Knockanean IT Services

Welcome to our new Blog!

This blog was created to document the IT services at Knockanean N.S. and work on issues arising while using IT and the network. For this to become a helpful resource, it depends on the requests and questions coming from you - teachers and staff, the users. As the saying goes, there is no stupid question, only stupid answers, and I will do my best to give you the best possible information in the course of this venture. The only possibly "stupid" question is the question not asked!

Quite often it is very helpful to get a so called "Screen shot" of a problematic situation on your computer. This is to create a picture (like a photo) with the content of the screen at the time the error happens. How to do this is explained in "How to Create a "Screenshot".

This blog is still in its infancy. Many things need to be added/completed, but please keep coming back for more stuff! Furthermore, any ideas, suggestions or hints to improve this service are more than welcome!

The most important article in these series so far is: "5 Steps to PC Security".

How to get in contact:

Please do not hesitate to use the Comment function under each post (article) for any question, request, idea or comment you have!

You can also reach me via:  "knockanean.IT.services{at}gmail{dot}com". Or text me on 086 8287266.

While most AntiVirus-Software is based on a list of known threats, ThreatFire tries to analyze the behaviour of programs to detect whether they are genuine or malicious. Together with Avast, it makes a perfect match!

Steps to install ThreatFire

1. Download the software from http://www.threatfire.com/download/

On that page, click on the "Get Free" button to start the download. You will be asked to "Run" or "Save" the file, select "Save". Click on "Browse folders" and save the software possibly to the Public Download folder of your computer (on Vista) or on "My Documents", "My Received Files" in Windows XP.

2. When the download is finished, click on "Run" to launch the Installation program.

Windows will ask you for confirmation to run this program, accept it.

3. Accept all the default suggestions during Setup by clicking on Next or OK.

How to ensure the "road-safety" of your computer

When computers are interconnected and, even more so, connected to the Internet, you have to make sure that they behave well and are protected! To that end, you don’t need to buy expensive software, there are free programs out there for download which are available for private or non-commercial use! Please read on to find out how to make your Internet experience as safe as possible!

You can use the links below (on the product names) to install the tools on your own or you can walk through my more detailed step-by-step instructions linked with the first word in each step.

Steps 2 and 3 require a restart of your computer, so does "Windows Update" from time to time.

Five Simple Steps for Internet Safety

1. Activate automated Windows Updates
2. Install signature-based anti-virus software Alwil Avast
3. Install behaviour-based security software PC-Tools Threadfire
4. Replace Internet Explorer with Mozilla Firefox and install the NoScript-Extension
   
5. Install Secunia Personal Software Inspector

Background Information (Optional Reading!)

Software never is perfect. Some of the issues are not serious, but some actually cause the system to go into a state where malicious code can be activated. You can search for the term "Buffer overflow" on the web if you want to get more details on this.

In any case, to avoid this situation, software manufactures provide updates (patches) of their software from time to time when those serious flaws are discovered. To have Windows itself up-to-date with those improvements is obvious, but also all other software running on your machine should be reviewed for updates from time to time! Step 1 and 5 above are included for that reason.

Steps 2 and 3 are dealing with tools that fight the same "digital criminals" but with different methods. Avast uses a signature-based process, whereby Threatfire watches the behaviour of programs installed or running on the computer! That’s like trying to detect criminals by using a "Most Wanted" list in the first case or watching people’s behaviour to check whether they are committing a crime in the second case. Both the signatures and the behaviour - descriptions have to be updated (over the Internet) on a constant basis! Both programs are configured by default to do that automatically in the background.

Replacing the "ubiquitous" and obtrusive default browser Internet Explorer (IE) with Mozilla’s Firefox (FF) as indicated in Step 4 might be contentious for some. Fact is, however, that the IE is much more intertwined with Windows than FF and still is the primary target for malware due to its higher penetration. Helpfull Add-Ons (will be explained later) in FF set it apart and make it safer then IE.

Secunia’s Personal Software Inspector helps to detect software with missing important security updates and provides information or direct download links to get the latest versions for your system.

Certainly there are more options than these, and suggestions for improvement are surely welcome!

Quite often, it is very helpful to get a so called "screenshot" of a problematic situation at your computer. This means you will create a picture (like a photo) with the content of the screen at the time the error happens which then can be used by an IT expert to understand and possibly solve the problem.

GENERAL NOTE: When something unexpected happens, do not click any buttons on the screen! Never ignore any (error) messages unless you know why! If you don’t understand the message, write it down (or create a screen shot as described below) and make sure you ask somebody else at a later, convenient time.

Hint: It is recommended to work through the following instruction at least once, to be able to do it in the actual event when you might not have access to these instructions!

This is how you should proceed:

1. Press the "Print Screen" key

On you keyboard, you will find a button labelled "Print Screen / SysRq". It’s usually in the top row, the third from the right. Press this button.

This will create a copy of the current screen content as a picture (photo) and places it into the "clipboard". The clipboard in Windows is the (virtual) area where Windows stores text or graphics when you use "Copy & Paste" functions.

2. Open Paint

Click on (Windows XP) resp. (Windown Vista), select "All Programs", "Accessories" and then "Paint".

3. "Paste" the screen photo it into Paint

In Paint, select "Edit" from the menu and then "Paste" or press [Ctrl]+V. The screen content should now appear in the Paint window.

4. Save it to a file

 Save the file by going to the menu "File" and select "Save as…" or pres [Ctrl] + S.

5. Choose a proper file name

In the upcoming dialog box, choose a filename of your liking, but change the file type in the input field underneath to "JPEG (*.jpg …)".

6. Forward to IT-Services

You can email this file as an attachment to knockanean.it.services at gmail.com with a brief description of the problem or situation or you can leave it on the computer for the next "inspection".

NOTE: Windows Vista is per default configured for automatic updates. No action needed there.

Hint: Print out these instructions for easier reference!

1. In Windows XP, go to Start and select "Run…" (last item in the left column).

2. Enter "wuaucpl.cpl" into the emerging dialog box and press the Enter key or click "OK". A new dialog box appears:

3. Make sure that "Automatic (recommended)"  is selected and choose the appropriate day(s) of the week and the time, when your computer is normally switched on and connected to the Internet.

4. Click "OK" again to close the dialog box.

Done!

Windows will now check and download automatically any security updates needed for Windows! However, when they are ready to be installed, a little icon appears in the lower right corner and a message will popup nearby. Click on it and follow the instructions to install the updates! Sometimes the Computer has to be restarted to complete the installation.

Failing to always install the recommended security updates leaves your computer wide open for any malicious attack!

Please do not hesitate to use the comments feature below for any questions, requests or comments!