My 5 Favorite Freeware Picks

Just a note newegg.com has Acronis True Image on sale today for $40 with free shipping, I beleive it also comes with a bonus software for partitioning your HD. 2oldgeek reccomends this software to bad it's not free.

 

@elliot
Yeah I already placed the order. Thats a great deal though... thanx neway

 

I think 40 bucks is retail and Acronis True Image is worth it at TWICE the price. If your getting Acronis Disk Director in the deal (all I ever use for partitioning) also 40 bucks, then that would be HALF price..... GO FOR IT!!

 

I did becuz Sage advice is just that thanks alot lookging forward to working with it next week may need you so look out for a new thread on Acronis

 

Hey elliott,

Just use this Guide and you’ll see all the possibilities.
I flip back and forth between Operating Systems and have a ball with it. First time since I’ve been Geeking that I don’t worry about screwing something up… LOL

TweakHound’s guide for using Acronis: = > HERE!

2oG

 

@2oldGeek

This question might be better suited in the Windows Software forum, but I read your post in this thread, so I will start here. If I get moved to another forum, I hope you will follow and give me an answer. I want to know how you manage to restore your disk image in 3.5 minutes? It takes me 16 minutes.

Now, while I "2" am "old" I confess that I am not the "Geek" that you are, and I am still new to Acronis and relatively early on the learning curve. Also, I confess that I have (literally - some 50+ years ago) and continue (figuratively) to pee on the electric fence! But that is another story.

As I said, I am trying to get this disk imaging thing down and was very pleased that I could restore a disk in 16 minutes as opposed to the hours that I was spending doing fresh installs. But your 3.5 minutes intrigues me. I understand that some of it could be the difference in our computers - I would assume that you are running a supercharged rocket machine while my old 1600 Mhz AMD system just chugs along. But I can't believe that it would make a factor of 5 difference. Also, it could be the size of the image that we are restoring. For learning how to do this, I loaded a hard drive with Win XP and updated it with all of the service packs and security updates, NET framework, etc. from the Windows update site. I also loaded AVG-Free antivirus, SpyBlaster, and Acronis v11. That is all that I have on the drive. It takes up just under 10GB of a 30GB hard drive. I can't imagine you restoring much less than that. Also, I stored my image on an external USB hard drive.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my 16 minutes. Like I said, it beats the heck out of spending hours doing a fresh install with all the updates. But if I could get it down to 3.5 minutes I would be even happier. Any pointers?

 

LostUser,

This thread is open and your question is relevant to the subject at hand….
You are not starting a thread, just joining one and it’s in the realm of malware removal and prevention, you're OK.

Yeah, it’s sometimes hard to comprehend but when you raise the clock speed your times will decrease exponentially………. I am running at 2.8 Ghz, using Windows 7 and LOVE IT!

Another thing that cuts down my restore time is: I do not keep anything on my boot disk except the OS and applications. My Documents and all of the underlying data files are re-directed to my secondary drive. That way if my main drive goes down, I am covered by having all my pictures, music, movies, documents, etc. etc. on the backup drive that has less chance of failure because it is not used as much. Very seldom does a second drive go tits up…. But even then, I keep a backup of My Documents on a third, USB drive… That’s kinda like wearing suspenders and a belt because you can’t trust your pants lol.

I started programming computers in the late 1960’s on an IBM 65. My first pc was a Heath kit Mainframe with 16k memory and an 8k basic interpreter. Lots of water under the bridge and a lot of pee on the fence….. lol

Probably have to upgrade to a faster computer…..


Do look over the plan that I have laid out above, because it works!!

2oG

 

thats the best way keep all your personal files on a second drive with only the main software on your primary drive.

 

Thanks for the response Geek. Once I get a little more experience with Acronis I will try it on my main machine. That one runs a dual core processor at 2.5 Ghz and has 4 Gb RAM. I am using the old computer to learn on so that if I screw something up it's no big deal. I have been reading about keeping the data files on a separate drive, and am considering trying that also. Right now I have everything on the C-drive, but My Documents is about 150 Gig. I think that after I split it up I will have the main C-drive with the OS and applications that I use at around 13-15 Gb and the secondary drive with all the data files.

