Is your computer is running slowly and seems to be at the edge. You may have a virus on your computer. So, let us see, what is a virus? What it can do for your computer? How can you do protect your computer from SPYWARE?

The spyware virus is a malicious program which replicates itself through your computer without asking you or takes permission from you. This spyware program can infect your files and make it malfunction. For example, you may open a Microsoft word file and see it failed to open. Assuming that the cause of this failure is spyware, and then you will likely to see other files malfunctioning  as soon as one file is failed due to a virus on your computer.

Spyware viruses are large collection of instructions attached to one of your programs. These instructions can be coming from different sources such as browsers when you open the internet, a link in email, cd disk, flash memory, or other sources. When one of these programs is opened, these instructions are executed along with the original program you opened and load itself in the memory, and then it can write itself to other files in the computer.

In fact, there are two strategies the spyware can infect you system. The first one is called nonresident strategy. In this type of infection, the spyware virus looks for other files  and resources to infect only on the local computer. In the second strategy, which is called, Resident strategy, the virus looks for other hosts to infect if it is connected to a local network.

The most important is how to prevent these spyware viruses from your computer. The common technique is to install an spyware anti-virus software on your computer. This software works by detecting viruses on your computer. It has many techniques to detect that there is an existing spyware virus according to software vendor. It can detect it based on signature in the file it scan. A signature is a certain pattern it looks for and if exists then it decides that a virus exists. Every spyware sofware that uses this technique has a database of this signatures which represents the most common spyware viruses. Some spyware anti-virus sotware also detect by looking for the behaviour of the file being opened which is called heuristic detection .

A second technique to prevent your computer from viruses is to backup your data. If some files is infected on your computer, you will find some copies of your data. You can store it, for example on CD, or DVD.

Protect Your Home Computer

I remember the day when computers were first in my classroom. I laugh sometimes just remembering the green front Apple and Orange font IBM computers. When using them little did I know one day there would be graphic rich multimedia with unlimited connectivity to the world and information. This information world will have its pros and cons and I would need to find free ways to protect my home computer.

I also remember my friend as a child who had a computer wiz father. As a birthday gift he gave his son two little boxes with 8 numerical buttons and one little red LCD display on each box. These little boxes were a way for me and my friend to send codes back and forth from each other from our phone lines when at home. We created our own code talk to decipher messages. We felt like spies and had a great time messaging nonsense for hours.

Little did I know as a child that these seemingly simple things would grow into the powerful and world dominating PC and Internet. Even less did I know the impact it would have on all the lives of the world and how easy and fun it would become. As a naive child, I would never imagine the evil that would lurk to destroy such great technological advances.
With the birth of the Internet came the birth of viruses, spyware, and spam. The Internet world could now virally be infected with computer destroying codes almost instantly worldwide along with pop-up ads all over your computer screen and your inbox bombarded with propositions of the unthinkable and bizarre.

