Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. With the primary way in which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a lot easier. 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 typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before they caused too much damage. Additionally, computer users were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our desktop.

The Internet helped change all that. The Internet provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to host with lightening speed. No longer could a computer user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads. Today’s viruses can attack through multiple entry points, spread without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program. With technology advancing everyday, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential of new types of threats also increase.

Protecting Your Computer

Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats. Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated. You need to be confident 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 includes several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company.
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software. 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.

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.

4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown sources especially if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.

5. Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software

There are numerous applications available to consumers. With a little research, you can pick the program that is right for you. Many programs provide a trial version which allows you to download the program and test its abilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall. As a precaution make sure to set up a System Restore point before installing.

Here are a few programs which typically receive high marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and customer service.

The more time you spend online, the more at risk you are. That’s why they  created ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, the strongest and most comprehensive security suite to protect all areas of your online life.Includes ZoneAlarm® ForceField™ browser security. Award Winning PC Security

McAfee® Total Protection™ is hassle-free, all-you-need security ideal for people who are constantly online for communication, shopping, banking, trading or viewing entertainment. It features the award-winning McAfee SiteAdvisor® Plus web security tool that warns about and blocks risky web sites. McAfee Total Protection protects your family and entire network of PCs from viruses, spyware, hackers, identity thieves, and online scammers. It also offers parental controls.  Eliminate viruses and spyware with McAfee VirusScan.

Acronis True Image Home 2009 is an award-winning backup and recovery solution for a good reason: it protects your PC after just one click and allows you to recover from viruses, unstable software downloads, and failed hard drives. Create an exact copy of your PC and restore it from a major failure in minutes, or back up important files and recover them even faster. Download a Free Trial of Acronis True Image 2009

Kaspersky Internet Security 2009  program is simple to install and use. The user only needs to choose from three levels of protection. It allows updates as frequently as every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer. The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature and round-the-clock technical support.

Panda Internet Security 2009 is a security suite that lets you use the Internet with complete peace of mind. It protects you from viruses, spyware, rootkits, hackers, online fraud, identity theft and all other Internet threats. The anti-spam engine will keep your inbox free from junk mail while the Parental Control feature ensures your children can use the Web safely. Buy Panda Internet Security 2009 for $51.97. Save $27.98!

PC-cillin Internet Security combines antivirus security and a personal firewall—for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable antivirus program that has received high marks for its reliability. In the past, free downloadable antivirus programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues relating to its reliability. However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs available. While AVG can not be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it still makes a good choice for many home computer users. The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with no further obligation necessary.

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When you surf the web it is possible to learn information about you even when you don’t want to advertise who you are. This is true even if your system contains no virus or malware software. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information.  It gets worse.  People can get your computer’s name and even find out your name if your machine supports programs like finger or identd. Also, cookies can track your habits as you move from machine to machine.

How do people get this basic information about you?

When you visit another web site, information about you can be retrieved.  Basically, information is intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities.

How do you stop this from happening?

First of all, it is possible to serf the web anonymously and thereby stop leaving a trail for others to find. Note that this is not fool-proof, but it makes it much harder for people to know who you are. There are products called anonymous proxy servers that help protect you.  The anonymous proxy server replaces your Internet address for its own.  This has the effect of hiding your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.

How do I get an anonymous proxy server?

There are many vendors who sell anonymous proxy servers. There are also free proxy servers available to you. Two such products are ShadowSurf and Guardster.  Guardster (http://www.guardster.com/) offers various services for anonymous and secure access to the web, some paid as well as a free service.  ShadowSurf  (http://www.shadowsurf.com/) ShadowSurf provides anonymous surfing at their site for free. Go to it and you will find a box to enter a URL that you want no one to track. There are many others, but here are two that are frequently used.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer (http://www.anonymizer.com). This company, among others, recently (Feb 1st, 2006) pressed that it “is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free” (http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/media/press_releases/02012006.html).

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe?

No.  Still, you are much better off if you use such technology.

What other things should I be concerned about when trying to keep my private information private?

Three other items come to mind when trying to keep your information private. First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing. This article does not go into detail on this, but search the web and you will find a lot of information on this.  Secondly, delete cookies after each session.  Third, you can configure your browser to remove JavaScript, Java, and active content. This actually leads to limitations, so you need to think about the cost/benefit of this course of action.

