Terry Bollinger
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Last updated on 2025-11-28
(November 28, 2025)
This site is
historical. See Apabistia Press (especially
Notes)
for my latest posts on physics and artificial intelligence
For Free and Open
Source Software (FOSS) resources, click here.
Some really old stuff:
Having trouble with your Windows PC or laptop? Here are some downloads that can
help:
1. Mozilla Firefox browser (plus Adobe's Macromedia
FlashPlayer) for safer browsing.
2. ToniSoft EasyCleaner cleans out dangerous hidden surprises in Temporary Internet
Files.
3. Trend Micro's CWShredder removes troublesome CWS malware. If it finds CWS, you should
also deinstall
Microsoft Java and replace it with Sun Java to help prevent new
infections.
4.
Sygate Personal Firewall is excellent and free.
Alas, Symantec bought it and discontinued it.
5. SpywareBlaster closes down lots of holes, and only needs to be run occasionally.
6. Microsoft's Windows Defender (not for 98 or ME) is free, but expect an ownership check.
7.
Webroot Spy Sweeper has a trial version
that is great for initial cleanup, and for purchase.
8. Spybot Search & Destroy was one of the first spyware detectors. It is very good and free.
9. Lavasoft Ad-Aware is an outstanding spyware detector, and is free for home use.
10.
Belarc Advisor tells you how good your
updates have really been. Always update!
11. Sysinternals RootkitRevealer (experts only!) helps identify NT/2000/XP/2003 rootkits.
(Or: If you want everything at once and don't mind somewhat older versions, go here.)
Some Q&A about the
above applications:
Q1: Why do you suggest multiple spyware scanners? Isn't one good scanner
enough?
A1: You cannot remove all spyware by using just one scanner. Each
scanner finds different
types of dangerous and not-so-dangerous spyware.
More importantly, any one malware
scanner can be targeted specifically by malware to
make it ineffective. Hitting such malware
from multiple directions with a variety of
tools thus provides better overall protection.
Q2: How good is Microsoft Defender?
A2: Microsoft Defender was previously called Microsoft AntiSpyware,
which in turn was based
on an very good small-company product
called GIANT AntiSpyware. Towards the end of
the Microsoft AntiSpyware name, the product had
fallen noticeably behind all the other
detectors listed here. I have heard that Defender is
an improvement. I only run Defender
after the other tools listed here, and those provide
sufficiently good coverage that so far
I have not picked up anything major using
Defender. Also, please be fully aware that like
many Microsoft downloads these days, you
will be asked to let a scanner program look
over all of your hardware and software
before the Microsoft site lets you download the
Defender product. That usually works fine unless
you have done major surgery on your
computer, such as replacing the
motherboard. If you fall into that category, please be aware
if you should fail the prerequisite
download scan, your will system will be permanently
banned from receiving critically important
security patches from Microsoft. Reinstalling
Windows from disks can fix this, but
unfortunately, most off-the-shelf Windows systems
no longer include full installation disks.
So: Some caution, please, if you are one of those
who likes to do major hardware upgrades on
Windows systems.
Q3: How important is the firewall?
A3: After a good initial cleaning, your next most important security
task is to set up a solid
firewall. Not putting up a good firewall after a
thorough cleaning is like tossing out known
criminals from your premises, then not bothering to
put up any doors or walls to keep them
from returning the first time your turn your
back. My favorite firewall was Sygate Pro. Alas,
in November 2005 Symantec bought Sygate Pro and
-- sigh -- immediately discontinued it.
(My thanks to S.K. for noticing that event.) What is
particularly distressing I am not aware
of any comparison that ranks the Symantec
firewall product as highly as Sygate Pro. My
own experiences back it 2004 tended to
confirm that, since at that time the number of
successful break-ins I saw dropped
dramatically when I switched from Symantec's firewall
to the Sygate Pro. The free home version
of Sygate is still readily available and quite good,
but it is not a powerful as the Pro
version was. I am now testing others such as Armor2net.
Q4: Is running a good software firewall enough?
A4: No. While a software firewall is vital, it is not sufficient by
itself to protect your computer.
