Computer viruses could actually be a real treat to our very existence. Ever since computers became widely available, they have been becoming an increasingly integral part of our everyday lives. This has become especially noticable with the rapid growth of the Internet, We now depend on computers for so much from our important files, to address books, and information sources, and even to the point of socialising with friends. It doesn’t take much to realise the disruption a malevolant computer virus could cause to us all in a short time.

When you think about computer viruses in this way, it can show us how vulnerable we can be, because as human beings we have become so intricate with computers and technology in so many aspects in our lives.

So what is a computer virus?
A computer virus is like any other program on your pc, some coded instructions which the computer follows uncaring what the end result will be. However, the usual aim of a computer virus is to destroy files or disrupt computer systems, and by spreading itself quickly to other computers, cause as much disruption as possible in a short time.

There is a way to limit or prevent the possible damage a virus could do to your pc, use protection on your computer. Use an antivirus program as your first line of defense against the paralyzing effects of computer viruses. Be sure to install an anti-virus program from a reputable source. It is extremely important to keep your antivirus program updated, and use it to scan your pc regularly. Every single day, new viruses are released by the bad guy programmers, so letting your antivirus software get out of date will mean it becomes ineffective very quickly, you should check at least weekly for updates to the software protecting your pc.

There are several reliable programs that can be downloaded for free, these are called antivirus freeware. Antivirus downloads can secure your computer and your very life. Make it a habit to check antivirus online help for updates on viruses to guard your computer before the virus hits you off-guard.

What Are Phishing Emails? An Explanation

Phishing emails are part of phishing schemes. Phishing generally means that someone sends you fake or bogus emails which are made to look like they come from a banking institution or somewhere else your details could be kept. The Phishing emails have bad links in them . These links invite you to click through to their bogus sites (i.e. not the banking or other official site they claim to be) and submit some of your personal (confidential) information.

This information maybe your complete name, social security number, etc. Some emails even have spyware attachments on them. In the case of banking institutions or online payment sites such as Paypal they are phishing for your password to use to gain access to your account and withdraw your cash somehow.

Identity thieves, or thieves who focus on identity theft issues, send out thousands of fake emails almost on a regular basis, saying they�re representing banking or government entities. So take extra care if you receive emails saying they�re from the Bank, Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, Internal Revenue Service or other government agency or department or bank.

Spyware is computer software that is installed stealthily on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s knowledge or consent often they will log keystrokes and record them so they can intercept usernames and passwords.

Government and banking agencies rarely communicate via email, and if they do, usually it�s in response to something you initiated. They nearly always communicate via postal mail as it’s more traceable and secure than email.
Microsoft posts updates for Windows regularly, especially security patches. Make sure you download these or at least check monthly for updates and install them, or set your pc to automatically update. If you don’t automatically update, mark your Outlook or other calendar and check regularly. Internet Explorer 7 now includes a Phishing site check, and alerts you if the site you are on is suspected to be a phishing site.

Arm yourself, your computer and email for identity theft protection. Better safe than sorry!

Phishing For Your Identity

Who hasn�t received an email directing them to visit a familiar website where they are being asked to update their personal information? The website needs you to verify or update your passwords, credit card numbers, social security number, or even your bank account number. You recognize the business name as one that you�ve conducted business with in the past. So, you click on the convenient �take me there� link and proceed to provide all the information they have requested. Unfortunately, you find out much later that the website is bogus. It was created with the sole intent to steal your personal information. You, my friend, have just been �phished�.

Phishing (pronounced as �fishing�) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

It is not at easy as you think to spot an email phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company. The “From” field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company’s website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.

Many of these people are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic. Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully. When reviewing your email remember that the “From Field” can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving. Also keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.
A great way to check the legitimacy of the link is to point at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. It is a very quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site.

Finally, follow the golden rule. Never, ever, click the links within the text of the e-mail, and always delete the e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. At least then you can be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website.

