dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
6361

jansson_mark
Markus Jansson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Finland


11 recommendations

jansson_mark

Premium Member

Maximum security WITHOUT any $$$

I tought I should put up a new thread regarding the subject. *Almost* all of these programs or stuff described here I have personally tryed out and found them not only useful but also SECURE. Honestly, I think they are the best (free) software and solutions there is, most of them are actually so good that you cant even get better ones even by spending a LOT of money! Enjoy!

1) AVG for antivirus. Good and reliable antivirus with solid reputation.
»www.grisoft.com/us/us_dw ··· free.php

2) AntiVir for secondary (no offence meant but one of them has to be NO1) antivirus.
»www.free-av.com/

3) Spybot S&D to remove spyware, keyloggers, trojans, bots, usage tracks, etc. etc. etc. Excellent program indeed!!! A word of caution: If you are using F-Secure products, do NOT remove "Backweb" components you might find with Spybot S&D, or you cant update your F-Secure anymore!
»www.safer-networking.org ··· download

4) Ad-Aware is similiar to Spybot, but Ad-Aware is perhaps a bit better in finding and removing spyware. Hard to tell, but to be sure, run them both.
»www.lavasoftusa.com/supp ··· ownload/

5) WindowsXP Antispy to remove WindowsXP "build-in" components that might violate your privacy. Easy to use and quick to set it up properly.
»www.xp-antispy.org/index ··· ws-e.php

6) Abtrusion Protector is used to PREVENT malware or ANY other software that you have NOT personally installed on to the system, from running. Basicly speaking, boys and girls, if you have Abtrusion Protector running in your computer, you can doubleclick any files (yeah, even viruses, trojans, whatever you want to) or allow them to automatically executed somehow and try to run them (OK, this is NOT a wise thing to do in any situation but please listen). They will NOT run in your system and therefore can NOT infect your system in any way. Period. And when you need to update Windows, no problem, this baby knows Windows updates automatically, so you can go ahead and install (it uses strong crypto and Microsofts digital signatures to verify the files so that they ARE safe). When you want to install something else (that you are SURE is safe to be installed into your system!), just tell this program to go to "install mode" and when you are done, turn of the "install mode" and again no other software can be executed in your system. This baby is SOOOOOOOOO great!!!
»www.abtrusion.com/Downlo ··· onal.asp

7) Script Sentry is good for preventing/monitoring scripts. You know, like scripts inside Word documents etc. etc. If possibly dangerous script is found, you can choose to abort running that file/document. I bet there isnt any better macro/script blocking program than this one.
»www.jasons-toolbox.com/s ··· ntry.asp

8) WMP Scriptin Fix to disable scripting from Windows Media Player. You can never be too carefull with Microsofts products you see...
»www.wilderssecurity.net/ ··· fix.html

9) Hushmail standard account. It gives you email box with TOP, TOP security features. First of all, the connection between your computer and Hushmail server is encrypted using SSL/TLS so nobody can spy on it. Second, Hushmail has build-in support for OpenPGP, meaning that you can semd and recive encrypted and signed emails (with other people who have Hushmail or use some compliant PGP software like GnuPG) from "end-to-end", meaning that NOBODY, not even Hushmail staff, can read or tamper them! Third, you can receive "end-to-end" secure emails from ANYONE (they dont have to have hushmail account or use GnuPG/OpenPGP) via »hushtools.com and fourth, ANYONE can verify your digitally signed email messages (via hushtools) to be sure that it was really YOU who sent them that email. And its all open source code, no backdoors, no gaping holes, etc. etc. And there is a plus: Human authenticator system to eliminate SPAM for good! Oh and did I forget to mention that they also have HushMessenger, which allows you to have *secure* IM with any other Hushmail member.
»www.hushmail.com

10) Megaproxy provides SSL/TLS encrypted surfing and protects your IP. This means, that your ISP or anyone between you and Megaproxy servers (like some lurker listening to your network traffic in you LAN), can know
what or where you are doing or tamper it. Also, since it hides your IP, the pages you visit dont know who or where you are from. Free version has its limitations tought, but its still worth to try!
»www.megaproxy.com

11) ZoneAlarm is easy to use and very secure firewall. If you need some tips regarding it, you can check »www.markusjansson.net/eza.html for some installation etc. tips. Firewall is basicly a "must-to-have" to ANYONE in ANY connection with internet. Period.
»www.zonelabs.com/store/c ··· load.jsp

12) Active Ports is a good tool to check what is happening in your network traffic. What programs are connecting to where etc. etc. Great tool to see if some spyware or trojan is contacting outside world and otherwise to keep in control of your network traffic. Sure, its NOT a firewall like ZoneAlarm, but it gives you information in more detailed way.
»www.protect-me.com/freeware.html

