Free Anti-virus Programs Worth Their Weight In Gold

Who doesn't like something for free? That's a rhetorical question. We all like freebies. Especially when they are great freebies.

There are a plethora of free anti-virus programs available, but knowing which to use and which to stay away from, is difficult. Many sites claim to provide free anti-virus software, but in actuality are malware programs themselves. How do you know who to trust and who to protect against? There is no easy way to find this out. You have to find someone you know and trust to give you the heads up.

Finding the right software for you, can be difficult, but I have two names for you. There are two names that provide antivirus software worth more than their weight in gold. It's important to have the name of two of the most trusted programs around when struggling to remove a virus or malware from your computer.

The First name is Microsoft. Your thinking, "Oh, no you didn't!". And I am saying "Yes, I did."
Microsoft Security Essentials, released in late 2009, is free and easy. Lightweight enough to run on older machines without paralyzing their performance. It's adept enough to handle most viruses and malware in the wild today.
Probably the best part of MSE is how simple it is to use. The user interface is really clear, with large buttons for the most basic functions. Very nice for someone who is not computer-savvy. There’s no professional version you can upgrade to. It’s even allowed for use in business situations. So, one size can fit all.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials.

The second is Malwarebytes. The malware software that bytes back. No matter what your default anti-virus, you need Malwarebytes too. It doesn’t run in your system background and constantly protect you, so you will need to run it manually when you run into a problem.
The interface is simple for beginners and robust enough for pros. Malwarebytes will usually take care of what other programs can’t. I have personally saved more than a few computers by running Malwarebytes. I keep this one on my flash drive, so I am ready to go, when I need to fix a computer. It's also free and easy to use.

Download Malwarebytes.


Obviously there are other programs out there. Others may argue that something may be better than what I have recommended here. I'm not going to argue. I'm just going to say, here are two great programs for getting rid of virus and malware that are worth their weight in gold, and not just because they don't weigh anything!
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Koob-Face Coming Round Again

Alert your mob bosses and bring your farm animals into the stable. Koob-face is rearing it's ugly head again and targeting Facebook and Twitter users.

Once again hackers are using messages on Facebook and Twitter to lure would-be victims to click on a link. They promise wealth, fame, fortune, the ability to help someone in trouble, and a myriad of other things to get you to click. One of the most recent scams is to make messages look like they are coming from a friend in trouble away from home. They request money be sent by wire. This scam hurts your friends as well as your credibility.

 Also, they want you to click on a link to download a special program for viewing their content. This is really spyware. It infects your computer and then it sends the same deceptive message to all your Facebook friends.

  Jeff Debrosse, a computer security specialist says, "Just one person getting an infection on a social networking site actually opens the door to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, or millions getting infected".

"Koob-face" has been around for a while, but hackers are once again trying to lure gullable Facebook users to give up their personal information with new tricks, according to McAfee.

E-mails with a subject line of "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Customer Support" are sent saying that people's passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset and that they should log in to a site to get their new credentials.  But if the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said.

You can keep your computer secure by always checking out a link before clicking it (See- "Check Out The Links For Safety"), always use an up-to-date browser, which may recognize the newest threats, and by keeping your anti-virus software up to date.


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Check Out The Links For Safety!

Check out the links! I'm not talking about a satellite link, not a sausage link, not even golf links. I'm talking about checking out web browser links to determine if they are safe or not. We receive links to all kinds of web sites in our email, Instant messages, and on our Facebook walls. Many of the links that we receive are actually phishing scams to either upload malicious software (malware) to your computer, or attempts to get access to your personal information.

Although we are wary of web links sent to us by strangers, we are inclined to trust web links and e-mail messages sent to us by friends and family. Creators of malware take advantage of us all, by appearing to come from the people we know. Malware sites draw traffic in an attempt to upload harmful software to your computer by using email and web links that take advantage of gaps in the browser or computer security. They try to entice the unsuspecting user to allow access to their computer by sometimes looking like a system message or security message from your own computer. Clicking the link, is the same as confirming permission for the evil intended web site to run programs on your computer.

