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Third Party Security UtilitiesComputer programs change faster than books. Rather than putting current references into the book, this on-line companion has the latest third-party security utility reviews and news. Security Suites and Antiviral utilities are like seat belts in cars. You can still crash, but hopefully they will protect you. Learning good security habits is like learning to be a safe driver. The difference between driving and computing is that when you get an electronic infection, you may not know you crashed until months later when your bank account disappears or a friend tells you about the adult materials sent to everyone on your mail list. Because people do not get the immediate feedback, it is harder to learn good security habits in a connected world. Healthy Passwords devotes two chapters to learning to be a good electronic driver. Website Rating Plug-insThere are third party utilities which regularly test and rate websites. Some of these offer browser plug-ins, which will display the latest site status and test dates right on the browser.
Internet SecurityInternet security suites normally encompass anti-virus and malware protection also. The best internet security is knowledge (Hint: If you have not read the book, read it. It covers much more than just passwords). Knowing how to login using limited rights accounts; which activities to avoid; and, securing your router and wireless network will prevent most problems, but a good third party security suite is a little added protection. There are dozens of security suites available. Most are good. Rather than trying to do any in-depth analysis of products, we will summarize top reviews done by reputable publications. If you follow the various security blogs, most say that nearly all virus packages offer the same protections. Typically
Patch ManagementOne of the biggest threats to your computer is old programs. Antivirus products ignore many of the installed programs running on your computer. Attackers have found that targeting these older programs is the easiest way to gain access to your computer. Attackers target some programs more than other programs. The most targeted programs are normally browsers and runtime engines such as Adobe Flash ™ or Java ®. Recently this list has expanded to include popular PDF viewers. This one third party utility, which will monitor your installed programs and recommend or automatically update vulnerable programs. If more become available, this list will be updated with those also.
Password Strength CheckersPassword strength checkers are on-line utilities you can find on websites, which enable you to see your password strength in real-time. Any time you use a strength checker, it may be a good idea to substitute characters. For example, if the password you are checking is a12,Tbm0Shtr.q1 then maybe key x07;Aqf9Gwbl:w3. This should produce the same result without revealing your password. Only one reference is provided at this time, because although there are several on-line checkers, it's impossible to say which may or may not be safe to use.
Keystroke Anti-loggersThere are several third-party anti keystroke loggers on the market. No major publications have evaluated these recently, so we are currently researching these products before making any recommendations. One recommendation we can make is to buy, read, and implement the advice in "healthy passwords". If you are still concerned about possible loggers, Windows and Mac both offer built-in virtual keyboards. Keyboard loggers either hook into operating system core functions at the software level or they get deep into the core (kernel) and act at the hardware level. Loggers which run at the kernel level can be bypassed by using a virtual keyboard. These are included with your operating system. For Windows, you can run this simply by typing start/run then key enter osk and click run. If your run menu is hidden, you can search help and will find a reference. Mac users need to go into system configuration / Language then check "Keyboard viewer". Once that is done, a small US flag will appear in the menu bar. Clicking on this then selecting "Show Keyboard users" will display the on-screen keyboard. Some keyboard loggers also take screen shots of every mouse click also. In those cases, even a virtual keyboard won't help. Windows combats this a bit by offering a "hover to select" option which is configurable in seconds. If you hover the mouse over the key for x seconds, it will enter without a click. There is a debate over using your browser's auto enter features to prevent keyboard logging. Using auto enter does not stop all keyboard loggers. Software based keyboard loggers hooking into SetWindowsHookEx() will still be able to read the auto-complete password. Using the virtual keyboard and configuring it to hover will prevent the lower level kernel loggers. The only safe option to prevent keyboard loggers is to boot off a live CD.
Third Party VPN ServicesIn many countries where censorship rules, VPN services prevail. When in a country that doesn't have censorship issues, VPN is harder to find. We are actively seeking reviews by reputable publications on Domestic US VPN providers.
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