Windows Tools, Help & Guides

If you’ve downloaded a file and are not sure you can trust it before opening it, did you know you can use Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) to scan it for viruses without running a full virus scan?  MSE lets you do this and it can help give you peace of mind before opening an unknown file.

This feature can be particularly useful if you’re opening a file from removable media (CD, DVD, external HDD etc.) and MSE’s real-time virus checker has not had a chance to do a preliminary scan at the file yet. If you’ve turned off real-time virus scanning, this will also help you avoid virus infection.

Caution: Even if a virus checker doesn’t detect a virus, never open a file from an untrusted source.

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Windows Forums member Uvais, who is always on the lookout for other users’ safety on their PCs shares a tool recently released by Microsoft:  Microsoft Safety Scanner, which is designed to work with your current anti-virus software to detect threats and infections on your PC. From the download page:

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software.

The software is designed to be downloaded for one-time use and expires after 10 days–requiring you to go back to the site and download the latest version with current virus-checking definitions.

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We talk a lot about Windows 32 and 64-bit around here. If you’ve purchased a PC from the shelf, there’s every chance you don’t know whether it’s running 32 or 64-bit Windows. Most computers sold today come with 64-bit Windows installed (needed to utilize >3GB RAM, which is now commonplace in standard PCs); here’s how you can check for yourself:

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Device drivers act as an interface (or communication channel) between your operating system and your hardware. To learn more about drivers, read computer drivers: the basics.

It’s important to keep your drivers updated to take advantage of code fixes, reliability improvements, and security; Intel have made it even easier to keep your drivers up to date with the Intel Driver Update Utility.

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Windows Forums member and owner of Real Security, geohac, has written a comprehensive (and growing) guide to help users remove malware from their PC. In the guide, geohac covers steps you should take to prepare for removal such as disabling proxy servers (to give you a better chance at getting online and getting to the sites you need for virus removal software.) The guide then goes on to show you how to boot into safe mode to fight a virus (something we recommend ourselves) and then shows you which tools you should use to remove a virus (downloading these tools on a non-infected PC is the safest bet and making sure, if you have to use a USB drive to transfer the files, that you don’t put the same, now potentially infected, thumb drive back in the clean PC.)

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While Windows updates can be a pain and dealing with issues can be even more painful, Windows updates are essential to running a secure and reliable PC. Due to the vast popularity of Windows, there are many people trying to find vulnerabilities all the time. When you purchase your copy of Windows, you’re not just getting what’s stored on the disc or OEM PC you just purchased; you’re signed up for many years of support from Microsoft via Windows Update.

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