The plan is to image the C-drive so that it can be restored quickly when disaster strikes. I will keep a backup of the data drive just in case, but data files don't seem to be affected by malware. Maybe you can shed some light on this. Do Trojans and viruses not attach to data files? This is all new ground for me.

Until now, when I would pick up some virus that I couldn't clean I would save the data files to an external drive (which takes about 2 hours to transfer on USB2.0), reformat the hard drive, reinstall XP and the application programs that I use, update XP from the Windows update site (which takes forever as my copy of XP is old), then transfer all of My Documents back (another 2 hours). All told, it is a full days work if everything goes right - and it seldom does the first time!! That is why I said in my previous post, 16 minutes is great. Of course, the 16 minutes is on the old learning computer. I don't know yet what it will be on the "for real" machine, but I would suspect that it won't be greatly different. On the learning machine, I image about 10Gb where the main image will be 15Gb, but it will be on a faster machine so it should even out.

I read over your plan with interest. You suggest some programs I didn't know about. I get my internet through AT&T U-verse so I am behind a router. I am not geek enough to know if it is port blocking, stealth, SPI, or even what those things mean. To me it's just a router - a way to get internet on multiple computers. I do run AVG-free, SpyBot S&D, and MalwareBytes. I am just starting to use SpywareBlaster and so far really like it. Is there any problem running all of these? Do they interfere with one another?

I didn't know about any of your Host File or HIPS suggestions. I need to learn more about those. It does sound like something worthwhile having.

I haven't been really plagued by malware until recently. My internet activities have always been fairly confined to sites that I know and trust. However, my daughter got me started on a couple of new projects, and as I began reading up on how to do them I went to sites that I had never been to. WHAM, SMACK, -DAMNIT-. I suddenly realized that I need much more protection that I previously had. It's interesting how one project always leads to another!

Anyway, thanks for your input as I pee on the electric fences!

 

@LostUser and all,

There should be no problem with speed on your dual core machine….

Here is a hint: I use a Raptor 74Gb, 10000rpm drive for my boot drive partitioned at 30GB for the operating system and programs only(I use Acronis Disk Director for partitioning). It is fast as Lightning and if I ever need to replace it, my 30Gb Image will fit on any drive that I install. You can transfer an image to a larger or the same size drive but not a smaller one. I use a 500Gb slower 7200rpm drive for my backups and Data files.
WD740 Raptor:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1746

When using Acronis TI to backup, after making the first Full backup the subsequent backups are Incremental and only backup the changes made since the Full backup. When this is done, there is a place for archival comments and I always list the changes I have made and programs installed since the last backup. That way it’s not difficult to get back up to speed and if you must restore to a point that is back a ways, it may give you a clue as to what caused your problem…


Normally, viruses do not attach to data files that are already installed. They can, however, be downloaded with a file and placed in your data files to wait for you to open the file then spread from there. Notice I said normally, that’s because some of the more sophisticated hackers are doing strange things these days. lol

When I download a .zip or .rar file and it contains a nasty, it is normally caught by AntiVir or BoClean before I open it. To be on the Safe side, I always right click and scan it with AntiVir before opening. When it is opened, if both AntiVir and BoClean didn’t have it in a list and missed it at first and it does have Trojan activity, then BoClean will shut it down and remove it before it can dig in. That’s the HIPS working…..


I use and recommend using the Host file to block Bad Sites and Links. If you opt not to use the Host file, then I recommend using AVG because it scans the links on a web page. AVG can use a lot of resources and slows down your browsing, especially if you have an older, slower machine.

Do some Googling and research on HIPS (Host-based Intrusion Prevention Software) and HOST files before trying it then maybe you’ll see why I recommend it so highly. Without jumping in and peeing on another fence. LOL

To test router/firewall, Go here.

Kick around that site, you can get a lot of information, Steve Gibson is the No.1 Security Guru…


Hope that helps someone, tried to touch as much as I could without going overboard… lol


2oG

 

@LostUser, Addendum to my previous post.

Just to shed a little light on the router thing:

A brief explanation, ports allow applications to access to the internet and network if you have one...

Hackers and Ad venders probe your computers ports several times every minute, 24 hours a day, looking for open ports to gain entry to your computer. These probes need to be blocked with a Firewall or router.

ports can be either 'open', 'close', or 'stealth'.

