Protection is necessary, but self preservation is essential!
Viruses, Malware and Spyware are different classifications of programs designed to replicate themselves, share private data, display advertising or generally harm a computer.
There are plenty of software suites designed to help protect you from malware (malicious software), but none will be 100% successful. Protecting your computer is partly a function of your virus scanner and firewall, and partly your education in due diligence, to not walk down the proverbial dark street on the internet.
What is a Firewall and do I need one?
A firewall is a piece of software that inspects all the network communications of your computer and only allows communications that seem legitimate. A firewall is necessary because software running on your computer, and in many instances Windows itself, may not always be secure. A firewall will partially stop this security breach from presenting itself to the public over the internet.
A competent and trouble free firewall, suitable for the average user, is Windows Firewall, a utility built into Windows XP and Vista. I strongly suggest you don’t install any third party firewalls as while many of them may be more secure, few of them are as easy to use and present warnings in such a user friendly manner.
Windows XP users please see Using Windows XP Firewall and Vista users please see Turning Windows Vista Firewall On or Off to determine that your computer is protected.
What is a Virus/Spyware scanner and do I need one?
A virus scanner is software that scans select files to see if any characteristics about them match a list of known viruses in a database. Anyone who uses the internet or exchanges files with any other computer definitely needs a virus scanner!
Virus scanners can work in two modes, in the background or on demand. All virus scanners install by default in the background. When your computer starts, they begin scanning everything you and all your programs touch, to make sure no files you use contain a virus. This method is best for the average user, however the scanner is continuously using computer resources, most often scanning files that have never changed and don’t have a virus.
More professional users can turn off background scanning and only scan new incoming files upon receipt. This saves computing resources for your every day needs.
 How does a Virus get on my PC?
Believe it or not, mostly it’s something you did, albeit unknowingly. Most viruses arrive in the following manner:
- Malicious websites that ask you to install a plug-in, ActiveX control, Java applet, add on, or other program. They achieve this by telling you that you can’t proceed, or that you’re already infected and installing this software will fix your PC, or that you can save money or increase the speed of your PC.
- Malicious e-mails or e-mail attachments. E-mail may contain links to aforementioned websites, often disguised as other websites. Or they may contain attachments disguised as jokes or funny pictures, which in fact are programs that install on your computer.
- Files sent to you in other ways, on a CD disc or DVD, a USB key, over Messenger, etc. A virus always has to be embedded in a file, and 99% of the time it requires that you run the file!
How do I stop a Virus infecting my PC?
Now that you’re aware that you need to run a virus before it can infect your computer, there are steps you can take to recognise a virus before you run it!
 Use a web browser that protects you! Firefox is one of the most secure and well featured web browsers. It will automatically warn you if it detects a common attack, or you browse to a known dubious website. Internet Explorer also has a number of safety features, however make sure you have enabled the Phishing Filter. With either browser, security holes are found and fixed over time, so you need to keep up to date with their automatic update systems. Read the web browser's warnings carefully. There are millions of websites that need plug-ins like Acrobat Reader or Flash to display content properly. When a website asks to install a plug-in, read the security notice and the signed manufacturer of the plug-in. If it’s someone recognisable like Microsoft, Intel, Adobe etc, it will be a valid plug-in. If you’re on a dubious website and the plug-in is by a company you’ve never heard of, or their security certificate has expired, you should do further research before installing it.- Use an e-mail provider that takes care of the virus scanning and spam filtering for you. Gmail has some of the best spam filtering technologies available (as well as many other fantastic features) that will prevent malware from reaching your computer in the first place. If it does reach your computer, be wary of suspicious links. A financial institution asking you to browse to their website? Someone selling pharmaceuticals? It’s probably fake. Beware attachments, you can save them to your computer and scan them with your scanner before opening them.
- Always scan removable media or received files before you run the programs and/or open the documents.
 Use Virus Total to scan suspicious files that your virus scanner says are clean. No virus scanner is perfect, and Virus Total will check the file against a dozen scanners to see if there are any virus hits. Don’t forget some scanners may have fake positives and while one or two scanners says it has a virus, you may know better. Learn your file extensions. Make sure you turn on visibility of file extensions in Windows, and learn the difference between programs and documents. A document is a repository of information required by a program. It might contain program settings, image data, audio or layout data. A program is a set of instructions that a processor must execute to perform a function. All viruses are programs (a set of malicious instructions for the computer to follow), so 99% of virus infections are caused by running infected programs.
The most common infected file extensions include (but are not limited to):
BAT; CMD; COM; DLL; EXE; OCX; PIF; SCR; SYS; VBE; VBS; VBX;
You should always scan these types before running them.- Ignore ‘Virus Warning’ scare e-mails. Almost all of these are hoaxes, and while we have never seen one carrying a virus, they also seldom carry any useful information.
 Already infected by a Virus?
Some viruses do little damage, or if caught early, can be removed. Run a full computer scan with your virus scanner, preferably AVG Anti Virus, and allow it to remove any viruses.
Run a full computer scan with the free online service, TrendMicro HouseCall, and allow it to remove any detected problems.
Unfortunately some viruses make changes to your software that are very hard to remove. If your computer is still infected, or is doing odd things such as rebooting or displaying odd messages, it’s unlikely that the virus can be removed. In these cases you need to backup your data, reinstall Windows and your applications, check your backup for viruses, and then restore your data.
Of course we can take care of all of this for you! From setting up your computer security, showing you how to browse safely, securing your e-mail, fixing infected computers, backing up your data, and restoring your computer to good working order. Just call us for more information. |
Basic Troubleshooting 
