Viruses and Spyware - What You Need To Know Part 1

In Part 1, I want to highlight some basic do's and dont's.

These are not exhaustive, but they do serve as a solid platform to work from.

So in no particular order, they are:

DONT'S:

DO NOT open e-mail attachments with the following file extensions, even if you know the sender: .ade .adp .asx .bas .bat .chm .cmd .com .cpl .crt .exe .hlp .hta .inf .isp .isp .js .jse .lnk .mda .mdb .mde .mdz .msc .msi .msp .mst .pcd .pif .prf .reg .scf .scr .sct .shb .shs .url .vb .vbe .vbs .wsc .wsf .wsh

Even though the.doc/x &.xls/x file extensions have not been mentioned above, BE CAREFUL. Word & Excel documents can contain harmful Macros (A mini-program which will execute a series of commands in series). Also, it is now possible to infect a computer through some image file formats, primarily the WMF format, and recently JPG and BMP formats. This vulnerability can be addressed by making sure that your system is up to date with all Microsoft security patches. In addition, Adobe PDF files can be crafted to incorporate malicious content, so make sure you keep Adobe Reader up to date too.

DO NOT use Floppy Disks or USB Drives from unknown sources unless scanned first using your antivirus software, & even then be careful.

DO NOT believe any e-mail that tells you to delete Windows files stating that the virus cannot be detected by antivirus software. A lot of the time this is a hoax that tricks you into deleting critical Windows system files.

How CyberCrime Works

Because of the exponential increase in the amount of people using the Internet, it has become more and more rewarding to be a cybercriminal. Vast amounts of Dollars are moved online amongst individuals and corporations everyday, its a huge industry and the stage is set for the larger players to come and play - The organized crime. No longer is the lone wicked computer programmer the leading hazard around. The top crime bosses swiftly realized the financial prospect that's before them and so they grabbed it. At present organized crime is way more sophisticated than we're used to see on television. They hire hackers, they have scam websites and even Research and development teams that constantly try to develop the next best way to steal cash.
Here are several statistics from Symantec concerning the scale of cybercrime.

There are 556 Million cyber crime victims a year(156 Million a day!).
The worldwide cost of cybercrime is 110 Billion Dollars.
2/3 of online adults have been victims of cyber crimes sometime in their lifetime.

Malware

Classification: Malware is general term used to refer to a malicious application or script. Malware can be, a Virus, a worm (much like a virus, but with somewhat different properties) a Trojan horse or a rootkit.Trojans are programs that specialize in taking control of the infected computer and Rootkits are the concealment experts, specializing in embedding themselves in machines and hiding numerous mischievous processes from the user.

How to Identify Spoofing Attacks and How You Can Deal With Them

Being a computer owner and Internet user, you may have already encountered the phrase "spoofing attack" or simply "spoofing." What exactly do these terms refer to? The terms were coined from the word "spoof" which was first introduced by British entertainer and comic actor Arthur Roberts in 1884, when he devised a game of the same name that involves cunning and dishonesty. In time the term would represent an insulting copy of an individual or a trick or a fraudulent scheme hatched on some unwitting victim. How the term came to be used today can be likened to the term "virus" that now refers to a malicious program or software that harms computers, thus the accompanying term "antivirus," which is the program that is used to deter or eliminate viruses from laptops and PCs.

Nowadays, the word "spoof" is now being used to describe malicious or deceptive intentions and it is most often linked to cybercriminal or fraudulent schemes.

When the term is used in the context of e-mail, spoofing is fabricating an e-mail message to make it appear that it came from one sender when in fact it came from another. This happens when you have an inactive e-mail box or account that you had not opened in a long time and then it suddenly sends out e-mails that you never had a hand in transmitting. You should be concerned by this because this indicates that spammers and hackers are targeting you to access their fake e-mails, messages that you usually ignore. By opening their false e-mail messages, these cybercriminals would like you to answer to their e-mails and in the process supply them with your personal and financial information, things that you otherwise would never give to other persons.

How to Pick The Best Internet Security Suite and Do The Simplest Type of Computer Maintenance

All of the more expensive programs have an easy point and click backup process for easy system backup. If a program has a higher version that has a backup and performance optimizer, I would buy that one if it was not too much more expensive. Even if the program cost a good twenty dollars more I would probably still go with that one because of the simplicity of the use of an all in one program.

I have used several internet security suites and can tell you that they are not all the same. Some are better at detecting threats, some have more features, some are easier to use. After doing the research, I would say that the best ones, in order from best to fourth best are Norton 360, Norton Internet Security, BitDefender Total Security and Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 2013.

You may ask why I am telling you about these top security suites, and the answer is simple, they are the highest performing, easy to use programs on the market right now.

If you do the research yourself you will see that all these programs have 2 or more versions, for example Norton Internet Security and Norton 360. I am telling you what are the best choices to use as preventative maintenance tips go.

