What is Citizens PC Protection System?

Citizens PC Protection System is a solution that provides your computer protection against intrusion and malicious software. Citizens PC Protection System is always automatically updated in the background and is transparent to the user. Citizens PC Protection System does not interfere with your daily use of computer. Citizens PC Protection System includes personal Virus Protection (anti-virus), Personal Firewall service, Parental and SPAM control services which offer easy-to-install protection against network hacking for desktop users connected to public networks.

I have subscribed to Citizens PC Protection System but cannot install my software because my system is already infected with a virus. What can I do?

Go to the following URL for support information:

http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/downloads/

Use the On-Line Scanner and Easy Clean Programs to confirm the infection and to help you remove them.

Can I give a copy of the software to a friend?

No. The Citizens PC Protection System server will detect that two different users are using the same subscription number and will disable your installation if your friend installs it. Distributing Citizens PC Protection System without permission is against copyright laws.

I formatted my hard drive. Do I need to register again?

No, you do not need to register again for Citizens PC Protection System. If you still have your license subscription number (xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx) you can reinstall Citizens PC Protection System and use the same subscription number. If however you have lost your registration information you will need to contact CItizens at 1-800-941-0426 to obtain it. Please have your account number on hand to help us better serve your needs.

Is the service really updated automatically?

Yes. Citizens PC Protection System is developed for this demand and we can guarantee that the update process is automatic and transparent. However, you need to be connected to your service provider network, so that Citizens PC Protection System can connect to the update server via Internet.

Which operating systems does the service support?

Citizens PC Protection System currently supports the following operating systems: Windows 7, Vista and XP. However, Citizens PC Protection System does not support the server versions of the above operating systems.

How do I install the product?

Download the installation application from Citizens installation CD or website, run the application and follow the instructions on the screen. Citizens will supply you with a subscription number you will use this number during the installation to activate the program.

How can I tell that the installation was successful?

You will see the ongoing installation progress or main user interface, if installation was successful, by opening Citizens PC Protection System blue F-icon in the system tray.

After I installed the product and re-booted, the computer seems to lockup. What is happening?

You most likely installed the application on top of an existing anti-virus or Firewall application. You’ll need to re-set the computer and start the system in Safe-Mode. Once in Safe-Mode, you’ll need to uninstall the old anti-virus and/or firewall application.

I used to play network games or use peer-to-peer software on the web before I installed the software, now these applications do not work anymore, what now?

Open the Citizens PC Protection System user interface by clicking the blue F-icon in the right-hand corner (in the System Tray). Click Settings, select Network Protection from menu at left and then click Firewall.

Make sure the current firewall profile is set to Normal in the drop-down menu in the right-middle area of the screen. You may also add the rule for the program yourself if you know what protocol it uses and if you are familiar with TCP/IP fundamentals. Remember to also allow these programs in ‘Application control’ of Personal Firewall.

Citizens PC Virus Protection has detected a virus in the "System volume information" or the "_RESTORE" folder, but it cannot disinfect, rename or delete the infected file? What can be done to get access to those files?

System Restore is a feature of Windows and if the virus infects the computer, it is possible that the virus could be backed up in the system restore folder. You need to disable System Restore and here are steps how to do it:

Windows XP
1. Select My Computer (right click).
2. Select Properties.
3. Select the System Restore tab.
4. Select "Turn off System Restore".
5. Press Apply.
6. Press OK.
7. Restart the computer.
8. Scan all hard drives and all files with Citizens PC Protection System.
When you have scanned all files and disinfected them, please go through those steps again and turn on the system restore.

Windows Vista
1. Right-click computer icon on the Start menu.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click System Protection on the left side of screen.
4. Uncheck the box next to the drive letter for which you want turn System Restore off.
5. Click Turn System Restore off.
6. Restart the computer.
7. Scan all hard drives and all files with Citizens PC Protection System.

When you have scanned all files and disinfected them, please go through those steps again and turn on the system restore.

Windows 7
1. Right-click computer icon on the Start menu.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click System Protection on the left side of screen.
4. Click Configure button.
5. Select radio button next to Turn Off System Protection.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click Ok.
8. Restart the computer.
9. Scan all hard drives and all files with Citizens PC Protection System.
When you have scanned all files and disinfected them, please go through those steps again and turn on the system restore.