'open' ports are visible and respond to the probes. This is highly dangerous because it will allow hackers to easily gain access to your system; especially if open ports are not necessary... systems with too many unnecessary 'open' ports are also an easy target for network worms...

'closed' ports are visible but not open, meaning that the ports are not in use.... however, due to it still being visible, it allows hackers to know that your computer is available and become a possible target when the port opens. Applications cannot access the network if the required ports are closed...

'stealth' ports are not visible and do not respond to the probes, meaning that your system is hidden (invisible) to the internet network.

To test router/firewall, go -> HERE!

Your scanned result should not contain any OPEN ports and preferably, all STEALTH..

Since you need an open port to access the internet – enter SPI….
a stateful firewall (any firewall that performs stateful packet inspection (SPI) or stateful inspection) is a firewall that keeps track of the state of network connections (such as TCP streams, UDP communication) traveling across it. The firewall is programmed to distinguish legitimate packets for different types of connections. Only packets matching a known connection state will be allowed by the firewall; others will be rejected. In a nutshell; if your computer didn’t request it, you won’t get it!


Hope that helps… Clear as Mud, huh?

2oG

 

@2oG

Yep, clear as mud. But the more you talk and the more I read, the mud is getting thinner. Maybe there's hope for this old country boy after all!

I now see another reason for your incredible imaging speed. You are using a 10,000 RPM SATA drive. That alone leaves my 7200 RPM ATA/133 in the dust sucking up your exhaust fumes. Since I am not ready to spend $150 or so for a new hard drive yet, I think I will settle for a little longer re-imaging time.

Thanks for the brief explanation on routers. I followed your link to Gibson's website and (from what I can tell) this AT&T router is TOTALLY stealth. Port 139 "does not appear to exist" and the File Sharing button was not able to connect to the NETBIOS of my computer - both of which he says is "very cool". On the Common Ports button, "Your system has achieved a perfect "TruStealth" rating. Not a single packet — solicited or otherwise — was received from your system as a result of our security probing tests." I took that as very cool also. On the All Service Ports button, every port was green and it reported "Your system has achieved a perfect "TruStealth" rating".

So it appears that I am good to go there.

You didn't know it, but you answered another question I had been pondering about Acronis. In one of my early trial runs at disk imaging, I saved an image of a 76Gb drive that only had 26 Gb of used space, and tried to restore that image to a 30 Gb drive. I had expected it to put my 26 Gb image on the new drive leaving 4 Gb of unused space rather than the 50 Gb of unused space that was on the original drive. It didn't work. When you said

you cleared that one up. Thanks.

I understand the image concept for the active drive containing the OS and application programs. If I have all of My Documents on a second drive, do I save that as a second image? I have not played with that part yet, but it appears that Acronis can also save it in regular file structure as well as image format. Which is better for data files, or is one way just as good as the other? Right now I have about 150 Gb in My Documents. When I save that to an external USB2.0 drive, it takes about 2 hours to copy. If I "image" that 150 Gb and restore it, will it be faster? Obviously, that is something I can answer for myself by trying it, but if you already know the answer, ......

I am still wondering if all of these programs can run together. I picked on other threads that you don't want more than one anti-virus program running at a time, but some of these appear to be "on demand". That being the case, I would think that having more than one would be advantageous. On the other hand, if I use Host Files and HIPS, do I really need scanners? It's confusing ...

Oh well, enough for today. I think I am on the right track, but I still have a long way to go.

 

Hey guys, I got this message from Comodo……

BOClean is the only HIPS program that I would recommend to a newbie because it needs no setup, it don’t bother you, it does its work quietly, it really works and it was FREE.
Now some bright spark at Comodo figured out that, hey, it really does work, we should get money for this! ……………. That really sucks pond water!

guess I'll re-vamp my recommendations on HIPS software and since Comodo Internet Security isn't free.... kiss my grits!

2oG

 

@ LostUser,

Just to let you know,,,, I will try my best to answer your multitude of questions when I get the time . In the meantime, look over these great backup strategies and kick around the site:
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/backup/1.htm
Eric, AKA Tweakhound, is a great source of information…..