You will also need hardware-level
assistance to help isolate your system better from the
Internet. That it not all that difficult
for most users, since if you have computers at home
that talk to each other and share a single
Internet connection, you probably already have
the kind of hardware isolation needed. It
is called a router -- more specifically, a Network
Address Translator, or NAT
router. A router helps protect your computer by functioning
like a one-way mirror, one that keeps
unknown Internet denizens from seeing your home
systems unless you specifically request
request information from them first. (Obviously,
if you fall for a fake-email phishing scam
and make just such a request, all bets are off.
That is a large part of why phishing is
becoming both more common and more tricky.)
Many of the new generations of cable
modems, DSL modems, and wireless access
points have routers built in, so it is
possible that you already have what you need. If you
are absolutely sure you don't already have
a router between your computers and the
Internet, you should consider buying a
stand-alone router even if you only have one PC.
Q5: I have a router and firewall... and teenage kids. Should I be worried?
A5: Yes! The average teenager these days attracts malware like a magnet attracts
nails.
Worse, once malware gets into your
home network, the hidden-from-the-Internet kind
of protection that your router
hardware was providing simply evaporated. After all, it
does not do much good to hid in a
bank vault if the robber is already in there with you.
One solution for network-savvy users
is to add a second "cascaded" router to isolate
your computer from the rest of your
home network in much the same way that the first
router hides you from the Internet. Setting up
cascading routers can tricky, though, so
don't try this strategy unless you
are already familiar with how to set up such networks.
Q6: I have a wireless system that worked right out of the box. Should I be
worried?
A6: Yes! The default settings for the average wireless system are
nothing less than appalling
from the viewpoint of keeping
malware and attackers out of your system. At the very
least, shut off the feature that
broadcasts your network name. Instead, create a network
name that is more like a long
password -- cryptic and non-intuitive -- and hand-code it
into your wireless access point and
your computers. Enable encryption so that you are
not broadcasting everything in the
clear, preferably using the highest level available on
your systems and access point (AES
is good). Finally, use MAC filters to tell your
wireless access point to allow only
your computers to use it. You can still be broken
into if someone spoofs (fakes) your
MAC address, but at least you will make it a lot
harder for them to get even to that
point.
Q7: Should I run lots of security applications (and other applications) all
the time?
A7: No. In fact, in general it's a really good idea to keep your
execution "footprint" -- that
is, the number of applications in memory and
running at the same time -- down to the
the smallest size possible. Why? Because every
application that you run continuously
represents another set of potential
holes by which spyware and other forms of malware
can potentially get in. Such attacks
can be very worrisome, since no amount of updating
your Windows operating system
software can protect you from a really bad whole in a
major application. Since security
applications usually run in a privileged mode, they
can actually become significant
security risks in their own right when malware users
know how to target them.
Q8: What are rootkits, and what can I do about them?
A8: Rootkits -- or, more specifically, malware applications written
using rootkits -- are
forms of malware that undercut the
most basic features of your operating system,
such as the ability to see a file or
write a certain word to the screen. They can be
very nasty, and can irreversibly
damage your operating system. A triad (my own
term for a type of malware
configuration I first encountered back in 2004) is an
especially dangerous combination of
three forms of malware: a keylogger that
records everything you type, a remote
terminal application that allows a remote
user to access your computer as if
your computer were his own, and a rootkit
application programmed
specifically to hide itself and the other two members of
the triad from ordinary forms of
inspection, including from spyware checkers. My
first name for these hard-to-detect
triads was shivas. The methods I
describe
here are intended to give ordinary
users a fighting chance at detecting and
removing triads, mostly by attacking
them repeatedly from many different angles
until something breaks and they
become visible to removal tools.
Now on to other stuff...
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Physics
of Security: "On the
Impossibility of Keeping Out Eavesdroppers Using Only Classical Physics,"
T. Bollinger, 23 Jan 2006 |
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"How to Secure Windows
PCs and Laptops" (or as PDF). An article for military software developers
from the June 2005 issue of CrossTalk - The Journal of Defense Software
Engineering. |
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Not sure if a
spyware removal tool is legitimate? Check out this outstanding tracking site: Spyware
Warrior at http://spywarewarrior.com/ |
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Spyware FAQ
How bad is spyware? Almost certainly worse than you imagined. If you are
reading this at home or from a small business, there is a surprisingly good
chance someone is tracking everything you are doing, even if you use virus
and spyware checkers. For Windows users with small business accounts,
delicate negotiations, large financial transfers, trade secrets, patent
research, or official-use-only government documents, the risks of such hidden
spyware cannot easily be understated. This
FAQ explains what spyware is and why it is so easy to underestimate the
extent of this threat.
