Security suite is in fact a spy

Web secury analysts from infoworld discoverd that a security suite called ZoneAlarm is in fact a disguised spy. The program was found to call home with information collected from the client computer, without consent from the computer user. According to INFORWORLD:

ZoneAlarm Security Suite has been phoning home, even when told not to. Last fall, InfoWorld Senior Contributing Editor James Borck discovered ZA 6.0 was surreptitiously sending encrypted data back to four different servers, despite disabling all of the suite’s communications options. Zone Labs denied the flaw for nearly two months, then eventually chalked it up to a “bug” in the software -- even though instructions to contact the servers were set out in the program’s XML code.

Link via INFOWORLD

Technorati Tags: Security, Spyware

Intel Desktop Boards

Intel has lauched new products to help PC users to keep their computers free of infections and other software parasites.

The Intel Desktop Boards is a collection of programs from the Intel company that can be used to solve problems with PC computers, such as monitor the system for problems, try to improve performance, and detect hardware errors. The list of programs is the following:
- Hardware Monitor Monitor your system vitals for potential problems
- Diskeeper Lite* Defragmentation For improved system performance
- NTI Backup Now* Back up files to CD and DVD
- StressTest* Check for common hardware errors
- Symantec* Security Check Check for viruses and Internet security vulnerabilities
- Avocent AdminWorks Remotely manage up to 200 networked PCs (45-day trial)

The programs are free or have a trial version. They are ideal if you want to keep your machine clean and safe.

Technorati tags: PC, security

Free adware remover programs

Adware is a problem for every computer user. The use of the web makes it very easy for users anyone to visit malicious sites, that explore vunerabilities is normal software to spread unwanted programs. This has been the greatest problem for web users in the last years.

To remove adware, several software packages have been created. Most of them are commercial, but there are several of them that are free. I will provide a list of the best free adware programs that I have tested personaly.

* Noadware: the basic version can be used for free.
* Lavasoft is one of the best adware removal software packages. It comes with a free
* Xoftspy: specialized in the removal of spyware, can be used for free for limited time.
* Adalert: not only scans the computer against viruses, but it can also alert users of new attacks agains the machine. Can also be used for free for a limited time.