Well it's almost 2014 and the new year is fast approaching. So what's new in virus software. Well AVG has come out with improvements with their AVG 2014 Internet Security Version. It now has a privacy fix program that will check for any intrusions. It will help with sites such as facebook, Google and LinkedIn, not to mention others as well. Here is a link to information about it http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048091/avgs-2014-lineup-of-antivirus-and-security-includes-new-web-privacy-protections.html . Their Free AVG 2014 version has been updated as well as the AVG PC Tuneup 2014.
Kaspersky Antivirus 2014 is also going very strong. It is working with advanced antivirus protection, real time protection and instant safety checks. Here is a link to their website with more information that will help http://www.kaspersky.co.za/anti-virus .
Avast Antivirus 2014 is still going strong. Their free version does a very good job for being free. Just remember to register it and go to the link in your email and set the password. Avast has a new look, which seems to be more streamlined. I have personally used the free version and it worked really well.
Another virus software that's rated right up there is Bitdefender. I have never used it, but the ratings are extremely good. It also indicates that it is very easy to use. It apparently does a very good job at removing the virus. One thing it boasts of is not being very intrusive. In other words it will not pop up and give constant messages. All I can say is try it and see for yourself.
These are just four of the virus programs out there. There are others that seem to be doing very well such as Nortons, Vipre, and Panda.
Whatever virus program you decide to go with keep it up to date. Run scans manually or have it scheduled to run a scan. Use other free programs as well such as free malwarebytes and spybot 2.2, these are manual programs that the user will have to update and run.
Thank You for reading and stay virus clean.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
My Favorite Virus Removal Programs For 2013
What are the best programs to use to remove viruses. Here is my list and I would run them in this order.
I Would Run Them In The SAFE MODE. Windows 8 and 8.1 can be set to run in the safe mode with networking. When you are done just reset it back to the normal mode. The below programs below are free on the internet. There are free utility programs such as Hirens 15.1 and 15.2 that the iso file can be burned to a cd and then run.
1. TDSSKILLER.EXE
2. Combofix.exe ( Does Not Run On Windows 8 & 8.1 Yet )
3. Free Malwarebytes
4. Super AntiSpyware- Portable Version
5. Spybot 2.2 Portable
6. Clamwin Portable
7. Free Avast Anti Virus
8. Use High Jack This to remove ad ins left in Internet Explorer
9. Norton Power Eraser
10. A Squared
11. Bit Defender
There are other programs out there that can be run, these usually do the trick.
If the computer will not boot to the safe mode, normal mode or Command prompt then I would install a fresh load on a good hard drive and then connect the infected drive as a second drive in the system. Disconnect the set up hard drive and reconnect the infected drive. Then run all the programs and see if the computer will boot properly.
If the computer will still not boot into any mode , then it is time to reformat the set up hard drive, copy all the data such as pictures, documents, favorites, music, email and any other data to the set up drive. You can use a free program such as unstoppable copier to copy the data to the set up drive. Just remember to uncheck the attributes settings first. Then you can use a program such as acronis or nortons ghost to clone it back to the infected drive. As a precaution you should wipe out the partition on the infected drive first.
If you do not have access to these cloning programs, then just save the data first to a drive that was set up fresh. Just remember to wipe out the fresh load drive first to remove any possible virus that may have been transferred to it during the cleaning process. I have had this happen one time. Then install a fresh load and copy the data off the cleaned hard drive. Wipe out the partition on the infected drive, reformat the infected drive and reinstall the operating system, drivers, updates and all other software. Now you can copy the saved data to it and move it back in place. Make sure you have good virus software such as free Avast, malwarebytes and spybot 2.2 installed.
If anyone just wants to wipe out your hard drive first and not try to clean anything, then they are a poor technician and just want your money. Also look out for the person who goes through the registry and removes information that run the virus and says now it's gone. You will be revisited by the infection and be back.
If you decide you want a professional to handle the work check out all reviews on the internet first. There are an awful lot of crooks out there. No one should be taken to the cleaners by a dishonest individual. Some of these things may be repeated in my earlier post, but I figure the help the better.
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
I Would Run Them In The SAFE MODE. Windows 8 and 8.1 can be set to run in the safe mode with networking. When you are done just reset it back to the normal mode. The below programs below are free on the internet. There are free utility programs such as Hirens 15.1 and 15.2 that the iso file can be burned to a cd and then run.
