|
Newsletter #9 - Malicious Code |
|
The most horrible thing just happened to me. I have my daughter set up with her own user
logon on my main computer. I have her permissions limited so that she can’t install any
software (and mess things up). She wanted to upgrade Instant Messenger (which is like
phone-time to the modern teen… but at least she’s learned to type). Anyway, to upgrade
the IM software, I changed her user into an administrator and logged on as her. Suddenly all the crap she’d downloaded in the past year, but didn’t have permissions to install, started installing. The spam truly hit the fan: Kazaa, Gator, that stupid atomic clock thing. Pop-ups covered the screen and kept coming, nightmare-like. I started madly halting applications and uninstalling things, and when the pop-ups had cleared, only then did I see the real damage. My Internet Explorer window had been reduced in size, by nearly 20%, because of all the ridiculous added toolbars and ads. No matter how I closed them, whenever I opened a new browser window, there they were, offering me tips on Moving, Debt Consolidation, Mortgage Refinancing, etc., etc., etcetera. Worst of all, my beautiful customized IE Search had been taken over, reduced to nothing more than a way to search some weird list of advertisements. Plus, something in there started causing my anti-virus software to turn off. There was much cursing and gnashing of teeth. It was ugly. I called Bob. Below are links to the tools he recommended, that I used to clean up the mess. They are powerful and should be handled with care. |
|
|
Hope this helps, Cheryl |
|
|
|
Data security is an essential component of any organization. It seems that daily we hear
of new viruses making their way onto our computers. Corrupting data, sending confidential
data to unauthorized people and causing network overloads as they propagate through the internet
and our local networks. There are several types of disruptive software that we commonly refer to as viruses. The defining attribute is that they are unwanted software that install without our knowledge, reproduce and spread to other machines, which in turn infect other machines. By far their most prevalent delivery system is email. Common viruses corrupt files: often key files required by the Operation System or the Disk Drive's Boot sector. Either of these can cause you to loose some or all of your important data. Perhaps even more insidious is the Worm. Worms do not destroy data, rather they can install programs that allow a "black hat" access to your important files. Once the worm is installed they can access your machine and search for confidential data, like financial records. This is all done without your knowledge. Fortunately we have some pretty good protection from the Anti-Virus vendors. In order for a virus to run it must generally be loaded into memory for processing by the CPU. When this happens the anti-virus software can detect, warn the user, and delete or quarantine the offending code. Anti-virus software is available to run on desktops and servers. Many Anti-Virus vendors have products that protect email servers, scanning each email for viruses and responding appropriately when it finds them. Using one of the big three, Symantec/Norton, McAfee, or TrendMicro, helps insure your virus definitions are up-to-date. In addition to good anti-virus software, computer performance and productivity can be enhanced with 3rd-party anti-spam and anti-invasion software. Use these freeware tools at your own risk, but we have had very good results with them. |
|
Pop-Up Stopper Free Edition |
Spybot Search and Destroy |
McAfee Stinger |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Didn't find your answer? Register for a free consultation. 
|
|