Tools of the Trade Black Hat

[guy fawkes]

Tool for Guarding your Privacy Online

www.spotflux.com -works good on Macs and Windows

Hidemyass is ok It tricks those who track you into thinking you are in another country. Works good in airports with OPEN FREE WIFI

PROXPN if you are using an Iphone keeps info very secure

GoPass- Is real good at scanning anything you download


The Best

CCLEANER

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download DOWNLOAD FREE VERSION

Best for cleaning after you do all your internet searches and registry.
Also under Tools you can wipe the hidden files that you download on your C drive. Also if you are selling a PC or dumping it use this to wipe all your drives.

Has up to a 35 pass wipe

[Likinikki]

Thank you for the info Guy!

[guy fawkes]

NP Tools above work very well.. I travel ALOT helps in airport. I have sat many times in airports And ran a scan to see who was not using encryption

[Mokoa]

There are a number of very good and free tools for keeping your system running the way it should.

Here are the ones I use and recommend...

CCleaner
Defraggler
Revo Uninstaller

Anti-virus or anti-malware stuff...

Avast!
Malwarebytes
Spybot Search & Destroy
Microsoft Security Essentials

[guy fawkes]

Agree

Avast!- Pretty good
Malwarebytes-- will slow your system down
Spybot Search & Destroy-- will slow your system down-- can get in via sql
Microsoft Security Essentials--- BEST for any Windows products

[Likinikki]

Wow, great info...thank you! I use Malwarebytes & Spybot...no wonder my system runs slow!

[Marcus78]

Malwarebytes will crash my system about 75% of the time. I don't know what the deal is, but it used to be my favorite anti-virus program. Maybe it's not Windows 7 friendly or something.

[curious1961]

I like malwarebytes, I use the free version so I have to run scan myself, but since it isn't realtime it doesn't load the pc down. Like CCleaner also. Good list.
Thanks

[Mokoa]

Interesting...

I have never had any issues with Malwarebytes on my Windows XP system and I have been using it for years.

As for Windows 7, that's the problem with new releases of Windows. There is always the tendency for issues until 1 or 2 service packs come out. That is one of the reasons I still use XP.

One word...

Stability!

[Marcus78]

I agree Mokoa. Windows XP was by far the best operating system I ever used. But, according to a friend of mine who worked in IT/systems security, there were a number of holes/bugs discovered especially in the past 3 years or so which leaves it very vulnerable to hackers and what not. Also, with Microsoft ending support for XP back in 2009 (or maybe 2010) it's only gotten worse.

It seems like I never had any hangups or crashes on XP, but Vista was absolutely horrible! Windows 7 doesn't crash too much, but there a TON of compatibility issues which makes it quite frustrating to use, such as the Malwarebytes issue.

[Mokoa]

When a new version of Windows is released it always takes a while for the developers of other software to catch up, as it were. If you have not done so already, make sure that your Malwarebytes is current.

Windows Vista was not one of Microsoft's better moves. I remember when it came out. You would not believe the number of requests I received from those who wanted it wiped from their systems and replaced with XP. It sort of reminded me of my Mainframe days at the turn of the century when I was doing Y2K fixes. I was very busy then.

[snake_tony]

I sometimes use TOR to hide my IP, but a regular proxy server works fine IMHO.

Use MS security essentials, Malware Bytes, and Spybot.

I also run a firewall, but I forget what it's called.

[curious1961]

I try to use open source whenever possible. Playing on the kernel is my second favorite hobby.

[Mokoa]

Originally Posted by snake_tony

I also run a firewall, but I forget what it's called.

The one I use is...

Zone Alarm

Works very well and is free.

[Love Your Zoo]

+1 on Malwarebytes, I use it and recommend it, both at home and work.

I use Comomdo for Virus Protection and Firewall.

But I'm trying to phase out all my PCs, and just use Macs. Then you just don't have to worry as much.

Guy,

Have you tried CCleaner on a Mac? The Uninstall looks interesting. Something not always easy to completely do on a Mac.

I don't really need to clean my Mac, I just use a separate user for my hobby activities to keep my browser history separate from my regular user.