1. TDSSKILLER.EXE
2. Combofix.exe ( Does Not Run On Windows 8 & 8.1 Yet )
3. Free Malwarebytes
4. Super AntiSpyware- Portable Version
5. Spybot 2.2 Portable
6. Clamwin Portable
7. Free Avast Anti Virus
8. Use High Jack This to remove ad ins left in Internet Explorer
9. Norton Power Eraser
10. A Squared
11. Bit Defender
There are other programs out there that can be run, these usually do the trick.
If the computer will not boot to the safe mode, normal mode or Command prompt then I would install a fresh load on a good hard drive and then connect the infected drive as a second drive in the system. Disconnect the set up hard drive and reconnect the infected drive. Then run all the programs and see if the computer will boot properly.
If the computer will still not boot into any mode , then it is time to reformat the set up hard drive, copy all the data such as pictures, documents, favorites, music, email and any other data to the set up drive. You can use a free program such as unstoppable copier to copy the data to the set up drive. Just remember to uncheck the attributes settings first. Then you can use a program such as acronis or nortons ghost to clone it back to the infected drive. As a precaution you should wipe out the partition on the infected drive first.
If you do not have access to these cloning programs, then just save the data first to a drive that was set up fresh. Just remember to wipe out the fresh load drive first to remove any possible virus that may have been transferred to it during the cleaning process. I have had this happen one time. Then install a fresh load and copy the data off the cleaned hard drive. Wipe out the partition on the infected drive, reformat the infected drive and reinstall the operating system, drivers, updates and all other software. Now you can copy the saved data to it and move it back in place. Make sure you have good virus software such as free Avast, malwarebytes and spybot 2.2 installed.
If anyone just wants to wipe out your hard drive first and not try to clean anything, then they are a poor technician and just want your money. Also look out for the person who goes through the registry and removes information that run the virus and says now it's gone. You will be revisited by the infection and be back.
If you decide you want a professional to handle the work check out all reviews on the internet first. There are an awful lot of crooks out there. No one should be taken to the cleaners by a dishonest individual. Some of these things may be repeated in my earlier post, but I figure the help the better.
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Update On The Cryptolocker Virus
Seems that the cryptolocker virus is still going strong. There still isn't any cure to decrypt the files on the hard drive after it has struck. People are still being forced to pay the $300 dollar ransome to hopefully get their data back.
This virus is spreading into homes and offices at a fast rate. It has already infected over 250,000 victims. As of this date no one has had any success with getting the data back. The on screen timer will demand the ransom money in bitcoin be payed within 72 hours. Apparently a police department in Massachusetts was infected in November.
Once again the infection usually comes in through email attachments or over a network. This just an insane that just keeps getting worse. Here is a link to some good information on the virus http://www.zdnet.com/cryptolockers-crimewave-a-trail-of-millions-in-laundered-bitcoin-7000024579/ .
This virus is spreading into homes and offices at a fast rate. It has already infected over 250,000 victims. As of this date no one has had any success with getting the data back. The on screen timer will demand the ransom money in bitcoin be payed within 72 hours. Apparently a police department in Massachusetts was infected in November.
Once again the infection usually comes in through email attachments or over a network. This just an insane that just keeps getting worse. Here is a link to some good information on the virus http://www.zdnet.com/cryptolockers-crimewave-a-trail-of-millions-in-laundered-bitcoin-7000024579/ .
Monday, December 23, 2013
Suffering The Blue Screen Of Death
One of the most common questions today is what is this blue screen message and why won't my computer boot to windows. The problem is that the blue screen of death message can be very general sometimes. It may be caused by faulty hardware or it can be caused by a problem in the software. I have even seen viruses cause the blue screen of death.
Here are some things you as a consumer can do to check the hardware in your desktop or laptop computer. If you have access to the internet with another computer at your location or through a friends computer download a memory test program. One of them is the Microsoft memory test program. It is free and can be downloaded at http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Windows-Memory-Diagnostic-Download-3648.html . Here is some information on running it http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx .I would suggest to save the cd image to a disk which is an iso file. This can be burned to a cdr disk using the burning software such as nero or roxio. Just check on your computer to see what software you have to burn the iso file to a disk. Once you boot off the created cd just run the program. If it finds a error with one of your sticks of memory just replace it with a new stick of memory. Most computers presently will have two or more sticks of memory. You can always take one stick out of the computer and test the other stick of memory.
