10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

PC magazine.Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel Administrative Tools Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."
Posted by baskar at 10:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: Free Security Enhancements, PC magazine
Saturday, November 29, 2008

The MS-DOS 7 Internal Commands
Every Windows™ 95/98 "Boot" Floppy Disk or Command prompt in a DOS-Window gives you access (through Command.com) to all of the following commands...
This first command isn't really an "internal" command at all. It describes all the switches that can be used when executing the COMMAND.COM program itself (and secondary copies):command COMMAND.COM-------Starts a new copy of the Windows Command Interpreter.COMMAND [[drive:]path] [device] [/E:nnnnn] [/L:nnnn] [/U:nnn] [/P] [/MSG] [/LOW] [/Y [/[CK] command]][drive:]path Specifies the directory containing COMMAND.COM. device Specifies the device to use for command input and output. /E:nnnnn Sets the initial environment size to nnnnn bytes. (nnnnn should be between 256 and 32,768). /L:nnnn Specifies internal buffers length (requires /P as well). (nnnn should be between 128 and 1,024). /U:nnn Specifies the input buffer length (requires /P as well). (nnn should be between 128 and 255). /P Makes the new Command Interpreter permanent (can't exit). /MSG Stores all error messages in memory (requires /P as well). /LOW Forces COMMAND to keep its resident data in low memory. /Y Steps through the batch program specified by /C or /K. /C command Executes the specified command and returns. /K command Executes the specified command and continues running.Back to TOC cd Change Directory-------Displays the name of or changes the current directory.CHDIR [drive:][path]CHDIR[..]CD [drive:][path]CD[..] .. Specifies that you want to change to the parent directory (in other words: Move up one folder in the directory tree). DOS 7, WHEN using a DOS-window, allows you to use extra dots here! If you were in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\shellext, you could enter cd... to go up to C:\WINDOWS or even cd.... to get to the root.Type CD drive: to display the current directory in the specified drive.Type CD without parameters to display the current drive and directory.Back to TOC chcp Change Code Page-------Displays or sets the active code page number.CHCP [nnn] nnn Specifies a code page number.Type CHCP without a parameter to display the active code page number.Back to TOC cls Clear Screen-------Clears the screen.CLSBack to TOC copy Copy or Concatenate Files-------Copies one or more files to another location.COPY [/A /B] source [/A /B] [+ source [/A /B] [+ ...]] [destination [/A /B]] [/V] [/Y /-Y] source Specifies the file or files to be copied. /A Indicates an ASCII text file. /B Indicates a binary file. destination Specifies the directory and/or filename for the new file(s). /V Verifies that new files are written correctly. /Y Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file. /-Y Causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file.The switch /Y may be preset in the COPYCMD environment variable.This may be overridden with /-Y on the command lineTo append files, specify a single file for destination, but multiple filesfor source (using wildcards or file1+file2+file3 format).Note this special case of the COPY command: copy con output.txt Copy from Console to ...After you type this command and press ENTER, MS-DOS copies everything youtype to the file OUTPUT.TXT. When you are finished typing, press CTRL+Z toindicate that you want to end the file. The Control-Z character willappear on the screen as " ^Z ". You can also end a COPY CON command bypressing the F6 key. Pressing F6 also generates the Control-Z character;a " ^Z " still appears on the screen.The following example copies information from the keyboard to a printerconnected to LPT1: copy con lpt1Back to TOC ctty Change Termial Type-------Changes the terminal device used to control your system.CTTY device device The terminal device you want to use, such as COM1.Back to TOC date-------Displays or sets the date.DATE [date]Type DATE without parameters to display the current date setting anda prompt for a new one. Press ENTER to keep the same date.Back to TOC del Delete (Erase) Files-------Deletes one or more files.DEL [drive:][path]filename [/P]ERASE [drive:][path]filename [/P] [drive:][path]filename Specifies the file(s) to delete. Specify multiple files by using wildcards. /P Prompts for confirmation before deleting each file.Note: In most cases the file is NOT actually "erased"; the space it usedis simply noted as being available for new files to write over it. If youreally want to erase every word of a sensitive file, you should get a'security program' designed to overwrite all erased files!Back to TOC dir Directory Listing-------Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/P] [/W] [/A[[:]attributes]] [/O[[:]sortorder]] [/S] [/B] [/L] [/V] [drive:][path][filename] Specifies drive, directory, and/or files to list. (Could be enhanced file specification or multiple filespecs.)