I have many files with extension like "0xe", "0ll" and so on on my hard drive. What are these files?

These files were infected and Citizens PC Virus Protection renamed them. Based on Citizens PC Virus Protection settings, files can be renamed if they cannot be disinfected or they can be renamed even without trying to disinfect them. You should check your Citizens PC Virus Protection settings by double clicking the blue F-logo next to system tray. Rename operation changes the first character from the file extension to 0 (zero).

Disinfection may fail for example if the file is a worm or a trojan since worms and trojans cannot be disinfected. Depending on real-time scanning settings, they (0xe, 0ll, etc) might not be scanned with real-time scanner but normally manual scanning is configured to scan all files in the system and when running manual scanning, these files are detected if manual scanning is set to scan all files. You may check your Citizens PC Virus Protection settings by double clicking the blue F-logo next to system tray.

These files contain malicious code, but they cannot spread from the computer and they cannot harm your computer anymore.

If you think that these files are important, you may try to scan and disinfect them again with manual scanning.

If you think that these files are not important, you may delete them after the manual scan.

What is Citizens PC Virus Protection?

Citizens PC Protection System has a built-in Virus Protection (anti-virus) with multiple scanning engines, which provide the best protection for your PC against viruses. With its virus detection technology combined with a fast and automated updating mechanism, your PC will be protected within a few hours after a new virus has been found in the world.

Is Citizens PC Protection System available for Apple Macintosh OS?

No. Citizens PC Protection System is available only for Microsoft Windows (workstation) operating systems.

Does Citizens PC Protection System work with 3rd party anti-virus or firewall software?

No. You must remove any other anti-virus or firewall software before installing Citizens PC Protection System. There is no real benefit to run any other anti-virus software, since Citizens PC Protection System includes multiple scanning engines that work in unison to provide you with the latest active heuristic scanning and disinfection engine. If you are already using an older version Citizens PC Protection System, the installer automatically removes it before installing the latest version.

NOTE: If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7 Operating Systems you may also need to disable Windows Defender, as this program may conflict with the operation of Citizens PC Protection.

Should I manually scan my hard disks on daily basis?

No, unless there is reason to believe that your computer is infected by a virus, worm or other malware, that is not caught by real-time Virus Protection of Citizens PC Protection System.

How do I update the databases of Citizens PC Protection System?

Citizens PC Protection System automatically updates itself, no user interaction is needed. For Dial-Up Customers Automatic updates are performed every time the user connects to the Internet or once per hour for users who have a broadband connection to the Internet.

I have received an e-mail about a new virus. The message says that the virus is really dangerous. What can I do?

Most likely you have received a chain letter that spreads information about a non-existent virus, or a hoax. More information about viruses and hoaxes can be found on F-Secure web pages at http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA-Labs/

What does Citizens PC Personal Firewall mean, and what is a firewall?

Citizens PC Protection System has a built-in firewall, that will protect you from other users trying to intrude on your workstation, and prevent hacking by denying port scans on your computer. The difference between Citizens PC Protection Firewall and a traditional firewall is that the traditional firewall protects the whole network from outside attacks, whereas the Citizens PC Protection Firewall protects individual computers inbound / outbound connections from / to unknown sources and has an advanced intrusion detection system.

How do I change the Personal Firewall profile?

Double-click the blue F-logo on your system tray in the bottom right corner of your screen. On the Citizens PC Protection System main menu, choose Settings. Click on Network Connections in the menu to the left and then select Firewall. Use the drop-down button next to Current Firewall Profile to change to the desired profile.

How do I change the Personal Firewall rules?

Double-click the blue F-logo on your system tray in the bottom right corner of your screen. On the Citizens PC Protection System main menu, choose Settings. Click on Network Connections in menu to the left and select Firewall. By choosing "Rules" tab, you can check your firewall rules and perform needed changes, if necessary.

Firewall rules vs. Citizens PC Protection System security profiles?

Citizens PC Protection System includes several security profiles, which are pre-configured firewall rule sets. Citizens PC Protection System users may also create their own firewall rules by clicking the add... button at the bottom of the rules tab under firewall settings. The Citizens PC Protection System user can change the profile depending on what kind of traffic is needed to allow or deny.

I am experiencing technical difficulties with Citizens PC Protection System, how can I proceed?

