Virus Defense

Virus defense is something everyone who uses the web has to know. Protecting yourself not only keeps your computer functioning properly and your emails clean, it helps protect others you email too. The following are tips and things you can do to help protect yourself from a virus / worm attack. After that, you can see how to protect yourself from Adware / Malware / Spyware. Following that are tips on avoiding phishing and identity theft scams.

Be wary of:

Attachments

Chain Letters

Forwarded Mail

Messages that are mispelled.

Messages that are all capital letters.

Messages that contain numbers, contests that you didn't enter, promotions of products and services, etc.

Messages from people that say Hi!, Hey!, Me!, Answer to your question, etc. and you never contacted this person before.

Emails in your bulk Email box

Emails that are very big

Emails that have attachments that end in .zip .exe .pif .com .inf

No body in the email (blank ones)

Look at the address of the incoming email. If it as an _ in front of it, that is if the email address looks like _thisemail@yahoo.com then dump that immediately for it's a nasty worm virus.

The things to do to avoid virus contamination are:

#1 - No matter what you use your computer for the number one thing to do is get a virus shield. Either through Norton or McAfee. Scan you computer at least once a week or more depending on how much time you spend on the Internet.

#2 - Scan all email attachments no matter who sent them.

#3 - Be suspicious of any forwarded email.

#4 - Trash any email you deem suspicious.

#5 - Turn the SPAM filter to medium or higher.

#6 - Try if you can using a firewall.

#7 – Blank emails mean that the email server itself found a problem and stripped the email.

#8 – Set up a junk email account. This is an email you use for applications, contests, online ordering, online auctions, etc. That way most of the spam and potentially infected email goes here. While it won’t block all viruses, this will help you to keep better track of your email.

#9 – Keep up with virus news. Viruses and worms are constantly changing and come in different forms. So just keep an eye open and you can keep your computer free.

#10 – Another thing to do is make back ups of important software and documents. Store them on disks or CD/DVDRoms. That way if something bad does happen such as a virus or your drive crashes, you won't have to scramble to retrive files.

#11 - If you are going to download or upload software to your drive, or any sort of picture, programs, etc., be sure that the disk/CD/DVD has been scanned for viruses.

#12 - Some viruses / worms come disguised as emails from friends who are infected, and the virus / worm has used your friend's email address book to send itself out.

#13 - Use a program like AdAware to help scan for pesky programs. Make sure to scan at least once a week.

#14 - Take note of how you computer normally works. How fast it works, what it does when you open a program like word, try to save a file, listen to music, etc. When it begins to slow, refuses to open a program, repeatedly shuts down and boots, freezes, etc. something is wrong and you should scan the computer for malicious programs.

Avoiding Adware / Malware / Spyware

These are pesky programs that sneak into your computer as a popup ad that comes on just as your clicking for something else, piggybacks on a downloaded file, or something else. These can slow down your computer, run annoying programs when you operate your computer or surf the ‘net. While these do not damage your computer, some of them may leave you vulnerable to people who will watch where you go on the ‘net. Others may slow your computer to the point that you can’t use it.

Here is a list of what you can do to avoid getting Adware / Malware / Spyware on your computer.

1. Treat all gray popups as if they were viruses. Adware / Malware / Spyware disguise themselves as helpful programs, but they are not. Do not download any gray popup unless you specifically know the program does not match up against any known Adware / Malware / Spyware lists.

2. Scan all your files with a virus scanner at least once a week. Do it more often if you spend a lot of time on the Internet.

3. Keep watch of known Adware / Malware / Spyware programs so you can avoid their popups.

4. Adware / Malware / Spyware change names all the time, so keep watch of anything that comes onto your computer.

5. Adware / Malware / Spyware can come in names like nCase, Gatorvison, Casino, Bargain Buddy, Time Clock, AdDestroyer, and Verticity. To this date there are nearly 700 known Adware / Spyware. So keep watch of what is around.

6. Ads that are on webpages are also known sources of Adware / Malware / Spyware. Be careful of them.

7. Be careful of files that your friends give you over IMs and other sources. They might be infected and not know it. Scan all incoming files. Also be careful of e-mails from friends. Sometimes malicious email can be disguised as coming from a friend.

Here is a list of known Adware / Malware / Spyware.

Here is a well-known computer program I use to scan and get rid of these bad programs. It's free and it works great!

Here is a list of what to look for if you think you’re infected with an Adware / Malware / Spyware:

1. Popup ads that appear in conjunction with places you surf or seem to be always of things you like.

2. A separate search engine popping up with found entries after you’ve used something like Google. Such as you’ve searched for the Hardy Boys. Once Google loads all of its found websites, a separate search engine will popup with all of its found websites of the Hardy Boys.

3. A small picture of the top portion of a gator appearing in your blue bar at the bottom of the page.

4. Your homepage is suddenly different that what you’ve selected.

5. Your clock is constantly resetting itself.

6. You suddenly have a game or program on your computer that you’ve never seen before.

7. Your computer is extremely slow or much slower than normal.

8. You receive much more spam mail than before.

9. Your computer always freezes when you try to log onto the Internet or open programs on your screen.

Here is a list of what to do if you think you’ve been infected with an Adware / Malware / Spyware:

1. Use your virus scanner. These are now designed to pick up known Adware / Malware / Spyware. Make sure yours is updated often.

