How to stay happy and healthy on the Internet

 

The World Of Malicious Software

Worms, Trojan Horses, Viruses, and Bots are all considered to be malicious software. These types of codes are set out to do destructive damage, not limited to computer damage but also steal your identity. A virus, like human viruses are dependent on human interaction to spread it. Worms, although they do propagate, they can do so one their own. To further explain the meaning of this, viruses are codes that attach themselves to other programs. In order for this program to run, it needs to be executed. This is why in my previous blog I mentioned not to open any email attachments from unknown sources. This is what code writers thrive off of . By clicking on this executable file, you now unleashed the virus! Unlike worms and viruses, Trojan horses do not infect other files or self-replicate. To sum up what a bot is, it is a malicious (not all the time though) program that in other words, works on behalf of a person. It can gather information, launch denial of service attacks, send spam, and send this information to a central server.

Here are a few tips to help protect yourself.

• Always use and update anti-virus.
• NEVER open email from unknown sources.
• Use a firewall. This will help prevent viruses, worms, and hackers.
• Employ spam filtering tools, which help block soliciting emails.
• Practice safe web browsing habits.
• Avoid sites such as social networking, adult websites (porn) and peer-2-peer sites. These types of sites are breeding grounds for malicious activity.

However, if you find that a virus still made it's way onto your computer, there are numerous steps you can take to clean your computer.

1. System restore. I will explain this step into details in a video in a later section. With a system restore you can set your computer back to a time prior to being infected, which will rid you of your virus, however, it will delete everything after the time that was chosen.
2. Run a scan on the infected file. There are plenty of free anti-virus software out there which have adequate amount of protection. This will scan and remove viruses without having to delete important files.
3. If everything fails to remove a virus, you can clean install. Yes, it is a last resort, but it starts with a virus free state. This is completely deleting your hard drive.

Fake Anti-Virus Programs Beware

Ever heard of fake anti-virus programs? Well here is a new one if you haven't. These programs appear and act in the same manner, as if they are a legitimate anti-virus software. These programs are made to gain money from the innocent victim. These types from programs can have pop-ups warning that person they need to install more software to access something specific. it can lead them to believe that there is a virus with warning messages and even include videos to make the program look more real. Don't be fooled by these types of programs. Not only is your computer at risk, but so is your money when typing in your credit card information to obtain this type of scam. Here's a video to show how legitimate these programs can act.

Anti-Virus Protection I use is AVAST!

 

Out of curiosity as to why I use Avast!, I use it because first off it is a free anti-virus. I have used Avast! on every computer I have owned and have yet to find issues with it. However, I am very cautious when using the Internet. I decided to take a screenshot while I was updating the program. The reason for that updating is very important because the software updates new virus signatures, which is the identity of the malware. If you left your anti-virus software from beginning state, your susceptible of new viruses that are introduced on the Internet. Furthermore, don't worry though, there is an automatic update feature you should enable to be worry free. Here is a link to download Avast! free of charge. http://www.avast.com/en-us/index

 

 Video Tutorial on How to Do a System Restore

A very useful and easy to use tool. You will see in the video it takes me less than a minute to set it up. Than once your computer is recovering it should take less than an hour to recover back to a previous date.