Late last night, while trying to tweak the hard drive partitioning on my notebook, I turned off Avast’s On-Access Scanner, the  program’s active scan protections against viruses, malware, and hack attempts.  Turning it back on turned out to be a much harder task than anticipated and it took me a while to figure it out.  However, let me first give you the answer for those who are looking for the quick answer.

This is what you need to do:

Try a repair of Avast = Start/Control Panel/Add Remove Programs/ Select Avast /Change Remove/ scroll down to repair and select Repair.
You must be online for repair to work/ Reboot
You could also check if your OS is windows XP that the Avast Services are running

My little quest to find the solution

Starting the Avast program did not do the trick.  Once the Avast program started, there were no options to restart, or turn back on, the active-scan protection.  Searching for how to restart it proved not so easy as well.

I tried searching online for answers with the following keywords with no success:

• “how to turn it back on avast active scan”
• “how to turn on avast active scan”
• “turn on avast active scan”
• “restart avast active scan”

Finally, when I tried restarting the program again, I by chance saw that Avast names its active scan protection as “resident protection”.  “A HA!!”, I thought and searched for “enable resident protection”.

I got the answer from Avast Forum.

Image Borrowed from DailyGalaxy.com

We have all seen movies like The Matrix, Star Wars, I Robot, and Short Circuit that feature robots that can think and feel like humans or having robotic arms and legs.  These movies generally go in the Sci-Fi categories, but should they?

We used to think these were things that were going to happen in the future, but it is already happening.

We already have robots that can form societies (both good AND evil).  This story is really incredible.  Some of the robots take the malicious route of lying in order to have access to the food (recharging) to themselves.  Some of course take the higher road and warn other to not approach dangerous areas… Simply incredible that robots can form societies.  These robots learn what is food and what areas are dangerous.  And, they also make their own behavioral judgments.

Then, we also have robots that show human emotion.  This is supposed to be THE THING that separates a human from a robot.  This is definitely WAY beyond those robot dogs and pets from a decade ago.  These robots LEARN and MIMIC human facial expressions.

If robots can feel and form societies, how are we, humans, really different from robots?

And, consider this: A team of scientists from Sweden and Italy have been able to make a robotic hand that can feel.

We already know about pig hearts and whatever else out there. I think all the Japanimations, or those futuristic Japanese animes, have got it right.  Within the next twenty or thirty years, it is very possible that we have robots with feelings running around and humans with all robotic replacement parts.  After all, all of this is already happening.

I think this could be either really exciting and interesting, or just freaking plain weird and freaky.  What’s your take?

I am going to share a little secret with you: how to completely secure & protect your pc and do it for free.

In this post, I will cover pc security & protection software that you can use to protect your computer from viruses, trojans, keyloggers, spyware, malware, and even hack attempts.  All of these software programs are often considered the best in their class.  And best of all, they are all completely FREE.

So, if you ever had any issue with viruses, trojans, spyware/malware programs or if you never want to have computer protection issues again, this PC security & protection post on best software tips is just for you.

PC Security Tip #1. Start with the Best – Avast Anti-Virus Software

Start your quest for the best PC protection with the right anti-virus software.  Go with Avast.

Here are a few reasons why you should go with Avast:

1. Avast has 7 different real time active protection – This means Avast is constantly on the lookout for threats in seven different areas: Instant Messaging, Internet Mail, Network Shield, Outlook/Exchange, P2P Shield, Standard Shield, and Web Shield.
2. Daily updates – Avast automatically and seamlessly updates itself in the background in the presence of internet connection.  This process does not consume all your PC memory or slow down in your internet connection.  In addition, once the update is complete, you will get a nice little message on the bottom right corner showing that Avast has been updated along with a nice voice that says the same.
3. Boot-time scan – Just how cool is Avast?  You can actually run Avast before the load of Windows, enhancing the likelihood of finding and removing some of those pesky viruses that just won’t be removed.  This is probably one of the greatest computer protection inventions since sliced bread.
4. Still not convinced?  Avast has best user ratings out of all other anti-virus programs.  Check it out for yourself here: Avast user rating.  You can see that the product is rated 4 and 1/2 stars by users and 5 stars by CNET editors.  The program was downloaded 47 million times and rated more than 10,000 times at the time this post was published.  You can also look at competing anti-virus program rankings.

Why I believe Avast is better than AVG, Avira, McCafee, Norton, Kaspersky, and others

I have used pretty much all of the other major anti-virus software in the past.  AVG was my favorite before the arrival and my use of Avast.  I liked AVG quite a bit, but I found that it missed viruses sometimes.  Also, it does not offer real time protection like Avast.  Like AVG, Avira has a huge following, but I’m not a big fan of possible conflicts with other programs or ads popping up all over the place.

