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Posts Tagged ‘anti-virus’

If you log on to the Internet, you definitely need anti-virus software. It does not matter whether you do not use a computer. Whatever you use to get on line you must have anti-virus software. Although there are hundreds of malicious idiots producing viruses to attack those who log on to the Internet from a computer, there is an increasing number who are focusing on mobile phone users as well.

It is harder to clear viruses from your mobile phone as well, because there are less vendors for the anti-virus software and mobile phone users are often less technologically knowledgeable than computer users, although the technique of clearing the virus is fairly analogous.

Let’s just use the example of using computers to go on line. If you go on line, your ant-virus software is your most essential item of software. It does not matter what you use the Internet for – transferring data back to base or receiving emails from friends – you are subject to attack.

For instance, if you use the Internet only to communicate with your head office, a hacker could try to piggy-back your connection to gain access to the mainframe at head office and possibly access financial or other personal data and if you just send to and receive emails from your friends and family, you are open to attack from malevolent twits around the world.

If you use webmail such as that offered by Yahoo, Hotmail and MSN to name only the most popular, you will be protected from the most obvious attacks, but still not safe. If you receive your email via an email client such as Outlook or Outlook Express, then you do not even have that small amount of protection.

If you do not use email, but only surf the Internet for research or whatever, you are still not secure, because some websites and loaded with viruses, trojans and worms, waiting to unload them onto unsuspecting visitors.

Therefore, whatever reason you surf the Internet for, you could do with some type of security. Luckily, anti-virus software for personal use is cheap and may even be free. Commercial users will normally get tax relief on their purchases.

However, be cautious with the free anti-virus software, because not all of it is effectual enough. The exceptions that spring readily to mind are Avira and AVG. These are exceptional products and have justly gained worldwide praise. Just Google the two names to get the download URL.

The anti-virus software that costs something (typically $25-$50 per annum) invariably offer one to two months free trial before you buy and a reduction in price, if you pay for more than one year at a time. Names that fall into this class are Kaspersky, McAfee, Norton and Nod.

After you have chosen your software, the subsequent steps are the same for free and paid software. First install it and then configure it. If you are not certain how to do that do not worry, the default settings are fine for the vast majority of users. The only choice you will get that it is imperative you make correctly is to consent to automatic updates.

New viruses are being exposed or fixed every day and for your anti-virus software to be effective, you must allow it to bring itself up to date whenever it wants to.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the network antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

New computer viruses are being created, exposed and fought every day. These computer viruses are created often just to annoy us and to wreak mayhem in our computer systems. Below, I have described ten viruses currently cited as being the most widespread and being potentially able to cause the most damage. However, new viruses are being created daily, so this list is by no means complete. The only thing you can do is stay alert, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.

Virus: Trojan.Lodear: A Trojan (from Trojan Horse) that attempts to download files from a remote source. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.

Virus: W32.Beagle.CO@mm: A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block admittance to security-related websites.

Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban: A Trojan that permits the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.

Virus: W32/Netsky-P: A mass-mailing worm which propagates by emailing itself to addresses harvested from files on the local drives.

Virus: W32/Mytob-GH: A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform. Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.

Virus: W32/Mytob-EX: A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob- EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a distant intruder to gain access and control over your computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email address book.

Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER: This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they are able to do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be manipulated through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Furthermore, they can spread themselves via email and by various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).

Virus: Zafi-D: A mass-mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which replicates itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then generate a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames made up of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D replicates itself to folders with names containing words like ’share’, ‘upload’, or ‘music’ as ‘ICQ 2005a new!.exe’ or ‘winamp 5.7 new!.exe’. W32/Zafi-D will also show a fake error message box with the caption “CRC: 04F6Bh” and the text “Error in packed file!”.

Virus: W32/Netsky-D: A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also contaminate computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus: W32/Zafi-B: A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will reproduce itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an Internet connection by attempting to connect to google.com or microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to ?We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, P?cs (SNAF Team)?

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the network antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

Adware, spyware and anti-virus software share some similarities, one of which is that all three are major nuisances for computer users. Let’s make a distinction between the three.

