Legal Blog For Professionals

Protecting your computer from viruses is getting more and |more difficult each day. While it may sound a little paranoid, it is true that you cannot let your defense drop for one second. Even commercial giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Do you remember the ‘good old days’, before the arrival of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. The primary way to catch a virus then was via floppy disks. By modern standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. The antivirus software of that time was usually able to identify and eliminate viruses before they caused too much harm. Additionally, computer users were fairly savvy about how to defend themselves by scanning all floppy disks before using them.

The Internet changed all that. The Internet provided a medium by which viruses could travel from host to host with blinding speed. A computer user had to start to think about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads as virus entry points. Modern viruses can attack through multiple entry points, propagate without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program. With technology advancing everyday, and the union of computers with other mobile devices, the potential for new types of threats also increases.

Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept up with the virus threats. Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to ward off viruses and other malicious programs. These software products are designed to guard against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Moreover, these programs offer a control feature that handles deployment, configuration and updating. A computer user should remain diligent and follow a couple of simple steps to guard against the menace of a virus:

You should appraise your current computer security system. With the danger of a new generation of viruses being able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one sort of antivirus software has become outdated. You have to be certain that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server. Think about a more comprehensive security system which encompasses several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to infiltrate your system.

You should install antivirus software created by a well-known, highly regarded company, because new viruses erupt daily, so it is important that you update your antivirus software daily. Become familiar with your software’s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically every time you boot your computer. This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up.

Set your antivirus software to scan all new programs or files no matter from where they come from and apply caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown origin particularly if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.

Make sure you perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if you computer becomes infected.

There are numerous applications available to consumers, so with a little research, you should be able to pick the program that is right for you. Many programs provide a trial version which allows you to download the program and test its capabilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall, so as a precaution make sure you set up a System Restore point and take back-ups before installing it.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the cheap antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

Most computer users in the United States have heard of the leading American antivirus vendors. Manufacturers such as Symantec, McAfee, Computer Associates, and Trend Micro. These companies have a market leading presence in the United States. Microsoft, too, has aspirations to become a key player in this enormous growth market.

In fact, Microsoft acquired intellectual property and technology rights from GeCad software in 2003, a company based in Bucharest, Romania. They also purchased Pelican Software, which had a behaviour orientated security product, as well as the Giant Company Software for spyware and Sybari Software, which managed virus, spam, and phishing filtering.

A great deal of debate centered on whether Microsoft would end up in a domineering position in the antivirus market by simply bundling its newly acquired software technologies up with its Windows operating systems at no cost. This is a comparable technique that has been used in other markets such as word processing and Internet browsers. In fact, this is precisely what did take place. Microsoft has come out with a free product called Microsoft Security Essentials.

It is too early for me to tell whether MS Security Essentials is a world-class antivirus product, but it is not free to everyone. Microsoft has been struggling with Windows piracy for a while now with its Windows Genuine Advantage sneaky download and sure enough, this new product from Microsoft will only work on Windows systems and even then, only with operating systems that pass the Windows Genuine Advantage check. (Please click the link at the bottom the page to find out more).

There is nothing wrong with that per se, but it does mean that hardly anyone in the Third World will be able to make use of it, because a pirated operating system comes bundled with every computer that I have ever seen in Asia and probably elsewhere too. People save for years in order to afford a computer and the last thing they worry about when they plug it in is whether the operating system is genuine or not.

Of course there is a number of other antivirus manufacturers prominent in this market. There are many companies with great market presence in other countries that are starting to become more widely recognized. These vendors include GriSoft from the Czech Republic, Sophos from the United Kingdom, Panda Software from Spain, Kaspersky from Russia, SoftWin from Romania, F-Secure from Finland, Norman from Norway, Arcabit from Poland, VirusBuster from Hungary, Nod from Thailand and AhnLab from South Korea.

It is not yet clear where the industry is heading and everyone in this market is confronted by a swiftly changing scenario. The amount of effort required to find and deliver updates for new viruses is quite astonishing. Malicious programs are becoming more and more complex and the number of them is increasing.

Many companies may find themselves without the capital to equal the hard work of those truly determined to create chaos. The antivirus companies are receiving hundreds of new examples of viruses a day! What is more, the new viruses are getting “cleverer” in that they spread themselves quickly and they often hide themselves too. Some are even intelligent enough to move around in a system by renaming themselves in an effort to make it hard to remove them.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the Microsoft antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

New computer viruses are being generated, exposed and disabled every day. These computer viruses are developed often just to annoy us and to wreak havoc in our computer systems. Hereunder, I have described ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent and being potentially able to cause the most destruction. However, new viruses are being created on a daily basis, so this list is by no means complete. The only thing you can do is remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and keep abreast of the current computer virus threats.

Virus: Trojan.Lodear: A Trojan (from Trojan Horse) that attempts to download files from a remote source. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.

Virus: W32.Beagle.CO@mm: A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may prevent admittance to security-related websites.

Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban: A Trojan that allows the compromised computer to be operated as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.

Virus: W32/Netsky-P: A mass-mailing worm which propagates by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.

Virus: W32/Mytob-GH: A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform. Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.

Virus: W32/Mytob-EX: A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob- EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain admittance and control over your computer via IRC channels. This virus propagates by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email address book.

Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER: This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they are able to do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Furthermore, they can propagate themselves through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).

