Malware (What is it??):
The term Malware is a generic term that covers all the bad software that can infect your machine and comes in three general breeds:
Viruses (including worms and trojans).
Spyware (cookies, data phishing etc)
Adware (includes nasty and annoying pop-ups, "false" advertising
All types of malware have various ways to get onto your computer - these are the main methods:
- Email attachments (files from senders you don't recognise)
- "Dodgy" websites.
- Opening or downloading video files.
- Not having a firewall leaves your PC vulnerable to attack (especially true for an always on broadband connection).
- Running "Freebie" downloaded programs that again are not from a genuine recognised source
Viruses:
The good news is that the "old school" type virus that used to infect machines and cause mayhem, such as wiping the hard drive, is actually a very rare event these days. The bad news is that viruses have become a lot stealthier and instead of causing obvious malicious havoc, they work "under cover" and do nasty things that actually generate revenue for the creator (virus programmer). This could include activities such as hijacking your email account to send out spam-advertising. The generic terms used to classify viruses include: worms, trojans & actual viruses (rare). Trojans are fairly common as they can hide themselves within a harmless looking file such as a word document or video file.
Spyware:
This is more of a problem than viruses these days and next to adware is the most common domestic malware problem I have to deal with. As the title suggests it is software that actually spies on you and tries to steal your personal information. This could simply be your name and address, but also could be more serious like your credit card details to commit credit card fraud. The method used is called data phishing. This can either be by employing clever stealthy techniques such as key logging or by simply looking at a website can save personal data about you in a file called a cookie. Sometimes this is perfectly legitimate and simply saves you time logging into sites such as Facebook, Hotmail, Amazon and Ebay for example. "Bad cookies" are from other unwanted sites (advertising or otherwise) that keep personal data about you.. This is why it is a good idea to periodically clean all cookies off your system using a tool such as Ccleaner.
Adware:
If you have ever had a pop-up message suddenly appear giving a warning that your system is at risk from viruses/spyware; is running slow and needs fixing and is not a security program you have installed yourself, then the likelihood is that its Adware. By clicking on these, you will be taken to a website where it will ask you to pay a sum of money to remove the "so called" threat. These pop-ups are particularly nasty because they falsely make you believe you are at risk then convince you to purchase the software. Apart from anything else pop-ups of this nature are very annoying. Equally annoying is the type of adware that hijacks your browser to an advertising site or opens a dodgy site like gambling or worse (of an adult nature).
To minimise your risk and exposure to malware, just follow these simple rules and you should be fine:-
- Don't open an email attachment if it is from a sender you don't know. Even if you know them don't open the file if it is an executable program file (*.exe).
- Avoid "dodgy" websites where-ever possible, as they make you more vulnerable to attack. Beware of "free" downloads (they are likely to harbour trojans) . The same goes for downloading or running video files (except of course recognised legitimate sites such as the BBC iPlayer).
- If you have no firewall working and you're on the internet, then immediately you're open to Malware and attack from Hackers. This is especially true for most broadband routers that have an "always on" connection.
- Again the "nothing is free" rule holds for most things, apart from one or two well established free software such as AVG, Picassa , Paint.net etc. In general, if you don't recognise the program download file, don't run it. This applies especially if it runs from a pop-up that suddenly appears on your screen (this in itself is adware)
Malware Removal:
If you don't have a full, licensed security suite such as Norton or McAfee, I recommend 3 free tools to address Malware:
- AVG 9 (free edition)
- Lavasoft Ad-aware 2010
- Spybot Search and Destroy (1.6)
- Windows Defender
AVG 9 (free edition) takes care of all types of viruses; other tools will deal with most cases of Adware and Spyware, Windows Defender, a free Microsoft product, will give you some real-time protection from malicious software.
All these can be freely downloaded from www.filehippo.com (A great and safe general free-download site).
If, however, you suspect your computer is infected and want me to do the hard work for you, I can take your machine away, and return it to you clean. (The time it takes for full comprehensive scans prohibits me from doing this on site)
Security Suites (with subscription):
As far security software goes, the big players such as McAfee and Norton give good protection; however, if your machine is a few years old, I can't recommend these as they slow the machine down something chronic. I've had many customers whose machines are quite literally crippled by Norton (2008, 2009 or 360). Even brand new machines have a significant performance hit from these products. It is much better to go for the AVG 9 security suite or Kaspersky 2010, which I can supply & set up for you for a very competitive price and it won't impact on your system's performance.
Kaspersky 2010 includes :- 
- 1 year licence for up to 3 machines
- Anti-virus
- Anti-spyware
- Anti-spam protection
- Intelligent Firewall
- Parental controls (if required)
- plus other features
"Best Security Suite Software" as reviewed in Personal Computer World Magazine.