How to protect your Home Computer

Once introduced, the world forever would be on their toes watching their backs for this malicious onslaught of computer created menaces and dangers . The industry created to thwart the destructive codings has boomed and never looked back and it is doubtful that it will ever be out of demand as more lives rely on the Internet and the computers used to access it. Can people find free ways to protect your home computer?
Hundreds of different anti-virus, ant-spam, and anti-spyware software exists today and some can come at a bargain while others can cost you an arm and leg. Some are excellent while others are mediocre, but for today we will discuss good and honest protection that is free.
Spam as we all know can ruin a good visit to the inbox. For protection against spam you must be responsible with your email address and be careful who gets it. Applying for bogus free offers and money making schemes can open up your whole account to the dreaded inbox disease.
If you are needing spam protection you can open up a free email account with Yahoo Mail or HotMail and receive free spam protection with the service without any additional software or setup. Yahoo offers a yearly paid account with additional spam protection if the free version is not enough for you. Yahoo charges about $20.00 a year, which I myself subscribe to.
With spyware you can expect unexpected pop-ups, search intrusions, as well as the possibility of identity theft. This makes spyware no laughing matter and lucky for you you don’t have to pay to be protected. Lavasoft and AVG are just two companies that offer outstanding free anti-spyware software for your computer. Even Yahoo has gotten into the act and have given their toolbar users free spyware software that can be launched from their toolbar. I recommend running it once a day.
Viruses can literally destroy your operating system and even your whole computer which makes this last threat one of the most dangerous when it comes to your PC. You would expect to pay hundreds of dollars perhaps to protect your computer or maybe an annual subscription which is common too. Why even pay when you can get it for free?
There are two great anti-virus programs out there that you can use free for your home computer without any catch other than maybe a registration. I highly recommend these two products and use them for my own computers completely free.
Anti-virus #1: AVG has an anti-virus download that takes care of all the virus updates daily and scans your computer everyday at a specified time which is convenient for those who forget to protect their PCs.
Anti-Virus #2: Avast is an excellent program for keeping both spyware and viruses off of your computer and in the gutter where they belong. They have a more complex registration which requires email authentication and online registration, but only takes about 10 minutes of your time, a lot less time than the hours you have to work to buy a new computer or OS.
Don’t let the word free deter you from these great resources. It is amazing what these companies are offering the general PC population and you should take full advantage of their offer. I use all the mentioned software myself and it just goes to show, some of the best things in life really are free.

Today I want to talk a little about the dreaded computer virus. The goal of this article is to teach you, the home user, the fundamental skills needed to help detect, remove, and most importantly prevent viruses from infecting your computer. As the owner of a computer consulting business, I have seen 1st hand how much damage computer viruses can do. To help protect yourself from a virus attack, it will be necessary to understand exactly what a virus is. A virus is essentially a software program designed with malicious intentions, to copy itself and spread from one computer to another. What makes a virus so dangerous is what they are designed to do.

A virus, once installed on your computer, can easily corrupt or delete data from your computer. This can be anything from your latest Word document to the irreplaceable pictures of your loved ones. We will get into exactly what a virus can do later in this article. Now that you have an idea of what a virus is and what it can do to your computer, lets discuss how your computer gets infected. I have heard countless times from people, ” But I did not open any email attachments, how can I be infected?” While it is true that a majority of viruses are hidden within email attachments, they can also be downloaded into our computers in the form of images, videos, or even instant messages. I have personally removed a virus from Cd’s, jump drives, and floppy disks.

Lets talk about ways to help protect your computer from viruses. To protect your computer from these threats it is vital that you have an anti virus program installed and up to date. I have seen many times in the field computers that have anti virus programs but still are infected with a virus. Let me point out that not all anti virus programs are equal. I will not discuss in this article which anti virus program you should or should not use however email me and I will be happy to help you in that aspect. Your anti virus program will do you little good if you do not keep your definitions up to date. New virus are being identified all the time so it is vital to keep your anti virus program up to date on the latest threats. Another proven method is to use a firewall.

A firewall is essentially software or hardware that is designed to filter out information that is being sent to or from your computer. Think of a firewall as a Guard at the end of your driveway, before anyone enters your home they must first pass a set of rules or security checks you have given before they are allowed to enter your home. Some of the software-based firewalls include Norton Internet Security, Zone Alarm and Trend Micro. You may be using a hardware firewall and not even know it. If you have a LAN (Local area network) then chances are you have a router of some kind. Most routers come built in with a firewall, which is very effective at protecting your computer from viruses. Another technique used to help prevent viruses is to keep your computer up to date. If you are using a windows based PC, check Windows Update often for any security patches that are released.

Do not open email attachments if you do not know the sender, this is asking for trouble. Lets move on to identifying infected computers. As a PC technician, it is my responsibility to quickly identify the signs of virus infections. Computers with virus infections will often show some of the following symptoms. Please note, that the issues listed below may be caused by several problems, such as spyware, and are not specific to viruses. Your computer may be slow to start or shut down. You may be missing data on your hard drive or, in worst case scenarios, lose all data on the drive. You may experience strange error messages or you computer will shut down unexpectedly. Your fonts may be distorted and overlap or you may experience difficulties in printing.

