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Viruses and Security,
Probably the most common issue facing all PC users today
is security on the web. It was not that long ago with few
exceptions it was relatively safe out there.
Just as in a small town residents could leave their homes
leaving their doors unlocked, or leave the car running when
they picked up the mail at the Post Office, until of course
the population grew and with it more bad people and crime.
Much the same is true with the internet, and e-mail.
The problem has evolved in many forms, at first it was
enough to watch whom you received e-mail from and being
careful about attachments. Generally speaking surfing the
web was ok in the mid to late 90’s except for some x rated
sites, and as their weren’t many threats, so many took a
casual attitude about security. Now the threats come from
surfing the web, getting e-mail, identity theft, downloading
music (some sites are illegal), many have asked; “Can I even
surf safely now?”
The answer; while no solution is full proof, with the proper
precautions, and some common sense yes you can.
E-mail Viruses & Anti-Virus software
E-mail viruses come in many types and act differently
depending on the programming some are geared to direct you
to different web sites, some take your address book and
forward it to someone else, who will intern send e-mails
containing viruses to all those people. This type of
activity is called “spoofing”, the bad guy sending people
e-mails, based on your address book that allegedly came from
you. Most of us have experienced worm viruses, all of these
differ in their methods. Let us not forget those “phishing”,
a link sent by e-mail to an alleged on line store to buy
something which ends up being a hoax and if you think your
buying something, the bad guy gets your money. On top of
these newer threats are all the old style viruses. We
recommend the F-secure or Symantec web sites to find
information about individual viruses and other threats & how
the behave.
Anti-Virus software to the rescue such as Zone Labs,F-secure,
Norton, MacAfee, and a host of others in their 2005 versions
seem better able to deal not only with the older viruses but
the newer worm viruses as well. The trade off is memory
utilization, all the products stated above while their
advertising states otherwise need 256MB of ram in your
system so that both Windows, and the new antivirus software
function properly. Remember new viruses come out all the
time, always do updates to help your virus protection
software know what to look for and how to defeat or at least
quarantine these threats.
Spy Ware and other malicious software
Again no one single item in this category, basically it is
the use of tracking cookies and other routines or
applications installed on your system without your consent,
that’s the short story. It is like barnacles on a boat you
get them when your surfing, some are easily removed others
are darn stubborn, they typically try to find how you surf
the internet, and some try to control your on line
purchases.
Trojans, hacking, and Hijackers
With the advent of new technology and more features built
into both Microsoft Windows and their Office products
creates the unintended consequence of more vulnerabilities.
Sadly we live in a world where to many people try exploit
weaknesses to cause damage. We have been frequently asked;
“Why did they hack into me?” We don’t know we are not
trained FBI profilers, but as rampant as it is it appears
that some treat it like a game, or to fight the Microsoft
Goliath, or they see hacking into someone’s system as their
climb of Mt. Everest. Or the more malevolent among them are
looking to steal your identity. What fuels the fire
according to a Microsoft presenter, are web sites where
people can download the tools to do this along with in some
cases instructions on how to do this. WE do NOT recommend
this, if you’re caught there can be extensive jail time.
So what is hacking? The short definition is someone who
breaks into your computer without your knowledge or consent,
most will then perform various activities without your
knowledge or consent.
Trojans as the name implies is a class of software installed
accidentally by you or implanted by a hacker which can take
control of certain aspects of your computer without your
knowledge or consent. It differs from the typical spy ware
as it is typically more damaging.
Hijacking is a file that causes your browser to be
redirected to a web site NOT of your choosing, typically it
reassigns the home page, most through the systems registry,
some just edit the hosts file to accomplish this. Some hedge
their bets by doing both; again there isn’t just one out
there. In most cases these occur from visiting a web site,
downloading some interesting material, the bad routine comes
with it.
To avoid this trouble we recommend as does Microsoft, do
your updates, Microsoft is always analyzing new threats and
rushes patches and updates out to help you, We also
recommend a good firewall, a hardware firewall is obviously
better, if that is cost prohibitive at least get one of the
new, “Security Suite”, packages which provide firewall &
anti virus all in one application. It costs on average
$65.00 but it’s worth every penny, some that we have had
experience with are “F-secure Internet Security 2005” and
“Zone Labs Internet Security Suite 2005”, these may require
some tweaking to avoid it from blocking a web site you want
to connect to or when active x controls are installed. Also
both in our experience, (we haven’t tested everyone out
there) work well with Windows XP service Pack 2. The product
you select should be based on applications you have
installed and applications you connect to online, not all
default settings work in all circumstances.
Your probably wondering how they work? What they do is mask
your identity on line, and block known troublesome content.
If the hackers can’t see you they can’t break in. We are
glad to report as of this writing that these security suite
software packages have performed very well.
Another key to problem avoidance is not leaving important
information about yourself on your computer. If you get an
anonymous e-mail asking you to shop online, don’t. Go on
line and do a search for the company you want.If you have
forms requiring your social security, or credit card
numbers, delete them, they become tempting targets for a
hacker. This is where you come in, you should always ask
yourself; “Am I leaving any information on my system or in
e-mail that could compromise me?" Never trust your social
security number or credit card number in an e-mail.
There is one more piece to top off your security plan that
we recommend. We have had great success from; a spy ware
scanner and frequently recommend it’s use. There are some
side effects study how to use it or set up an appointment
with our techs to do an onsite instruction to avoid removing
files another application may need. But after your first
time being shown it works well to keep out Spyware, Malware,
and Trojans and remove that which snuck in. If you’re on
line a lot do frequent updates and scans. Some are better
then other please call us and set up an appointment to
discuss your needs.
Summary
To summarize your protection plan
Do Microsoft Windows and Office product updates.
Install and update daily Internet Security Suite software.
Set the settings as recommended, run frequent scans, e-mail
should be scanned in real time.
Install and update Spy ware scanner, or a similar product to
capture and clean out Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans,
Hijackers, and other malicious software.
If at all possible, and you’re using a broadband connection
to the internet get a hardware firewall/router.
Common sense think the same about the internet as you would
your home when it comes to security, even if you have the
other above items in place.
Passwords the more letters capitals and lower case mixed
with numbers the better. Think about it like a lock not just
an inconvenience.
Is all this guaranteed, NO, but it has shown to produce good
results in many cases. Remember that Kazaa (any version),
Lime Wire, Morpheus, some on line gaming, and other file
sharing applications create huge holes in your security.
Even if you do everything else recommended and you use THESE
share ware applications you will still have issues.
How do I know if I have a problem?
Typically the first sign of trouble is the gradual slowing
of your computer, applications stop working, your home page
is diverted, uncontrollable pop ups are some of the most
common symptoms. If this happens take a look in quarantine
and backup for your security software to see if a virus has
shown up. Otherwise run your spy ware/Trojan scanner to see
if it identifies any issues. At
that point it’s time to call us professional service to come
on site and have a look.
I should end this by pointing out that everyday
Microsoft, and the security software industry is getting
better able to lock out the bad guys.
If you are a business getting started security is really
important, consult with us to avoid the risk of compromising
client data!!!
"Can I surf the internet safely"? If
you take some precautions and use common sense for the most
part yes.
(Graphic at the top of this page came from Microsoft as a
free clipart download)
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