So how do you check out a link before you click on it? The moment that you click the link, it may be too late to stop malware from attacking your computer. So, try using one of these sites to check out the links for safety.

Before you click it, copy and paste or type it into one of these sites to check if it's authentic.

1.  Norton Safe Web - http://safeweb.norton.com/
2.  McAfee SiteAdvisor - http://www.siteadvisor.com/
3.  PhishTank - http://www.phishtank.com/
4.  Online Link Scan - http://onlinelinkscan.com/
5  Dr. Web Online Check - http://online.us.drweb.com/?url=1

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Hacking Away At Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, hackers are targeting Facebook and Twitter with their . What appears to be a legitimate message from one of your friends, is actually a hacker's attempt to get you to download malicious software to your computer. The hackers are hoping that people will see a reference to one of their friends and fore go the common sense they usually apply to surfing the web. Once clicked the link starts downloading malicious software to your computer.

Don't think because you are using a particular computer, web browser, or virus protection, that you are free to go clicking links willy nilly! These types of attacks are brand name immune. They don't care what you are driving, or how much insurance you have. They are attacking with code that can run you over, even on the internet highway.

Just because a link has the "friendly" look and feel, doesn't mean it is safe. A friends account may be infected. Spoofing a Twitter account or Facebook application is not at all uncommon. Use common sense when clicking links. If you are not sure, don't click. Contact your friend and ask them if it is on the up and up. This holds true for blogs, regular web pages, and any social networking tools, including Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter, following it's own advice, is filtering links - including shortened url's. The message “Oops! Your tweet contained a URL to a known malware site!” pops up and the message cannot be posted. Facebook is also blocking suspect links that are reported a malicious. But,  keeping up with deviant links is not instantaneous or exact.

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Does My Computer Have The Flu and How Do I Treat It?

I don't know, does your computer have virus symptoms? Use this information to diagnose and prevent infection of your own computer. Or, you could ask using "please".  :?)

Common malware infection symptoms may include:

• Your computer seems significantly slow.
• Home page in web browser changed automatically.
• Strange problems within Windows – things just don’t seem to work normal.
• Unknown icons on your desktop.
• Excessive pop-up activity.
• Unusual messages that display warnings on your screen and prompt you to immediately purchase random software to clean-up the problems.
• The connection lights on your high speed modem blink excessively, even though your not using the internet.
• Common items such as the start button, mouse pointer, desktop icons, etc disappear from the screen. 

Preventative steps include:

• Install a proven security software suite.  When shopping for security software make sure that it includes firewall protection.
• Run a complete virus scan on the computer weekly.  This operation is performed through your security software, many of which also offer the ability to schedule automatic scanning.
• Make sure that the virus definitions for your security software are up to date.  Most security software is setup to automatically update the definitions, but some require user initiation of updates.
• Be sure to renew your security software subscriptions.  If you purchased your security software, the subscription is typically valid for one year, at which time the subscription must be renewed, or the software will fail to work properly, thus leaving your computer system vulnerable to malware attacks.
• Run Windows Updates. This can be setup to happen automatically or manually. Either option is the user’s choice, but the updates need to be downloaded and installed. These updates can close the door to many potential threats to your computer’s operating system and programs.
• Be careful and cautious with Internet use. Clicking on every “free” offer that is available will put you at risk for malware infections. Freeware software not only gives you “free” use of the software, but can also initiate “free” excessive pop-ups and other malicious activity that the user is commonly unaware of. It is always good practice to purchase needed software from a trusted vendor.
• Caution should also be practiced when opening email. Only open email or except attachments from trusted sources, and delete any items that you are unsure about.

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Facebook Tip; Keep Your Friends Close And The "Others" Far Away

Who can you trust?

Usually if a Facebook user is in your friends list, the likelihood of it being a scammer is very low.  There have been instances of hacked user accounts, but usually this is done by someone who knows the user and may be playing a trick on them. We hope.

The issue  now is someone or 'ones' is creating fake Facebook accounts and using them to distribute malware.  This is usually done with a link to a video. Normally you get a pop-up that tells you to download additional software to view the video.  Wala, you just downloaded malware that can completely take over your computer or render it nearly useless.