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With more people setting up their own home based, online business every day, the amount of vulnerable web sites is increasing at an alarming pace. And the blame for this lies mostly within the Internet Marketing community itself. Why? Using the powerful techniques of persuasion at their disposal, many so-called Internet Marketing Gurus lure people into setting up their own online business by providing them with ready-made, plug and play web sites that contain basic security flaws. Do not forget that most of these sites are made by marketers, not programmers! And the consequences for you can be disastrous…

One of the most common vulnerabilities – and paradoxically the most easily cured – is to ensure that each directory on your site contains an index file. By default, web browsers, when directed to a directory look first of all for a file named index. This could be followed by a variety of extensions such as .html, .htm, .shtml or .php to name the most common ones.

If the browser does not encounter the index file, it will display the entire directory in the form of a clickable navigation list, disclosing all its contents for the world to see, thus leaving your precious and often restricted content wide open to any type of malicious action.

To prevent this from happening you should make sure that you have at least one or a combination of the 4 following basic security measures in place:

Security measure 1:
Ensure that each directory contains an index file by renaming the default page you want to be shown to index. Then make sure that all the internal links to that page are updated as well!

Security measure 2:
Create an empty index file. When arriving at the directory, a blank page will be shown, but you will no longer be displaying a directory listing. You could also provide a message and a clickable link on that page to take your visitors to the correct page.

Security measure 3:
Create an index file that contains a redirection to the page you want to be shown. There are many free and easily implemented code snippets available that will allow you to do so and your visitors will not even notice that they are being redirected.

Security measure 4:
If you have downloadable content that people have to pay for, do not keep it it the same directory as the sales page, but keep it in a separate, secure directory and set up your payment processor to that directory. This way you ensure that only people who have paid for the content have access to it.

When selling products online as an Internet Marketer or otherwise, you are more prone to people trying to get to your restricted content so as to avoid having to pay for it. These 4 basic security measures should help you drastically reduce the risk of unlawful access to your site and save you from a lot of headaches and worries.

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These simple tips will help you stay virus and spyware free, even if you’re connected to the internet 24 hours a day.

1. Protect yourself

Good protection on the Internet these days consists of 3 components: anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and a firewall.

Tags: anti-spyware

Good virus protection doesn’t need to cost you a fortune. You can get excellent free anti-virus software at www.grisoft.com. Even the professional version of their software is very affordable.

For spyware protection, go to www.lavasoft.de and download Ad-Aware SE Personal, also free. This will zap the most common spyware and adware found on the Internet.

As for a firewall, Windows XP ships with a decent enough firewall. Just make sure it is always enabled. Alternatively you can visit a site like www.download.com and search for Zone Alarm, which has an excellent free version.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep your anti-virus software up to date. An anti-virus program that uses definitions that are months old is just about useless.

Update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software at least once a week.

2. Stop opening every attachment you receive.

Most of the devastating worms and viruses of recent times were distributed via email. These viruses feed on the curiosity and also the ignorance of a huge number of email users. People will get an email from fakename@weirdsuspiciousdomain and they’ll just open whatever file is attached to it.

If you don’t know the sender, don’t open the attachment – just delete it. It doesn’t matter if the subject promises you’ll see Britney Spears dancing nude on the kitchen table, just delete it.

If the email is from someone you know, always scan any attachments first before downloading or opening them.

If every email user in the world followed these simple guidelines the distribution of viruses via email will grind to a halt.

3. Stay clear of pornographic and illegal software sites

If you want to pick up viruses and spyware quickly, visit some pornographic web sites. One wrong click on a subtle little pop-up or security warning window (which you’ll run into often on these type of sites) and you’ll have infested yourself with trojan horses, spyware, dialers and other unfavorable software that could leave your computer wide open to further attacks.

The same goes for web sites distributing software, serial codes and cracks illegally (warez).

Simply put – keep out of the dark side of the web and the odds of keeping your computer clean shifts decidedly in your favor.

4. Watch out what you download

Spyware is embedded in a lot of software on the Internet – especially those related to ripping, converting and playing music and videos. That free MP3 player or DVD Ripper you just downloaded may have installed a bunch of harmful spyware without you even knowing about it.

5. Keep yourself informed

Major anti-virus software developers like Symantec and Grisoft updates their sites regularly with the latest virus alerts. Visit these sites frequently to keep yourself aware of what threats are doing the rounds and how to avoid them.

Using these simple and software I have kept my computer virus-free for the past 3 years. It’s not rocket science. Just stay alert, use some common sense and you too can stay bug free while still enjoying your Internet experience.

