Free Computer Consultant Tip-Of-The-Week for September 19, 2008
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Last week I talked about keeping your computer up to date and secure
by heading over to Secunia's free online scanner:
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/

One of the problems you may encounter is that you have the latest
Java and Flash versions, but you still have older versions that
are not secure as well. And Secunia will point them out.

With Java, it's not too tough. You can usually go to the Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the older versions of
Java.

From my experience, Version 6 of Java will sometimes remove older
"update" levels of version 6 and sometimes not. I have never seen
it remove older versions like version 5, though.

The only caveat here is that you may run into a special application
that requires an older version. That shouldn't be the case, but in
a corporate environment, who knows.

The safe thing, of course, is to backup and set a restore point
first. I have videos on that.

With Flash, it may not be so easy. Again, backup first.

You can use the flash uninstaller:
http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html
look toward the bottom of the page.
(if it has moved, google for it, the location seems to change
occasionally) and that should get rid of all versions.

Then you can install the latest version and be ready to go.

Otherwise, you CAN try renaming the file mentioned by Secunia's
scanner by appending a ".old" (without the quotes) on the end of
the file thereby disabling it.

As I said, backup first, and if you are really not comfortable,
perhaps ask the assistance of someone more knowledgeable.

Keep in mind, though, that the best way to keep your computer
secure is not to go where you know you don't belong. And make
use of McAfee's FREE SiteAdvisor:
http://www.FreeComputerConsultant.com/siteadvisor.html
to help keep you away from bad sites.

Until next time...

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You can keep up with articles I write and videos I create,
for the most part, at:
http://www.AssociatedContent.com/freecomputerconsultant

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