Spyware is software that does not necessarily harm your computer. What it does is build pathways whereby someone else apart from the computer owner can communicate from that computer. Normally spyware records the different kinds of web sites you visit and sends that information to web advertisers, who then later send you unsolicited emails and pop-ups.

Which is why spyware is unpopular and avoided. It is more intrusive than adware. Spyware has its own separate executable programs, which allow it to record your keystrokes, scan files on your hard disks and look at other applications that you use, including but not limited to chat programs, cookies and Web browser settings.

Spyware then sends the information that it had gathered to the spyware author. The author will then use this data for advertising and marketing purposes. They also sell the information to advertisers and other parties.

Adware, on the other hand, is a more legitimate type of software.. It is similar to spyware but adware is advertising spyware which is bundled into free software or a free program and is installed automatically once that particular program or software is loaded into your computer system.

Some forms of adware, on the other hand, download advertising content when a particular application is being run. Some adware behaves like spyware in that it tracks and reports user data to the program’s writers.

The signs of spyware infection include pop-up ads that seem to be unconnected to the site you are looking at. Sometimes spyware pop-ups are advertisements about adult contents. Furthermore, if you become aware of your computer slowing down, there is a big chance that spyware and its components have found their way into your operating system. If Windows desktop takes a long time to load, it is best to scan your computer for spyware infections.

Viruses, on the other hand, are a harmful kind of software. They were designed and created for one reason alone and that is to inflict chaos on your computer. They may destroy whatever data they come in contact with, can instigate self replication and then infect as many components of the computer’s operating system or network as possible.

These days, a lot of anti-virus software also provides spyware and adware scanning and removal utilities. They then remove it as well as its components located in the system registry and other locations on your computer. It is therefore, good practice to regularly update your anti-virus and anti-spyware scanner to ensure that your computer is protected from the thousands of spyware and viruses in the Internet. Beware of free add-ons or free anything really.

Adware might be spyware in disguise and could be just waiting to be deployed for its writers to gather your data. Learn how to set up a firewall and pop-up blocker in order to minimize the risk of computer infection and ensure the security of all your computer records.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the best virus protection software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

Protecting your computer from viruses is getting more and |more difficult each day. While it may sound a little paranoid, it is true that you cannot let your defense drop for one second. Even commercial giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Do you remember the ‘good old days’, before the arrival of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. The primary way to catch a virus then was via floppy disks. By today’s standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. The antivirus software of that time was usually able to identify and eliminate viruses before they caused too much harm. Additionally, computer users were fairly knowledgeable about how to defend themselves by scanning all floppy disks before using them.

The Internet changed all that. The Internet provided a medium by which viruses could move from host to host with lightening speed. A computer user had to begin to think about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads as virus entry points. Today’s viruses can attack through multiple entry points, propagate without human intervention, and take full advantage of weaknesses within a system or program. With technology advancing everyday, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential for new types of threats also increases.

Fortunately, the development of antivirus software has kept pace with the virus threats. Antivirus software is indispensable to a computer’s ability to ward off viruses and other malicious programs. These software products are designed to guard against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Moreover, these programs offer a control feature that handles deployment, configuration and updating. A computer user should remain diligent and follow a couple of simple steps to guard against the threat of a virus:

You should evaluate your current computer security system. With the danger of a new generation of viruses being able to attack in a large number of ways, the tactic of having just one kind of antivirus software has become obsolete. You need to be certain that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server. Consider a more comprehensive security system which encompasses several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to infiltrate your system.

You should install antivirus software developed by a well-known, highly regarded company, because new viruses come out daily, so it is important that you update your antivirus software daily. Become familiar with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically each time you boot your computer. This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up.

Set your antivirus software to scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate from and exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown sources particularly if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.

Make sure you perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to retrieve your data if you computer becomes infected.

There are many applications available to consumers, so with a little research, you should be able to pick the program that is right for you. Many programs offer a trial version which permits you to download the program and test its capabilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall, so as a precaution make sure you set up a System Restore point and take back-ups before installing it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the cheap antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software