Another good program that I would recommend over Microsoft's memory test program is called MemTest 86+. It is another free program that you can download and install on a cdr disk. You can download the program from http://www.memtest.org/ . Scroll down the page and choose to download the pre-compiled bootable iso in a zip file. Double click the zip file and it will create the iso file which can be burned to a cdr disk. You can then boot off the cdr disk and run the program. If it finds errors then remove one stick of memory at a time and rerun the program again to narrow down to which stick of memory is actually bad and replace it.
Another piece of hardware you can test is the hard drive. One program is the western digital program. It can be downloaded at http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=621&sid=3&lang=en . Other manufactures have diagnostic software to test their hard drives as well. If it finds an error such as bad sectors write down the code it gives you. You can then contact the manufacturer and send the hard drive in for warranty repair if it is under warranty. If it is not under any warranty then the hard drive will have to be replaced. I would suggest using a cloning software such as acronis to clone it to a new hard drive. If it will not clone, then you will have to install a fresh load of windows with your operating disk from the manufacturer and your product license key that is usually on the computer. Then you can temporarily connect your defective hard drive and copy the data to the new set up drive. There are programs out there on the internet such as unstoppable copier that is free. You can run this after opening the files on your bad drive to give it permissions, then you can move the data.
One more good choice is to download the current Hiren's cd iso and burn it to a dvd disk. You can then boot off of it and run the various programs mentioned above. It also has quite a variety of tools on it. This is a free repair tool used by technicians. It can be downloaded at this link http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/ . If you are sure you want to try any of the above methods then I would seek out professional help at a local computer service center.
Always make sure to practice good esd protection so you do not damage the memory you may be replacing or the hard drive as well. Also remember that the blue screen of death may come from a variety of problems such as a motherboard, video card or a virus.
Thank You for reading and stay safe. All Comments are welcome.
Have A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Here are some things you as a consumer can do to check the hardware in your desktop or laptop computer. If you have access to the internet with another computer at your location or through a friends computer download a memory test program. One of them is the Microsoft memory test program. It is free and can be downloaded at http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Windows-Memory-Diagnostic-Download-3648.html . Here is some information on running it http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx .I would suggest to save the cd image to a disk which is an iso file. This can be burned to a cdr disk using the burning software such as nero or roxio. Just check on your computer to see what software you have to burn the iso file to a disk. Once you boot off the created cd just run the program. If it finds a error with one of your sticks of memory just replace it with a new stick of memory. Most computers presently will have two or more sticks of memory. You can always take one stick out of the computer and test the other stick of memory.
Another good program that I would recommend over Microsoft's memory test program is called MemTest 86+. It is another free program that you can download and install on a cdr disk. You can download the program from http://www.memtest.org/ . Scroll down the page and choose to download the pre-compiled bootable iso in a zip file. Double click the zip file and it will create the iso file which can be burned to a cdr disk. You can then boot off the cdr disk and run the program. If it finds errors then remove one stick of memory at a time and rerun the program again to narrow down to which stick of memory is actually bad and replace it.
Another piece of hardware you can test is the hard drive. One program is the western digital program. It can be downloaded at http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=621&sid=3&lang=en . Other manufactures have diagnostic software to test their hard drives as well. If it finds an error such as bad sectors write down the code it gives you. You can then contact the manufacturer and send the hard drive in for warranty repair if it is under warranty. If it is not under any warranty then the hard drive will have to be replaced. I would suggest using a cloning software such as acronis to clone it to a new hard drive. If it will not clone, then you will have to install a fresh load of windows with your operating disk from the manufacturer and your product license key that is usually on the computer. Then you can temporarily connect your defective hard drive and copy the data to the new set up drive. There are programs out there on the internet such as unstoppable copier that is free. You can run this after opening the files on your bad drive to give it permissions, then you can move the data.
One more good choice is to download the current Hiren's cd iso and burn it to a dvd disk. You can then boot off of it and run the various programs mentioned above. It also has quite a variety of tools on it. This is a free repair tool used by technicians. It can be downloaded at this link http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/ . If you are sure you want to try any of the above methods then I would seek out professional help at a local computer service center.