Hint: you probably don’t need to Image your documents, just back them up by copying the folders to your USB drive. Slow, I know, but it gives me time to play with the baby’s Mama….. lol

2oG

 

Take your time 2oldGeek, I am in no big rush on this. I am still using the old "learning" computer and assorted hard drives that I have retained over the years to play around with Acronis. So far I have been able to successfully image a drive once, but that is not enough for me to be confident that I can do it every time. I am also formulating in my pea sized brain how I think I want to do all of this - eventually.

I'll check this thread every so often and wait for your response. In the meanwhile, let me give you something else to ponder on after the baby's Mama goes to sleep! (lol)

Okay, you and elliott - and all the other things I have been reading lately, have convinced me to keep My Documents on a separate hard drive. That's gonna happen. In one of your earlier posts, you said that you "redirect" your documents to the second drive. I am not sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that there is some way that makes it all go to the second drive automatically. I was going to explore this, but then you threw me another curve ball. You said:

That got me to thinking.

Here is how it always works for me, and I suspect sounds familiar to you and anyone else reading this thread. The computer is up and running great. I'm happy, life is good, etc., etc., etc. I'm sitting here just surfing the net, minding my own business. Maybe I download something, but usually it is a drive-by that I get hit with. Suddenly the computer starts doing crazy things. Popups come out of nowhere, warning messages and notifications that keep coming up, and I've had it even lock down and not be able to reboot. That is when I know it is reformat time! But (and here is what scares me about the above quote) I am not geek enough to know what malware I have picked up and what it alters. I just know it has screwed up the machine. Let's say that it was one of these snakes you say gets put into my data files just waiting for me to open it up so it can bite me on the butt! I reformat and restore my brand new disk image that I have learned to do. All of My Documents are safely (so I think) on the second hard drive. Life is back to being good again. Now I open the file hiding the snake and all HELL breaks loose again!!! Yes, it was the OS disk that got infected and caused the screwy things to happen and had to be reimaged. But also the data files are now hiding the snake that will keep biting me on the butt until I get it killed. Hopefully, AVG or SpyBot or MalwareBytes or something like that will be able to find the snake and chop it's head off, but by then it's already time to reimage the primary OS drive again. If all went well, the snake's now dead and this re-image will be the last - until it all happens again the next time! So what do you think about this idea:

Have the primary hard drive, C:, loaded with XP - fully updated and current, and all of the application programs that I normally use, including Acronis and the anti-virus/spyware/adware programs. All of this is loaded as a fresh install the first time. Now make an image of C: and save it on an external hard drive.

Have a second hard drive, D:, loaded with all of My Documents - all 150 Gb and growing of it. Now at this point, as far as I can tell, everything is clean. It's all been scanned repeatedly with nothing found; everything is working as expected. Now copy D: to the external hard drive. Everything is now backed up on the external hard drive, which I give to my son-in-law and tell him to stick it in a closet at his house - just in case.

Now, install a new hard drive in the computer, which becomes E:. That one I will have to buy, but I see 1 Tb drives all the time now for $100 or a little less. Using Acronis, make another image of C: and save it to E:, then do a full backup of D: to E:, and schedule daily incremental backups of D: to be saved on E:. Since E: is 1 Tb, I have lots of room, but I don't want the incremental backups to stack up on me, so every week or so I do a fresh full backup of D: and delete the previous full and all incrementals. Maybe even, for extra safety and since I have the space, I keep the last full and incrementals, and delete anything prior to that.

Now I have this new HUGE drive with an image of C: and a current full and incremental backup of D:, and just for added measure, the previous full and incrementals of D:. I should be covered, right? If the house burns down, I have the external hard drive in my son-in-laws closet that is not completely up to date, but at least I don't lose everything I have accumulated over the years. And, once in awhile, I tell him to bring it back over here and I update it with a new image of C: and full backup of D:, then tell him to stick it back in the closet.

