Tag Archive for: computer malwares

8 Safety Tips in Preventing Malware Infections

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computer, desk, laptopWith all the online threats, it’s easy to get paranoid and conclude that your computer has been infected, that this website will steal your information, and that this email contains viruses. Practice secure computing and advise everyone else to do the same.

  • Be careful of email attachments. Most probably, the emails you got are just spam especially if you are not waiting for some important email from work. Do not haphazardly open every email you have received. Most importantly, do not download email attachments from unknown origins.
  • Verify email messages. Some email messages seem to be from people you know, or to be from services that you currently use. Always check the sender’s email address. For example, if you are using PayPal when purchasing online, all official emails should be sent via PayPal.com. If you have received emails from services providers like Aol.com, or Gmail.com, then, these people are just pretending to be someone from PayPal. This is what you call a phishing scam. Please do not interact with these emails especially if it contains questionable attachments.
  • Do not set devices to “auto run”. If you are fond on inserting an external storage devices to your computer, do not set it to auto run.  To have protect your computer, manually open your storage devices, DVDs, email attachments. If it’s in auto run, it is usually the malwares that run first.
  • Scan all devices that is from someone else. Thumb drives, or practically any external device can carry a malicious software and these software programs are usually small so they can surely fit in any media device there is.
  • Scan all new software before you install it. Whether if the program is free or you paid for it, it is safe to scan any software you wish to install in your computer. Who knows something is hidden on that free digital download, or trial DVD?
  • Back up your files frequently. Keep important files safe, and do not save it on the same computer. Preferably, you should have an external device that is strictly for important files in case your computer gets infected. Always have a back up other than your computer. You can also store these files online. When files are online, it is also vulnerable to intrusion. Offline back up is better.
  • If you have Windows PC, it is recommended to install all Microsoft security updates. Update your Windows Defender (for Windows 8 and above), and Microsoft Security Essentials (for Windows 7). These will provide you real-time protection especially if you often connect external devices to your computer.
  • Make sure that your malware scanners virus and spyware definitions are up to date. If they are old, they will probably not detect new malwares that could be lurking around.

No security solution offers 100% protection.

You have to be careful when opening a file you will execute on your computer. If possible, Scan ALL the files, at least, scan the ones from skeptical sources. You can use Jotti’s Malware Scanner; it is an online malware scanner that uses 18 different scanners. You can upload files you have receive there, or you can also use Norton’s Safe Web to scan the safety and security of a particular website.

7 Types of Computer Viruses

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Blue Screen of Death in Silver Black Laptop

What do you need to know about viruses?

A virus is no joke because it could delete all your files, steal them, and enter your email to spread in other people’s computer.

True, viruses can expand by means of email attachments, messages, and email  attachments. Do not open especially if you do not know the sender. The virus could even hide themselves in a friendly greeting card, audio and video files, even funny and cute images. It could also come as a file or program, if not as a software.

The list below are the types of viruses and where they attack:

  • Boot Sector Virus is the most dangerous virus. This could have an effect on the master boot record, destroy or encrypt the code. The most difficult part is that, boot sector virus is hard to remove. It requires the formatting of the whole system. Parity boot is an example of this.
  • Resident Viruses is a permanent virus which resides in the RAM memory. It causes interruption of the operations which the system has already done. Eventually, this leads to corrupting programs and files. Mr. Klunky, Randex, Meve, and CMJ are examples of this.
  • Non-resident Viruses is the type that does not reside or complete itself from the memory of the computer. It is also a finder module and likewise damage files when the module is executed. Executable virus is an example of this virus.
  • Multipartite Viruses can spread in so many ways and distribute through the infected media. It stays in the memory and unhurriedly goes to the boot sector of the hard drive. They affect the boot sector and executable files and rapidly spread itself at the same time. This makes it difficult to remove. If you clean the program files, it is useless because the virus resides in the boot sector. The minute you open your computer, the virus immediately replicates.
  • Overwrite Viruses may not be as dangerous to your system, but surely it can delete the files that it infected. To remove this kind of virus, delete the file and all its content so that it cannot pass the infection to the entire pieces of standalone files and software. This spreads via the email. Way, Trivial.88.D, and Way are examples of this.
  • Direct Action Virus, a file infector does its work by connecting to a particular type of file which is often EXE or COM files. When the file is completed, it will hunt down other files in your directory and start spreading. An anti-virus program can deal with the virus.
  • Stealth Viruses can deceive anti-virus software by just putting into halt the request of the operating system. It is hard to detect it because it hides itself.

 

Viruses are all out there just waiting to attack your system. There are ways of fighting them – know about them, know where they reside, and know how to get free of them. Also, use a good anti-virus program. Be wary in downloading from the internet because it might just have a virus. Scan files before opening because or utilize this online scanner to ensure you ain’t opening a trap.