Always make sure to practice good esd protection so you do not damage the memory you may be replacing or the hard drive as well. Also remember that the blue screen of death may come from a variety of problems such as a motherboard, video card or a virus.
Thank You for reading and stay safe. All Comments are welcome.
Have A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Should I Repair My Old Laptop or Desktop Computer
This just another one of those questions I get asked on a daily basis. Well I usually answer the questions by looking first at how old is the machine. If it is a laptop and is three years old or older I tell the person I would not put a lot of money into it. I have seen quite a few times when someone wanted to put at least $200 to $300 into the old machine just to have it work for three months and then the motherboard dies.
Well now you have spent $300 and have nothing to show for it. No one will buy it for parts so all that's left is to recycle it and take a loss. Usually the warranty is over due to a part maybe having 90 days or less. Sometimes a part may a year or more, but the labor was only 30 days, so now it will cost to have it replaced. Either way it is a lose lose situation and you are at the losing end.
I will advise the person to go in to a new machine for a few reasons beside the fact that the machine is older. One the motherboard, memory and processor are older and run at a slower front side bus speed. The second reason is that you generally have a windows xp operating system. I try to explain that windows xp will not be supported in 2014. This means no more security updates so the machine becomes more vulnerable to virus attacks. At some point the virus people will not support the older operating system.
My advise to the person is to come in and talk with a sales person and get prices on a new system and transferring data to the new machine. If they decide to go with that plan, then I explain that the could take that old hard drive and put it into an external enclosure and use it for a back up drive it it is big enough. If it say is 250gb or less then I suggest just using it to back up their data. They can always keep it in a static bag, so this way if something goes wrong with the new hard drive they still have their data.
I have found that most customers tend to go with the above plan and use the old drive as a back up drive. I will have to admit the choosing to do this depends on how expensive the old machine was. I never try to force anything on anyone. I merely give them their options and let them make up their own minds. The customer is always right and honesty is always the best policy.
Thank You for reading . All comments are always welcome.
Well now you have spent $300 and have nothing to show for it. No one will buy it for parts so all that's left is to recycle it and take a loss. Usually the warranty is over due to a part maybe having 90 days or less. Sometimes a part may a year or more, but the labor was only 30 days, so now it will cost to have it replaced. Either way it is a lose lose situation and you are at the losing end.
I will advise the person to go in to a new machine for a few reasons beside the fact that the machine is older. One the motherboard, memory and processor are older and run at a slower front side bus speed. The second reason is that you generally have a windows xp operating system. I try to explain that windows xp will not be supported in 2014. This means no more security updates so the machine becomes more vulnerable to virus attacks. At some point the virus people will not support the older operating system.
My advise to the person is to come in and talk with a sales person and get prices on a new system and transferring data to the new machine. If they decide to go with that plan, then I explain that the could take that old hard drive and put it into an external enclosure and use it for a back up drive it it is big enough. If it say is 250gb or less then I suggest just using it to back up their data. They can always keep it in a static bag, so this way if something goes wrong with the new hard drive they still have their data.
I have found that most customers tend to go with the above plan and use the old drive as a back up drive. I will have to admit the choosing to do this depends on how expensive the old machine was. I never try to force anything on anyone. I merely give them their options and let them make up their own minds. The customer is always right and honesty is always the best policy.
Thank You for reading . All comments are always welcome.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Windows 8 Won't Update To 8.1
Lately I have seen a few systems that have windows 8 and will not update to windows 8.1. Usually what happens is you end up going to the Microsoft webpage to download the windows 8.1 update. The update will start and get through the downloading process. The next thing you know windows tell you it could not install it. Then you will get another message telling you it will revert the process and set it back to windows 8.
The next step is to go to the manufactures website and check to see if there are software drivers for windows 8.1. I had a dell computer and it was brand new, so I checked the dell support webpage. I did find that there were software drivers for windows 7, 8 and 8.1, so I new the computer can go to the windows 8.1 update.
Okay so where do I go from here ? Well what I did was to create a folder on the desktop and called it drivers. I downloaded all the current drivers for windows 8 and saved them in the folder. I also downloaded the current system bios version update as well. I always do this so I can save it on the computer just in case something goes wrong with the hard drive at a later date. After I set up another hard drive I can access the bad hard drive and copy the drivers folder to it. I can then go and reinstall all those drivers on the new hard drive and make life easy.
