Will You Be One of 350,000 DNS Changer Malware Infected Users Blocked from the Internet on July 9th?
Back in Nov2011, there was an FBI Sting called “Operation Ghost Click” that resulted in the arrest of six Estonian cyber-criminals that used malware known as DNSChanger that infected over 4.2 million computers. Despite their arrest several months ago, there are many computers that could still be infected. So in an effort to clean up the mess left behind by their internet fraud ring, the FBI is urging internet users to check their computers for any DNS Changer malware.
One major sign of the infection is a hijacked internet browser which redirects to other unintended websites, maybe even porn sites, via fake DNS servers. Once your computer is infected with this DNSChanger, it relies on these fake DNS servers to access “all” websites. If the DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG) were to shutdown all these fake DNS servers at once, millions of computers “still” infected with this malware would lose their internet connection. As it was, the DWCG converted all but 350,000 of these fake DNS servers to temporary “clean” DNS servers. Read More Here…
Scary Online Banking Virus in the News!
Anybody who banks online knows to check their account periodically to reconcile your transactions and verify your balance. By keeping a close eye on your balance, as well as checking for unauthorized transactions, you could immediately identify any fraudulent activity with your account and report it asap, or can you? Well, a new version of the SpyEye Trojan just made the news and is making many rethink how they monitor their bank accounts online. This trojan has been used to to steal funds from consumer’s accounts with a twist, it covers it tracks, and edits the balance you see displayed on your computer, making you think your money is still there! Read More Here…
Keep Java Updated to Help Prevent Infections
While many people have a love-hate relationship with Microsoft about their Windows Updates, these aren’t the only updates you should be keeping up with. By the way I already covered Windows Updates in a previous article. As for Java Updates, it is a good idea to keep up-to-date because I am seeing more and more computers infected with Java Exploits that may have been prevented if they had the latest version of Java installed. Some Java exploits do little to make the victim aware that their computer is even being exploited, so you won’t always see symptoms that you are infected, so performing updates and regular security scans is a must. Below is a screenshot of a Java infection detected by ESET Nod32.
Arrrrrggg with the Registry Cleaners!!!
Yes, this post qualifies as a Rant (although it does involve spyware prevention), but don’t read-on if you don’t want to read about some of my computer repair pet peeves. I just repaired a customer’s Acer laptop computer that had a bad hard drive. The platter was so damaged that not even DriveSavers could recover the data! Anyway, I installed a new Sata Hard Drive and installed Windows Vista from scratch. As part of the job, I installed the latest Drivers from Acer’s website, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (Vista SP2) and some miscellaneous Security Updates. Of course I did much more than that, but I want to focus on an issue with Windows Updates and Registry Cleaners. Read More Here…
How to Prevent an Autorun Virus from a USB Drive
Have you ever had an infected computer you just got repaired, only to get it reinfected again soon after you got it back, and with the same infection? It doesn’t happen often with our customers, but it does happen nevertheless. Before you start wondering if the PC Technician who worked on your computer completely removed the infection or not, there are a couple things you need to consider first. Read More Here…
How to Download YouTube Videos Without Getting Infected
With high-speed internet at home and 4G on the go, literally untold millions of people are watching streaming video on their smart phones, ipods and tablets on a regular basis. For the internet savvy folks, we have already learned how to safely download, convert and import these audios and videos into our mobile devices long ago (in computer years that is). But if you are new to this game or are finally stepping outside the safety of iTunes to get all that great free stuff that is just waiting to be downloaded, then you need to finish reading this article first or you just might get infected on your first night out. I’m not talking so much about what kind of virus and spyware “protection” to use to keep safe on the internet, I’m talking about virus and spyware “prevention” by choosing safe programs or “methods” to do this downloading. But where do you start? Read More Here…
Do You Really Want To Know Why Your Antivirus Program Didn’t Protect You?
I won’t say I’ve heard it all, but I have heard enough. Enough from customers that have asked me how did my computer get infected, I’ve got Norton, or McAfee, or whatever. Aren’t they some of the best virus and spyware protection products on the market? Without getting into any preferences for antivirus software, many of the good ones still fall short when it comes to detecting zero-day threats. Even the best of the best just can’t detect them all. And don’t forget the obvious, that some people have absolutely no antivirus software at all, while others’ is expired, or hasn’t been updated. Then there are just some that are extremely high-risk internet surfers that can’t lay off the adult and pirated software websites that are saturated with malware. But what you can do about it will require you to read and understand a bit about zero-day threats and how we need a new approach to computer security, one that is actually opposite to what you have been using. Its actually not new, its just not what became the accepted standard. We have been a bunch of cows going over the cliff for far too long now. Read More Here…
How to Repair Adobe Flash Player – Screenshots
Do you watch videos online? These days, its not uncommon to get deceived into clicking a link to see some cool video that ended up prompting you to download a plugin first before you could view it. The video link could be something you received in an email, a Facebook friend, or a link you just found yourself while Googling. Whatever the case, many people are getting tricked into downloading fake Flash Players and other malicious plugins which can corrupt your Internet Browser and its plugins, not to mention causing Windows to become unstable, or worse yet … getting ripped-off online. Don’t depend solely on your virus and spyware protection software to protect you against threats you invited in yourself, even if you were deceived. When in doubt about downloading some plugin, find out what it is first, whether it is safe or not, and download it directly from the author’s official website, rather than from some pop-up window you aren’t sure about. While many missing plugin prompts are legitimate, it only takes one that isn’t legit to infect your computer.
I can say that watching YouTube videos on their Official Website is pretty safe as far as malware goes, although I might be careful about clicking any links in the description below the video. But have you ever tried to watch some animated content on the internet such as a YouTube video and saw one of the following messages in the list below? Read More Here…
How to Use the Anti-Malware Toolkit Utility
(Free Members Only) Anti-Malware Toolkit (AMT) is a freeware program from Lunarsoft that offers an easy, one-stop shopping method of selectively downloading a highly recommended collection of freeware programs to help users clean and remove malware from their computers. AMT contains many of the products recommended in my “soon-to-be-released” free “Anti-Malware Toolkit and Beyond” ebook. We’ve already done the research for you about what tools work the best, so you can spend your valuable time actually fixing your computer. Read More Here…
Beware of Infections from Popular Searches – Especially about Death of Osama bin Laden
No doubt, many have already heard about the death of Osama bin Laden on 01May2011 in Pakistan by U.S. Forces. Anyway, it is a well known fact that the perpetrators of viruses and spyware use stories, pictures, videos and email about sensational events to spread infections. There will obviously be many people searching the internet for the latest news, conspiracy theories, pictures and videos about anything to do with Osama bin Laden’s death. All I can say is to use caution when clicking on links in emails or search results having to do with the death of Osama bin Laden. Read More Here…
Is My Blue Screen Caused by a Virus or Spyware?
What is the Blue Screen of Death
Have you ever seen the infamous Blue Screen of Death, otherwise known as a BSOD, like the one below? A BSOD is a critical error that can be caused by viruses, spyware, incompatible software, and hardware failures.
Spyware Prevention – Are You Doing Your Part?
Every week, I get to see quite a few repeat customers carrying their computer into my shop again, that last came in about 6 – 12 months ago. No, they are not here for any scheduled maintenance, they are usually back because of another malware infection. Not that I didn’t fix it right the first time, but because they repeated the same habits that got them infected in the first place.