The other versions of these top 4 range anywhere from $10 to $20 cheaper than their counterparts. Their are even free antivirus and internet security programs on the market, which unless you are barely using the internet I would stay clear from. The reason that you want to pay the extra 10-20$ is the system and file backups and the computer tune-ups that are provided with these.

Firewall Services and Local Area Network (LAN)

Devises should be deployed and provisioned; they should be upgraded and patched to keep up with the latest threats. To guarantee proper access controls are constant with changing business environment, security policies and configurations must be updated. Continuous monitoring of the network traffic should be carried out to identify and respond to threats before any damage is done.

We can help you by providing you with cost effective and at the same time practical and real world protection for your LAN. We secure your network from external attacks together with internal abuses. With our responsive, highly trained and certified security specialists who have a wealth of network infrastructure and IT security knowledge firewall configurations is an effortless layer of protection for workstations on a LAN. We give you the appropriate level of protection needed.

Give us a call and we provide a 24/7 protection on your systems and data. We monitor your firewall infrastructure 24/7 to detect and take action on threats before any harm is done. Our certified security analysts will analyze security and health events across your environment; using global threat intelligence and proven expertise they will assess threats. Any threat detected, our experts will counter the threat immediately to protect your organization.

With our services, the firewall performance is optimized. Our experts will work with your team to ensure peak firewall performance. To ensure appropriate network access and at the same time preserving the integrity and privacy of the organization our team of expertise is tailored to your environment, leveraging the industry best practices.

How To Secure Your Gmail Account Against Hackers

Gmail security - Methods to protect Gmail

Gmail is regarded as the popular internet based E-mail platform on the planet, actually it's far more than merely an Email account. Lots of people utilize the extra features that come with Gmail, just like Google Drive, YouTube, The calendar and so on. What if a hacker gains entry to your Gmail account? He would gain access to your E-mails, your documents on Drive, your calendar meetings and more. If the hacker gets access to our Gmail account he could potentially hack every account we have on the web. Here's a good example of how hackers break into a PayPal accounts once they hacked your Gmail. All they will is go over your emails, discover what companies you're registered to, in this example PayPal. Then they go over to PayPal.com click "I forgot my password", some sites inquire some silly queries which can be quite simple for the hacker to discover, such as "What was the name of your high school", and so the site just sends the new password to your email account - Game over - the account has been hacked. In this article we'll target Gmail security and just how Google helps us accomplish this using uncomplicated features that they've developed.
A lot of our most crucial private information is in our Gmail and in the era of adware and spyware, keyloggers and phishing sites, using only your password to protect our precious details may not be sufficient. Gmail is often a constant target for attackers because it wins hackers a considerable source of income, thankfully Google is aware about that. That's why Google built a number of things to assist all of us maximize our Gmail security, lets examine the those mechanisms.

Five Good Reasons Why Becoming a Virus Removal Expert Is Difficult

Having experienced the trouble of having a virus or malware endanger your computer before, you would be of the opinion that becoming a professional in virus and malware removal would make your life easier when dealing with these problems. You would become the expert that your friends or relatives would first go to the moment that they suspect their laptops or PCs of harboring malware or believe that their online accounts had been hacked. You can do this if you understand how anti-malware programs such as paid and free antivirus applications work, and how they eliminate malware such as viruses, rootkits, spyware, adware and others from your computer. This article, however, will point out the importance of hard work, experimentation, and time in transforming yourself into a viral and anti-malware removal professional.

The five reasons listed below are needed for any computer user who aims at becoming a malware removal expert:

The first reason is recognizing the most effective and least-performing virus scanning and removal software there is available. This is the most valuable skill that any viral removal professional should possess; a computer security expert should know what kind of software or program to employ to flag down and eliminate malware. Not all malware-scanning utilities are created equal; some would cost you a fortune to buy and yet you need to renew or repurchase their license every year and they are just as efficient as the free antivirus downloads that you find in the Internet. To illustrate this point, a premium antiviral suite that would cost you $50 can only mark out and remove three out of ten viral software programs; the other seven may sneak in undetected in your PC or laptop and eventually damage it. Leading paid antiviral solutions such as Panda, Norton Antivirus, and McAfee are not capable of taking out every possible viral or malware program from your computer. In fact, no antiviral or anti-malware program is perfectly effective at identifying and eliminating all malware infections from your PC or laptop. It is crucial to have different kinds of anti-malware programs available when checking for viruses and malware and for you to evolve into a computer security guru, you must be able to recognize which antiviral or anti-malware application is best suited to tackling that particular malware.

Why Does Your Laptop or PC Bog Down When You Are Surfing the Web?

