Computer Education and Services
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Computer Education and Services
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Virus TipsLook for tips about viruses and anti-virus programs here.
As most of us know, spyware, adware, trojan viruses, and other nasties are on the rise. Here is a site that not only helps with computer problems, but will also help you remove the goulies from your computer. I must warn you that many solutions may require you to alter your Registry. So make sure that you back up this all important part of your computer before you proceed. The site is called PC Hell.
Be Aware of Drive-by Downloads It's hard enough to keep viruses, worms, and Trojan horses from infecting your computer. One of the latest threats is "drive-by" downloads. All you need to do is visit an infected website, especially if you use Internet Explorer as your browser, to get infected. The virus will install itself on your computer without your knowledge or permission. All the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs in the world will not save you from infestation. There is hope. Internet Explorer can be configured to stop "drive-bys". Before you make changes, you may want to write down the original settings in case you want to change them back to the way they were. Here's how to configure IE:
The only problem with these settings is that you will be presented with pesky dialog boxes whenever you reach legitimate, safe sites.
Spoofed Return
E-mail Addresses from "Support" Team A recent variation represents itself as support@[name of your e- mail domain]. The message says "Dear user of [domain name] mailing system, Our anti-virus software has detected a large amount of viruses outgoing from your email account. You may use our free anti-virus tool to clean up your computer software. For further details, see the attached." It's signed "The [domain name] team" and includes a link to your domain's URL. It's easy to recognize this as a spoof if you host your own email server, but those who use an ISP's mail server could easily be fooled. A variation on this one that also spoofs your e-mail provider's address, claims your e-mail account is being disabled because of unauthorized access and instructs you to open an attached password protected .zip file. It provides the password in the body of the message. (The password protection prevents anti-virus software from examining the file). If you get a message like this, don't open the attachment and don't use the "anti-virus tool." Call your ISP or mail hosting service if in doubt about the legitimacy of any message purporting to be from them.
One of the most prolific worms this year is the Netsky.D variation, which uses an attachment in email that's a .pif (Program Information File) to replicate itself. Subject line varies; some of the most popular are "Re: Word file," "Re: Excel file," "Re: your details" and "Re: thanks!" The worm deletes a number of important registry values and adds itself to Windows startup. For the download removal tool, see:
Swen...the New Mass Mailer Worm Symantec, maker of Norton Antivirus, has recently issued a warning about a new virus threat. This is a mass-mailer worm known as W32.Swen.A@mm. The virus comes to you as a so-called email attachment from Microsoft Support as an update. Bottom line, Microsoft NEVER sends it's customers/clients attachments or updates through email! The worm mainly affects those who use MS Outlook and Outlook Express. Those systems with Internet Explorer 6.0 (mostly Windows XP) are not affected. All other versions of Windows (Windows 95, 98, ME) can be affected. If you have installed Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack, then you are protected. To help protect your computer from this worm, perform the following:
I urge you to make sure that you perform all critical updates for Windows and MS Internet Explorer. You should also make sure that your virus program is up to date with the latest virus definitions. This is for your own protection and those of others.
Remove the MSBlast Worm From Your PC There's no need to take your infected PC to the shop. Here are steps you can take if your Windows 2000, NT 4.0, or XP computer has been hit with the W32.Blaster.Worm.Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements: Personal firewall software Follow these steps...
Download the RPC Interface Buffer Overrun Security Vulnerability Patch patch from Microsoft Windows Update. If that site is unavailable, get the file from another site, such as Download.com. Good Luck!
My last tip discussed using a free virus program called AVG provided by www.grisoft.com. You can also go to the Internet and use free programs that will scan your computer for viruses. Below are 3 sites that provide this service.
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
I constantly remind folks about upgrading their antivirus programs. There are over 60,000 bugs out there just waiting to wreck havoc on your computer. Most antivirus programs cost and can be expensive on the pocketbook. Normally, I abstain from recommending a free program, however, due to the proliferation of viruses, I feel this one is worth a look. AVG by Grisoft has proven itself to be an able virus detector. I use it on 2 of my own systems. The neat part about it is that it's FREE! All you need to do is give them your name and email address. This is so you can receive a code that unlocks the installation. The program has even detected viruses other "paid-for" programs have missed. You can schedule updates or manually update it yourself. Very easy to use. If you already have an out-of-date antivirus program on your system, find out the correct way to delete it and then install AVG. Give those viruses a run for no money and try this program!
I received an e-mail about how to stop viruses from spreading. Referring to a PC World article, the anonymous writer advised me to enter !000 as a contact in my Outlook or Outlook Express address book. Thereafter, !000 would appear as the first entry and prevent worms from e-mailing themselves to everyone in my address book. Is this true? I hate to burst that bubble of hope, but the answer is no. Similar e-mail messages have been making the rounds for a couple of years, and the advice is bogus. Ignore it. You're much better off getting an antivirus package and keeping it up-to-date. Visit Hoax Busters for details about this hoax, and go to "How to Spot Virus Hoaxes a Mile Off " for tips on how to identify virus hoaxes in general.
Shut Down Problem with Antivirus Program If your computer will not shut, one of the problems could be your antivirus program. Symptoms may be:
This can happen if your antivirus program is set to scan your floppy drive when you shut down your computer. To resolve this, contact your antivirus maker to see if they have a fix. Meanwhile, you can set your program not to scan your floppy disk drive when you shut down your computer. Consult your program's documentation on how to do this. For additional shut down and other issues, view the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q315854.
Two or
More Virus Scanners on One System
Do you download stuff from the Internet? These days, who doesn't? The problem is that some of the files downloaded may be worms, or have viruses attached to them. Before running ANY software downloaded from the Internet, no matter the source, run a virus checker against the downloaded files. A few extra seconds worth of work just might save you from several hours of recovery.
If you are currently using a
virus protection program, that's a good thing. However, if you don't keep your
virus definition files up to date, you might as well not have a virus scanner at
all.
Virus programmers will often
attempt to disguise their program as another file by naming it something like
wacky.jpg.vbs. When you open the attachment in Windows, you see the 'wacky.jpg'
but the .vbs extension (meaning Visual Basic Script), is omitted. Such a file
extension could potentially be dangerous to your system, if it's a virus or a
worm. (Note: If you ever see a file attachment that has an icon that looks like
a light blue 'S',
do NOT open it.) Watch for these file extensions and don't open any attachments
bearing any of them: .js, .jse, .vbs, .scr, .shs, and .shb
Technically, worms are not viruses. The term "worm" was
derived from a book called "The Shockwave Rider" by John Brunner, in which the
main character takes out the evil government's computer with a program called
Tapeworm. Interestingly, original worm programs were designed to be helpful.
Actually, the first destructive worm, Morris, was a good program that crashed,
causing networks to crash along with it.
Computer viruses make headlines!
Frequently in the news is some new virus that's causing, or will soon cause,
havoc on business computers, personal computers, and Web services. To combat the
virus problem, the best weapons are knowledge and preparation, beginning with
the definition of a virus.
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