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General discussion

Catalog of .exe files? Can you tell whic are good Vs. Bad?

Jul 17, 2004 2:07AM PDT

I just got broadband service at my home and new firewall software to go with it. It tells me which programs are trying to gain access to the internet and a lot of them are unfamiliar. Is there a web site that lists common exe files so I know if they belong to "good" programs or if they are spyware or something else. I would like to delete them but don't want to mess up my computer. Thanks

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Re: Catalog of .exe files? Can you tell whic are good Vs. Ba
Jul 17, 2004 2:42AM PDT

1. Bad or good files as to corrupt content.

Read http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6141-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=28791&messageID=326953&tag=srch

2. Bad or good files as to behaviour.

There is no such database and even if there was, a programmer can call SVCHOST.EXE to converse with an internet site to siphon off your bank account information.

A recent exploit of Internet Explorer did such and by installing a keyboard logger would capture the keystrokes to/from the PC and as such was outside the usual defense of a firewall.

As such, you need to be ever vigilant with your antivirus updates, and run some Anti-Parasite Suite (Adaware, Spybot, Cwshredder, Housecall.) You'll also move out of the line of fire between malware writers and Microsoft by running either another OS or at the very least an alternative browser and even a non-MS email client.

Best of luck and do ask in the Security Forum.

Bob

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Re: Catalog of .exe files? Can you tell whic are good Vs. Ba
Jul 18, 2004 8:21PM PDT

Do you know what programs are installed on your computer? There is usually part of the program name in the .exe file that will tell you what it is. If you aren't sure, don't delete. Deleting an .exe file can make a program unusable.

You should be able to block anything you don't want to access the internet with your firewall. And that can be either incoming or outgoing. Have you looked into the settings of you firewall? If not, that is one place to start.