Pretty much everyone knows how bad it feels if you mess up your computer. But it’s even worse if your PC gets damaged by someone else, like a family member or a friend. They can be careless enough to load it with infected software and mess around with system settings and it was next to impossible for you to prevent it.  Trust me, I know how that feels!

That’s why I was very happy to learn about a fantastic Windows 7 feature that will help you protect your PC -  Guest Mode (not to be confused with Guest Account).

Guest Mode Explained

Guest Mode works on individual user accounts (an existing one, or on a new account created for this purpose). Basically, Guest Mode makes a snapshot of your system before the  Guest Mode user logs in. It prevents him/her from making any significant changes to the system – when the user logs out or the PC reboots, all the changes are discarded and everything returns to the original configuration.

Windows 7 Guest Mode:

• Makes it impossible for the user to change any system settings
• Doesn’t allow the user to install and software or change existing software settings
• Doesn’t allow the user to write to the disk outside his/her profile. All changes are temporary.
• Deletes all data saved during the session after the user logs off or the PC reboots

In short, it keeps your computer safe.

How to Enable Guest Mode

Windows 7 Guest Mode is well hidden, but is easy enough to enable. Here’s how:

1. Click Start and then go to Control Panel
2. Open User Accounts and Family Safety, then click on User Accounts
3. Click Manage another account. Now either select and existing one (not the Administrator account though), or create a new one
4. Click Set up Guest Mode. Click the Turn on Guest Mode radio button
5. Also you can choose which drives you want to lock by clicking on Lock drives (advanced). All local drives are locked by default, but you can also lock a removable drive, so that the user won’t be able to mess up your files.

WARNING: Microsoft says that in Windows 7 Beta using Guest Mode and doing the following could kill the Guest Mode account:

• Changing any HomeGroup settings
• Using CardSpace to create a personal InfoCard
• Installing Adobe Flash Player

And DON’T run Windows Media Center from Guest Mode, because it will just stop responding.

You have been warned! Always remember that Windows 7 is still in Beta and let’s all hope that Microsoft will fix these issues before the final release.

NB. Some information for the post has been taken from Lifehacker. Of course, I have personally tried using Guest Mode and it works as described above.

Today more and more people use their computers for pretty much everything – from communicating with friends and family to online shopping, investing and banking.This all makes life a lot easier, yet at the same time we open ourselves up to hackers, crackers and various scams.

Online Fraud

These days, stories of online fraud, identity theft and phishing scams appear on the news so often that many of us don’t pay attention anymore. And that is a big mistake. The Association for Payment Clearing Services revealed that in 2007 banking losses due to online fraud totalled

£22.6 million. And there were 20,682 reported phishing incidents in the UK in the first half of 2008 alone. Bear in mind that many people choose not to report the crime.

Bank officials urge their customers to be wary of online scams, such as suspicious emails claiming to be from the bank, and to use only a fully protected PC with regularly updated anti-virus software and enabled firewall. These measures are effective, but are not enough. There are dangers where caution and even a regularly updated anti-virus can’t help.

Auslogics BoostSpeed at http://www.auslogics.com is not only a computer performance optimization suite, it also includes a number of very useful security applications. It offers advanced protection where anti-virus software can’t help.

Track Eraser

Every time you visit a website or open a file, a record is created on your computer. If someone gets access to this information, they can find out a lot about you – your browsing preferences, which online stores you use, and maybe even something that can jeopardise your reputation or finances. Auslogics Track Eraser protects your privacy by removing all the tracks and history from your computer. Run it on a regular basis to not leave any sensitive information behind.

File Shredder and Disk Wiper

Another danger is deleted files. Simply deleting them doesn’t make them go for good. They are only “forgotten” by your system, but in fact remain somewhere on your hard drive. It’s quite easy to “undelete” them and for them to be used in ways you probably will not be happy to  find out about. But if you delete a file, a folder or the Recycle Bin contents with File Shredder, you can be sure that they will be impossible to recover.

Auslogics Disk Wiper works in a very similar way. It also ensures that files cannot be recovered. While File Shredder deletes files and folders, Disk Wiper literally clean-wipes your hard disk free space. Deleting files and erasing traces of them in such a way makes it nearly impossible for hackers to get hold of any sensitive information that they can use to commit fraud or steal your identity.

PC Security

You may wonder how hackers can access your computer. Actually, it’s easier than you think. Windows XP and newer versions include services that make it possible  to access your computer remotely and bombard you with spam. Of course, these services were not designed for this purpose, but criminals find them pretty useful. These services are called Remote Registry and Messaging Service. Using Auslogics PC Security helps check whether your firewall is enabled, anti-virus is up to date and your system patched. But most importantly, it disables Remote Registry and Messaging Service, thus protecting you from possible attacks.

No one leaves their house with the front door left wide open. And nobody walks around with their bank account number printed on their T-shirt either. But when it comes to computer security, people are often too careless. The more attention you pay to computer security, the less chance you will be the next online fraud victim.

Download Auslogics BoostSpeed from http://www.auslogics.com.