How to Remove Spyware From Windows Systems
A distressingly common
strategy I've seen on home and small business PCs and laptops is the use of
triads of hardcore spyware that work together as a team. A keylogger captures
everything you type, including passwords; a remote access terminal gives
a remote user the ability to take over your system at anytime; and finally, a
custom designed rootkit application hides both itself and the other two
members of the triad from ordinary forms of detection. Triads, which I also
call shivas in earlier versions of these pages, also have a nasty habit
of taking over and using your own virus and spyware checkers to fool users with
bogus reports on whether any spyware is present. The main purpose of this detailed spyware removal
procedure is to give ordinary home and small business users a fighting
chance of catching and removing triads. It will simultaneously do a far more
thorough job than any one spyware tool of removing the more mundane forms of
spyware that typically bog down computers. You should be comfortable with
installing and deinstalling your own software before attempting this procedure.
Additionally, some familiarity with how Windows works and how to fix problems
in it can be very helpful. For an earlier, easier-to-read version of this
procedure, you might want to try Warren Harrison's "From the Editor"
essay in the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of IEEE Software: http://www.computer.org/SOFTWARE/homepage/2004/nov-dec/eic.htm.
Spyware Removal Kit
Go here to download all or part of the
anti-spyware tools needed for the spyware removal procedure.
Persistent Software Attributes: Building Software to
Endure
How well do vital software properties such as security and maintainability
endure in a world in which software is globally networked and constantly
changing? The answer at present: Not very well. This special issue of IEEE
Software, which includes articles by such software engineering luminaries
as Dr Vic Basili of the University of Maryland, explores the premise that we
must start building software differently to make it endure. A list of the
magazine contents and several free articles can be found at http://www.computer.org/software/
until Jan 2005, and at http://csdl.computer.org/comp/mags/so/2004/06/s6toc.htm
after January 2005.
Open Source Software resources
Ever wonder what
folks at the U.S. Department of Defense think about all those wild and woolly
folks who write open source software? It's probably not what you thought. Check
out the first report below if you would like to know
more.
Also, have you ever thought it odd that open source developers "give
away" all that software work for free? Take a look at the second
report to understand what's really going on. The economic incentives for
sharing code are actually surprisingly similar to the ones that led to the
development of rural electric cooperatives back in the early 1900s.
Other resource
below include where to find a book on how to assess the
maturity of an open source development effort and its products, the relationship of open source to security, and a DoD policy memo on selection of open source and other
private sector forms of software.
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A.1 Use of Free
and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the U.S. Department of Defense |
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Author: |
Terry
Bollinger |
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Version: |
v1.2.04 |
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Date: |
January
2, 2003 |
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Document: |
a. Web Pages for immediate browsing |
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A.2 Software Cooperatives: Infrastructure in the Internet Era |
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|
Author: |
Terry
Bollinger |
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Version: |
v1.1.04 |
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Date: |
July
5, 2004 |
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Document: |
a. Web Pages for immediate browsing.
Includes table of contents, list of figures, index. |
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Author: |
Terry
Bollinger |
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Version: |
v1.0 |
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Date: |
April
27, 2004 |
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Document: |
a. Web
Pages
for immediate browsing |
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A.5 DoD
Policy Memo: Open Source Software (OSS) in the Department of Defense |
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Author: |
John
P. Stenbit |
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Version: |
(original
memo) |
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Date: |
May
28, 2003 |
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Document: |
a. Web Pages with links to references
(best for research) |
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Prepared for: |
Ms. Sue C. Payton,
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, |
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Prepared by: |
J.C.
Herz, Mark Lucas, and John Scott |
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Version: |
3.1
(Final) |
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Date: |
April
2006. Cleared by DoD for open publication on June 7, 2006 |
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Document: |
a. PDF (671 KB) from original DoD website |