The non-free anti-virus software, Norton, McCafee,  and Kaspersky all use quite a bit of CPU.  Norton and Kaspersky are especially resource intensive.  Kaspersky has slow scanning speed.  McCafee, on the other hand, sometimes misses viruses.  All three products cost $40-$50/yr for but are actually inferior to free products offered by Avast, AVG, and Avira.

Seriously, why pay to suffer from slow PC or missed viruses when you can get better protection for free?

Download the latest edition of Avast anti-virus.

Once you have installed Avast, make sure to run a boot-time scan.  Also, make sure to run the scan once every month to find and remove (or heal or lock up) viruses.  I should also note that a boot-time scan is more powerful and more likely to find viruses than a regular scan.

PC Security Tip #2. Protect from Spyware and Malware Programs, Keyloggers, and Trojans

I use a two-prong approach to protecting and securing my pc from spyware programs.  First, I install software that provide preventative (called immunization) protection and update them regularly.  And, I also install software that I run on monthly basis to search and remove any spyware/malware programs, keyloggers, trojans, etc.

My favorite software for preventative protection: SpywareBlaster

SpywareBlaster is FREE (as usual) and extremely easy to use.  The program does not find and clean malware; it simply prevents the installation of those programs in the first place.  And, all you need to do is run it once a month – 1) update the program and b) enable protection.  SpywareBlaster works by adding protection to Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Download SpywareBlaster

The BEST software for finding and removing malware: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is one of THE BEST spyware and malware removal tools on the market.  It has a very fast and thorough search engine and can find and remove even the nastiest and stickiest spyware/malware.  The tool is also free.

Read user ratings and download here

Another great software for finding and removing malware: Spybot Search & Destroy

Spybot Search & Destroy is a great anti-malware software that has been around a while now.  It is also free.  Spybot has been around on the market for a long-time, but it is still effective.  The unique feature of Spybot is that it comes with TeaTimer, which can be installed as an option. TeaTimer actively protects the computer registry against unauthorized changes.  This is a great protection against any  programs that try to change your home page, your start up items, or worse, your computer memory.

Other than the TeaTimer, Spybot also has preventative protection with its Immunization feature.  When you run the program once a month, make sure to update it first, then run the immunization and the spyware search & destroy.

Read user ratings & download Spybot Search & Destroy

Note: Some recent users seem to have had issues with Spybot.  This may be an issue with Vista.  I have not had issues installing this software on 10+ computers of friends and family.  If you have installed both SpywareBlaster and Malwarebytes, you do not have to install Spybot.

PC Security Tip #3. Last but not least – Firewall Protection – Online Armor, Filseclab, ZoneAlarm,

I have used ZoneAlarm for years.  It is a very good firewall protection software, but I have two complaints.  First, it can often conflict with other computers especially if you have a home network set up or are using your PC/notebook in an area with a network.  Secondly, ZoneAlarm can also be a resource hogger.

Online Armor is another firewall software that I used recently.  I like the look & feel as well as functionality.  I didn’t have any major issues with Online Armor; I switched to the firewall below to save CPU resources.

Currently, I am using Filseclab.  The name is difficult to pronounce, to spell, or to even remember, and the taskbar icon is ugly.  However, this little firewall does it’s job just fine and has a very small footprint and CPU usage.  In addition, it does not have any conflict issues, and it tells me what it just blocked along with the IP address.  I really do not have any issues with Fil-se-clab at all.

Here are the download links for firewall software in order of recommendation:

1. View ratings & download Filseclab – only 4mb; works on XP and older versions
2. View ratings & download Online Armor – 10mb
3. View ratings & download Zone Alarm – 50mb!!
   

PC Security Tip #4. “OK, installed all the recommended security & protection software. What’s next?”

Here are a few last tips for keeping your computer clean and running at optimal performance

1. Make sure to run virus checks on flash drives EVERY TIME that you insert them into your computer
2. Make sure to run virus checks on all email attachments, downloaded files, etc (if you use gmail or other good email clients not named Outlook, you are probably more safe)
3. Stop using Internet Explorer 6.  This browser is riddled with security holes.  At the very least, you need to upgrade to version 8.  Or better yet, download a safer & faster browser Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Google Chrome.
4. Make sure to visit respectable sites for downloading files
5. Make sure to clean your hard drive (CCleaner is great) and defragment (Smart Defrag with optimizer is awesome) once every month or so
6. Make sure to update and run your anti-virus and anti-malware programs once a month or so

With that said…

Best wishes for a happy and peaceful PC usage!

This is just plain BS.  It should be illegal to send SPAM like this.  Most SPAM’s I can just ignore without even giving it a second thought…. Why the (*&# would someone send me a SPAM that said something like this?

highlyregardedsalmon: Hey, I know this is weird, but I don’t know who else to turn to.  I’m thinking about. . .you know. . .ending it all.  Can we talk?

