware
2/
Spybot - Search & Destroy
3/
Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal
Combined packages:
1/
AVG Anti-Virus
2/ F-Secure
3/
Trend Micro HouseCall
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How to protect yourself from hackers? |
Protect yourself from hackers, if
using XP
make sure service pack 2 has been installed and the firewall is enabled in control panel. If you are using older windows
operating systems 95, 98 you could download and install
Zonelabs free personal firewall.
Ensure you have the latest Microsoft
updates installed by enabling windows automatic update or check manually
using URL
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and install all critical as well as
recommended updates.
Make sure
you have installed all the latest Microsoft Office updates
http://office.microsoft.com/.
Check security and look for any missing updates with
Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer.
Next, ensure you have a current anti virus product installed. Trend Micro
provide a free online Anti virus scan for your PC at
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
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Why do I get error: "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or
file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item"? |
A high security setting in Internet explorer security zone may stop some
explorer .exe programs from executing or it may give you an error you do
not have correct permissions. Typical Microsoft popup error: "Windows cannot access
the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate
permissions to access the item". Another symptom is unable to adjust
security Internet zone setting, set to high. Check your Internet security
zone and if set to high set to medium-high or medium. If you are unable to
adjust the Internet zone or there is only high option you then need to locate the zone 3 Internet zone in the
registry using regedit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\Zones\<3> and adjust the Minlevel from high (0x00012000) to
medium (0x00011000). This will then allow you to reset the zone to medium.
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Internet Explorer - Internet Security Registry Zone Settings |
These registry entries are located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\Zones\<ZoneNumber>
Value Setting
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0 - My Computer
1 - Local Intranet Zone
2 - Trusted sites Zone
3 - Internet Zone
4 - Restricted Sites Zone
What values for Minlevel, RecommendedLevel, and CurrentLevel mean the
following: Value (Hexadecimal) Setting
----------------------------------
0x00010000 - Low Security
0x00010500 - Medium Low Security
0x00011000 - Medium Security
0x00012000 - High Security
See Microsoft reference for
full information
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/182569
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