These are just some examples of the harm viruses can do. Now the most difficult part, removal. This is a topic worthy of its own article as there are many different procedures in virus removal. I will discuss with you the very basics. If you think you are the victim of a virus do a thorough scan of your computer. It may also be beneficial if you scan your hard drive while in safe mode. This is usually accomplished by tapping F8 at start up, but refer to your computer’s manual for instructions to be certain.

If you do not have an anti virus program, first thing to do is get one! In the meantime you may use the services of an online virus removal tool. Many of the popular anti virus programs offer this service. My intent of this article was to help inform you of the dangers virus threats can pose, as well as giving you the knowledge to help detect, remove and prevent these threats. I hope I have accomplished this, and you can walk away after reading this article, feeling more confident of your abilities to protect your computer from virus threats.

Virus Heat is known as rouge spyware software. Many people who have anti-virus software installed on their system wonder how it got through in the first place. The answer is simple. Anti-Virus software does not protect against spyware.

How do you know when you have Virus Heat?

This answer is simple. Virus Heat is the name of the spyware program that pops up right away when you boot up your computer. It looks like a legitament anti-virus program. This software runs a quick fake scan on start up and then tells you that you are infected with all kinds of things. Your home page is normally highjacked as well and you most likely have a ton of pop-ups as well. In addition most people have a security shield that is active in their system tray.

How do I remove Virus Heat from my computer?

There are many different ways to remove Virus Heat form your system. The more important thing to consider first is full protection. You got infected because you did not have proper protection. It amazes me how many people just want to remove a virus or spyware but not consider full protection. Your just going to get in the same book again and next time it might be something far worse then Virus Heat.

Something you can try to do to remove Virus heat is go into you control panel and simply remove this software. Often times this works. It does not always work but it’s quick to try. Another great way is to do a system restore. If you were infected with Virus Heat just a few days ago then chances are this will work. You will still need to install anti-spyware software for full protection.

I already had protection so why did I get infected and why won’t my software remove it?

This simple answer is not all anti-spyware software is the same. Only a few anti-spyware programs are actually good at removing Virus Heat once infected. Many do a very poor job at preventing spyware in the first place. Any program that is free will not do an adequate job at protecting your system. It seems I have to fight with people over this all the time but after being in the computer field for a dozen years and repairing thousands of computers that have this free software to protect them I know for a fact it just is not enough.

Most of the time people get infected with Virus heat from a fake video codec. They are asked to download and install some software to watch a video or listen to music and that is how they became infected.

With simply a computer and an Internet connection you can access an infinite number of Web servers, Web pages, individuals from across the globe and other digital entities from around the world but it also endangers your PC and the confidential data it contains about you.

Every day of the week virus, spyware, and adware creators come up with new, ingenious ways to gain access to your PC. These simple pointers will help keep the hackers at bay:

Stop and think before you click: Downloaded files that end with .exe, .com, .bat, and .scr, (also files with .doc and .xls extensions), can render your computer completely useless with a single click. Many e-mail programs block access to any attachments so take the extra time and think for a few seconds before you decide to open it or not.

Use an anti-spam filter: Most viruses and spyware are installed by various methods of Internet browser hijacking however, e-mail is still a very common source. Use of a junk-mail filter will significantly reduce the likelihood of running harmful scripts contained within messages.

Keep your antivirus software up to date: Using antivirus software that has expired past it’s subscription period is definitely not an option: Not only do you lack the crucial virus database updates, but you expose your system to malware that targets known flaws in antivirus software.

Prevention against WORMS and Viruses: Install antivirus software, update regularly, and use it regularly. Never open unsolicited e-mail attachments with the file extensions VBS, SHS, or PIF.Disconnect your network or modem cable when you are not using your computer.

Antivirus software is software that is installed on your computer that protects you from viruses. Antivirus software programs contain in the region of 40,000 – 100,000 “malicious software definitions” that are updated on a daily or as needed basis.

I highly recommend Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus (Free) for antivirus protection.

If in doubt try online: You should only install and use one single antivirus program at a time on your computer because multiple antivirus programs will conflict with one another and cause your computer to completely grind to a halt. If you have any doubt about your antivirus program’s effectiveness, you can use a free online virus scanner, such as Panda Software’s ActiveScan) or Trend Micros HouseCall.