13) Whatshappening to check what is happening in your computer (hard to guess eh?). Good if you are wondering about possible trojan infection, running processes etc. etc. But you must know what you are looking for, if you dont, use Google.
»www.turboware.com/WhatsH ··· ning.htm

14) Hijackthis is good tool to peak under your registry and other hives where malware/spyware might be lurking. If you are not sure what you see with this baby, DONT remove it. But if you take few lessons and use Google, you can and will find this program VERY usefull!
»www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

15) CompuSecTM to encrypt your HDD:s. If you want to keep something protected, you MUST encrypt it with good encryption, good passphrase and good program that implements that all. CompuSecTM is one such product. Sure, you can and should use PGP perhaps too, but what is great about this one is that it encrypts WHOLE HDD. This means, that ALL the temporary files, hidden data, history markings, etc. etc. are always in encrypted form. Its transparent to user so you wont even know its there after you have once set it up. A word of caution however: You might be having a lot of trouble with imaging software, or to be more precise, on restoring or using images/clones you have created from encrypted HDD:s...
»www.ce-infosys.com.sg/Ce ··· uSec.asp

16) PGP 6.58ckt8 is good "tweaked" version of PGP. This baby has PGPdisk, supports very large key sizes (up to 16000bit RSA) and new hash algorithms. Its very easy to use as PGP always is. However, if you need some help with it, check these pages »webpages.charter.net/archer/USA/ they have tips and guide on using it. If you dont install software to encrypt your entire HDD, PGPdisk is your second best option on secure storage of your data. Not to mention that you can use this for secure emails, creating secure packets (like backups, etc.), etc. etc.
»ftp://ftp.zedz.net/pub/crypto/ ··· kt08.zip

17) Password Safe to secure and control your passwords. You should always have different passphrases in different locations. Now, when you have dozen or so passphrases, its hard to keep count on them all. Password Safe solves this problem by keeping ALL you passphrases behind ONE main passphrase in encrypted format. Easy to backup to floppy etc. etc.
»sourceforge.net/projects ··· ordsafe/

18) Eraser 5.7 for erasing data from your media. Now, when you delete something, it really isnt gone. It can be restored usually very easily. Even when you encrypt something (like move file to PGPdisk or EFS encrypted folder), the original file that was in cleartext, is simply removed, not erased. With Eraser, you can fix this one. You
can wipe individual files, folders, or drives from Windows Explorer! And, you can wipe free space, directory entries and file slacks from your hdd, so that the hdd space (that still has your old files that you havent wiped and that can be recovered) can be "purified" too. Also, it has "Nuked" bootable diskette that you can use to wipe HDD:s without booting up OS (be carefull when using that one!). One important thing is to be mentioned. Eraser IS good. It uses well documented wiping patterns and has good pseudorandom number generator. It REALLY wipes the data for good.
»www.heidi.ie/eraser/download.php

19) Openoffice.org as office tool. Its safer than MS Office and is also very easy to use. Try it out!
»www.openoffice.org/dev_d ··· e/1.0.3/

20) Mozilla for browsing in the internet and reading emails & news. Mozilla is much more secure browser than IE is (IE still has over 20 unpatched security holes, see »www.pivx.com/larholm/unpatched/ for more info). It has good privacy features, such as blocking popups etc.
»ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozi ··· ller.exe

21) Sun Java JRE for java instead of Microsofts JVM. Also, Mozilla needs JRE anyway so why not also use it with Internet Explorer eh?
»www.java.com/en/download ··· nual.jsp

22) UPDATES, more and more and more UPDATES to ALL your programs, especially operating system and browser (and browser components like Active-X controls like Flash, Shockwave etc.) every now and then. ALSO, remember to visit the windowsupdate page until you have downloaded ALL updates available. Usually you have to install, reboot, install, reboot, install, etc. etc. many times before ALL updates have been downloaded and installed onto your computer. Remember to make sure that you also update your ANTIVIRUS on daily basis!
»windowsupdate.microsoft.com

23) Secure the WindowsXP settings (+ Internet Explorer settings), since they are VERY INSECURE by default! Also, many services that are not needed are starting up and therefore taking system resources and being potential security vulnerabilities. If you dont use XP for anything very fancy like server etc. then these will be just fine for you.
»www.markusjansson.net/exp.html

24) Use Microsofts own tool, MBSA, to verify that you have secured your settings and otherwise things are prettymuch OK. This baby checks for configuration etc. vulnerabilities/holes but dont count on it too much. Its always better know yourself that your system is secure than let some program tell you that...
»www.microsoft.com/techne ··· home.asp

25) Use online scanners, like Sygatetech:s ones, to see what they can see/do to you. Its important to drop your firewall before doing these scans.
»scan.sygatetech.com/

Eboli2x4
join:2002-07-20
Hubbard, TX

Eboli2x4

Member

Damn! With only free apps, not even bacteria wouldn't stand a chance on your keyboard!!

