Virus and Spyware protection

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My newest concoction of virus and spyware protection (and yes I use all three…)

Spybot Search and Destroy (with TeaTimer)
This is free (though you should donate to the cause!) and very effective at preventative measures with browsers and detecting spyware after it is downloaded.

Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 (or Norton AntiVirus 2010 for the home user)
Both products support real-time file system and email protection.

To not have it conflict with NOD32 do the following:
add the exception: “C:\ProgramData\ESET\ESET NOD32 Antivirus”
Change Settings >
Antivirus and Antispyware Protection “Configure Settings” >
on the “File System Auto-Protect” tab click “Centralized Exceptions”
Click “Add…”
choose Security Risk Exceptions > Folder
Then navigate to the “C:\ProgramData\ESET\ESET NOD32 Antivirus” and click Ok.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4
This product is new to me but has saved my butt from a keylogger so I like to include it in the mix. It is also very reasonably priced.

To not have it conflict with Symantec do the following:
On the Setup menu choose “Enter entire advanced setup tree…”
Then expand the “Antivirus and antispyware” tree
> choose “Exclusions”
Click “Add…”
Enter the path “C:\ProgramData\Symantec\SRTSP” (or the equivalent for Norton “C:\ProgramData\Norton\”)

How to Change Default Image Editor in Vista

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How do I change my default image editor to Photoshop (or something else) in Vista?
Well I have just the trick. I have made a script (based on another person’s work) that you can just download here: change_default_image_editor.vbs

Note before you start you will need administrator rights to pull this off.

Assuming that you don’t trust random scripts that you download off the internet (which is wise) then I you can do it manually. Note editing the Windows Registry by hand is dangerous and my script just automates this process. If you installed your image editor and it has registered correctly, there is a simple change that needs to happen in the Windows Registry. You can screw up you computer. You can do this by clicking on
Start > Run or type in this in the Start Search area >
Then type: regedit

Browse down the tree as follows
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
> SystemFileAssociations > image > Internet Explorer > shell > edit > command >
(Default) = “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Photoshop.exe” “%1″

Then right click on (Default) and Modify… the value to what every you want in quotes with a space followed by “1%”

Note: Changes to this registry value should take effect after a reboot.

How to Change Default HTML Editor in Vista

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How do I change my default HTML editor to DreamWeaver (or something else) in Vista?
Well I have just the trick. I have made a script (based on another person’s work) that you can just download here: add_default_html_editor.vbs

Note before you start you will need administrator rights to pull this off.

Assuming that you don’t trust random scripts that you download off the internet (which is wise) then I you can do it manually. Note editing the Windows Registry by hand is dangerous and my script just automates this process. If you installed your HTML editor and it has registered correctly, there is a simple change that needs to happen in the Windows Registry. You can screw up you computer. You can do this by clicking on
Start > Run or type in this in the Start Search area >
Then type: regedit

Browse down the tree as follows
HKEY_CURRENT_USER (you can also do this on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE)
> Software > Microsoft > Internet Explorer > Default HTML Editor > Shell > Edit > Command >
(Default) = “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Dreamweaver CS4\Dreamweaver.exe” “%1″

Then right click on (Default) and Modify… the value to what every you want in quotes with a space followed by “1%”

If you browse to Internet Explorer and you do not see the next Key then you can just add it by right clicking on Internet Explorer and clicking Key. Then type in the name of the Key exactly as it is written above. For example: Default HTML Editor

Wash, rinse and repeat with all of the others until you finish with Command. Then right click on Command, click New > String Value. Add the life location like this: “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Dreamweaver CS4\Dreamweaver.exe” “%1″

Note: Changes to this registry value should take effect immediately.

Here is Microsoft’s take on it:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa753633%28VS.85%29.aspx#_Adding_HTML_Editors

Word 2007 Paragraph Marks

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By default Microsoft Word 2007 shows paragraph markings even if the Show/Hide Paragraph Marks button is deselected. This can be very annoying and here is how to change it.

[NOTE: Click on the Images to make them larger]

Open up Word.

Click on the Microsoft Office Button

Then click on Word Options on the bottom of the menu.

This will bring up a new window. Click on the Display tab on the left side.

Here you will see a section call “Always show these formatting marks on the screen”

Un-check all markings (by default that will include Tab characters, Spaces and Paragraph marks)

Click OK

Once you back into word, feel free to turn it on and off again from the Home tab by clicking on the Paragraph symbol.