computer security link

 

1. I have had 3 of my friends slammed with these. They are nasty and hard to get rid of without the right tools. You basically have to kill the process then remove them. Nasty little buggers depending on the payload they carry. Some will rewrite the root files, some will block access to everything on the machine (making itself the superuser) then proceed to destroy your machine, send email with nasty attachments to your friends, or become a slave to the writers of the programs to do all sorts of nastiness in your name, not to mention stealing your information for different insidious reasons.

   If anything like this pops up on your machine and AdAware, MalWare Bytes or SpyBot the best thing to do is go to Task Manager and stop the browser process, then, if you can identify it, the crap-ware process before it can continue, hopefully before it is too late.

   Posted by Doctor DETH       09/05/2011  at  06:33 PM  



2. I agree.  Some of the worst computer problems I have ever run into is when these fake “scans” show up in a browser (sometimes from what you think is a reputable site).  In one case the computer essentially had to be replaced (it was old anyway) and in the other they had to bring it to a specialist to remove and fix the damage.

   The scumbags should be hunted down and shot.

   Posted by The Great Snook       09/06/2011  at  09:37 AM  



3. I use an arsenal of various tools to protect my computer, because I really despise re-installing from the ground up.

   Antivirus/anti-malware:  Kaspersky.  Not free, but so far, pretty impressive.  Downside:  Kinda slow to boot.

   Add-ons in FireFox 3.6.21:

   - NoScript (currently at version 2.1.2.6 and it updates frequently) - helps prevent drive-by scripting by automatically blocking javascript on any site until you temporarily enable it for that visit, or permanently enable it by adding it to your white-list.  Downside:  Can make getting at certain media content a big pain in the butt if the site’s designed badly, but the up-side protection of not automatically running scripts on a typo’ed URL that has nothing BUT malware?  Priceless.  If their code can’t run, you can’t get infected.

   - AdBlock Plus (currently at version 1.3.9) - helps to avoid malware arriving via banner advertisements by blocking ads.  Not every advertising group has problems but some do, and I don’t have time to sort the wheat from the chaff.

   - BetterPrivacy (currently at version 1.67) - helps to get rid of “evercookies” that some companies try to install in Flash.
   This is why I run NoScript as an add-on in Firefox.  It makes viewing/using some pages a pain, but it really helps to cut down on the drive-by scripts that try to infect your systems.

   But here’s the big anti-malware measure that defeats them all:

   - Full System Backups done to external offline hard drives.  (For this I use a product called Acronis True Image Home which I start from a boot CD-R that I wrote after installing the product.)

   Oh, the forces of darkness actually managed to infect my computer?  No way I’m spending days disinfecting, I’m fixing this overnight.
   - Put the boot CD in the DVD drive.
   - Shut down the system.
   - Hook up the backup image external hard drive to the USB port.
   - Power up and boot from the CD.
   - Start the restore from the last known image, over-top the existing main drive partition.
   - Go to bed and forget about it.
   - In the morning, when the restore is done and waiting for me, Reboot.
   - Flip the finger to the malware authors and laugh.

   For backup media, I’m really liking the Western Digital 2TB and 3TB external drives.  About $90 and $130 Canadian dollars each, respectively.

   Posted by Argentium G. Tiger       09/06/2011  at  05:59 PM  



4. I treat this sort of thing the same way I treat a telemarketer. Rudely. Ignore it.

   If I want this service, I will seek out a reputable source.

   I even ignored a reputable source for this service. First I researched the source from sites I trust. Turns out this particular security service is legit. But it’s far from free.

   Posted by Christopher       09/07/2011  at  01:29 PM  

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