I don't even know if this is the right forum xD

[EndlessAxis]

hey peeps, I just got a new laptop ( wanted one since i was like...idk forever and I finaly got one after YEARS of patience )

so Yeah I don't know if this is the right forum to even be posting this but I figured you'd all know..or atleast someone here xD

I'm mainly using the computer for the following things

-Working on my Video Game
-Surfing da interwebs LOLOL
-MSN Messenger
-Writing Poems,Books,A Journal
-Portable Photoshop,Illustrator,Animation
-MapleStory ( not a main use but still a use )
-Video Editing

Well..I can't think of anything else atm but I need help on somthing important
see where it says writing books,working on my video game , I've been working on a game for the past 6 years or so, Final Fantasy Ish Storyline ( no long white haired with crazy long Katana guy for a final boss :f3: )
and I need a computer thats SECURE!
as in no one can view what I have on my computer ya know Keyloggers,Virus,Random hacker that got my IP from a randomly generated list
or person who steals the computer ( the stealing part won't ever happen but STILL ... )

so could anyone here help me out or dirrect me to a forum that COULD help me out, This story is my lifes work ( for the game.. ) and I don't wanna risk losing it, and no need on tips like don't goto porn sites or somthing..I got a desktop for that :wink:

so yeah... If you all could help that'd be nice , i'd be really appreciated

... Slightly Disturbed - Ozy

[Bacon]

Heck, I can help you with all these things. No need to run off to some other forum. You don't need to go to a super geeky forums in order to have a secure computer. I'm sure there are a lot of peeps here who can do just as well.

I'd love to help out, but I have a question for you. How much money are you willing to spend to have a secure computer setup? It's okay if you say '$0' because there are a lot of free tools that can also do wonders.

[EndlessAxis]

well...I got no problems with dling software that..costs money..I just don't pay XP..I didn't actualy pay for photoshop I just dled off the offical site and used a keygen O_o..anyways..what are the Free Options and the ..not so free options.. ^^

[Bacon]

I see. Well, I'm not going to inquire anymore.

To keep your computer safe, there are a lot of things you can do. Here is just a small list.

1. Get a good Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware program. For Anti-Virus, I'll suggest (as I've suggested multiple times) to get either Kaspersky or NOD32. Both are fabulous, and while they might cost a little, I find that they are worth the price. For Anti-Spyware, you can just get a free program like Ad-Aware or Spybot Search and Destroy. Remember to never have more than one Anti-Virus program running at the same time.

2. Control what programs start with your computer. To do this well, you can either use the built in configuration feature (Start>Run> type 'msconfig.exe'> Go to Services), but I find that to be a bit confusing. I personally love the program WinPatrol which takes a really nice look at the programs that are currently running or the programs you have at startup. It'll alert you whenever it detects a foreign startup program, and you can choose to block it. While there is a free version, I highly recommend the paid version, because with WinPatrol Plus, you're given the option to lookup a certain program you might now know. For example, if you see someone like 'dwm.exe' running but don't know what it does, you can use WinPatrol to give you a short summary of the program. Highly recommended.

3. Fire it up. Get a good firewall. I'd recomment ZoneAlarm, but I personally dislike the program. The firewall program that I absolutely adore is Comodo Pro. It's a great firewall, and which may annoy you at the number of warning when you install something, it just shows how precise it is at detecting the slightest change in your computer. Please note that there is a serious problem with Maple Story and Comodo. If you have the Defense+ feature enabled, your computer will crash every time you run Maple Story because Gamegaurd has a weird reaction to Comodo. You'll be fine as long as you turn Defense+ off.

4. Logs, logs, logs. Whenever you computer is acting weird, one of the first things you should do is to fire up the HijackThis tool. It'll create a nice log of everything that's running on your computer. Then post the log to a HijackThis support forum and specially trained people will look over the log and tell you if there is anyhting suspicious running.

5. Encryption. This is probably the best way of keeping your data safe. Encryping your data would make it almost impossible for anyone to get its information without the right password. Encryping puts all your data into ciphers and scramble up everything in a way that would be impossible for an hacker to unscramble without the right password. For this, the only program I suggest is Truecrypt. It's free, and probably the best encryption program out there, and it even supports Full Drive Encryption (which means it'll encrypt everyone on your hard drive and decrypt things when you need them).


Armed with a good firewall, anti-virus, and Truecrypt, you're going to be totally safe. I know a few more ways, but I'm not going to bother because I know you're not that paranoid about these things. This is all you'll need. Excuse me if I don't put in the links to these programs. I'm a bit tired, and might do so later if you really want me to. Hope I helped.

[EndlessAxis]

Hmm thanks but the problem I see here is with the TrueCrypt.. I'm constantly editing my things so de crypting..re crypting over and over seams like it might take a while O_O..and THANKS ALOT I see you took your time and put ALOT of effort into making this,...btw I AM that paranoid xD

[Bacon]

No trust me. You're not as paranoid as some of the people I've met. They are the guys who fire up netstat in the command prompt and check every single IP they are connected to.

As with Truecrypt, it's such an awesome program that you won't even notice the 'lag' as you might call it between encryption and decryption on the fly. You won't notice a thing.

[EndlessAxis]

Thanks man ^^, and How in the world do you meet such people O_O....

[Beloved]

Some laptops (or well, most are starting to feature this) offers fingerprint logon as opposed to a password. I suppose you can use this, but be aware that if that thing messes up.....

You're kinda locked outta ur own comp. lol Anyway, as long as you take good care of it (eg. leaving it unattended in random places) you're fine.

[Soapy]

I don't suggest you get Kaspersky as your Virus-Protector.

Whenever it finds -anything- it does a very frightening screech. It sounds like one of those from a screamer/shock video.

You can turn it off, sure; but still. ;-; It gave me nightmares.