/P Pauses after each screenful of information./W Uses wide list format./A Displays files with specified attributes. attributes D Directories R Read-only files H Hidden files A Files ready for archiving S System files - Prefix meaning not/O List by files in sorted order. sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first) E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time (earliest first) G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order A By Last Access Date (earliest first)/S Displays files in specified directory and all subdirectories./B Uses bare format (no heading information or summary)./L Uses lowercase./V Verbose mode.Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Overridepreset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.Back to TOC exit-------Quits the COMMAND.COM program (command interpreter).EXITIf you're in a DOS-Window in Windows, this will close the window!Back to TOC lock-------Locks a drive, enabling direct disk access for an application. LOCK [drive:]Note: If you use this command in a DOS-Window, it will only affect thefloppy disk drives; Windows™ 95/98 does not allow you to lock a drivedirectly while it is operating. If you try lock C: , you'll get the errormessage: " Locking operation failed."Back to TOC md Make Directory-------Creates a directory.MKDIR [drive:]pathMD [drive:]pathBack to TOC path-------Displays or sets a search path for executable files.PATH [[drive:]path[;...]]PATH ;Type PATH (without any parameters) to display the current path.Type PATH ; (PATH space semi-colon) to CLEAR all search-path settings; this means that DOS will only be able search the current directory.NOTE: When used in a DOS-Window, these commands ONLY apply tothat particular DOS-Window! (The PATH will not be changed globally.)See the SET command for a similar effect in DOS-Windows, and alsofor a utility (W95envar.zip) that will make global changes!Back to TOC prompt-------Changes the Windows command prompt.PROMPT [text] text Specifies a new command prompt.Prompt can be made up of normal characters and the following special codes: $Q = (equal sign) $$ $ (dollar sign) $T Current time $D Current date $P Current drive and path $V Windows version number $N Current drive $G > (greater-than sign) $L < (less-than sign) $B (pipe) $H Backspace (erases previous character) $E Escape code (ASCII code 27) $_ Carriage return and linefeedType PROMPT without parameters to reset the prompt to the default setting.Back to TOC rd Remove (Delete) Directory-------Removes (deletes) a directory.RMDIR [drive:]pathRD [drive:]pathBack to TOC ren Rename File or Directory-------Renames a file/directory or files/directories.RENAME [drive:][path][directoryname1 filename1] [dirname2 filename2]REN [drive:][path][directoryname1 filename1] [dirname2 filename2]Note that you cannot specify a new drive or path for your destination.Back to TOC set-------Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment variables.SET [variable=[string]] variable Specifies the environment-variable name. string Specifies a series of characters to assign to the variable.Type SET without parameters to display the current environment variables.Note: If you use SET in a DOS-Window to add a variable and string, itwill only affect commands run in that particular window! Unlinke Win NT(which has a DOS 'Environment' Tab), Windows™ 95/98 normally willnot allow you to set global Environment strings while the OS is running:You have to set them in AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot the system!However, I recently found that Microsoft made a utility for settingEnvironment strings from a DOS-window with a 'global' effect... thisutility is called WINSET.EXE ( it's archived with another util calledSHORTCUT.EXE and labeled as W95ENVARS.EXE ). You can downloadthis now as: W95envar.zip.Back to TOC time-------Displays or sets the system time.TIME [time]Type TIME with no parameters to display the current time setting and aprompt for a new one. Press ENTER to keep the same time.Back to TOC type-------Displays the contents of text files.TYPE [drive:][path]filenameNOTE: If there are more than 25 lines in the file, you'll need to pipethe screen output through the DOS External Command MORE in orderto keep all but the last screen from flashing past you! EXAMPLE: C:\>type tips.txt moreBack to TOC unlock-------Unlocks a drive, disabling direct disk access for an application. UNLOCK [drive:] See LOCKBack to TOC ver Version-------Displays the Windows version.VERBack to TOC vol Volume Label/SN-------Displays the disk volume label and serial number, if they exist.VOL [drive:]Note: The DOS command to change a Volume Label is an "External Command"(the program is: LABEL.EXE).Back to TOC
