He Seemed Fine to Me

Ever hear that from a young lady about a fellow she dated that turned out to be a bad guy? Well rogues (antivirus infections) are the same way. They look nice from the beginning just like their human counterparts, but after some time their shenanigans start!

When a girl wants to date a guy, she checks him out. She gets to know everything she can about him before she actually gets in a car with him! It would be unwise to do otherwise! Well, when you want to install something on your computer, you should do the same. Google the "program" offering to "help" you with your computer otherwise you might end up in a bad situation same as the girl who didn't check out her date! If the first ten items are tech sites telling how to clean that program, then steer clear of it. Sometimes the website for the program will come up in the first ten, but the other sites are bashing the program. Believe the bashers. Most bad guys say they are good guys.

What a rogue looks like: usually a pop-up or an email offering to help you clean up your computer. The name usually sounds very helpful, but don't let a helpful name fool you. Once you have installed it, you seem to be locked out of anything until you purchase the software you thought you had already downloaded and installed. What you downloaded was an infection and now the infector wants you to pay for cleaning up the infection that he caused. At this point download Malwarebytes Antimalware and run to clean your infection. If that doesn't work, get some tech help.

Make scanning for adware a regular part of your computer maintenance time. Use a safe browser. Don't click pop ups. Research virus and adware programs prior to installing them. Re-evaluate yearly to see that your virus protection needs are being met.

Do You Like Vampires?

Ok, I'll admit, I like vampires, but only on the silver screen. Real life vampires, I hunt down and kill. I'm not talking blood-sucking undead creatures, but electronic equipment that you think is powered off. Electronic equipment that isn't used can suck up your electricity which is why it is called a "vampire load." We don't like those, do we? Older monitors that don't have an energy saver mode are energy hogs. Big older printers that don't have energy-save mode stickers on them are also vampire loads. Maybe a scanner that you use maybe once every two or three weeks is your vampire load.

Check your power settings to make sure they are energy efficient, but before you do that do check with your manufacturer as to how to get your system out of energy-saving mode. Turning off your computer will get it out, but it's better if you follow the manufacturer's instructions for this.

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Once You've Been Infected, What Next?

After your computer has been uninfected, what is your strategy for the future?

It should include:

• changing all online passwords. Use a strong password (combination of letters and numbers with one capital letter at least six characters long). You do not know for sure that your passwords have been compromised, but why take that chance? Even if you have never been infected, it's a good idea to change passwords periodically.
• changing browswers. Use a safe browswer. Firefox doesn't allow you to directly open downloaded files. It forces a save on the local drive giving real-time virus protection a chance to do its thing.
• changing browsing/email habits. Use caution when browsing and opening email attachments.
• changing how you receive files. If you receive files via flash drives or CDs, you might want to re-evaluate that practice or, at least, include a scan of the media before opening files on it.
• changing antivirus and malware solutions. Two of the leading antivirus suites are big processor hogs and really are unsuccessful at keeping computers clean.
• changing how often you scan your computer. Virus scans should be daily and malware scans depend on how and how much you use your computer.
• changing how often you delete cookies and temporary internet files. A lot of viruses sneak in via temporary internet files.

Hope this helps keep you uninfected!

What is this an example of?

This is to officially inform you a lump cash deposit of $15.9m in our bank
and which was made in your name by the head oparating officer of Central
Bank of Nigeria.

We want to tell you that your payment will go via the Debit Card means.

KINDLY RE-CONFIRM TO ME THE FOLLOWING:

1) YOUR FULL NAME......................................

2) YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS ...............................

3) PHONE, FAX AND MOBILE...............................

4) AGE AND MARITAL STATUS..............................

AS SOON AS THE ABOVE INFORMATION ARE RECEIVED, YOUR PAYMENT WILL BE MADE TO YOU VIA DEBIT CARD MEANS

You can use your ATM DEBIT CARD to withdraw money in your country and from
any ATM machine all over the world.

When replying, do not fail to also send your means of identification:

(INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT or DRIVERS'S LICENSE) to confirm official dealing
with you.

Sincerely,

James Duru (Mr.)

Director: ATM DEBIT CARD DEPARTMENT
Oceanic Bank International Plc

Is this an example of:

1. Spam
2. Phish
3. Bad ethics

 Answer: All of the above!!! 
 
Oceanic Bank???? A google of that name brings up a Nigerian bank. The person who received that email has never been to Africa. I've been to Africa twice, but never to Nigeria. I'm wondering is Nigeria so rich that it would be giving money away?? Reconfirm to him the information??? He left it blank! Send ID information thru email?? Does he think you are that doodooish?  This is a bad phish. Some are more clever, they actually provide a lot of your personal information which is easily available on the net, but want you to fill in the rest. Don't fall for it. Be the phish that got away. ;)

Is it Zero Day Yet?

Um, I have bad news. It's always Zero Day. Sorry. Bad guys look for ways into your computer through security vulnerabilities- basically the weak spot of your software programs. When they find the weak spot they attack. That is Day Zero.  When the developer of the software program becomes aware of the hole in their program, the race begins. They want to release a fix to their customers right away, but they have to develop and test before it can be released. When they finally release a fix, then it's no longer Zero Day.

What does this mean for computer users? It means you are unprotected against new attacks! Smart web surfing is always in order.

To avoid zero-day attacks:

• Don't purchase new Operating systems or programs until hackers have had a chance to exploit them. Wait until all the holes are patched before you buy it.
• Don't surf the web using an administrator account. If you are logged on with admin privileges you can accidentally install malicious software. If you are logged on with a limited account, the program can't install and you buy time to research whatever is going on to see if it is legit or not.
• Always update security patch right away and make sure Windows Update is set to update automatically.
• Be suspicous of attachments. Scan them before opening. If you don't know a person, don't open an attachment in an email from them. Opening an attachment may be giving them your usernames and passwords. You wouldn't give user names and passwords to a stranger, but that is what you may be doing by opening up their attachments. Be paranoid about this.
• Be careful about which Adobe Flash ads you click on, which plugins you install in your browser, and which websites you visit.

Let's Play the Blame Game!

You got phished. Who's fault is it? Let's find out. In one corner is Evil Phisher and you are the opponent.

Round 1: Is your home wireless secure? Does it have a password on it? Do you use  only "free" wireless spots that have a password provided to you??? Do you avoid anonymous hotspots? If you answered "Yes" to all, you survived round 1!

Round 2: Do you use your children's names as passwords? Do you use your birth date as a password? Do you use your address as a password? Do you have the same password for everything? If you answered "No" to all, you survived round 2!

Round 3: Do you use a secure email system such as a company-provided account or gmail? Do you delete emails asking for your username and password without responding? Do you logout of email systems on public computers or shared computers? Do you avoid emailing your passwords? Do you clean your cookies regularly? Do you do scans regularly? Is all your malware and virus protection up to date? If you answered "Yes" to all, then you survived round 3 and went the distance!