The best point of contact is: http://www.f-secure.com

This location has a number of support resources that will assist you in solving many technical difficulties you may be having.

My installation of Citizens PC Protection System stopped working when I installed the same product to another computer, why?

Citizens PC Protection System uses a unique ‘subscription number’ to each installation. In order to use it simultaneously on two computers, you must obtain two different subscription numbers, first for the first installation and second for the second installation.

How can I disable one network card from the Personal Firewall?

If your network cards are configured to different IP network subnets, you can define (allow/deny) traffic from that subnet according to the rule for that particular subnet in Personal Firewall settings.

If I want to allow all traffic (for some reason, temporarily), does Personal Firewall rule "allow all (bi-directional)" allow all the traffic?

No. By default, all non-IP protocols will be allowed whatever rule you may have. However, broadcast traffic is not allowed even if you have made a "bi-directional allow all to everywhere" rule. For broadcast you must define additional rules, e.g. "allow all to 255.255.255.255" for global broadcast or "allow all to 192.168.100.255" for single network broadcast.

Can I make rules based on network interface card?

No, you can allow or define traffic from a certain subnet but there is no way to prevent traffic from a certain network interface.

Does Citizens PC Personal Firewall support Active FTP?

Yes, but you have to create a new rule (outbound) in the custom security level, by using the predefined Active FTP Service (FTP / File Transfer Protocol, active mode)

Why is the first Citizens PC Protection System update xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx package so large?

The large size can be explained by the fact that the first package contains the whole Virus Protection database. The next update will be significantly smaller. The server and the workstation will communicate and compare files, and only the missing files and those that need updating are sent on subsequent interactions. Time and bandwidth are not wasted on sending you something that you already have.

Comparing the files happens on a bit-level, so the size of the update package is reduced considerably.

Why does downloading of the Citizens PC Protection System updates take so long?

The reason for the slow installation or download of updates packages is that the service uses your unused bandwidth. If you are using other applications at the same time, they have a higher priority regarding the bandwidth and thus slow down the installation process. The load in the network may also affect the installation speed.

How do I know that I have the latest update?

You can see the update packages and their date stamps on the Citizens PC Protection System ‘Check for Updates screen.

One process (fssm32.exe) seems to be taking up a large amount of system resources and slowing down the computer. Why is this happening?

The fssm32.exe is the scanner manager and handles the scanning engines. There are two things that will cause this; the scanner tries to scan a file that has been locked (possibly by another program), or the scanner is trying to scan a VERY large file (> 1~2 Gig.). Eventually the scanner will timeout and report in the scan report that it couldn't’t scan that file. Make sure that you do not start any applications during a manual scan process. If the scanner is having problems with very large files (> 1~2 Gig.), you may want exclude them from the scan process.

AOL Instant Messenger doesn't seem to work after I installed the Citizens PC Protection System. Why?

AOL Instant Messenger is trying to access its server via port 5901. This port is blocked by the Citizens PC Protection System. To resolve this issue, simply open the AOL application and press the F3 button. On the left, under "category", click on Sign On/Off. On the bottom right side of this screen is a button called Connection....click it. Then, click on the Auto Configure button. It should then connect to the server. Then click OK and OK again. That's it.

I used Spybot and now Citizens PC Protection System no longer receives updates or my system is showing no updates for several days. Why?

Spybot Search and Destroy detects as “Spyware” a service it incorrectly identifies as “LSPShopAtHome”.

This file is actually a file used by Citizens PC Protection System to receive the database updates. Do not remove it. This is a bug in the Spybot application which has been reported to Spybot. If the file has already been removed, you have several options;

1. You can restore the file with System Restore in XP. (NOTE: This will restore all removed files not just the files relating to the Service)
2. You can uninstall and reinstall Citizens PC Protection System.

Will Citizens PC Protection Systems block websites automatically?

Yes. The application will also record sites visited. Open a Search Engine and do a search on a word. This webpage has been denied by Parental Control. The webpage you are trying to access contains restricted material (Adult) and is therefore blocked by Parental Control.

To access this webpage, click the menu button, and:

1. Choose 'Allow this website' to add this site to your allowed sites list.
2. Choose 'Suspend Webpage Filter' to turn off the filter for this session.
Note: Both actions require the Parental Control password.