Tags: anti-spyware

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Removing an unwanted item from your computer can range from the trivial, to the downright nerve-wracking. Part I of this article describes some of the most basic types of unwanted items. Part II discusses specific procedures aimed at their removal.

First let us classify the various types of ‘unwanted items’ in existence. Also for the purposes of this article, assume that a Windows-based computer is the object of this exercise.

Unwanted items in the most generic sense may appear in the form of files (items of data), or programs (executables), either fully installed in the normal fashion (using the Windows Installer program), or simply stored in some folder location. The latter simply needs to be clicked on for it to run as intended, or unintentionally triggered by some other process. Moreover, programs may be ‘hostile’. In other words they may be malware – a virus, trojan, spyware or Adware.

Below are listed some of the more common types of unwanted items that may be found on your computer.

Unwanted Data:
Removal of unwanted data can be simply by identifying, locating and deleting the data file, followed by emptying the trash can.

However, you should be aware that if security is an issue, simple file deletion as described above will not completely remove all traces of the data. To ensure that sensitive data is removed ‘forever’ the data must be overwritten with new data designed according to recognized secure methods. Details of such a procedure are beyond the scope of this article.

Since it is theoretically possible to retrieve even data that has been overwritten, some would argue that the only secure way to prevent sensitive data from ever being retrieved is to physically destroy the hard disk originally used to store the data. It is safe to say, though, that such retrieval would be way beyond the capabilities of all but the most technically sophisticated.

Cache Files:
Cache files are used by Windows to help speed up the execution of routing and/or repetitive operations. While these are not ‘unwanted’ in the strictest sense of the term, over time the cache file size may grow unnecessarily large, thereby degrading computer performance.

Internet Temporary Files:
During the course of the normal use of Internet Explorer of other Internet browser, many temporary files are created.

Windows Temporary Files:
Windows creates temp files during software installation as well as various other operations. These files provide the ability to easily recover from various possible ‘glitches’ that may occur during execution of a given process.

Similar to Cache files, Windows uses ‘temp’ (temporary) files to provide smoother operation of various installed programs. Temp files are conspicuous by their ‘.tmp’ file extension. For example, you will find temp files being created whenever programs such as MSWord or Excel are used.

Unwanted Installed Programs:
Any program originally installed using the Windows installer may be uninstalled by the usual (recommended) method of going to the Control Panel and running the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ utility. Many programs are also supplied with their own uninstaller. In such cases this feature should be used as a first option for its removal from your computer.

It should be noted that if the program’s own uninstaller and/or Windows Add/Remove Program utility fail to remove the program, other more intrusive means of removal may be employed. This option will be covered in Part II of this article.

Malware:
The removal of malware (spyware, adware, etc.) is typically the most challenging of all the procedures described thus far. In fact, the initial obstacle is recognizing that such an ‘infestation’ does indeed exist.

Some of the first signs of possible malware infestation are:
- Erratic computer operation.
- Computer crashes.
- Slower-than-normal operation.
- Pop-up messages warning of virus infestation or other problem (trying to scare you into taking some particular action, such as visiting a website promising to fix the problem).
- Your Home Page suddenly being changed from the normal site (home-page hijacking).

To be sure, there are other factors that may slow down your computer or cause erratic behavior, such as file corruption, or software bugs. However, there are a few procedures you can follow which will reduce or eliminate the possibility that your computer is in fact the victim of a malware ‘attack’.

It makes good sense to run a complete check for malware and remove any items found, and then perform routine maintenance procedures (temp file removal, etc.).

Tags: Computer Security, Computer Protection

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Too many computer users neglect to do the basic maintenance of their computer. The result is a clear path to their personal information. Hackers are diligently at work everyday trying to find the weakness in your system so that they may be able to steal your personal information. Others would simply like to create trouble and destroy your hard drive.

There is a wide variety of protective software available, such as adware removers, antivirus tools, keypatrol agents, spyware blasters and so on. These are effective only if put to good use.

Think of yourself as a pilot doing a pre-flight inspection. The pilot is responsible for doing a thorough inspection of his airplane before any passenger boards the plane. He needs to be sure that all safety precautions have been taken to guarantee that all mechanical and electronic devices are working and that the mechanical inspections are up to date. He needs to verify that the aircraft is in good operating condition. Once the plane is off, it is too late to start wondering if such and such a device is working properly.

Your computer is your responsibility. Just like a pilot needs to go through a checklist, you also should make yourself a checklist of things to verify before you surf the Internet. Once connected, it is too late to realize that your system is not up to the challenge. If your system is not checked, if you are vulnerable to the attacks, you could pay a severe price.

