Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Have Windows 7? Now you need security

As is usually the case with security software and new operating systems, older versions are not likely to work on Windows 7. You'll need to find a new version. Most of the big-name developers, such as Symantec and McAfee, have updated their subscription-based products.

Or, you could reach for the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials, which I reviewed earlier this month (see www.chron.com/mse).

Microsoft insists that Security Essentials isn't designed to replace full-strength suites. MSE lacks many features those products have, including e-mail scan-ning and a software firewall.

The real competition for MSE are other free security programs, led by the wildly popular AVG Free. Now AVG has released a new version. AVG Free 9.0, for Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000. Like its predecessors, it is licensed for use on only one consumer computer — it's not supposed to be used on a PC on a net-work. Given that 80 million people use AVG Free, I suspect this may be one of the most violated software licenses around.

AVG says 9.0 has improved performance and has less impact on system resources, and I can attest that it's fast and unobtrusive. I've put it on a variety of systems, and so far I don't see any difference in machine boot-up times between AVG Free 9.0 and Microsoft Security Essentials. I also see no discernible performance effect on the PC as it runs in the background.

It isn't as impressive, though, when it comes to scanning. It is considerably slower than Security Essentials. The same drive that MSE took only 55 seconds to scan took about nine minutes to scan with AVG Free 9.0 on the “Fast scan” setting. It's possible, though, that the fast scan is more thorough than MSE's. But still, an eight-minute difference is significant.

The interface for 9.0 is almost identical to the previous version — it's simple and easy to navigate. As AVG Free has evolved, the company has unlocked settings for more features that previously were available only in the paid version. You have a lot more control over the program than in earlier versions.

It has more security features than Microsoft's product, including an e-mail scanner and a module that checks links on Web sites to ensure they're safe. However, this much-improved LinkScanner only works in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Earlier versions of the LinkScanner had users racing to turn it off because it slowed down Web surfing. But this iteration is lightning-fast. When you use a search engine, the scanner checks the resulting links and, if they're deemed safe, places a green icon next to each result. If the scanner suspects something nefar-ious, it will indicate that with more ominous orange and red icons, along with details.

It has more security features than Microsoft's product, including an e-mail scanner and a module that checks links on Web sites to ensure they're safe. However, this much-improved LinkScanner only works in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Earlier versions of the LinkScanner had users racing to turn it off because it slowed down Web surfing. But this iteration is lightning-fast. When you use a search engine, the scanner checks the resulting links and, if they're deemed safe, places a green icon next to each result. If the scanner suspects something nefar-ious, it will indicate that with more ominous orange and red icons, along with details.

How effective is AVG Free 9.0? The program has a good reputation for stopping viruses and spyware, and I may have experienced its capabilities shortly after installing it — although it apparently was a false alarm. I went looking for a program that would enable “hot corners” on the PC, similar to the built-in feature in Mac OS X that lets you move your mouse cursor to a corner of the screen to blank the screen or clear the desktop. I found an open-source program called Hot Corners and downloaded a copy from Softpedia, a reputable site for shareware. However, when I installed it, I got a warning from AVG that one of the Hot Corners files was infected. The suspect file was moved into AVG's Virus Vault, where it could do no harm.

I got another copy from the author's site. This one didn't bring up the AVG alert, but a note on the site indi- cates it has a history of trig-gering false positives. When I installed it on a Windows 7 system running Microsoft Security Essentials, there was no alert.

Former users of AVG Free who may have been unhappy with the performance and obtrusiveness of past vers-ions may want to give this a try. It also will appeal to those who switched to Micro-soft Security Essentials but don't quite feel like they're getting all the features they need to feel safe. AVG Free 9.0 has you covered.

dwight.silverman@chron.com

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog

By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 26, 2009, 11:42PM

For XP users who wish to upgrade, a few tips

When Windows 7 is released on Thursday, many who’ll rush out to buy it will be users of Windows XP.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has not made it easy for XP users to move to Win7. You won't be able to run the upgrade disk and have the newer operating system install on top of XP, leaving your data and programs in place.

Instead, you have two options:

1. You can do a Clean install, in which you wipe the hard drive clean and install a virgin copy of Windows 7, then reinstall your software and copy your data back to the drive.

2. You can do a Custom install, in which your older setup is squirreled away in a folder called WINDOWS.OLD. This will include your program files, though you won't be able to run your software from there. It will also include data files, but you shouldn't rely on this as your sole backup strategy prior to upgrading.

Because you can't upgrade over XP, there are some steps you'll want to take before you install Windows 7 to make the process easier. This game plan also works if you plan to do a clean or custom install on a Windows Vista system.

• Make an inventory of the software you'll want to reinstall on Windows 7. This may be a good time to do some housecleaning. Identify the programs you really need and plan to keep them, and cast off those you don't.

• Download, install and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor at www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx. This will scan your PC and point out compatibility issues with hardware and software. You may have software that won't run on Windows 7, and you'll need to upgrade to a newer version of that program, or obtain a patch if available.

• Download and save to a CD, DVD or external drive any software patches you'll need. Do the same for any Windows 7 drivers that are available for your key hardware — video and audio adapters, printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, etc.

• Research and identify the security software you'll want to install. Don't expect the antivirus or antispyware programs you bought two years ago to work on Windows 7. Microsoft has a Web page that lists developers with compatible security titles at www.microsoft.com/windows/antivirus-partners/windows-7.aspx.

• Make a backup of your documents, music, videos and photos, to an external drive. Check the help files for your e-mail program to see how to export your mail folders, then save those to the external drive as well. If you're really cautious, make a disk image of your entire system — using software such as Acronis TrueImage, Norton Ghost or Norton Save & Restore — so you can recover your Windows XP setup in case something goes horribly wrong.

• Check the system requirements for Windows 7 to see if your PC is powerful enough. Although Microsoft says 1 GB of RAM will work with the 32-bit version, I'd recommend you have at least double that. Install your RAM — or any hardware upgrades — before you install Windows 7.

• Once you have Windows 7, you can start the installer from within XP. It will do additional compatibility checks, then reboot the system to begin the installation. I'd recommend doing the Custom install, because it does provide a secondary copy of your data files.

• When the installation is complete, install the latest Windows 7 drivers, then the antivirus software you've selected and let it update its malware definitions.

• Manually run Windows Update to check for any patches and fixes.

• Before you install any of your software, live with this installation for a while. Play around with Windows 7, learning its differences before you have to rely on it for real work. Give it a few days before installing your software, and copying data back to the hard drive.

Once your installation is the way you like it, consider using the Backup and Restore function in Windows 7 to make an image of your existing hard drive. You can use this later if you need to start over from scratch — and it will come in handy when Windows 8 rolls around in a few years!

dwight.silverman@chron.com

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog

By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 19, 2009, 11:08PM

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Who links to me?