geek: December 2006 Archives

One of the best ways to speed up any system that relies on a database is to optimize the database. So that's what I did the other night for MySQL 5.0.24 running on a Windows box with a 3.2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. The server uses a mixture of table types (InnoDB and MyISAM) and gets hit a lot with queries against tables that don't change an awful lot. The resultant my.ini config should give you some ideas on how to optimize MySQL in a similar situation

One of the most common problems friends ask me about is spyware, popups, diallers, viruses, trojans - all forms of "malware" (Malicious Software) having infected their PCs. My advice is to use a small army of anti-malware applications that between them can eliminate and prevent almost all of these problems. Here's what I recommend they use:

Comodo Personal Firewall

Free and reliable, this provides you with better protection than the standard Windows Firewall that comes with XP.

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

If however, you connect to the net via a router (e.g. a WiFi router) then chances are that has a built in firewall already and the majority of  inbound  attacks are blocked at that point before they even get to your PC. In which case you might opt to have no firewall switched on on your PC at all.

Avast! Anti-virus

If you don't have one that's up to date, you're in for trouble. Lots of people (including my dad much to my infuriation) don't keep their anti-virus (AV) up to date, mostly because they have one that you have to pay for and haven't paid for it. Avast! home is a free AV application that is easy to use, reliable and updates regularly. You need to register (provide basic contact details) to get a year long licence key and once you've entered the key into the application, that's it.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

McAffee, Norton, Sophos, Panda, TrendMicro, Kaspersky all produce good payware AV applications and if you're happy with them and paying for them, they're fine. I use Kaspersky at home as my main anti-virus application.

SpyBot

Okay, you're probably reading this because your PC is already infected and you need a cure. SpyBot is a free spyware disinfector. Run it a few times, immunize your system, run it every fortnight or month, and chances are it will solve your problem.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

AdAware

Like SpyBot, this is a spyware disinfector. You can pay for extra bits or just use the basic free version. If SpyBot doesn't solve your problem, AdAware might do. Using both Spybot and AdAware increases your chances of destroying the pesky infection on your PC.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

SpywareBlaster & SpywareGuard

These two are preventative applications designed to stop spyware installing on your PC in the first place. They work by filling in the security holes that spyware uses, or "immunizing" your system, and secondly by monitoring for spyware trying to install in the first place. There's a small fee to have automatic updates for SpywareBlaster and I think it's worth it knowing that most people will forget to do the manual update regularly. That's up to you.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/products.html

With all those installed you'll be a lot less vulnerable. Happy hunting!