Now this is where you're going to think I'm crazy! I go on with life as usual. I can open the programs and use them, accessing the data files from D: as necessary, updating them back to D: with any changes as long as everything is still running normal. I decide to start that new project that my wife or one of my daughters has been bugging me about. Okay, I'm old fashioned and a fuddy duddy, but I have never been one for extreme multi-tasking. I don't usually have 20 things open on my computer at the same time. So the applications are closed down and the data files are safe on D:. I start surfing; researching this new project, and find that there are 3 new programs that I will be needing. I download them and start trying to figure them out. Everything is working normal and has been scanned with the usual anti-X programs. Here's where I get eccentric. I keep everything for the new project on C:. Any data files that I create go into the regular My Documents folder in XP on C:. Nothing goes to D: while I'm working on this new project. D: and E: are totally isolated as far as I am concerned; it is as though I were back to working on a single drive.

Everything goes well and I complete the project, or at least have been working on it long enough without any problems that I am sure nothing has infected me. Now I copy the finished project (still in My Documents on C to D: for eternal storage and subsequent backups, and delete them from the MY Documents folder on C:. Since I now have 3 new programs added to my arsenal, I make a new image of C: and store it to E:

But say everything doesn't go well. While working on the project I get smacked with a new nasty. Since I am still doing everything on C:, the nasty should be contained there, right? Are there nastys out there that jump drives on their own, infecting the whole computer? If so, can they infect the other computers in the house that are networked together? That would be the nastiest of nastys!! That one would make me say some things that couldn't be repeated in church!!! But let's just say that this nasty doesn't jump drives on it's own. Since I have been saving the project to My Documents in XP on C:, and not saving anything to D: (or E: through subsequent backups), all of the problems caused by the nasty should be contained to C:. Am I right?

I just shut the computer down, stick the boot disk for Acronis in the CD drive, and restore the image saved on E: back to C:. That would kill the nasty, right? I have now lost the 3 programs that I downloaded for the project and any work that I put into it, but at least I am back to where I was when I started the project in the first place, and everything else is safe. And it will take all of what - 30 minutes from shut down to completion. Since D: and E: were "isolated" during the project, I shouldn't have to touch them.

Now, with C: restored from the image, it would have all of the anti-X programs on it and of course the first thing to do would be to scan the entire computer, which at this point would take hours. Just to be sure, I would scan all three drives. Time to, as you say, play with the baby's Mama, and take a nap!

So what do you think of my game plan? I know that this has been a lengthy post. Trust me, it has taken awhile to type (I'm not a secretarial typist). But a lot of thought has gone into this and I would appreciate your input. As I said at the start, take your time. I'm not rushed for time on this. And once again, thanks for your sage advice! It really does matter.

 

@LostUser

Yes, Re-directed i.e. moved to another drive and no longer kept on your main drive. This will keep your main drive in better shape by not becoming fragmented so often by the data being changed, deleted and moved around.
How to redirect My Documents ->
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000737.html
To back this up, I simply copy the My Document Folder to a USB drive ever so often as needed.
I don’t, but you could dedicate a partition on the second drive for your Documents and then backup by sending an Image file of the partition to a third (USB) drive using Acronis. Lots of possibilities.

If you use MS Office, those data files also need to be redirected see this article ->
http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2503/2503article7.htm

For backup strategies see ->
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/backup/1.htm

If you look up GEEK (all Caps) you will find: Eric (TweakHound) Vaughan. .: )

Your thought process seems to be headed in the right direction.. 1. Learn all you can. 2. List what you want to do. 3. Make a Flow Chart and add the If, Then, Else statements to it. 4. Rearrange your Flow chart in order to maintain the Integrity in an even flow without too much backtracking.. : ) I know, clear as Mud….

By using a good AntiVirus, like Avira with the real-time Guard running, you should not have to worry about viruses being transferred to Data files. They are scanned when they hit the HD.
If they do get transferred, then a Start up Monitor like Winpatrol or Threatfire will keep them from running if you open them. (I am pissed about BOClean being taken off the Free market, oh well.)

2 or more AV “on demand” scanners are ok as long as the real-time Guard is not running on but One of them. They can butt heads and cause a lot of problems.. Never have more than one AV or one 3rd party firewall running at the same time.