Download with care: Any program you download and run on your computer system could potentially result in spyware or virus infection. Download software only from reputable online sources that guarantee that all software is free from malicious software.

Use a two-way firewall: Windows XP and Vista each come with a firewall that blocks unwanted or unexpected incoming traffic; it is enabled by default in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later. However for the best protection possible, you will also want to block unwanted outgoing connections made by spyware, viruses and scripts on your PC that attempts to either connect to a remote server or send out spam.

Windows Vista’s firewall does have that fucntionality, but configuring it is not entirely simple enough for the average Windows user. Instead, you can get one of several free bidirectional firewall programs, such as Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Free, or Agnitums Outpost Firewall Free.

Make use of antispyware program: Anyone who uses a computer can succumb to spyware infection. In fact, 9 out of 10 Internet-connected PCs are infected with some kind of virus. Spyware can be any application that tracks your online or offline PC activity, serves you adverts, redirects your pages and bombards you with pop-ups. If you use the Internet, its possible that some form of virus threats are already active at work on your PC system.

Spyware can ocassionally go unnoticed however, it is more likely that you will notice that it is present on your computer system due to the obvious symptoms that your computer may experience. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get rid of but not entirely impossible.

Even if you suspect you have successfully removed an unwanted program manually, a remaining dormant file can trigger a complete reinstallation the next time you restart your computer. And as a survival tactic, spyware programs often leave similar traces elsewhere on your system so you can often never eliminate it completely after only one attempt.

Spyware, adware, and some scripts / trojans slow down your system, cause crashes, and track your online activity. Antispyware utilities work much like antivirus software, detecting and removing the unwanted software from your PC.

One free tactic you can employ is to upgrade from Windows XP: As Microsoft service Pack 2 makes Windows XP much safer, although the operating system still has many security flaws which can be exploited, and it remains prime target for spyware creators.

If you still have a slow PC after trying the software above and you think it may be due to spyware, you can find more help and information on fixing your slow computer at Slow Computer Help.

PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER FROM COMPUTER VIRUS

As more and more people are becoming comfortable using their computers at school, home or in the office. It’s only a matter of time before they encounter a computer virus. Here are some steps to protect you from computer viruses.

Use a high quality anti-virus program. There are many different anti-virus computers programs on the market some of them are better than others. Look to reputable computer magazines or websites for ratings to help you find the one that matches your needs.

Always use your anti-virus software. Make sure your anti-virus software is always turned on and scanning, incoming and outgoing email messages, and any software programs you run.

Keep your antivirus programs up to date. Most programs come with a yearly subscription make sure you take advantage of the updates. More advanced programs allow you to schedule updates or full system scans for “off hours” like 2AM when you aren’t likely to be using your computer.

Keep your computer up to date. From time to time operating systems fall victim to security holes or issue updates. Make sure you check periodically to make sure you are running stable up to date versions of your software.

Backup your data regularly. Most windows computer users keep their documents in the “My documents” folder. This makes it easy to back up all of your important documents. Make weekly or monthly copies to CD or USB drives.

If you use floppy disks or USB drives on public computers like your school computer lab, Kinko’s, or even digital photo printing store make sure you scan them for viruses. Public computers are notorious for not being up to date and properly protected.

Be wary of email attachments. Treat any email attachment as potentially dangerous. Never open attachments from people you weren’t expecting. Also be careful of attachments from people you know but weren’t expecting. Many computer viruses replicate themselves by reading the contacts from an infected computer.

Use text email if possible. While HTML email is prettier and allows you more control over formatting it also can carry computer viruses. If you use text based email the only way to get a virus is by opening an attachment.

Use downloaded freeware and shareware files or software with caution. Try to download them from popular reputable sources that scan the programs before they are uploaded. To make sure you are safe scan the program before you install it on your computer.

Be wary of links in IM or instant messaging software. Don’t accept invitations from people you don’t know and never click a link from someone you don’t trust, they can easily redirect you to another website that will try to install a virus on your computer system.

