Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

LockHunter is a free 64/32 bit tool to delete files blocked by any processes

http://lockhunter.com/

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There are several file unlocker tools for Windows.  In the past, I've used Unlocker as well as FileAssassin, the latter of which is made by the great Malwarebytes organization.

I was unhappy with FileAssassin because it didn't feature explorer integration.  Unlocker was good but always felt a little off to me, and even though it seemed to work it always seemed a bit Windows-98ish to me and I wanted something better.

I'm currently trying LockHunter and we'll see how it fits the bill.

Trying out ZoneAlarm Free - Transfer mode set to Awesome

http://transfermodeawesome.posterous.com/trying-out-zonealarm-free

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So I had posted in this earlier post that I was trying out ZoneAlarm Free (version 9).  Unfortunately, my experience with it has been poor.

On my x64 laptop, I was getting frequent BSODs.  Remove ZoneAlarm, poof, BSODs gone.

On my x86 desktop, I was getting infrequent reboots and BSODs.  Remove ZoneAlarm.  Can't tell as quickly because the issues were infrequent and I've gotten other BSODs (USB error code, different than before), but I have to say I *feel* better about the system without it.

It's unfortunate because some security-conscious blogs I read insist that a better firewall than Windows 7 Firewall is necessary.  Aggressive outbound protection is the difference, I guess, but I have other HIPS protection (ThreatFire) that does that for the most risky types of outbound access already.

So for the moment, I'm still using ZoneAlarm on my work machine, where it's mostly a good customer.  Pretty quiet and no BSODs, but I'd like to have one solution across the board.  I wasn't happy with Comodo's interface, and most of the other firewalls I tried for my Server 2003 boxes would BSOD them or simply wouldn't install (like ZoneAlarm).  A single solution across all of my boxes would be less of an administrative headache, but only if the one that works everywhere isn't a headache to begin with.

Privacy Firewall has been working well on the servers, despite it's less-polished UI.  Perhaps I'll give it a go on the desktop as well.

VTChromizer scans links with Virus Total from Chrome

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/efbjojhplkelaegfbieplglfidafgoka

KrebsOnSecurity mentioned the Virus Total service, which scans files or URLs against a large number of security products in order to detect malware.  The VTChromizer extension adds a button and context-menu entry which allows you to scan URLs directly in Chrome.

I use Web Of Trust for most of my link categorization but this may be a nice tool for that additional level of security when you feel you need it.

Making Embedded Systems book!

My super smart-cookie friend Elecia wrote an O'Reilly book on embedded systems!  Yeah, ok, you and I may not exactly know what those are, but if you do, I bet you'll love her book.  Here are the details.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elecia White
Date: Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 11:34 PM
Subject: Making Embedded Systems book!
To: ted.lilley

Hi Ted,

I'm spamming my LinkedIn contact list and I'm so happy to get to Mudders
who aren't necessarily as repelled by junk mail.

I wrote a book about embedded systems for O'Reilly. It is a technical
book for software engineers who want to get closer to the hardware or
electrical engineers who want to write good software. It covers all
sorts of embedded information: hardware, software design patterns,
interview questions and lots of real world wisdom about shipping products.

I don't know if embedded software is your cup of tea but if you know
anyone who might be interested, please forward this on. The book can be
purchased at all the major bookstores or here:
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920017776.do
The ebook will be updated as they are released. The paper book comes out
next month. Either way, here is a coupon for 40% off: AUTHD

Thanks,
Elecia

Elecia White
Making Embedded Systems
twitter: @logicalelegance