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April 2009 Security Newsletter Our newsletter is a monthly newsletter, but the video news is updated every Monday.
Top five steps to stay secure on Internet by kumar gandharvaInternet is basically the network between the different networks, it is basically used to share files between computers, In the modern world we can know about anything from the Internet, on just the click of the mouse. Internet has made a new sort of the social interaction among the people and organization, with the growth of the social networking website, people can share experience of the other people. Internet greatly impacted the education and business system. Now a day's business and education is not confined to particular area, we can expand our business just by the use of the Internet. No doubt on one hand Internet had revolutionized all the aspects of the life, but due to increase in the Internet usage it has also exposed the virus attack or the threats for computers. Internet makes the computer prone to the virus attacks, Trojan Horse, Spyware, Worm's which leads to loss of data and also steal your data from your computer. So to avoid all those threats and to be safe on the internet we must adhere to some of the basic steps and ensure that your data is safe. Some of these steps are A good virus scan It's recommended to have a Antivirus installed on your . there are several antivirus available in the market .but we must select the one which provide maximum no of features such as internet security , Spam filtering , email scanning and many more. and its always recommended to updated your installed antivirus support and scan your computer for virus , once in a month Be careful while downloading: while downloading something from the Internet we must be very careful ,for what we are downloading and is it safe to download from that sited , there are several sites for the music games , which downloads the virus spyware and cause thereat to your data in the computer , we must always download any virus removal software from the reputable websites. Protect yourself from the dangerous emails: Now a day's emails becomes one of the major internet threats , There are several frauds done using the email for example the " Nigerian fraud " and it can some email may also some of the spyware or virus in the email .so to safe from all such threats we must use a antivirus having email scanning feature . Don't give your personal information on the internet: It always recommended no give your personal information for example full name, address and phone no on internet and always read the agreement carefully while you are creating in any of the websites. Protect your money online: It is always recommended to not to give your credit card no on the unsecure websites and must be carefully while doing so. Following the above steps will help all of us to be safe and secure while using the Internet About the AuthorI am an spyware removal specialist for iYogi, iYogi is the first direct-to-consumer and computer support service from India. Providing an Annual Unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers.
How to Tell You Have Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses by reden isha Usually, the easiest way to tell you have spyware is because your PC is running at a reduced speed. The other way to check is to hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE and hit task manager (if you have windows service pack 2. If you have before SP2, then this should automatically bring up the task manager). Once the task manager is open, check your running processes under the "Processes" tab. If you see a lot of strange processes running you don't recognize, you likely are infected with spyware, adware, or viruses. An example of strange processes would be a fgkosk.exe or copies of the same process running twice. Some "smart" spyware can actually disguise itself as other windows processes - you can tell this if you have copies of processes running. Don't end task anything you're not sure of - besides, most of these files are actually able to resume themselves after you close them as they're in your windows registry. You could also download a program that checks for these infected files, such as Avast, Ad-Aware, etc. Check my other article on "what to do once you have spyware" for a list of good programs to use. The best way to get rid of spyware, adware, or viruses once you have them is either to use a program made for doing exactly that. Failing that, you could format your PC. Sometimes, an infestation becomes so bad you may have troubles downloading, installing, or running a program that can help. For more information, refer to my article on "What to do once you have spyware, ad-ware, or viruses." I am a young, aspiring computer engineer into Internet Marketing, hardware, software, web design, SEO and just about anything related to computers. About the Author software engineer
Free vs. Paid Malware Removers by Kelly Wright The first and foremost reason to look for free malware removal options is evident: price. As long as money is concerned, it is so lucrative to choose something reliable and effective, but costing zero. But there are a lot of debates going on in conjunction with the dilemma whether free malware cleaners are better or worse than paid programs. In essence, the preference cannot be established once and forever because just about every case of computer infection is unique. Common approaches to cleaning out viruses aren't 100% reliable. Sometimes it makes sense to use a single paid security software because of its ubiquitous and reliable scanner. But many tech professionals tend to use freeware removers because they outperform commercial software in certain aspects. With malware removers there's one more thing that often goes unnoticed: security issues. Using an infected computer for ordering software is too risky. No-one can be sure that installed spyware doesn't track the transaction details, so while processing the credit card data to get an anti-malware program it's quite possible to have very private details sent to remote server owned by cyber criminals. So removing malware is best done with freeware tools. This is a general precautionary measure recommended to all PC users: avoid doing any payment transaction from an infected computer. The main drawback of free malware removers is that they usually cover very specific targets unlike full-featured commercial software. That is, depending on which type of infection you face, a different tool might be needed. Trojan viruses are best fought with SDFix and ComboFix tools, both are command-line scanners designed to remove a set of stubborn infections that are commonly missed by major antivirus packages. SDFix implements a set of algorithms that allow this program to detect files with hidden attributes. Such files are not displayed by Windows Explorer (no matter what file viewing preferences are set). Pieces of malware often hide themselves by getting such attributes, and common antivirus programs simply cannot detect them. This is why running SDFix sometimes is an indispensable step in removing smart infections. Another powerful tool is HiJackThis developed by Trend Micro. This tiny program allows you to perform a quick scan of the system for currently running processes, auto-start items, their registry paths, browser hooks, Browser Helper Objects (these are often targeted by malware to force user to visit dangerous websites), hosts file modifications, etc. Invalid or malicious items can be removed by single mouse click. HiJackThis is a GUI-based application so even intermediate PC owners can use it when instructed by experienced tech people. Sometimes paid anti-malware programs offer fully functional trial versions at no cost. Though time-limited, they rely on same scanning engines and updates as paid editions which means they are very powerful malware removers. Friendly graphical interface and ease of use make them appealing to try out. This is especially true about a-squared, Malwarebyte's and SUPERAntiSpyware. These three independent programs are known to be great helpers in cleaning out PC systems. When your Windows computer is heavily infected and current antivirus software is unable to erase the traces of contamination, it's a good idea to try out a free malware removal program. A review of several free yet powerful anti-malware scanners has been written by Kelly Wright. You can refer to it in case there's a need to clean out a contaminated Windows system which is not curable by currently installed antivirus packages. About the AuthorNo matter how strong PC security is, sometimes even most adequate protection fails under the attack of new and smart malware. Then the question rises which software to use to erase the infection: a reputable commercial program or a combination of free scanners? For a free edition of Spyware Doctor, please click here.