Acronis runs from Windows and you should only need a Boot disk if your drive goes Tit’s up and you can’t access Windows… My primary OS, at the present time, is Windows 7 RC, I have Images of XP, Vista and several Linux, Ubuntu, Knoppix, etc. I switch back and forth between them using Acronis and love it. All of My documents are integrated with the various OS systems My Documents is different with XP and Vista or Win 7 but I have worked that out : )

As a Geek I use XP or Linux, but as a User I prefer Windows 7 and feel that it is the best thing ever done by M$ (Vista and WinME, are not in the running). I just hope it doesn’t cost me an arm and leg when my trial version is up Mar 2010… lol

Computing is a matter of preference, like tweaking your auto, adjust the seat, mirror, radio, carburetion, headers, bigger tires, etc. etc. It’s your choice..

Me neither! In my world, a secretary only becomes a “part of the office” after being “screwed on the desk”. Lol

Hang in there and keep digging.. The scales will be lifted from your eyes..

Ask a few and you will receive a few, ask many and you will receive a few.. hehe : )


2oG

 

@2oldGeek

I'm not ignoring your reply, just trying to absorb all of this. It's taxing on an old country boy's feeble brain!

So, what are we going to do about BoClean? Right now, I am running it. It still loads from a free download, but says that the last update was 5/26/2009. I am assuming that Comodo is not allowing future updates, which means that it will soon start to diminish in effectiveness. I checked their website and Comodo Internet Security is a free download also (unless you get the Pro version). But it includes their anti-virus and firewall. I know you like Avira; I use AVG-Free. How does their AV stack up against these?

I am behind a router which has a built in firewall, and I also run the Windows XP firewall. Would adding the Comodo firewall also create problems? Another solution might be to get their Internet Security and turn off the AV and firewall - if it can be turned off. Having never used the program, I don't know if you can pick and choose what protection you want. I agree that it sucks having to "accept" the parts that you don't want just to get the part (BoClean) that you do want. Is there another program that does the same HIPS thing, though maybe with more setup effort? I'll have to rely on your expertise for that answer. I certainly don't know. Kick it around a little (if you haven't already) and let me know what you think.

Back to Acronis, you said:

As usual, I am lost again! Are you saying that you can restore an image that includes the OS while you are still operating from within the OS? I would have thought that would be like trying to format the C: drive from within Windows - it won't let you do it. That is why I thought you would have to use the boot disk to do the restore. I am confused, but there is nothing new about that!

I keep digging, but the scales still cover my eyes! lol

 

I was under the impression that BoClean was free as well,after 30 days stops updating,think it was 30 days uninstalled it now.Your routers firewall only blocks in coming attacks and shouldn't be turned off.windows xp firewall is poor,doesn't give you much scope to block applications etc,a better firewall is zone alarm which is free,don't run both together though turn off windows firewall...

 

@killalot

BoClean was free - and still loads as free for the initial load. See 2oldGeek's post of May 25 above.

Apparantly, Comodo has decided to incorporate BoClean in with Comodo Internet Security and discontinue it as a separate program. Their website does not say anything about it, and does indeed still have a download for BoClean. I guess they haven't updated their website to reflect the change yet. Anyway, I have it loaded but it looks like it is not updating. So, it would be effective for any malware included in it's definition database as of May 26, but miss anything new that comes out. In today's world, how long is that going to be? My guess is that it is already beginning to lose effectiveness.

I don't know that I even can turn the router's firewall off; I have never tried. I agree that I don't want to. It seems to be working great. You are not the first to say that the Windows firewall is not the best. On the other hand, I have read other posts that say it is adaquate. I wonder how the Comodo firewall stacks up against Zone Alarm? If it turns out that Internet Security is the only way to get BoClean, then they are in effect forcing you to use their AV and firewall. That sucks! No matter how good it is, the rebel in me gets all riled up anytime someone tries to push their software on me.

Your thouhts?

 

You can turn the routers firewall off,but like i said you shouldn't,also as you've rightly said you don't want too,so i wont go in to detail on how you do it.BoClean is free as you said,only draw back is its only free for 30 days,after that it doesn't install the latest definitions which in affect makes it useless.Windows firewall in windows xp is useless,only worth using if you have no other firewall installed,there is plenty free options available zone alarm being one of them.Here is an even better firewall then zone alarm, and yes you've quest it its free...

http://www.webroot.com/En_US/consumer-products-desktopfirewall.html