Having a sluggish computer can be irritating at times, particularly when you consider the Internet to be an important part of your everyday living. We can do online business and personal transactions such as sending out e-mail messages, using Web browsers to look up for information and stuff, posting video recordings and other things that can only be done through the Internet. And because of these and other associated actions, our computers store so many online files and conduct so much Internet traffic that our laptops or PCs begin to slow down; installing a good paid or free antivirus solution can help you resolve this issue. The three main areas that may cause your computer to bog down is its available Random-Access Memory (RAM) and Central Processing Unit (CPU) memory, Internet browser or search engine cache, and issues with its hardware.

When it comes to your RAM and CPU storage and memory, your computer begins to creep along when both its RAM and CPU storage are nearing their full capacity. It is now unable to run additional applications and programs so you will need to take out those that are not important for your computer's functions. A list of programs can be found in the "Auto-Start" utility of our PCs or laptops. These unwanted applications only eat up your memory and available system resources. However, you must not disable or remove programs that help your computer run better and faster such as up-to-date anti-malware solutions and firewall utilities, you should only keep an eye out for any software or program that is needlessly using up your available memory.

How You Can Optimize Your Computer's Operational Times by Removing Spyware From It

Most computer professionals and software experts would suggest that if you own a slow laptop or PC, you will first have to eliminate any spyware infection in its system for it to run faster. If your laptop or PC is connected online, there is a greater chance of it having spyware. This happens because you may have neglected to buy and install a good anti-malware solution in it or do a free antivirus download that can help protect your laptop or desktop computer. Either way, you may have encountered the terms "spyware" or "malware" before but you don't have any idea what they hint of so you might not have any clue of the significance that spyware and other malware have on your computer's security.

Spyware are types of malicious software or "malware" that can do harm to laptops and PCs; they can cause harm to computers the same way that computer viruses do. These applications can infect your desktop computer or laptop without you knowing it and they can mess up with your work and business. Spyware are particularly programmed to keep watch on, and even record, your computer data and transactions and they can send all of these back to its programmer and other persons, most of whom are usually hackers and fraudsters out to steal from you and your accounts. This information can be anything from account passwords and numbers, usernames, credit card data or anything of value that are stored in your desktop computer or laptop.

Malware are like spyware except that they are more disruptive and detrimental. Spyware don't act on their inherent programming right away while malware can cause havoc with your computer the moment that they are installed in it. Malware can completely cripple your computer's system; one usual type of malware can redirect your search engine or Internet browser's search configuration so that you are lead to suspicious or altogether different webpages or sites that often have viruses and other malware embedded in them. It would be best if you stop any spyware and other malware from entering your computer's system by having them screened and removed by your installed antiviral program or free antivirus download.

Computer and Network Security: Addressing Privacy Concerns

Computer and network security have become increasingly important across all industries. From protecting corporate networks from malware, hackers, and denial of service attacks to securing government networks from cyber espionage and cyber terrorism, modern network administrators and Windows Server security specialists are tasked with an important, ever-evolving challenge. In addition to securing computers, servers, and networks from threats in order to protect data and as a matter of national security, computer and network security must also protect the privacy of employees, customers, legal clients, patients, and others whose personal information is stored within an entity's servers.

For example, health plans, health plan clearinghouses, healthcare providers, business associates, and other covered entities must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA's) Security Rule and Privacy Rule. These rules are in place to protect patients' "protected health information" (PHI) which is defined as "individually identifiable health information." When a covered entity transmits PHI electronically (such as via fax, email, or file upload), it must do so in compliance with HIPAA. Though the HIPAA Security Rule doesn't necessarily specify which Windows Server security product should be used, it does provide national standards to protect PHI and requires appropriate safeguards to ensure that the security, integrity, and confidentiality of PHI is protected.

Hacking Into Computers

PC hacking entails the exploitation or method of cracking network and human vulnerabilities to gain access to otherwise safety protected information and facts. These methods of gathering information and facts have already been around for a really long time and go effectively beyond just a machine. Infiltrating a target also includes utilizing phone systems, wireless networks, closed networks, or fundamentally anything which will shop info. Computers will be the most typical of targets for intrusion on today's planet due to the vast amounts of variables involved which can be taken advantage. Each and every machine has its personal uniqueness primarily based on the human user.

A hacker is really quite a broad based term to describe a person that might use a bunch of unique varieties of technological specialties. You can find several distinctions in the world of network safety that differentiate a script kiddie from a white hat. There have also been loads of media consideration paid to the subculture of hackers. Modern movies portray gothic or emo looking teenagers applying overly elaborate graphical interfaces to take down an entire country's infrastructure from a few easy keystrokes. While that is fine for making drama, it's not actually reflective of true life. Actual hackers tend to be effectively educated computer system specialists or hobbyists that conduct their activities utilizing many personal computer code tests. A hacker looks at the puzzle in front of them and thrives on getting the loophole within the code to resolve the problem from within. They're seeking that bit of data that nobody else has paid consideration to before.