This is a collection of services that I use regularly and that I personally recommend.
As a bonus from my personal internet security guy, there’s also a clear description of a simple and free way to greatly improve your Windows privacy and security.
Aweber is an email broadcasting and auto-reply system that provides the technology for creating e-courses as well as broadcast e-newsletters.
TAFPro is a Tell-a-Friend system that has a unique feature of allowing contests. The customer service at this small company is excellent.
MindManager is a high-quality mind-mapping software package that lets you gather your thoughts into the flexible and intuitive pattern of a mind map. I use this and recommend it to my clients whenever there’s an issue that requires some complex planning or visualizing. The simplest version includes all the features that most people need and there is a free trial available to download.
Harrison Assessments is a high-quality assessment system that I use for management and leadership development, and career suitability evaluation. I am a distributor, and I’m particularly interested in working with other coaches who would like to use this system to build their businesses. It is also a very good solution for recruitment needs. Please contact me for more information.
Organising Solutions offers training, services and support in Hong Kong for all aspects of organizing including information, time management, workplace usability and online communications.
DropBox allows you to sync, store and share files online. I use it for offsite data backup (for encrypted data) and it is very convenient.
Angela’s internet security guy recommends the following measures for playing safely on the internet.
How to improve your Windows security and privacy – for free.
This is written for Windows XP, Vista and 7 users. Last updated June 2010.
This is not intended to be a complete or exhaustive review. It’s a set of FREE (for non-commercial use), reasonably simple, effective tools that will work even on older computers (tested on a Pentium 4 with 512meg of RAM running XP) and don’t require you to be a computer geek. Your mileage may vary.
***Windows update: Microsoft is finally providing decent free security software. Microsoft Security Essentials is an acceptable substitute for the anti-virus programs listed below, and Win7’s built-in firewall is much better than Vista’s. So why should Vista and Win7 users bother with the 3rd-party solutions below? – these 3rd party solutions are still generally considered more effective. – the MS solutions may not work if they think you don’t have a legit copy of Windows, can get cranky with some non-MS programs, and may install other MS software you don’t want. – even if you go for the MS solutions, I still recommend installing ThreatFire Free and following steps 3-6 below.
In most cases I’ve linked to FileHippo for downloads because company sites often change download locations and try to trick you into installing pay versions. In all cases, install the basic free version, decline to install any extra toolbars or other software, decline to upgrade to ‘pro’ versions, and tell it not to put you on any mailing lists.
Step 1: Anti-virus
These programs would now better be described as ‘anti-malware’, because these days they hunt for more than just viruses. What’s the difference? http://lifehacker.com/5560443/whats-the-difference-between-viruses-trojans-worms-and-other-malware
You want a free AV program that:
1. updates itself automatically
2. scans incoming e-mail automatically
3. you can schedule to scan your whole computer once a week or so, so you don’t need to remember to, and
4. doesn’t annoy you and slow down your computer with ‘features’ you don’t need.
There are no perfect free programs that do it all, but there are 2 programs I recommend: Avast or AVG.
Avast 5 Free is an improvement over past versions (clearer interface, you can now schedule scans) but it can be a pain configuring e-mail scanning (but once you do, it’s one of the more effective programs at this) and it still has that annoying voice telling you every time the virus list is updated. Here’s how to turn that off: right-click on the Avast tray icon (the orange ball at the bottom of your screen), then click ‘Open avast user interface’, then ‘Settings’ in the top right, then ‘Sounds’, then uncheck ‘Enable avast sounds’.
AVG lacks a rootkit scanner (don’t worry about what that means) in the free version, and has built-in advertising for the paid version, and adds annoying “checked by AVG” messages to the bottom of incoming and outgoing mail. Fortunately, there’s a way to turn those off. Here’s how in Version 9: Open AVG by double-clicking on the yellow-black-red-green square at the bottom of the Windows desktop (bottom right-hand corner of your screen, near the clock), click ‘Tools’, then ‘Advanced Settings’, then ‘E-mail scanner’, then uncheck the 2 ‘Certify mail’ boxes. Leave the ‘Check incoming’ and ‘Check outgoing’ boxes checked. Then click ‘OK’ to close the window. Your mail will still be scanned, but no more messages will be added to the bottom of the mail.
Bottom line? I go back and forth between Avast and AVG, but lately have been using Avast. Just choose one, and if you don’t like it, uninstall it and install the other; don’t install more than one anti-virus program at a time. And remember to schedule regular (weekly, or at least monthly) scans; don’t wait until you think you’re infected.
In addition to your anti-virus program, I recommend also installing ThreatFire Free. This program works by monitoring for malware behaviour, rather than scanning for signatures (don’t worry about what that means). Plus, it updates itself. ThreatFire also includes a basic manual rootkit scanner but that’s not its strength; it’s designed to be used in conjunction with, not instead of, anti-virus programs like those above.
Step 2: Software and hardware firewall
A firewall tries to control what passes between your computer and the Internet. ZoneAlarm is the most popular and one of the simplest to configure. It works. Remember to turn off your Windows firewall, if you have one (Vista and Win 7); you should only use one software firewall at a time.
If you have a router, it usually acts as an additional hardware firewall, but it’s not a substitute for the above. And if you have a wireless router, make sure the security settings are properly configured! These settings are different for different routers, but you want to make sure that – you have changed the default password – you have enabled the most robust encryption – you have configured it NOT to broadcast SSID – you have enabled MAC address filtering. This is geeky stuff and may require some Googling to figure out, but it is necessary. Don’t skip it.
Step 3: Firefox browser
Firefox is simply a better and safer browser than Internet Explorer, and its security can be greatly increased with the following strongly recommended add-on: NoScript
For improved privacy and less advertising and net spam, I suggest also installing the following FireFox add-ons: AdBlock Plus
Better Privacy
Ghostery
KeyScrambler
TrackMeNot
Step 4: Anti-malware scanner
‘Malware’ is the catch-all term for an increasingly complex mix of spyware, adware, keyloggers, rootkits, trojans and other nasties. Anti-virus programs in the past were not effective against these threats, but latest versions of Avast and AVG anti-virus are not bad. However, it’s a good idea to have another layer of protection. Some versions of Windows have a built-in scanner called Windows Defender that does a similar job; it’s ok, but the two programs listed below are better. You can install all of them; they won’t conflict.
MalwareBytes
Super AntiSpyware
The free versions of these don’t do anything on their own; you have to manually update and then start a scan, which you should do with one or the other at least once a month.
Step 5: Keep it clean
This is more of a housekeeping issue. Windows leaves orphan files all over the place and over time they build up, waste space and can slow your computer down. CCleaner is small, simple and effective. I suggest to run the regular cleaner once a week, and leave the registry cleaner feature alone unless you know what you’re doing (although I’ve never had a problem running it weekly as well).
Step 6: Last words
Don’t forget to make sure your wi-fi router is properly configured, your Windows and programs are kept up-to-date with the latest security upgrades (these update tools can help), and do weekly backups. Yes, really do backups. Every week. One thing you can count on is that one day your hard drive will fail and you will lose every scrap of data on it. There are a number of approaches to doing backups but none of them matter if you don’t do them. And having your only backup in your home beside your computer won’t help if there’s a fire.