You need to purchase good tools for this job. It is acceptable to try free tools to evaluate their quality but once you have found a good tool, purchase it and put it to work.

One of the biggest problems for the average computer owner resides in the fact that he/she simply refuses to take the time to read about their new tool. They would like to simply buy it, install it and never think about it again. You need to take the time to educate yourself on the functioning of any tool you buy.

Generally software is well written by qualified programmers. Professionally written software will include all the instructions that you need to obtain the best performance of the tool. If this is not the case, keep on searching. Go to a trusted site such as CNET and read the comments from other users about the tool you are thinking of buying. Take the time needed to do good research and remember you are putting all your information at risk when you connect to the Internet.

Once you are confident that the software you are purchasing is of the highest quality, then take your time and read all the documentation provided. Once you have done this, and only then, install the software. Make sure to add the tool to your list of daily maintenance.

If you have not done so yet, locate and read all the recommended procedures for the software that protects your computer.

Create a text file and save it on your desktop. You will want this file to contain your checklist of things to do everyday before you start surfing the Internet.

Here is a possible list of the things that should be done before you start surfing:

1) Check your antivirus for updates. Regularly run your antivirus. If at any time your antivirus locates a virus, you need to update your antivirus, disconnect from the Internet and do a full scan of your computer with the updated antivirus. Always make sure your antivirus is actively protecting your computer.

2) Clean your computer cache and your temporary files. You can pick up software for this at CNET: http://www.cnet.com

3) Clean your history

4) Update your adware remover. Run your adware remover. Again you can try free adware removers from CNET but please buy the full package when you find one that you know will protect you. You truly need all the functions of the software, not just a portion of the functions which is usually the case with Trial Version software.

5) Update your firewall and check the settings. Some clever hackers can change the settings of your computer, therefore putting you at risk.

6) Check for mail protection agents and make sure that they are active.

7) Run a scandisk

Update your browser

This is a sample list. Create one that applies to your computer and to the software installed on it. Keep your list updated and make sure that you do what you put on your list. Creating a list and not following it will be of no use.

We cannot totally protect ourselves against the perils of the Internet but we can at least make sure that we do all that we can. Take the proper precautions and you too can have a safe journey on the Internet.

Tags: Computer Security

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As people become more comfortable using computers, it seems that people’s lives are being stored virtually on hard drives. Yet many people still do not take rudimentary actions to protect and back up their data. Having a backup for an emergency or securing your computer from intruders does not have to difficult or time consuming.

Think about all the music, text files, pictures, financial records, videos and other files that you have created or collected that is stored on your hard drive. What if that hard drive failed? Would you be able to recover those files? Would you want to? There is simply no reason not to have an external hard drive to back up your sensitive to. An external hard drive can make daily, weekly or monthly backups. You can set it to make backups on only those new files added to your computer or full backups every time. The software that controls the backup process is typically easy to use and very flexible. Do not be one of those people who suffers a hard drive crash only to realize that they did not have adequate copies of their files stored externally. Plan for the worst.

The protection of your data from unwanted intruders are accomplished with firewalls, virus protection and routers. Windows XP systems all have a built in firewall that should be turned on before the computer is connected to the internet. It is simply an On/Off button reached through the Network Properties Advanced tab. This built-in feature is not the most robust firewall available, but it is certainly better than not having one at all.

Virus protection is to be used to strengthen your computers defense against viruses, worms, adware and spyware. Viruses and worms can come from email and web sites. Adware and spyware typically come from web sites. Most viruses and worms can be thwarted simply by not opening email attachments or downloading a file that you are not 100% sure is legitimate. Spyware and adware can be a little more tricky to rid your computer of simply because so many websites are now using tracking software to get information on their website visitors. The more malicious of these programs can cause system degradation and even crashes. Always running virus protection and using software to periodically rid yourself of spyware and adware will help in the defense of your computer.

A more advance technique to protecting your computer is to use a router to reach the Internet. The Internet connection from your provider will be “routed” through the router. All your computers will then be connected to the router via wireless or wired connections. From an unwanted outsiders view they will only see the one public Internet address of the router, which in effect masks the addresses of the computers attached to it makes them virtually invisible.

You have spent a lot of time creating and collecting the files that are stored on your computer. It would be a shame to lose them simply because you did not take the necessary precautions to back up and protect all your data.

Tags: Computer Security

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