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Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category

If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I’m not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I’m talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.

What the mainstream media often don’t tell you–at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles– is that many of these “viruses” are not viruses at all.

What Computer Viruses Really Are

The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware.

So, what’s the difference between computer viruses and the other types of malware? The difference is that computer viruses are just about the only ones that regularly shut down computers and cause other obvious damage. The most common of the other kinds of malware–worms, Trojans, and spyware–are usually only detectable with a special scan.

The Real Danger of Computer Viruses

If the other types of malware are so unobtrusive that they can only be detected with a special scan, then what’s to worry about? For starters, these programs are called malicious for a reason: they are designed to cause some kind of damage, if not to your computer, then to someone else’s.

Worms are most famously used to damage, destroy, or disrupt other computer networks than the one on which the host computer is located. For instance, worms have been used by website owners to shut down rival websites by sending overwhelming numbers of requests to the computer that hosts that website. Worms have also been used to send out viruses to other computers, often without infecting the host machine–after all, what would it benefit the worm to shut down its host computer?

Trojans, in turn, are often used to insert worms and other malware on your computer, even if the Trojan itself does no damage.

But even if you don’t care what happens to anyone else, you should still be concerned about one kind of malware: spyware, a kind of malware that, true to its name, collects data from your computer and sends it back to a remote host.

Most spyware is only interested in monitoring your internet usage so it can tell other programs, called adware, what advertising to popup on your computer. However, there are criminal spyware programs that steal financial data, or perform a thorough identity theft. Don’t think you have personal or financial data on your computer? Some spyware programs contain a keylogger, which is a program that copies whatever you type, usually in order to snatch passwords. Even if you keep no financial information on your computer, if you ever buy anything over the web, the keylogger would allow its owner to buy stuff using the same information you typed in to buy stuff yourself.

Why Blame the Media?

Given the danger of all these different types of malware, isn’t it a good thing that the mass media are becoming hysterical about it? And can’t they be forgiven the sloppy reporting of calling Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware “viruses”?

No, no, no.

This is a classic case of bad reporting doing more damage than no reporting at all. In this case, the damage bad reporting has done is to promote a common myth that goes something like this: “The only malicious software is a virus. Viruses damage your computer. Therefore, if my computer is working OK, my computer has no malicious software. I only need to scan my computer for problems when there is a sign of problems.”

Thanks to this myth, many people complacently let their antivirus software go months out of date, not wanting to be bothered with scheduling an automatic update. Just as bad, many people don’t have any extra software to combat the other types of malware that may not be covered by antivirus software.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for people who have found malware on their computers after a scan to say, “but I never had malware on my computer before!” But how would they have known if they had never scanned!

Until the biggest mainstream media–and especially television–start educating the public about the need to have their computers automatically scanned at least daily, the world will continue to have major, drawn-out problems with malware that could have been wiped out as soon as soon as the anti-malware software makers discovered it.

And until that day, the mainstream media will have many more opportunities to run hysterical stories about “viruses,” thereby forcing them to sell more newspapers and broadcast to even larger audiences of people who suck at the information trough yet somehow never become full.

Statistics show that the first three hours after a child’s abduction are most critical to recovery efforts. By combining the efforts of the wireless industry with the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and law enforcement agencies, the Wireless AMBER Alerts™ initiative will be a catalyst for the more than 200 million wireless subscribers to aid in the search for and recovery of an abducted child.

AMBER

According to NCMEC, more than 260 children have been recovered since the AMBER Alert program began in 1997. The program-an early warning system to find abducted children-started as a local effort in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and became a national initiative in 2003. AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.” The program is a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and was later found murdered.

An estimated 70 percent of Americans have wireless phones, and together they can serve as a national network that assists families and the authorities in searching for abducted children. By signing up to receive Wireless AMBER Alerts, subscribers receive information about local Alerts, as well as updates as the search progresses.