The following commands are rarely used outside of a BATCH file (such as AUTOEXEC.BAT): break-------Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking.BREAK [ON OFF]Type BREAK without a parameter to display the current BREAK setting.Back to TOC call-------Calls one batch program from another.CALL [drive:][path]filename [batch-parameters] batch-parameters Specifies any command-line information required by the batch program.Back to TOC echo-------Displays messages, or turns command-echoing on or off. ECHO [ON OFF] ECHO [message]Type ECHO without parameters to display the current echo setting.Back to TOC for-------Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files.FOR %variable IN (set) DO command [command-parameters] %variable Specifies a replaceable parameter. (set) Specifies a set of one or more files. Wildcards may be used. command Specifies the command to carry out for each file. command-parameters Specifies parameters or switches for the specified command.To use the FOR command in a batch program, specify %%variable instead of%variable.Back to TOC goto-------Directs Windows to a labelled line in a batch program.GOTO label label Specifies a text string used in the batch program as a label.You type a label on a line by itself, beginning with a colon.Example:The following batch program formats a disk in drive A as a system disk. Ifthe operation is successful, the GOTO command simply directs MS-DOS to thelabel named "end"; if not, an error message is displayed: echo off format a: /s if not errorlevel 1 goto end echo An error occurred during formatting. :end echo Successfully formatted the disk in drive A.Back to TOC if-------Performs conditional processing in batch programs.IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL number commandIF [NOT] string1==string2 commandIF [NOT] EXIST filename commandNOT Specifies that Windows should carry out the command only if the condition is false.ERRORLEVEL number Specifies a true condition if the last program run returned an exit code equal to or greater than the number specified.command Specifies the command to carry out if the condition is met.string1==string2 Specifies a true condition if the specified text strings match.EXIST filename Specifies a true condition if the specified filename exists.Note: Although you can only check directly for the existence of a file, you canalso check for directories (folders) by using the NUL operator as a filename.Example: if exist C:\TEMP\NUL goto done will route program flow tothe label "done" only if the folder C:\TEMP exists!Back to TOC lfnfor Long File Name FOR-------Enables/Disables Long file names when processing FOR commands.LFNFOR [ON OFF]Type LFNFOR without a parameter to display the current setting.Back to TOC lh Load High-------Loads a program into the upper memory area.LH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]LOADHIGH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]LOADHIGH [/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]...] [/S]] [drive:][path]filename [parameters]/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]]... Specifies the region(s) of memory into which to load the program. Region1 specifies the number of the first memory region; minsize1 specifies the minimum size, if any, for region1. Region2 and minsize2 specify the number and minimum size of the second region, if any. You can specify as many regions as you want./S Shrinks a UMB to its minimum size while the program is loading.[drive:][path]filename Specifies the location and name of the program.Back to TOC pause-------Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message:Press any key to continue....PAUSEBack to TOC rem-------Records comments (remarks) in a batch file or CONFIG.SYS.REM [comment]Back to TOC shift-------Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch file.SHIFTBack to TOC verify-------Tells Windows whether to verify that your files are written correctly to adisk.VERIFY [ON OFF]Type VERIFY without a parameter to display the current VERIFY setting.
Posted by baskar at 8:48 PM 0 comments
Labels: Command Line
Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Windows™ 95/98 Network Programs
TRACERT.exe Trace RouteUsage:tracert [-d] [-h maximum_hops] [-j host-list] [-w timeout] target_nameOptions: -d Do not resolve addresses to hostnames. -h maximum_hops Maximum number of hops to search for target. -j host-list Loose source route along host-list. -w timeout Wait timeout milliseconds for each reply.
