At first sight F-Secure’s Health Check 2.0 looks to a useful addition to a PC owners box of troubleshooting tricks. It’s OK, but it is nothing to get excited about.

The online application is a Java program that works with Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer to investigate a computer’s security status then report back on potential risks.

On the plus side it is free, quick and simple to use. The code loads directly from the Health Check web page and after the obligatory rigmarole of accepting terms and conditions it takes next to no time to download even on my erratic broadband connection. I clocked the first download at seven seconds.

Once leaded the software steps through a familiar wizard-style process with four stages. the first stage happens without your involvement. It checks you have anti-virus, anti-spyware and a firewall installed and up-to-date.

Clicking on the ‘next’ button moves things along to stage two which investigates back-up – we’ll look closer at this in a moment. The third stage checks to see if certain key programs are up-to-date. The last stage is a summary screen with links to ’solutions’ to identified problems.

So, even if everything was perfectly hunky-dory, which it isn’t, PC Health Check 2.0 is of limited functionality. For a start there are many alternatives that do the same job either as well or better. For example, Secunia offers the free Online Software Inspector and the more complete downloadable Secunia Personal Software Inspector.

But my big problem with Health Check 2.0 is it mainly exists as a crude promotional device for F-Secure’s products and services. It’s compromised by its commercial function.

Allow me to expand on this. My computer failed the second stage back-up test. The software told me it didn’t find any back-up. This is wrong there are three back-up applications on my computer. I back up regularly to an external disk and to a server.

When I clicked on the Health Check 2.0 ’solve’ button to troubleshoot the ‘problem’ found by the software I got a message about protecting my “valuable content” with F-Secure Online Backup. And a link to the F-Secure store.

I live in New Zealand. My computer has almost a terabyte of data. Although I’m theoretically on an unlimited broadband plan, but with shaped bandwidth for almost the entire working day. In other words, online back-up simply isn’t a realistic option. And yet PC Health Check tells me it is.

My instinct says if the application gets this advice wrong – what use is the rest of its information?

Lastly, when the program finishes, there’s the opportunity to register an email address with F-Secure. Now why would I want to do that?

For an alternative view see F-Secure refreshes online PC Health Check by Stephen Withers at iTWire. His found other shortcomings, but reached a similar conclusion.

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The online security problems facing home users and small businesses are different from those facing larger companies and corporations. Here’s a list of threats you may encounter:

• Malware: Is the generic name for all malicious software. Some people also talk of greyware which refers to software that’s annoying rather than dangerous.
• Virus: A small program designed to automatically copy itself from one computer to another. Viruses are attached to other pieces of software or hidden inside images, games and music files. They usually travel from machine to machine by email, instant messaging or file transfers. Although some viruses are harmless, most are disruptive, the worst can stop a PC from working.
• Worm: Also a self-replicating program, but unlike viruses, worms can automatically travel from machine to machine without being attached to other pieces of software. This means in addition to any other damage they slow networks because they can consume bandwidth.
• Trojan: The name given to a program which looks harmless, but has an unexpected malicious purpose. Some start their mischief immediately they are loaded, others may wait for a period of time, possibly collecting data without the computer owner’s knowledge.
• Spyware: A program designed to collect information about a computer and its user that the spyware author can use to make money. Typically spyware may monitor your web browsing and target pop-up advertising at you or divert you to other web sites.
• Rootkit: A program designed to modify a computer’s operating system to hide the behaviour of other malware.
• Keylogger: Software that collects keyboard input – possibly to collect passwords or important account information. Keyloggers can then send this information back to criminals allowing them to impersonate users and, for example, robbing their online banking accounts.
• Botnet: Programs used to control, update or trigger activity in previously infected systems.
• Backdoor: A way of getting undetected access to a computer system.
• Zombie: A computer being controlled by another user to perform some malicious online tasks.
• Spam: Unwanted email, instant messages or other form of electronic communication. Spam clogs email inboxes and the sheer volume of spam (as much as 95% of all email traffic) slows networks.
• Phishing: is when someone fraudulently tries to get hold of important information such as passwords and bank account details by pretending to be a trustworthy source. Phishers may send authentic-looking emails asking for the data or with links to a fake web site.
• Adware: Strictly speaking this isn’t a threat, but an annoyance. It refers to any software that bombards you with unwanted advertising.

Computer security guide: 1 introduction
Computer security guide: 3 defensive software
Computer security guide: 4 how to buy security tools
Computer security guide: 5 what to buy or download for free

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