Virus: Zafi-D: A mass-mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which replicates itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then generate a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames made up of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D replicates itself to folders with names containing words like ‘share’, ‘upload’, or ‘music’ as ‘ICQ 2005a new!.exe’ or ‘winamp 5.7 new!.exe’. W32/Zafi-D will also show a fake error message box with the caption “CRC: 04F6Bh” and the text “Error in packed file!”.

Virus: W32/Netsky-D: A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also contaminate computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus: W32/Zafi-B: A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will reproduce itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an Internet connection by attempting to connect to google.com or microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to ?We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, P?cs (SNAF Team)?

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the network antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

If you access the Internet, you certainly need anti-virus software. It does not matter whether you do not use a computer. Whatever you use to get on line you must have anti-virus software. Although there are hundreds of malicious idiots producing viruses to attack those who access the Internet from a computer, there is an growing number who are targeting mobile phone users too.

It is more difficult to clear viruses from your mobile phone too, because there are less vendors for the anti-virus software and cell phone users are normally less technically knowledgeable than computer users, although the technique of removing the virus is quite similar.

Let’s just use the example of using computers to go on line. If you go on line, your ant-virus software is your most essential item of software. It does not matter what you use the Internet for – transferring data back to base or receiving emails from friends – you are subject to attack.

For instance, if you use the Internet only to connect with your head office, a hacker could try to piggy-back your connection to gain access to the mainframe at head office and possibly access financial or other personal data and if you just send to and receive emails from your friends and family, you are open to assault from malicious twits around the globe.

If you use webmail such as that offered by Yahoo, Hotmail and MSN to name only the most popular, you will be sheltered from the most obvious attacks, but still not out of harm’s way. If you receive your email through an email client such as Outlook or Outlook Express, then you do not even have that small amount of protection.

If you do not use email, but only surf the Internet for research or whatever, you are still not safe, because some websites and loaded with viruses, trojans and worms, waiting to unload them onto unwary surfers.

Therefore, whatever reason you surf the Internet for, you need some type of security. Fortunately, anti-virus software for personal use is inexpensive and can even be free. Business users will usually get tax relief on their purchases.

However, be cautious with the free anti-virus software, because not all of it is effective enough. The exceptions that spring readily to mind are Avira and AVG. These are excellent items and have rightly achieved worldwide acclaim. Just Google the two names to get the download address.

The anti-virus software that costs something (typically $25-$50 per annum) invariably offer one to two months free trial before you buy and a reduction in price, if you pay for more than one year at a time. Names that fall into this class are Kaspersky, McAfee, Norton and Nod.

Once you have selected your software, the subsequent steps are the same for free and paid software. First install it and then configure it. If you are not certain how to do that do not be concerned, the default settings are fine for the overwhelming majority of users. The only choice you will get that it is vital you make correctly is to allow automatic updates.

New viruses are being exposed or fixed every day and for your anti-virus software to be effective, you must allow it to bring itself up to date whenever it wants to.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the network antivirus software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software

Adware, spyware and anti-virus software share some similarities, one of which is that all three are major problems for computer users. Let’s differentiate between the three.

Spyware is software that does not necessarily damage your computer. What it does is create pathways whereby someone else apart from the computer owner can communicate from that computer. Usually spyware records the different kinds of web sites you visit and sends that information to web advertisers, who then later send you unwanted emails and pop-ups.

Which is why spyware is unpopular and avoided. It is more intrusive than adware. Spyware has its own separate executable programs, which allow it to record your keystrokes, scan files on your hard disks and look at other applications that you use, including but not limited to chat programs, cookies and Web browser settings.

Spyware then sends the information that it had gathered to the spyware author. The author will then use this data for advertising and marketing purposes. They also sell the information to advertisers and other parties.

Adware, on the other hand, is a more legitimate kind of software.. It is similar to spyware but adware is advertising spyware which is bundled into free software or a free program and is installed automatically once that particular program or software is loaded into your computer system.

Some forms of adware, on the other hand, download advertising content when a particular application is being run. Some adware behaves like spyware in that it tracks and reports user information to the program’s authors.

The signs of spyware infection include pop-up ads that seem to be unrelated to the site you are viewing. Sometimes spyware pop-ups are advertisements about adult contents. Furthermore, if you become aware of your computer slowing down, there is a big chance that spyware and its components have found their way into your operating system. If Windows desktop takes a long time to load, it is best to scan your computer for spyware infections.

Viruses, on the other hand, are a destructive kind of software. They were designed and created for one reason alone and that is to cause chaos on your computer. They may destroy whatever data they come in contact with, can initiate self replication and then infect as many components of the computer’s operating system or network as possible.

These days, a lot of anti-virus software also provides spyware and adware scanning and removal utilities. They then remove it as well as its components located in the system registry and other locations on your computer. It is therefore, good practice to regularly update your anti-virus and anti-spyware scanner to ensure that your computer is protected from the thousands of spyware and viruses in the Internet. Beware of free add-ons or free anything really.

Adware might be spyware in disguise and could be just waiting to be deployed for its writers to gather your data. Learn how to set up a firewall and pop-up blocker in order to minimize the risk of computer infection and ensure the security of all your computer records.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the best virus protection software. If you have an interest in such software, please go over to our website now at Computer Antivirus Software