How to Avoid a Virus Attacking Your Computer? by David OmarIn this article I will explain every tip you can use to avoid and minimize any virus attack. Virus and its variants like worms and Trojans are very harmful to your computer. They can delete your data, mess your office documents, download application without your knowledge, and modify your Windows system and registry files. This activities in turn can make your computer fails to run normally or even don't work at all because it fails to boot due to complete system failure, not to mention all of those important documents that are gone. You must be irritated by these. In a time when data exchange traffic is very high and there is almost no spot where a PC is not exposed to the World Wide Web, it is no wonder that to be completely freed by any virus attack someone can advise you to completely disconnect your online access. But doesn't it remind you of "The Village"? A movie from M. Night Shyamalan that pictures a small community that builds a village far from main society after the elders being paranoia with all of the cruelty there are. Sadly, this extreme effort doesn't work either. Because not only the fear of the outside world itself has been consuming them day and night, but also the isolation from main society has abandoned them from all access including critical medical treatment. So this is what I want to emphasize: with all the advantages of World Wide Web has to offer and the concept of rapid information data interchange itself, it is our lost to completely isolate ourselves from the main limelight. So accept the World Wide Web with open arms and embrace it. But, equip yourself with the best knowledge and application to avoid from being another victim. These are my simple tips and steps to avoid virus attack: 1. Avoid visiting and downloading file from suspicious and dangerous websites. These websites usually include those that contain adult content and websites that sell or offer illegal serials and cracks. These kind of websites usually have so many suspicious popup windows and applications that upload automatically without our knowledge. There are so many other websites that do just like this. But fortunately, some major web browsers like Mozilla Firefox can offer a significant security defense for sightseeing of what lies ahead before you click a link or continue entering unknown addresses. Its enhanced security method will warns you if the site is unsecure. 2. Avoid using file sharing application if your system is not equipped with adequate protection. Even if you do have, you need a very best of them to get you protected from virus that lurking in the channel. It is because there is almost no guarantee that the file you are accessing and downloading are virus free since it comes from unknown and untrusted source. Furthermore it might be the virus itself. If what you want to do is downloading music, just go directly to iTunes or Rhapsody. 3. Deactivate autorun function for all removable media drives like floppy drive, optical drive, and flash disk. You need to do this because even the most advanced virus out there is still need a trigger to run, be it a click from your mouse, a command from a recognized program, or a command from Windows itself such as commanding a newly inserted media to run its autorun program. Autorun specifically designed to make us enjoyed content automatically: CD music and DVD movies played automatically by your favorites multimedia player application, data files automatically explored by your Windows Explorer, and your new bought application directly bring you to the front window. But what if the autorun program is the one that you don't want at all like virus? So it is better to leave autorun function unactive. 4. Whenever receiving emails, do not open the one that you don't sure where it comes from. Especially if the title are suspicious and the email contain attachment. So please don't be flattered so fast when there is an email from someone you don't know with intimate title like "Love letter for you". For extra safety, use email client that support advance security integration that prevent any active content or remote images popups automatically. If you are using offline email client like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird, make sure your Antivirus support email scanner function. This will guarantee your antivirus have the capability to access and scan the incoming emails. 5. Do not open CD or any optical disk from someone you don't know, especially if it's home made. Unlike general assumption, optical disks can easily become the medium of virus. Because not like the old days when CDs are only produced by large corporate who have a far better protection, nowadays CDs and DVDs can be produced easily in any house in the world with very poor protection of virus. 6. When all is done, make sure that you update your antvirus database in daily basis and scan your entire system in weekly basis. Better still, find antivirus that not also have additional features of antyspyware and antispam protection, but also offers firewall function. Thus it will be your ultimate protection from the wild wild world of data exchange traffic we called as world wide web.
About the AuthorDavid Omar is a freelance for IT and game coverage. He submits his works for many websites and blogs in these fields.
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