PC Safety 101 ebook

PC Repair Using The Tools Supplied With Windows

When your pc goes wrong it is usually time to pay someone to fix it, or call in a big favour from your favourite computer geek of a friend. Sometimes though it’s not always necessary to fall back on these two alternatives to repair your pc. There are an abundance of tools supplied with Windows, or for free download which you may be able to use to fix your own pc.

The first thing to realise before you start looking into fixing your own pc, is that most of the time it’s a software fault, and not very often hardware related, so don’t break out the hammer and chisel to open up the case just yet. It’s time to stop, and consider when the fault first manifested itself. Had you just installed some new software or updates to your existing software? Have you downloaded a new Internet Explorer plugin or did anything request permission to install itself while you were surfing? Have you updated a device driver or installed some new hardware?

If the answer to these questions is “Why Yes, what harm could that possibly do?” then it could be that the culprit is a conflict with the new program or update. If so, then you could try using the software’s uninstall link, or the “Add/Remove Programs” section in the Control Panel (Control Panel is linked from your start menu usually). If this doesn’t work, you can always bring out the big gun, and use the “System Restore” utility. This can be found in the Start > Accessories > System Tools folder. This can be extremely scary the first time you use it with all kinds of warnings and texts to read, but basically it will roll back your computer to one of the previous dates it has stored. It doesn’t delete documents or emails, just removes any software installed after the date you’re going to reset to.

Sometimes your pc won’t even get as far as Windows, but you can always try the “Safe Mode” (if it is setup). As your pc is starting up, keep tapping the “F8″ key and you should get to a screen where you can select a variety of startup methods. Ignore all but the “Start In Safe Mode” option, and select the appropriate number for it and press “Enter”. This stops a lot of unimportant stuff from loading up and may just allow you to get into Windows to use one of the options above (uninstall or System Restore). In this mode however you will not have access to many of your usual services, such as networks, or internet connections, and you may also find your soundcard drivers won’t be loaded so you get no sound. Don’t panic, this is normal, and after you reboot from Safe Mode to normal mode your peripherals should all return to normal.

A majority of the pc repairs I have carried out in my capacity as geeky friend have been as simple as using the tools and techniques above. There are also plenty of other tools hiding inside Windows menus, which can be used to help you repair your own PC. Like the ones above they can seem intimidating the first time, but they are quite safe to use, and rarely cause a problem. Just don’t tell my friends about these tools, I like the feeling of superiority when I can fix their pc’s with just a few clicks of the keyboard and mouse.

Bio
Douglas Titchmarsh tackles pc problems for friends, and maintains a Spyware related site and recommends PC Safety 101 ebook

Trojan Horse Just a Greek Myth or Destructive Computer Nemesis?

We have all heard of the term Trojan Horse used in relation to a computer, but what precisely is it? A Trojan Horse is basically a destructive piece of computer code or program that pretends to be a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not self replicate, but they can do just as much damage. One of the most dangerous types of Trojan is a program that is purported to rid your computer of viruses but actually allows viruses onto your computer.

Trojans can be tricky. Who hasn’t been surfing the world wide web and had an advert pop up professing to be able to remove nasty viruses from your pc, or scan for virus or spyware infections? Or, even scarier, an email arrives in your inbox that says it is alerting you to a new virus that can harm your computer. The sender promises to promptly eradicate, and/or protect, your computer from future virus infections if you simply use their “freely downloadable” software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the program looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You take them up on their offer and install the software. You may have just potentially exposed yourself to a huge headache and opened up your computer to a massive list of ailments.

When a Trojan is active, a multitude of things could happen. Some Trojans are more inconvenient than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may merely alter your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more dangerous Trojans can delete or overwrite data on your computers hard drives, corrupt files, or spread other malware such as viruses, or spyware which can spy on the user of a computer and covertly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to pass on information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal or even terrorist activities), and even install a so called “backdoor” into your computer system so that hackers can come and go as they please wreaking havoc on your pc, or using it for some other purpose.