Randy Bell
Premium Member
join:2002-02-24
Santa Clara, CA

Randy Bell to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
Quite an impressive list, markus.

Sparrow
Crystal Sky
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
Sachakhand

Sparrow to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
You are quite a thrifty shopper, Markus! This will be a very helpful thread, and one to bookmark for future reference.

I had forgotten about OpenOffice.org. I remember when they first started up. Good to see they are holding steady.

Ruffian9
Posting Tag
join:2002-04-24

3 recommendations

Ruffian9

Member

The true max security without any $$$...

»www.openbsd.org/
»www.freebsd.org/
»www.gentoo.org/
»www.smoothwall.org/
»www.bastille-linux.org/
»www.distrowatch.com/
»www.seifried.org/lasg/
»usat.sourceforge.net/
»www.insecure.org/nmap/
»www.lids.org/
... too many to list all

jansson_mark
Markus Jansson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Finland

jansson_mark

Premium Member

said by Ruffian9:
The true max security without any $$$...

And also zero usability for normal user. Hey, no offense, but I can get the same result (both on security and usability) if I just turn off my computer...

Apparatus
join:2003-05-13
Candiac, QC

Apparatus

Member

quote:
And also zero usability for normal user. Hey, no offense, but I can get the same result (both on security and usability) if I just turn off my computer...

Actually SmoothWall is very easy to setup. It was my first ever linux distro and my first ever hardware firewall. The SmoothWall Forums has tons of tips to set it up if need be. You just need an old machine(I use a P90, 1gig HD and 16MB of RAM) so if you dont have an older machine that your not using its not free

Sparrow
Crystal Sky
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
Sachakhand

Sparrow to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
Sorry -
Some threads should not be lost! BUMP!

gkweb
join:2003-06-09
Fort Worth, TX

gkweb to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
this thread is good, but you said that this or this product is "the best" instead of only "good", that's wrong of course.
For many of your software i can say that an other is better, but in each case, both are good, and both has pro & con.
I'd rather like heard which are the pro of a product instead of readding that something is the best.

I'm someone open minded, so, even if i am a System Safety Monitor (SSM) user that is not quoted here... i went to Abstrusion website that you provided, i just think : "why not? Abstrusion is may be better", but i read this :
"At least 64 MB internal memory (RAM)" o_O
I'm sorry but SSM with RAM + SWAP currently used 8MB memory.

About ZoneAlarm, same, a very good product, i tested it deeply, but has "con" that other firewall doesn't have, and of course has "pro" that other firewall doesn't have too.

This is why your list is great, some tools are very good, but you are near saying there are all the best ever, that is not a good approach.

At the end, (i stop my criticism) i have a question, husmail seems great, but since i use Mozilla Thunderbird for my mails with certificates to authenticate myself to others, do i need husmail ?

gkweb.

jansson_mark
Markus Jansson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Finland

jansson_mark

Premium Member

said by gkweb:
this thread is good, but you said that this or this product is "the best" instead of only "good", that's wrong of course.
Oh, where did I say that? I only sayed:"I bet there isnt any better macro/script blocking program than this one.". In every other program I only sayed "its good".

Sparrow
Crystal Sky
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
Sachakhand

Sparrow

Premium Member

The First Law of Philosophy: For every philosopher, there exists an equal and opposite philosopher.
The Second Law of Philosophy: They're both wrong.

Couldn't resist! After all, isn't this what security is like as well? Some of us prefer one tool over another, and we can fight each other tooth and nail, and a third or fourth party will come along and shut us all down!

Oops, forgot to plug a new found fav:
This is a shareware version of Webroot Spy Sweeper:
»www.wugnet.com/shareware ··· p?ID=514

Beyond_1986
join:2003-08-06

Beyond_1986 to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
Thank you, I just found 2 software that's pretty useful.
1. Spybot S&D
2. WindowsXP Antispy

Note: One of the world's most popular Email software, Foxmail 5.0(NOT VERSION 4)is out in august 31, It's even better than Microsoft Outlook, it has so many great features, and it's very secure, and most importantly it's free. As up to right now, I think it's only available in Chinese, but it will be available in other language soon.
Buddel5
Premium Member
join:2003-08-12
Germany

Buddel5

Premium Member

said by Beyond_1986:
Thank you, I just found 2 software that's pretty useful.
...
2. WindowsXP Antispy
...

I do hope you got Windows XP-Antispy from here:
»www.xp-antispy.org/ :

"Important information: The Domains www.xp-antispy.de und www.xpantispy.de do not belong to the project xp-AntiSpy anymore. The new owner offers only a dialer to download.
Please update any links and your bookmarks to www.xp-antispy.org
Greetings, -chris-"

Beyond_1986
join:2003-08-06

Beyond_1986

Member

Yeah, I get it from there, but it's only like 68KB, is it right?