Dr. Ripudaman Singh

Every day new computer viruses are created to annoy us and to wreak havoc on our computer systems. Below are ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent in terms of being seen the most or in their ability to potentially cause damage. New viruses are created daily. This is by no means an all inclusive list. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.

Virus: Trojan.Lodear
A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. 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 block access to security-related websites.

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

Virus:W32/Netsky-P
A mass-mailing worm which spreads 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 access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.

Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER
This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread 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 copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display 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 infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus:W32/Zafi-B
A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy 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 www.google.com or www.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, Pécs (SNAF Team)”

Anne Wolski has worked in the health and welfare industry for more than 30 years. She is the owner of http://www.mummansun.com, a discount retail outlet, and a co-director of http://www.betterhealthshoppe.com which is an information portal with many interesting medical articles. She is also an associate of http://www.timzbiz.com which features many articles on internet marketing and resources.

Amazon.com
In this fast-paced, sci-fi/horror shoot-’em-up based on the Dark Horse comic book, Jamie Lee Curtis plays the navigator of an ocean-going tug. When a typhoon cripples their boat, the crew sails into the eye of the storm, where they discover a high-tech Russian communications and research vessel adrift. Only one Russian crewmember is still alive, raving about “intelligent lightning.” They soon discover that an alien life form has taken over the ship’s computers and is (more…)

The computer virus has been in existence for a very long time now and it has become very popular as developers are always seeking new ways to curb this dangerous plague. Computer systems are becoming very popular with the increase of time, almost every home has a computer system, so if we should calculate the number of computers in the world, the result might be equal to the number of people existing in the whole world.
With the wide spread of computers has come the increase of the transmission of computer viruses around the world, this is enabled by the use of the internet. Since the advent of the world wide web,and its popularity, the issue of computer viruses have become wide spread, almost without restriction. This was not the case initially, without the internet, the transmission of virus was only manual; it was only carried from one floppy drive to the other and that can be handled by scanning the disk for virus before use.
The popularity of the internet has brought with it a lot of harm and dangers; it has increased the transmission of the virus, now it is so easy to get a virus into your system. A virus can be contacted through an email, or even an attached file with the email message; you can contact a virus by downloading or through any other activity on the internet. This has kept software developers very busy, trying to create better protection for the different viruses that come up every day.
Once a virus get its way into your computer system it opens it up to a lot of dangers and can eventually crash your hard disk, this is a problem that is growing at an increasing rate. It must be curbed with the available protection to safe guard your computer systems.
Shielding your Computer System from Virus
Whenever you want to set up a computer system, the antivirus is always a very important software to be installed, in fact there is no computer system without an antivirus software, because this has become an important part of every computer. The need for this antivirus software is because of the fear of the risk experienced from the transmission of the virus, as a result every body now protects their systems from the different types of viruses with the use of the antivirus software.
If you want to shield your computer system from the attack of virus, you should do the following:
1. You should start by analyzing the present antivirus software used on the system, that is if it’s not a new system, but, for a new system you should get a suitable protection for it. After your analysis, get the most suitable shield to fight any virus attack on your system. An important thing to note is the kind of network the computer is operating within and more importantly you should know whether it is connected to the internet. Be sure to choose an antivirus software that shields your system from all the different types of virus and can also dael with spyware and others. In other words, get the best antivirus software.
2. Secondly, always make sure you update your antivirus, as this will give a constant assurance of maximum prtection. If you choose a good antivirus product, it gives an effective protection that provide instant scanning of all files, email and other features of the system, covering up every area without leaving out anything.
3. Scan every additional program that you install into your system.
4. The files that are attached to the messages you receive on the internet should be scanned before opening.
5. Have a current back up of all your program files consistently.

Every person has been programmed to some degree. The Virus (Thorin s fourth book) is the cure for that condition. In The Virus, Thorin exposes the tricks and tactics that external forces (salesmen, religious leaders, social forces, authoritarians, product pushing corporations…) use to condition behavior. The Virus successfully straddles both psychology and sociology as it delivers the goods in Thoirn’s trademark “intellectual rebellion” style. The Virus is a book which exposes (in a (more…)

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