Here's an example which traces the route from some ISP in Los Angeles to the main server at UCLA in California ( note how two computers relatively close to each other may be routed way round about! ): C:\WINDOWS>tracert www.ucla.eduTracing route to www.ucla.edu [169.232.33.129]over a maximum of 30 hops: 1 141 ms 132 ms 140 ms wla-ca-pm6.icg.net [165.236.29.85] 2 134 ms 131 ms 139 ms whv-ca-gw1.icg.net [165.236.29.65] 3 157 ms 132 ms 143 ms f3-1-0.lai-ca-gw1.icg.net [165.236.24.89] 4 194 ms 193 ms 188 ms a0-0-0-1.dai-tx-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.61] 5 300 ms 211 ms 214 ms a1-1-0-1.ati-ga-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.186] 6 236 ms 237 ms 247 ms a5-0-0-1.was-dc-gw1.icg.net [163.179.235.129] 7 258 ms 236 ms 244 ms 163.179.243.205 8 231 ms 233 ms 230 ms wdc-brdr-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.4.153] 9 240 ms 230 ms 236 ms wdc-core-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.24.69]10 262 ms 264 ms 263 ms hou-core-01.inet.qwest.net [205.171.5.187]11 281 ms 263 ms 259 ms hou-core-03.inet.qwest.net [205.171.23.9]12 272 ms 229 ms 222 ms lax-core-02.inet.qwest.net [205.171.5.163]13 230 ms 217 ms 230 ms lax-edge-07.inet.qwest.net [205.171.19.58]14 228 ms 219 ms 220 ms 63-145-160-42.cust.qwest.net [63.145.160.42]15 218 ms 222 ms 218 ms ISI-7507--ISI.POS.calren2.net [198.32.248.21]16 232 ms 222 ms 214 ms UCLA--ISI.POS.calren2.net [198.32.248.30]17 234 ms 226 ms 226 ms cbn5-gsr.calren2.ucla.edu [169.232.1.18]18 245 ms 227 ms 235 ms www.ucla.edu [169.232.33.129]Trace complete.
Note: Unless you're running a network, the following commands won't be of much use to you...Furthermore, if you're concerned about Security, my advice is to NEVER use NetBios on a computer that connects to the Internet.
NBTSTAT.exe Net Bios StatsDisplays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT(NetBIOS over TCP/IP).NBTSTAT [-a RemoteName] [-A IP address] [-c] [-n] [-r] [-R] [-s] [S] [interval] -a (adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its name. -A (Adapter status) Lists the remote machine's name table given its IP address. -c (cache) Lists the remote name cache including the IP addresses. -n (names) Lists local NetBIOS names. -r (resolved) Lists names resolved by broadcast and via WINS -R (Reload) Purges and reloads the remote cache name table -S (Sessions) Lists sessions table with the destination IP addresses. -s (sessions) Lists sessions table converting destination IP addresses to host names via the hosts file. RemoteName Remote host machine name. IP address Dotted decimal representation of the IP address. interval Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds between each display. Press Ctrl+C to stop redisplaying statistics.
ROUTE.exeManipulates network routing tables.ROUTE [-f] [command [destination] [MASK netmask] [gateway]] -f Clears the routing tables of all gateway entries. If this is used in conjunction with one of the commands, the tables are cleared prior to running the command. command Specifies one of four commands PRINT Prints a route ADD Adds a route DELETE Deletes a route CHANGE Modifies an existing route destination Specifies the host to send command. MASK If the MASK keyword is present, the next parameter is interpreted as the netmask parameter. netmask If provided, specifies a sub-net mask value to be associated with this route entry. If not specified, if defaults to 255.255.255.255. gateway Specifies gateway.All symbolic names used for destination or gateway are looked up in thenetwork and host name database files NETWORKS and HOSTS, respectively.If the command is print or delete, wildcards may be used for thedestination and gateway, or the gateway argument may be omitted.
ARP.exe Address Resolution ProtocolARP -s inet_addr eth_addr [if_addr]ARP -d inet_addr [if_addr]ARP -a [inet_addr] [-N if_addr]-a Displays current ARP entries by interrogating the current protocol data. If inet_addr is specified, the IP and Physical addresses for only the specified computer are displayed. If more than one network interface uses ARP, entries for each ARP table are displayed.-g (Same as -a) inet_addr Specifies an internet address.-N if_addr Displays the ARP entries for the network interface specified by if_addr.-d Deletes the host specified by inet_addr.-s Adds the host and associates the Internet address inet_addr with the Physical address eth_addr. The Physical address is given as 6 hexadecimal bytes separated by hyphens. The entry is permanent. eth_addr Specifies a physical address. if_addr If present, this specifies the Internet address of the interface whose address translation table should be modified. If not present, the first applicable interface will be used.