Sometimes, it pays to go with your first instinct.
For the last couple of weeks, every time I opened the Firefox browser on my PC, the program attempted to update but failed. I didn't sweat the error message at first, thinking that it was likely a widespread problem that the good folks at Mozilla would address soon enough. And besides, version 3.0.4 opened right after I closed the error message, and everything appeared to be working normally.
I kept, however, getting that same error message every time Firefox loaded. It struck me that one of the things viruses do is block your security and other programs from updating. I didn't think that this failure was a sign of a virus, but I couldn't be sure.
Opening Firefox 3.0.4 generated this cryptic error message after failing to update to version 3.0.5.
(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)My first inclination was to uninstall version 3.0.4 and then install Firefox 3.0.5 manually. But on second thought, this struck me as too extreme. After searching the Internet for information about failed Firefox updates, I chased many a wild goose as I disconnected my Webcam, rechecked my firewall, and followed many other useless pieces of advice recommended by reputable Web sites.
All to no avail. So I opened Vista's Programs and Features (the equivalent of XP's Add or Remove Programs applet) by pressing the Windows key, typing appwiz.cpl, and pressing Enter. I uninstalled Firefox 3.0.4, closed the applet, and opened the Opera browser so I could visit Mozilla.org to download Firefox 3.0.5.
This is where things took a slight detour. I don't use Opera very often, so it wasn't a surprise to see a prompt to download the latest version 9.63. I'm sure that Opera 9.62 would have downloaded the Firefox 3.0.5 executable just fine, but I figured that I might as well keep the update thing rolling.
But then Opera wouldn't update. The error message said something about my G: drive. I opened Windows Explorer and saw that I had no G: drive. Then I remembered that I set Opera to run off a USB thumb drive, which I had recently disconnected. I retrieved that drive and tried the Opera update again. This time, version 9.63 installed without a hitch.
And wouldn't you know it, so did Firefox 3.0.5, once I downloaded it from the Mozilla Foundation site. I suppose that I should be curious about why the browser wasn't able to update itself in the first place, but I'm satisfied just to have the latest version in place.
Three years ago, I attempted to condense PC security into 10 steps you could finish in about an hour. After a recent false-positive on a virus scan, I returned to that advice and realized that those tips are sorely out of date.
I'll re-examine the first three tips here and will cover the rest in posts later this week.
Step one: Set Windows to download and install updates automatically.
I don't do that anymore. Windows updates often cause problems, so I set Windows to download but not install updates. Then I wait a couple of days before actually applying the patches to see whether there are any reports of problems related to the fix. If all is quiet on the update front, I install the patches. I don't have to worry about forgetting because Windows will keep a little update icon in my system tray.
To change your Automatic Update settings in XP, click Start > Control Panel > Security Settings (in Category view) > Automatic Updates. Select "Download updates for me, but let me decide when to install them" and click OK. You'll find more about XP's automatic-update settings on Microsoft's Help site.
To access Vista's update controls, press the Windows key, type windows update, and press Enter. Click "Change settings" in the left pane, choose "Download updates but let me choose whether to install them," and click OK.
Set Vista to download updates but let you decide whether to install them via Windows Update's Change Settings dialog.
(Credit: Microsoft)Step two: Visit the Windows Update site (or Microsoft Update, as the case may be) to download updates manually if the PC has been off for a long while.
Perhaps a better destination for your first stop after an extended period offline is Secunia's Online Software Inspector or free Personal Software Inspector.
Both the online scan and downloaded program will check Windows and many applications on your PC to ensure that you're using the latest versions available. The client-based scan recognizes more programs than the Web-based service.
Step three: Enable Windows' built-in firewall.
This tip is way out-of-date. On the good side, the defenses built into Windows XP and Vista have improved considerably over the last three years. Unfortunately, they haven't improved enough to trust the safety of your system and private information to Windows alone. In my opinion, you simply have to use a security suite.
In the absence of a commercial security suite, you should activate the firewall and other security features in Windows Defender. But that's just not good enough. There are plenty of free antivirus programs, bidirectional firewalls, and anti-spyware programs. You'll also find a lot of security add-ons for the Firefox browser.
The problem is in managing several different security programs, any of which could conflict with some other app on your PC or with Windows itself. That's one of the principal advantages of a security suite: you can be pretty sure the various components will work well together, and you're dealing with only one vendor, for better or worse.
You can compare the virus-detecting ability of various security programs by perusing AVTest's most recent results, which include tests of the 2009 editions of most big-name security apps.
Next up are steps four, five, and six, which include keeping your browser safe. That will be the subject of my next post.
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