Steps you can use to Enhance your Windows XP Security

What you do to keep your XP Operating system secure from virus attack? Putting an antivirus? Update antivirus everyday?.

All that steps above can be used to defend your operating system stability, but that’s not all.  To overcome the worst scenario, which is Reinstalling your computer, I’ve compile some steps :

1. Turn “Autorun and Autoplay” function off.

Autorun or autoplay is a function that will instantly offer you to open file when USB disk or CD ROM inserted into it’s place. This function sometimes helpful, but virus often use this function to run their program. So it’s wiser to turn this function off.

To turn this function off, you can use 2 ways, which is using REGEDIT for autorun, and GPEDIT for autoplay. Both has the same function, but with a different way to do so. Find the most suitable for you.

a. With Regedit command.

Open Regedit by clicking start > Run > write “regedit” (without quote) at the box availabe, then > click ok

Follow this string :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer

Double click at NoDriveTypeAutoRun and enter number 95 at Value Data.

b. with gpedit.

open gpedit by clicking start > Run > write “gpedit.msc” into box  available > click ok.

Follow this string :

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System

Double click Turn Off Autoplay and click enabled.

2. Disable Copy Paste function through USB.

Activate USB copy paste function only if needed. This can be set with regedit using string as follow:

a. Click Start > Run > write “regedit” > then click ok.

Click HKEY_LOCALMACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control

b. Right click at Control, choose New>Key, Name it “StorageDevicePolicies”.

c. Right click at  StorageDevicePolicies, choose New > DWord Value name it “WriteProtect”.

d. Double click at  WriteProtect tersebut, and change the value data to 1.

e. Then  Restart your computer/Laptop.

If  success, every time you copy and paste file, there will appear a message  : Error Copying File or Folder.

If you want to activate this function again, change the value data to  0.

3. Update Your Antivirus Regularly

The purpose of updating antivirus is to add a new virus data, so antivirus will know if there’s new virus found. Updating can be done by clicking automatic update, if your computer connected to internet, or by manual updating. Just check your antivirus site to do so.

4. Scan your Flash Disk

Scan your  flash disk connected to the computer. Open flash disk files only after they’re scanned and free from virus. Rescan your flash disk after yang terhubung ke komputer. Buka file-file flash disk setelah proses scan selesai dan dinyatakan bersih atau virus yang bercokol di dalam flash disk telah terhapus atau diperbaiki.

5. Recognize Strange File Application

This action is a pre-caution for us not to click or run unrecognized file, except file that we really know what that’s file is. This is because sometimes antivirus can’t detect new version of some virus, for example when we are not update our antivirus yet.

6. Do not save file where Operating system Installed (usually drive C:)

This step is very important, and most people often forget it. Why are we should do this?. When your hard drive got virus, or something happen to your operating system that force you to re-install it, then your data is not lost. So, save your data file in  D:\ or E:\, or another partition. You can use free disk partition software like Easeus Disk Partition or other to make a partition.

7. Do a Operating System Backup using application like Ghost.

This will help you to avoid reinstalling operating system when it crash or broken by virus. Actually, ghost is similar to reinstalling, but it’s simpler and faster because all of your computer setting were saved in Ghost image file, you you just put back the files and everything (including softwares you previously install) will be appear as if there’s nothing happen. Besides Ghost (most popular is Norton Ghost), you can use Easeus Ghost maker.

Well, that’s a steps you can do to increase your computer security. Who will aware about our computer if not ourselves?

Please comment and add your experiences in increasing your own computer security.

Increase your Computer Security With WinPatrol

Sometimes, Antivirus is not enough to protect a computer. Using more security softwares really not recommended option, that it makes your computer run slower, hang, memory conflict etc. One of good option to enhance your computer security, with a powerful features but small in size is : WinPatrol.

With WinPatrol, you can increase your computer security without much sacrifice your Memory and CPU usage.

When we install a new program or another applications, or there’s an automatic program that install itself without our permission, WinPatrol will warn us and ask for our permission. In this way, we always able to decide whether a program run background, run when needed or not run at all.

Some of WinPatrol features is as follows:

• Remove or disable startup program.Application to control our startup application. It should be mandatory software to computer user that want to control and arrange any automatic program load at startup. This feature is similar to another free program, such as  autoruns
• IE Helpers – Browser Helper Object – Toolbar. When we install a particular program, sometimes the program automatically insert a small program in our web browser, such as Internet Explorer. This program, besides makes our computer run slower, break our privacy, sometimes often open a hole in view of computer security. With WinPatrol, you can decide to keep or remove this program. 
• Scheduled Task. Windows has  scheduled task feature, which run an application in scheduled time. Sometimes, bad program use this feature to run itself at specific time. WinPatrol able to see and arrange any program listed here.
• Service Manager
• Delete or suspend any running program  (Active Task). This feature is similar to Task Manager, and can be an alternative when task manager is disabled by virus, for example.
• Showing hidden files,
• Cookies Management and Cookie Filtering
• Monitor file type association and change to default state (if needed). This feature useful when usual file type usually cannot be run. For example, when exe file association changed by virus.
• Monitor Hosts File
• Blocking repeated warning messages.

For complete feature, please check http://www.winpatrol.com/features.html or see help file included in the program. If you check the features above, you can say that there’s many similar application in this area, but WinPatrol has smallest size, and smaller CPU/Memory usage. Besides, their protection level is good.

WinPatrol usage is pretty easy, and with a simple interface. We just choose tab or menus available. When we close the program, WinPatrol will run background (icon in systray) and checking and give warning to us about any threat.

Download WinPatrol ( 971 KB) Alternatively, you can download from  Softpedia