Lets get back to the windows 8.1 update situation. Now I take and reinstall all those downloaded drivers on the current windows 8 system. You may have some of them indicate that they are already installed. This is not a problem. The next step is to run the downloaded system bios update to get it to the current version. I would like to add that the downloading process of the drivers from the dell website in this case did take a good amount of time, so just be patient.
Now download the windows 8.1 update again and it should install properly this time. Once again I will state that the download and install of windows 8.1 does take some time. The system will indicate when it is done and will most likely have to reboot the computer, so let it reboot. Once back in windows 8.1 I would suggest to go on the internet or use the windows update to check and see if there are any updates available. You should also go back to the manufacturers website, in this case dell and see if there are windows 8.1 updates for your system. If there are updates I would download them to another folder called windows 8.1 drivers and then install them. Now you should be all done and up to date.
Some manufacturers such as lenovo have an update program that will go out to the internet and check for current updates. If they are found, then you can choose to install them.
If for some reason the windows 8.1 update will still no install I would do one of a couple of choices. Check on the internet with Google and search to see if your particular system has problems with windows 8.1 or just can not do it. You may find a forum where other people had the same problem. Most likely you will find what they had to do to correct the problem. The other choice is to contact the manufacturer and see if they can help. Be aware if your machine is out of warranty they may want to charge you. Another idea is to install a new hard drive or just a good drive and install a fresh load of windows, drivers and activate it. Then try and install the windows 8.1 update. If it goes through then you know that some piece of software or hardware connected to the computer is preventing it from installing. In this case you could check to see if any software or device has problems with windows 8.1. If so then check on the internet to see if there are any software patches available to correct the problem.
I hope this information is helpful. Thank You for reading and remember to always back up your system and data. All comment are always welcome. Also Stay Safe.
The next step is to go to the manufactures website and check to see if there are software drivers for windows 8.1. I had a dell computer and it was brand new, so I checked the dell support webpage. I did find that there were software drivers for windows 7, 8 and 8.1, so I new the computer can go to the windows 8.1 update.
Okay so where do I go from here ? Well what I did was to create a folder on the desktop and called it drivers. I downloaded all the current drivers for windows 8 and saved them in the folder. I also downloaded the current system bios version update as well. I always do this so I can save it on the computer just in case something goes wrong with the hard drive at a later date. After I set up another hard drive I can access the bad hard drive and copy the drivers folder to it. I can then go and reinstall all those drivers on the new hard drive and make life easy.
Lets get back to the windows 8.1 update situation. Now I take and reinstall all those downloaded drivers on the current windows 8 system. You may have some of them indicate that they are already installed. This is not a problem. The next step is to run the downloaded system bios update to get it to the current version. I would like to add that the downloading process of the drivers from the dell website in this case did take a good amount of time, so just be patient.
Now download the windows 8.1 update again and it should install properly this time. Once again I will state that the download and install of windows 8.1 does take some time. The system will indicate when it is done and will most likely have to reboot the computer, so let it reboot. Once back in windows 8.1 I would suggest to go on the internet or use the windows update to check and see if there are any updates available. You should also go back to the manufacturers website, in this case dell and see if there are windows 8.1 updates for your system. If there are updates I would download them to another folder called windows 8.1 drivers and then install them. Now you should be all done and up to date.
Some manufacturers such as lenovo have an update program that will go out to the internet and check for current updates. If they are found, then you can choose to install them.
If for some reason the windows 8.1 update will still no install I would do one of a couple of choices. Check on the internet with Google and search to see if your particular system has problems with windows 8.1 or just can not do it. You may find a forum where other people had the same problem. Most likely you will find what they had to do to correct the problem. The other choice is to contact the manufacturer and see if they can help. Be aware if your machine is out of warranty they may want to charge you. Another idea is to install a new hard drive or just a good drive and install a fresh load of windows, drivers and activate it. Then try and install the windows 8.1 update. If it goes through then you know that some piece of software or hardware connected to the computer is preventing it from installing. In this case you could check to see if any software or device has problems with windows 8.1. If so then check on the internet to see if there are any software patches available to correct the problem.
