Free Software Workshop » security

Free Internet security from WOT

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:09:14 +0000

As you may have noticed, I have implemented a new widget in the left sidebar (update: the widget is located on our Friends page). I’m talking about WOT, or Web of Trust. Here is a little description:

WOT is a free Internet security add-on for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky website. It’s easy and it’s free.

A couple of months ago, I was browsing the Mozilla Firefox add-ons website and saw Web of Trust. I’ve read about the add-on; WOT received very good feedback from different users, so I’ve decided to try it out. Basically, when you visit a website, you’ll see a circle near the address bar: green means a good, reliable website, while a red circle denotes a site with possible adware, spyware or other malicious software.

WOT - Web of Trust

The great thing about Web of Trust is that we, the users, get to rate the websites. For each one, you can view its “scorecard” with the following components:

trustworthiness
vendor reliability
privacy
child safety

Each user can also leave a comment where he can talk about his experience with the respective site.

The team at Web of Trust intends to grow this free internet security tool, but this is not possible without our help. The badge on Free Software Workshop is a symbol of our secure and reliable software downloads. We do not promote freeware programs with hidden malicious software.

So go ahead and download the add-on. Create a free user account in minutes and start rating websites. Of course, I don’t mind if you also rate FreeSoftwareWorkshop.com.

Download WOT – Web of Trust for Firefox

Download WOT – Web of Trust for Internet Explorer

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SpywareBlaster – protection against spyware

admin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:00:25 +0000

Navigating the Internet poses a lot of risks; malicious files such as spyware, adware or trackers can infect your computer. SpywareBlaster is a freeware antispyware application that will help protect your system against this kind of threats.

This program filters the content of websites you navigate to and blocks the installation of harmful files. SpywareBlaster’s database contains a lot of information about ActiveX plugins and cookies that denote a potential risk of infection. You can use SpywareBlaster 4.1 if you navigate with Internet Explorer or Firefox.

The interface is user friendly and updating only takes one click.

After installing the program, it’s useful to backup your browsers’ settings. Open the System Snaphot menu within the application’s interface and select Create new System Snapshot.

The downside of SpywareBlaster 4.1 is that it doesn’t offer support for the Opera browser.

Download SpywareBlaster

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Omziff – file encryption software

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:02:37 +0000

Important data found on your system or the one that you send can be protected with the help of Omziff. This program is able to encrypt files using several encryption algorithms (Gost, IDEA, Blowfish, Cast128, Misty1 etc.).

Optionally, you can add passwords to your files to increase data security. The password can be easily generated by using the “Generated Password” option present in Omziff. Decrypting files can be done from the same window as the one used for encrypting. Additionally, you can prevent recovery of the deleted data using the “Shred File” tool.

As a bonus to the free data security tools, this encryption program is also capable of splitting and rejoining large files. Just select from the menu the “Split File” option. Indicate the file and the file segment size to start the process.

The programs executable is about 0.5MB; you can run Omziff without installing it, therefore you can use the program from your USB drive.

Download Omziff

Omziff’s website

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Spybot – Search & Destroy – free antispyware protection

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:45:08 +0000

Spybot – Search & Destroy is an antispyware application that improves your computers security. This freeware is able to detect and remove this new threat, called spyware. Spyware is different from viruses, because it doesn’t spread itself. Anyway, both of them are bad for your computer.

Spybot - Search & Destroy screenshot

What is spyware?

Spyware is a form of malware that can be installed by a virus or by downloading software that you’ve decided to install. This type of malicious software is designed to collect personal information like web surfing habits, passwords, credit card numbers and more. If you experience strange advertising messages, excessive pop-ups or all of a sudden your homepage is set to an adult website, then there is a big chance that you have spyware installed on your PC and should take a look at a spyware removal product.

How to get rid of spyware?

Spybot – Search & Destroy can help you. The program will delete adware files (the annoying advertisement I was talking about before) or other unnecessary files. If you know one or two things about computers, then you might want to try out the System Internals tool that will try to fix important registry entries. The new version of Spybot – S&D benefits from improved scan speed and protection for a wide range of applications.

Features

Removal of keyloggers
Permanent blocking of known tracking cookies for IE
Often backups
Removal of trojans
Safe removal of malicious files by shredding them
Weekely updates
Top class support – free of charge

News in 1.6:

tweaks in TeaTimer - appropriate order of white and blacklists
improved Mozilla Firefox support
fixed an issue with delzip179.dll
fixed usage with tracking cookies for Firefox 3
SDFiles.exe are now auto-registering

Download Spybot – Search & Destroy

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AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 – protect your computer

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:11:56 +0000

Although being a freeware product, AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition offers both antivirus and antispyware protection, which most of these kind of applications don’t offer.

AVG presents many new features and options for you to choose from. Updates are automatically, so you don’t have to worry about them. E-mails and other files that you open are scanned in real-time with the help of Resident Shield and E-mail Scanner to ensure your computers security.

Features:

Anti-Virus
Anti-Spyware
Safe Search – safely click search results (you might also want to look at the Web of Trust browser add-on for a similar feature)

The downside of AVG Free Edition: even if you have the basic protection like antivirus and antispyware, advanced malware like rootkits can still harm you; this is why I advise you to upgrade to AVG Pro Editon or even AVG Internet Security Edition for ultimate safety.

AVG’s quality has been proved over time and more than 80 million users are satisfied by it’s performance.

Download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0

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Avira AntiVir Personal Edition 8.1.0.326 – protect your computer

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:58:35 +0000

In our days, PC security is a must. Hackers and many malicious programs search for your computer’s vulnerabilities. Fortunately, developers have created antivirus software that protect you against possible attacks.

For those of you who don’t want to buy a commercial antivirus, Avira AntiVir Personal Edition is a good alternative. This is a reliable application and it will protect you against threats like viruses, trojans and other. The product’s behavior can be easily configured.

Avira AntiVir features:

Protection against viruses, worms and Trojans
Protection against expensive dialers
Detects and deletes rootkits
Protection against phishing
New: Raised scan speed
New: Redesigned visual appearance

Since this is the personal edition, there is no protection against spyware and adware, so I suggest you upgrade to the Premium Edition, for 20€.

Download Avira AntiVir Personal 8.2.0.334

Publisher’s link

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