In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said, “We’re working to identify the handful of fake accounts that were created and disable them.  The URL contained in the profiles has already been blacklisted by the major web browsers and blocked from being shared on Facebook.  We use an outside captcha company called reCAPTCHA (http://recaptcha.net), which was recently acquired by Google and is a very well-regarded captcha provider.

To beat hackers, do at least these three things;

•  MAKE SURE YOUR PASSWORD is at least 8 - alpha and numeric characters in length and does not spell anything, and/or contain a sequence of numbers or letters.

•  NEVER accept friend requests from people you don't know.  Some people try to get as many 'friends' as they can, but the downside could be getting your account hacked.

•  NEVER OPEN or authorize your computer/program to open any file that you ARE NOT CERTAIN IS SAFE.  If a web page asks you to download something to view their page, it probably is not a kosher request.

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Beware Of Mac Malware Attacks and Trojans

With the release of the new OS 10.6 (now 10.6.1) There was never any doubt that hackers would try to reap benefits of the upgrade and new user community. Many people (no, not me) will or have undoubtedly looked or tried to get a free copy of the new operating system.  BEWARE!

"Information Week reports, there are web sites claiming to offer free copies of Macintosh OS 10.6, but they are actually trying to hack your computer.

With regard to security, Trend Micro said that one its researchers had discovered several Web sites advertising free copies of Snow Leopard. What's actually offered is malware, specifically, a DNS changing Trojan known as OSX_JAHLAV.K.

"Once executed, OSX_JAHLAV.K decrypts codes, which include a script that downloads other malicious scripts," said Trend Micro's Bernadette Irinco in a blog post. "The said script then alters the DNS configuration and includes two additional IPaddresses in its DNS server. Users are thus possibly redirected to phishing sites and other fraudulent sites. In fact, some of these bogus sites are reportedly hosting FAKEAV (rogue antivirus) variants and components."

According to Trend Micro, OSX_JAHLAV.K may be downloaded without the user's knowledge following a visit to a malicious Web site. The Trojan, however, has a "low" overall risk rating. From Information Week.

Remember that there are no free copies of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, or Microsoft 7 for that matter.

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Your Facebook Applications Are Attacking Your Computer

I've written about hacked Facebook accounts on several occasions. Typically the hacker compromises the user account. Now due to Adobe security vulnerabilities many are getting caught on the wrong side of the tracks when it comes to internet and computer security.

Hacked Facebook accounts are not unusual but Roger Thompson, chief research officer at AVG, says "this is the first time I've seen Facebook applications hacked," and said the firm traced back several Facebook applications that had been hacked, to a Russian site which appears to be taking advantage of the compromised Facebook applications to launch attacks against victims' computers based on unpatched Adobe software vulnerabilities.


Several Facebook apps seem to be vulnerable to the unpatched Adobe software hack. the first encounter was with the application CityFireDepartment. In addition to CityFireDepartment, which AVG is cautioning Facebook users not to visit until "it's cleaned up," Thompson says. Other compromised Facebook applications also include MyGirlySpace, Ferraritone, Mashpro, Mynameis, Pass-it-on, Fillinthe and Aquariumlife.


If your computer does not have the Adobe patch to plug the exploit, and you are using one of these applications, then, it's installing the exploit, initially rogue antispyware but probably also a Trojan," Thompson says. AVG has informed Facebook directly about AVG's findings but he noted it's not simple to identify who maintains each of the Facebook applications.

Thompson has chronicled AVG's findings in a blog item. The attack site, which appears to be in Russia, may also be associated with several other Web-based attacks, he adds.

Original story - www.networkworld.com/nwlookup.jsp?rid=188832

See this post, Save Yourself, Update Your Adobe Acrobat Software! 
to read about the Adobe hacks and how to avoid the attacks.  



The bottom line is;
The Adobe support site is "a little bit" confusing to navigate and determine the right update for your computer and operating system, But... the easiest way to upgrade your copy of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is to launch the program, Click on the "Help" pull down, and choose "Check for Updates".

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