2. Even when your virus scanner picks it up, it may not be able to delete it from your computer.

3. Check the part of your control panel called Add / Remove programs. Check the programs there against the Adware / Malware / Spyware lists. You can delete the programs from there following the instructions.

4. Some Adware / Malware / Spyware may have to be manually deleted from the harddrive. Use the Adware / Malware / Spyware list to learn how to manually delete them.

5. You may have to delete the Adware / Malware / Spyware two or more times before it’s finally deleted from your hard drive.

6. Be sure to empty your trashbin.

Here is a list of the most circulated Adware/Malware/Spyware and how to purge them.

Remember that even with all the precautions, Adware / Malware / Spyware are constantly changing themselves to avoid detection, just like viruses. So it’s best to keep an eye out for them just like you would for a virus / worm. Make sure to keep your virus scanners up to date.

What is Adware / Malware / Spyware? Is any software that covertly gathers information about a user while he/she navigates the Internet and transmits the information to an individual or company that uses it for marketing or other purposes; also called adware (Defined by dictionary.com) This means that while you go about your business on your computer, these programs watch what you do, report what you do, so the watcher can tailormake ads, viruses, and other things according to what you do so it can trick you.

What is a worm? Even though a worm may sound not as harmless as a virus, it’s just as bad. Basically, it’s a cloning machine. Its function is to go to your email and infect it with itself. It will spread via all outgoing email and your email address book with clones of itself. Worms are designed to slow down the web and clog up email boxes with clones. And the more clones that reach your box, even more clones that go out. Some worms can even carry a virus like destruction with them. There are also some worms that can be stopped from infecting your computer by adding a patch to your Windows program.

What is a virus? Think of it as the same thing that can make you sick. When it gets into your computer, it not only acts like worm, cloning itself and going out with all email, it spreads in your computer. Some viruses spread without your knowledge, others are very blatant. Viruses can destroy harddrives, wiping them clean. Others can prevent you from even starting up your computer. Some can even leave you vulnerable to hacker attacks.

What is a virus shield? This is a computer guard that will scan your computer for viruses and worms and clean the virus out. Virus shields will alert you the instant an infection is detected and show you how to get rid of it. They cannot protect against everything, that’s why it’s necessary to scan your computer at least once a week, and check with the shield maker to make sure you have the most recent update.

What is a virus scanner? This is what it says. It scans your computer for viruses. It’s important to make sure the scanner is up to date. This is a great defense for checking for hidden viruses and worms.

What is a firewall? This basically helps keep more viruses out. Its main function is to protect against hackers. Also, a growing scam that some porn makers do is tap into your computer via the net and use your system to send their junk out. A firewall will help to prevent that.

Avoiding Identity Theft Scams

It's important also not to fall for identity scams. These are emails that say your account will be shut off or put on hold if you don't verify your account with your social security number, email, etc. DO NOT FALL FOR THESE EMAILS. These are identity theft emails that are designed to steal from you. If you get one of these emails and feel something is wrong with your account, log out of your email server. Go directly to the website, and log in DIRECTLY to you account. DO NOT USE REMOTE ACCESS to go into your account.

Daily and weekly maintenance is also needed to protect your computer. Use the virus scanner at least once a week. Make sure you also delete any adware or spyware programs. Be careful with popup ads and make sure you get carefully get rid of them.

Another kind of identity scam is called phishing. It's a scam in which con artists will create look-a-like emails and websites to fool people. Credit Card companies, Utitlities, Ebay, Yahoo, Internet Services, IRS, Social Security offices and other companies and organizations will NOT email you to tell you of a problem. These companies will alert you via snail mail or when you log on to your account. Be careful of the phony websites. Always check the spelling of the address and check to make sure that the site has the secure lock acitivated when you log in to view your account, make a purchase, etc. Some sites are so convincing they've been able to fool even those that look out for such things. Always check for the SSL, make sure the lock is locked on your computer, check the spelling of the site, and make sure that an 's' appears after the http in the address when you will make a purchase. (Not in the beginning) The 's" means shopping and only appears on the 'purchase page'.

Be careful of messages for junk products, promtions, get-rich-quick schemes, schools, services, drugs, enhancements, mortgage consolidation, loans, money-for-nothing, stay-at-home jobs, find-a-mate services, job offers, and other junk mail stuff. These things are nothing but scams out for your money and will deliver nothing in return but broken promises, false hopes, and probably will cost you your identity. Don't even read these emails and throw them out.

Avoiding Money Rip-off Scams

This is another part of avoid viruses, worms, adware, identity theft, etc. Is to not fall for money making scams. A lot of them that have fooled people are. Never send money for services that are usually offered for free. Like wiping out debt. If you are willing to work with the companies yourself and work with a budget you can do that yourself. Job searches can be done for free through various free sites. Don't send money to anyone asking for it no matter how good the claim is, no matter how desperate the person seems. Legitiment charities do not send email asking for money. Never offer to cash a check, accept money on someone else's behalf, etc. in return for double the amount. It's a scam and you're better off keeping your money. Never invest in a project/company you've never heard of. You're best bet is to go through a legitmate broker and discuss which is best to choose from the real companies out there.