While I was just doing my thing and working away, this came to my Yahoo! Messenger.  The difficult part is… I recognize this ID because I think I received SPAM from this before!  Not that repeat spammers are more welcome or anything, it’s just there is a small, or a very tiny, possibility there might be a “real” human behind this.

At the end of the day though, it’s not someone I know.  And, I don’t want to encourage spammers or give out any sort of information to them.

It’s just that this is the most freaking weird SPAM that I have ever received in my life.  Maybe that’s because I wasn’t expecting it.

Do you think I did the right thing by not replying?  Has anyone else received a SPAM from highlyregardedsalmon@yahoo.com?

Let me know if you also have an interesting SPAM story to share.

EDIT: It was a Salmon Bot

I did a quick research and found out that this is Salmon Bot.  It works in a really interesting matter.  Salmon Bots let you chat with another user with both you and the other user under the pretense that this bot is the person with whom you are chatting.

You can read more about the Salmon Bots here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheGreatHatsby

And, this is the original link that made me realize that this is a Salmon Bot: http://friendfeed.com/evansims/likes.  Scroll down to Mark Krynsky, the fourth person on the list, and click on “more comments”.  It’s actually a funny post because the guy thought the IM he received was a salmon baking brownies. 

Update: Another salmon bot: upendedsalmon

Just got this one today (2009/6/11):

upendedsalmon: I don’t believe your lies.

I marked it as SPAM immediately.

Just this morning, I noticed that my sidebar had disappeared from my WordPress blog.  My research yielded solutions that were, in my mind, not the easiest for most people to understand and easily follow.  As such, I thought I would write something that is very easy to follow for vast majority of us bloggers who are not programmers or web designers.  The solution turns out is very easy.   And, hopefully this post will save you a couple of minutes or half an hour or so.

Sidebar widgets not visible

Why your sidebar widgets disappeared

I did a research online and found out that this has to do with using “<” and “>” within the blog posts.  It essentially creates a div tag at the top without closing it with a “</div>” tag.  This makes your sidebar widgets will seemingly disappear, but actually will be at the very bottom of your home page.  This happened to me on this very blog which is WordPress CMS version 2.7.1 as of the date when this post was published.

How to make your sidebar widgets appear again

How to make your sidebar visible again

1. Find the post(s) in which you have used “<” or “>” marks
2. Go into Edit Post for that/those post(s)
3. Hit HTML
4. Look for “<div> tags”.  You might see something like this at the top: “<div class=”mceTemp mceIEcenter”>”.  Remove it.
5. Update post.  Issue should be gone now.

EDIT: Make sure to remove </div> tags too!  I had actually forgotten to remove this and the issue showed up later.  So much for writing a guide.  lol.  “Don’t do what I do; do what I say” 

Mint - Personal Finance Software

While browsing Business Week, I ran across what I now think as the best personal finance software.  It actually is an online money management tool.  The product is great: it is easy to use and has all the necessary functionality.  And, the best thing is that it is FREE.

The best (free) personal finance software: Mint.com

Over the years, I have used a wide variety of tools and software for managing my personal finance.  I have used MS Money as well as Quicken.  Though I really enjoyed the tools, they did not always sync correctly.  Plus, they cost money.  Being somewhat of an expert with MS Excel, I often resorted back to Excel spreadsheets for managing my finances.  I often found it easier, faster, and cheaper to manage my finance with Excel spreadsheets.  I guess not anymore.

So, here are my ratings for Mint.com

• Importing account data: 9/10, everything looks great; the only knock is that I have an overdraft protection on my checking account with the same exact account number as my checking account, and it will not show up in my list of accounts.  Probably only 1 in 10,000 has the same setup as me, so you are probably OK.
• Types of accounts: 10/10, can sync in all your personal finance accounts, from checking and credit cards to your 401k, mutual funds, and money market accounts.
• Security: 9/10.  It seems very secure.  After the login, your pages show in Secure Socket Layer in http (note the https instead of http in the URL).  Also, Mint.com is verified/certified by VeriSign, TRUSTe, and McAffeeSECURE.  Honestly, how secure is your Money data on your PC?  If you do not have your PC adequately protected from malware and hijack attempts, then ALL the data on your PC can be stolen.
• Reporting: 10/10, informative and easy to use.  Unlike free tools provided by credit card companies, the reports are layed out to give you the information you need that include/promote saving money.  There are transaction, trending, and investments pages that allow for easy editing of details and viewing.
• Usability: 10/10, extremely intuitive and easy to use.  Heavy use of ajax results in the website design makes the site very fast to use.  The changes you make will appear without the entire page refreshing.
• Affordability: 10/10, can’t beat free when it comes with quality

All in all, I am very impressed with this free money management tool.  I recommend everyone to try it out.  Go to www.mint.com.