Opting In

Subscribers capable of receiving text messages, and whose wireless carrier participates in the Wireless AMBER Alerts initiative, may opt in to receive Alerts by registering at www.wirelessamberalerts.org or their wireless carrier’s Web site. Users can designate up to five ZIP codes from which they’d like to be alerted in the case of an AMBER Alert activation.

Public Service

Advertising Campaign

The Advertising Council, in partnership with NCMEC, The Wireless Foundation and the U.S Department of Justice, launched a multimedia public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness of Wireless AMBER Alerts and encourage all wireless subscribers to aid in the search for abducted children. It is the first nationwide PSA campaign to address this technology and the ads launched on National Missing Children’s Day (May 25th).

Wireless subscribers can now sign up to receive free AMBER Alerts via text messages.

10 Steps To A Safe, Smooth Running PC By Michael A Silva

These ten steps will help you increase your computer’s security. From discovering viruses to learning how to avoid them, this article is a must read!

Windows password This is the easiest way to make sure you know who is using your pc. Choose a lengthy password that contains capital and lower case letters. Including a number or two will greatly increase your security. Having a Windows password means that the only people that can log onto a Windows session are people that you have granted access to.

Password manager You should never write your passwords down. Using the same password all the time will also make it very easy for hackers to reach your personal information. So if you can’t write it down and you’re not
supposed to use the same one – how are you supposed to keep track of all of your passwords? The easiest way to do this is to use a password manager. We prefer to use Roboform. Roboform is an easy to use password and profile manager that docks neatly into your Internet Explorer toolbar and keeps track of all of your passwords for you. Roboform also uses a master password system. You will have one password that accesses all of the passwords in the program. This way you can keep all of your information safe and secure. You can download Roboform for free by http://www.roboform.com.

Spyware Remover Next to spam, spyware is the internet’s biggest annoyance. By definition, spyware is “any software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Once installed, the spyware
monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.” The amount of spyware that exists on your pc is dependent on the amount of internet surfing you do. A good rule of thumb here is to scan for spyware once per week or whenever poor system performance surfaces. If you don’t have a spyware scanner, we recommend http://www.webroot.com.

Antivirus This should go without saying, but if your computer is connected to the internet you need antivirus software. With weekly scans and program updates you should be protected from most threats. For added protection, we
recommend using more than one anvtivirus scanner.

Firewall A firewall will keep unwanted visitors out of your computer. You can obtain a firewall either by using software application like ZoneAlarm or Black Ice Defender, or by using a router with your internet connection. For more information on routers plese visit http://www.Linksys.com.

File sharing Basically, file sharing programs are the single biggest security risk you will come across. This is because the only facts you have about the files you are downloading are the file name and the file size. It is quite simple to change a filename to dupe someone into downloading a virus or other malware like keystroke recorders. Our advice – stay away from file sharing at all costs. If you need to use it, make sure you have updated antivirus software installed and running.

Research In a sentence – know what’s out there. http://www.Symantec.com  has a section on their website  that will serve you well. Knowing what types of viruses exist  and how to avoid them will make you a much smarter internet user.

Email protection Most of the antivirus applications available offer email scanning. If yours does not, you will want to get one that does. Email scanning will make sure all of your incoming and outgoing emails are safe for both you and the recipient. Email viruses spread very quickly by using your address book to propagate. Never read email from people you don’t know and always make sure your email scanner is active.

Network security Another way that viruses spread is through computer networks. We have a few quick tips to keep your network safe. Always scan any files that come in from other computers. Even if it’s a file you have brought from home. Never allow a file to be placed on your network until it
has been scanned. The main server should be the only computer with file sharing enabled. By not allowing computer users to transmit files, you can quickly neutralize a threat.

Maintenance Performing weekly virus and spyware scans will go a long way to keeping your computer safe. Defragmenting weekly will also greatly improve performance. If you put in the effort, you will be rewarded with a safe and smooth running pc. Not to mention less headaches!

By following these ten guide lines, you will greatly improve the performance of your computer. You will also generate peace of mind as you gain a new sense of security.

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