To decrease your odds of encountering a Trojan, stick to these guidelines.

1.Remain diligent
Trojans can invade your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source. Where possible always virus scan any files before you open them, most virus scanners will allow you to do this.

2.Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date with the latest patches, this also goes for web browsers, and other programs you have on your pc, some will have automatic update checks to alert you when they are available. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential. Make Use of the built in Windows update tool, or set it to check for updates automatically.

3.Install reliable anti-virus software, it needn’t cost you the earth to be protected, try the free version of AVG from http://www.Grisoft.com . It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms again if it’s there use the automatic update facility. Be sure that the anti-virus program you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.

4.Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer. Again you can get a top rated firewall at no cost by downloading the free version of ZoneAlarm from http://www.zonelabs.com .

Nothing can 100% guarantee the safety of your computer. However, you can continue to improve your computer’s security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.
——————————————————————–

See How Easily You Can Remove The Hacker Filth That Slows Down Your PC, Sends Your Private Information To Sleazy Computer Criminals, And Threatens To Destroy Your Machine! Download PC SAFETY 101 NOW

How many spyware items are infecting your computer?

I just had, by mistake, a plug-in called Intelligent Explorer attach to my browser. What a nightmare! I have another article on this topic, but this brings home a point. Spyware or adware items are continually infecting computers. Most computers have no protection from them. Most frightening is the frequency of them. From the InfosecWriters web site, “According to a 2004 survey by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 91% of users questioned were familiar with the term spyware. Only 53% believed their computers were infected, but a scan found that 80% of their PCs had some type of spyware installed on them.” It goes on to say, “…The average number of spyware components per computer was 93 with one computer having well over a thousand.”

What is Spyware?

Butte College (www.bctv.butte.edu/support/spyware.html) offers this definition:

“The term ‘spyware’ is broadly defined as any program that gets into your computer without permission and hides in the background while it makes unwanted changes to your user experience.
Spyware is generally not designed to damage your computer. The damage it does is more a by-product of its main mission, which is to serve you targeted advertisements or make your browser display certain sites or search results.
At present, most spyware targets only the Windows operating system (Internet Explorer).”

To be fair, spyware can be harmless, for example tracking cookies don’t do much. While such things infringe on your privacy, they don’t really harm anything. Others, however, are extremely dangerous.

So what do you do about it?

No spyware program seems to do everything, but there are a lot of goods solutions out there that can help. Here is a list of some of the top Spyware tools to look at:

1) Try Ad-Aware 6.0 Professional from LavaSoft (there is also a free version with less functionality)

2) Spybot Search & Destroy from PepiMK Software

3) Xoftspy form Pareto Logic

5) Spyware Guard from Javacool Software is a free program

4) Pest Patrol (now part of Computer Associates by acquisition)

5) McAfee Anti-Spyware

One thing is for certain: you do need to take spyware seriously. For some reason, too many people out there think anti-virus solutions are the end-all solution. They are not.

And, when all else fails?

Finally, as drastic as it seems, if your computer has been infected with a large number of spyware programs, the only solution you may have is backing up your data, and performing a complete reinstall of the operating system.

Computer Viruses that Come a Callin’

Every day new computer viruses are created to annoy us and to wreck havoc on our computer systems. Below are ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent in terms of being seen the most or in their ability to potentially cause damage. New viruses are created daily. This is by no means an all inclusive list. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.

Virus: Trojan.Lodear
A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.

Virus: W32.Beagle.CO@mm
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.

Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban
A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.

Virus: W32/Netsky-P
A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.

Virus: W32/Mytob-GH
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform. Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.

Virus: W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.

Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER
This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).

Virus: Zafi-D
A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption “CRC: 04F6Bh” and the text “Error in packed file!”.

Virus: W32/Netsky-D
A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus: W32/Zafi-B
A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to “We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)”

This is an example of a WordPress page, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from.
You can create as many pages like this one or sub-pages as you like and manage all of your content inside of WordPress.