One more thing, Foxmail 5.0 is a beta version right now, mm.........
Buddel5
Premium Member
join:2003-08-12
Germany

Buddel5

Premium Member

said by Beyond_1986:
Yeah, I get it from there, but it's only like 68KB, is it right?

One more thing, Foxmail 5.0 is a beta version right now, mm.........
If you got Window XP-Antispy from the "right" site, you are on the safe side. Yes, it's a very small but useful program.

Fr0zen
join:2002-10-22
Chicago, IL

Fr0zen to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
Thanks those tools where really usefull the search and distroy worked well.

Jim Gurd
Premium Member
join:2000-07-08
Livonia, MI

Jim Gurd to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
said by jansson_mark:


16) PGP 6.58ckt8 is good "tweaked" version of PGP. This baby has PGPdisk, supports very large key sizes (up to 16000bit RSA) and new hash algorithms. Its very easy to use as PGP always is. However, if you need some help with it, check these pages »webpages.charter.net/archer/USA/ they have tips and guide on using it. If you dont install software to encrypt your entire HDD, PGPdisk is your second best option on secure storage of your data. Not to mention that you can use this for secure emails, creating secure packets (like backups, etc.), etc. etc.
»ftp://ftp.zedz.net/pub/crypto/ ··· kt08.zip


Does this version work with Windows XP? Currently I am using an earlier version (6.02i) on a Windows ME partition in order to use PGP Disk.
[text was edited by author 2003-08-31 22:16:28]

Khaine
join:2003-03-03
Australia

Khaine to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
I believe that that version works fine on windows XP
Khaine

Khaine to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
Nice list markus

I would of included

Proxomitron

as security is all about layers

jansson_mark
Markus Jansson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Finland

jansson_mark to Jim Gurd

Premium Member

to Jim Gurd
said by Jim Gurd:
Does this version work with Windows XP?
Yes, PGP 6.58ckt8 works fine with WindowsXP.
jansson_mark

jansson_mark to Khaine

Premium Member

to Khaine
said by Khaine:
I would of included Proxomitron

I wondered the same thing but eventually tought that naah... I mean, proxo is not very easy to use and it doesnt really do anything important that couldnt be done with good settings in browser etc. Its a good tool to anyone who learns how to tweak it up but its not *that* *important* tool you know... Argh! Hard to say it in english... LOL!

Valdi
join:2002-12-02
UK

Valdi to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
Thanx, Markus!!

Jim Gurd
Premium Member
join:2000-07-08
Livonia, MI

Jim Gurd to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
said by jansson_mark:

Yes, PGP 6.58ckt8 works fine with WindowsXP.
Thanks. I installed it and so far so good.

It installs to a folder called PGPNT. Since Windows XP is based on NT I expect it should work O.K. I never knew PGP had a different version for Windows NT.
cxRetf5qVDCE
Premium Member
join:2002-05-15
New York, NY

cxRetf5qVDCE to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
************************************
** That OpenOffice link is outdated:
Go to: »www.openoffice.org/

The current version is 1.1 RC3, not 1.0.3

1.1 RC3 now does cooler stuff like free PDF creation and SWF (macromedia flash) creation.

Pinan

join:2000-09-02
Murrieta, CA

Pinan to jansson_mark

to jansson_mark
Thank you Marcus. I appreciate the work that you put into this.
sterilegenie
Onebase Linux
join:2001-06-07
Deltona, FL

2 recommendations

sterilegenie to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
said by jansson_mark:
said by Ruffian9:
The true max security without any $$$...

And also zero usability for normal user. Hey, no offense, but I can get the same result (both on security and usability) if I just turn off my computer...


Yeah, currently the only way to be secure while using Windows.

jansson_mark
Markus Jansson
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Finland

jansson_mark to Jim Gurd

Premium Member

to Jim Gurd
said by Jim Gurd:
It installs to a folder called PGPNT. Since Windows XP is based on NT I expect it should work O.K.
Yep. A word of caution: Do NOT install PGPnet. It doesnt work. Just messes up your internet connection.

maximus_808
Proud Veteran
Premium Member
join:2001-08-27
Rainier, WA

maximus_808 to jansson_mark

Premium Member

to jansson_mark
Thank you Markus...I just did a re-format last night and was going to use this opportunity to try some free Anti-Virus software....You just made it very easy for me.
You also reminded me of some other things i have to put back on my machine.
Thanks again.

Jettubby
join:2002-09-30
Burlington, KY

Jettubby to jansson_mark

Member

to jansson_mark
Very nice Markus.

R2
R Not
MVM
join:2000-09-18
Long Beach, CA

1 recommendation

R2 to jansson_mark

MVM

to jansson_mark
For NO money and NO resources -- I have to include SpywareBlaster... So simple yet so effective.