I hope this information is helpful. Thank You for reading and remember to always back up your system and data. All comment are always welcome. Also Stay Safe.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Which Is Safer Linux, Windows or Apple
I get asked this question, which operating is safest from viruses. Is Linux safer or is Windows safer or is Apple safer? The answer when it really comes down to it is none are really safer than the other. Sometimes it's just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. You can go to a website and if their server has become infected then you will have a good chance of becoming infected.
Lets take a look at these three operating systems and see if any are more secure than the other and why. I see more windows operating systems infected than the Apple Mac systems. The same thing with Linux, I see very few infected Linux computers. I believe the main reason why windows xp, vista, seven and now eight are more infected is just because they are the most popular systems with people. The Apple systems are just more expensive and less people have them. I have seen some apple systems come in infected as of late. It looks as if the individuals basically targeted where the population is, so they can take out larger numbers. I would bet that the number of Apple computers becoming infected will rise in the next few years as people flock to them because they believe they are safer from becoming infected.
Another reason why Apples system is less likely to become infected is because it is UNIX based. This seems to be especially true for the latest systems Lion and Mountain Lion. Since Snow Leopard the apple system has a built in virus protection called XProtect. Here is an interesting article on viruses and malware with apple systems http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/02/20/yes-apple-really-does-have-a-serious-problem-with-computer-viruses-and-malware/ . Back in April 2012 there was a wide spread virus that attacked and infected quite a few mac computers. No one had to click on anything it just got in by downloading itself. Then it opened a backdoor and things got worse. Here is an article about it http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/widespread-computer-virus-indicates-mac-users-no-longer-safe/?_r=0 . Things are just not as safe as we think or are led to believe.
Like I said earlier windows operating systems are just plain popular. It's like the predator going where the main supply of food is in the wild. Some of the features with windows make it more prone to attack as well. One is because more code or instructions are run in the kernel mode. This gives more normal users the access to hardware and privileged resources. Another item is that in windows we run as administrators and when it gets in it can run with administrators privileges and now it has the permission to change the system files.
Now for Linux and very few infections. In a Linux system you only have one root user and all other accounts are standard users. These users have restricted privileges, therefore less chances of infections changing the system. It also seems that Linux is less prone to infections is because there are so many different distributions. Another point is that email in the Linux system are all very different. In windows systems the email generally the same such as Microsoft outlook and windows live mail. The internet explorer is always being updated due to security problems, which directly effect the email programs in the operating system. Linux on the other hand uses Firefox, which is not directly associated with email. Here is a very good article on why Linux is safer than windows http://www.pcworld.com/article/202452/why_linux_is_more_secure_than_windows.html .
In the long run the being safe relies on two things keep your virus software up to date and always have a good back up system. That way you are as protected as you can be and if something does happen you can just wipe out the system and reinstall it with a clean back up. Also always back up your current data to a flash drive or an external hard drive.
I hope this information is helpful stay safe and have a nice day.
All comments are welcomed.
Lets take a look at these three operating systems and see if any are more secure than the other and why. I see more windows operating systems infected than the Apple Mac systems. The same thing with Linux, I see very few infected Linux computers. I believe the main reason why windows xp, vista, seven and now eight are more infected is just because they are the most popular systems with people. The Apple systems are just more expensive and less people have them. I have seen some apple systems come in infected as of late. It looks as if the individuals basically targeted where the population is, so they can take out larger numbers. I would bet that the number of Apple computers becoming infected will rise in the next few years as people flock to them because they believe they are safer from becoming infected.
Another reason why Apples system is less likely to become infected is because it is UNIX based. This seems to be especially true for the latest systems Lion and Mountain Lion. Since Snow Leopard the apple system has a built in virus protection called XProtect. Here is an interesting article on viruses and malware with apple systems http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/02/20/yes-apple-really-does-have-a-serious-problem-with-computer-viruses-and-malware/ . Back in April 2012 there was a wide spread virus that attacked and infected quite a few mac computers. No one had to click on anything it just got in by downloading itself. Then it opened a backdoor and things got worse. Here is an article about it http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/widespread-computer-virus-indicates-mac-users-no-longer-safe/?_r=0 . Things are just not as safe as we think or are led to believe.
Like I said earlier windows operating systems are just plain popular. It's like the predator going where the main supply of food is in the wild. Some of the features with windows make it more prone to attack as well. One is because more code or instructions are run in the kernel mode. This gives more normal users the access to hardware and privileged resources. Another item is that in windows we run as administrators and when it gets in it can run with administrators privileges and now it has the permission to change the system files.
Now for Linux and very few infections. In a Linux system you only have one root user and all other accounts are standard users. These users have restricted privileges, therefore less chances of infections changing the system. It also seems that Linux is less prone to infections is because there are so many different distributions. Another point is that email in the Linux system are all very different. In windows systems the email generally the same such as Microsoft outlook and windows live mail. The internet explorer is always being updated due to security problems, which directly effect the email programs in the operating system. Linux on the other hand uses Firefox, which is not directly associated with email. Here is a very good article on why Linux is safer than windows http://www.pcworld.com/article/202452/why_linux_is_more_secure_than_windows.html .
In the long run the being safe relies on two things keep your virus software up to date and always have a good back up system. That way you are as protected as you can be and if something does happen you can just wipe out the system and reinstall it with a clean back up. Also always back up your current data to a flash drive or an external hard drive.
I hope this information is helpful stay safe and have a nice day.
All comments are welcomed.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Where to find current information on Viruses
Most people do not know where to find information about current viruses. There are quite a few different places on the internet that have an abundance of information. One I found is at Symantec the makers of the Norton Antivirus Packages. This is a pdf file called the 2013 Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 18. It can be found at this link http://www.symantec.com/security_response/publications/threatreport.jsp . Just choose to download the main report and it will open in a pdf file format. Make sure you free adobe reader installed on your computer. This can be found at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ , just make sure to uncheck the optional offer before downloading and installing it.
There is also quite a bit of information found at Symantec on virus information, threats, risks and vulnerabilities. The best link to this is at http://www.symantec.com/security_response/ , I would just look through all the information on the web page. You can also select other tabs and look at their various products. Another main site is for Mcafee and they can be found at http://home.mcafee.com/virusinfo . Again they have lots of information about current and past viruses. You can choose to look at the selection by Virus, Trojan, Malware, Hoax or Worm. Again you can look at their individual products they sell as well as a wealth of information.
I found this site on the internet that offers a lot of information on Microsoft releases, Holiday Scams and other current information. They have information for the current releases of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Here is some good information on the new CryptoLocker virus going around. I would definitely read up on this at this link https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A . I would check out rest of the information at the site https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity .
As my usual advise with email if you don't know who it's from don't open it. I would just delete it. Another bit of advise is to set your email program so it does not automatically open the preview pane. If it does open that first email and it does have a virus, then you will be infected. Use the help feature in the email program to set it so the preview pane is off. This can be done whether it is Microsoft outlook, windows live mail or what ever program it is. The cryptolocker virus mainly comes in through email.
VIRUS ALERT: Here is a new computer virus that apparently has just come out. It is called Goner and is coming through email. It will try to destroy your anti virus software. Check out this link for more information http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-88046/New-virus-causes-havoc.html .
Thank You for reading and don't forget BACK UP YOUR DATA.
All Comments and information are welcomed.
There is also quite a bit of information found at Symantec on virus information, threats, risks and vulnerabilities. The best link to this is at http://www.symantec.com/security_response/ , I would just look through all the information on the web page. You can also select other tabs and look at their various products. Another main site is for Mcafee and they can be found at http://home.mcafee.com/virusinfo . Again they have lots of information about current and past viruses. You can choose to look at the selection by Virus, Trojan, Malware, Hoax or Worm. Again you can look at their individual products they sell as well as a wealth of information.
I found this site on the internet that offers a lot of information on Microsoft releases, Holiday Scams and other current information. They have information for the current releases of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Here is some good information on the new CryptoLocker virus going around. I would definitely read up on this at this link https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A . I would check out rest of the information at the site https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity .
As my usual advise with email if you don't know who it's from don't open it. I would just delete it. Another bit of advise is to set your email program so it does not automatically open the preview pane. If it does open that first email and it does have a virus, then you will be infected. Use the help feature in the email program to set it so the preview pane is off. This can be done whether it is Microsoft outlook, windows live mail or what ever program it is. The cryptolocker virus mainly comes in through email.
VIRUS ALERT: Here is a new computer virus that apparently has just come out. It is called Goner and is coming through email. It will try to destroy your anti virus software. Check out this link for more information http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-88046/New-virus-causes-havoc.html .
Thank You for reading and don't forget BACK UP YOUR DATA.
All Comments and information are welcomed.
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