Avoid Viruses

Tips for fighting viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and spyware.

It's too bad that viruses don't let you know when they are downloading, they rely on stealth to accomplish the dark tasks they are programmed to perform.  That is why it is important, as computer users, that we try to learn as much as we can about protecting ourselves from these covert intruders.

As Operating Systems have gotten more secure, virus writers are relying more and more on Social Engineering to get their viruses onto computers. What this means is that it is easier for them to trick the computer user into installing their virus for them, be wary anytime your computer asks to run something, or to be given permission to do something! Your default reaction should be to refuse giving it permission.

Here is a list of some of the main tips to help you protect yourself.

1. Get an anti-virus tool.

   Anti-virus tools remain one of the easiest and most comprehensive defenses against malicious code. You can purchase a commercial anti-virus tool such as Norton AntiVirus, Trend Micro PC-cillin, or McAfee VirusScan. There are also free tools, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Free AVG Anti-Virus and AntiVir Personal Edition, that provide comparable anti-virus protection with less software bloat.

   When you first install an anti-virus tool, run a complete sweep of your hard drive. Remember to keep your anti-virus software current by running its update feature at least once a week, there are often daily updates. Don't hesitate to update more frequently if you're prompted by the tool! If you let your anti-virus software get out-dated, you may as well not even be running anti-virus software ... so remember the three most important things about running anti-virus software: Update, update and update!

2. Get a personal firewall.

   Personal firewall software blocks incoming attacks. Most can also stops malicious code installed on your system from communicating across the network and revealing your secrets. The latest Microsoft firewalls that are incorporated in all current versions of Windows are very good (and free) and you should make sure it is enabled. If you do not have a version of Widows that has a good firewall then there are also good personal firewalls you can purchase from ZoneAlarm or Sygate, there are also free versions at ZoneAlarm and Sygate Personal FireWall.

3. Keep your systems and its software patched.

   Believe it or not, Windows Update is your friend (if you run Windows). New Windows vulnerabilities are discovered almost every day. By visiting Windows Update once a week and making sure you've got all the critical updates, you'll be far safer from attack. Also make sure you are running one of the latest browser version, they have the latest bug fixes and patches. If you are running a version of Internet Explorer that is below 7.0 then upgrade now, everything below 7.0 is very badly broken from a security point of view! Since Microsoft is becoming better at securing their products, 3rd party software is becoming a more attractive target for virus writers, patching 3rd party software is more important now than ever before. Here are some tools that can help keep most (if not all) of your 3rd party software patched to keep you secure from attacks that come through vulnerabilities discovered in them: Secunia's Online Software Inspector, Secunia's Personal Software Inspector and IT.Shavlik.com.

4. Keep your browser security settings at Medium or even High.

   The Medium security setting contains dozens of tweaks that block common malware-propagation techniques. The High setting goes even further, but it may keep legitimate applets and active scripts from running on your machine. If you are running FireFox you can find some extension add-ons that can help protect you from malware that can infect your computer over the internet, such as: uBlock Origin (its default settings are quite effective and not cumbersome), NoScript, Flashblock, Certificate Patrol, and Addblock Plus ... among many others.

5. Never click 'Yes' when your browser asks if you want to install/run content from an organization you don't trust.

   Watch out for organizations with tweaked names such as "Micro$oft" and "Paypa1" -- they're just impostors. If your browser pops up a "Do you want to install and run..." message, be afraid. Be very afraid. If you click "Yes," you may be inviting someone to have the same control over your computer that you have. The stakes are high, so don't be duped. Most newer browsers also show you in the address bar if a site is trusted. Just say "No" by clicking the "X" to close the window. This can also include browser pop-ups that try to look like your system is warning you about an infection on your system.

6. Don't install software you didn't go looking for.

   This goes along with the tip above. Maybe you have been to a web site that had a popup that told you something like "You have a virus, Click here to remove it!" Those are forms of Social Engineering attacks that try to get you to install their virus on your computer for the attacker. Since Operating Systems and Browsers have been getting more secure it has been harder for the attackers to install viruses, so they have been relying more on these types of Social Engineering attacks.

7. Never insert USB 'thumb' drives into your computer unless you trust them.

   For many years now viruses have been able to embed themselves into a USB drive where it would automatically be installed on a computer when it is plugged in and recently there have actually been instances of attacks where the attackers left several USB 'thumb' drives in parking lots by the business they wanted to attack in the hopes that an employee would plug it into their computer (thus bypassing network security) and the USB drive then would automatically install the virus on the computer. If you do happen to find a USB 'thumb' drive, turn it into the I.T. Department so it can be properly examined.

8. Install an anti-spyware tool to augment your antivirus protection.

   To seek out and delete adware and spyware, it's a good idea to run software such as the free Ad-aware or Spybot S&D, Microsoft even has their free Windows Defender software that they enable on some of their latest updates, and Microsoft Safety Scanner is a good choice to download and run every week or so. Be very careful, however. There are Ad-aware impostors that are spyware-installing Trojan horses. Download Ad-aware from Lavasoft's site and nowhere else!

9. Don't install a search-help bar in your browser unless it's from someone you trust.

   Google and Yahoo! search-help bars are fine. Many of the other search helpers are just plain evil.

10. Dell or Microsoft won't call you.

    There is a trend now that people are getting phone calls (usually from Indian sounding people) saying that they are from some respectable company (usually Dell or Microsoft) and that they have been getting error reports from your computer. Then they walk you through several things on your computer to try to prove to you that they are legitimate to get you to give them your credit card number and install their software. Don't do it, it is a scam!

11. Check to see which companies' software certificates you're configured to trust.

    Your browser will run code from sites in your trusted list without warning you, so make sure you trust every company on your list. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Content > Publishers to see which companies are on your good list. Delete the companies you don't trust.

12. Get a credit card to use solely for Internet purchases.

    That way you can carefully watch all charges on that card. Also, if by chance someone nabs that card number from a vulnerable e-commerce site, your physical life won't be impacted. By law your maximum liability for a stolen credit card is $50. The maximum liability you could suffer for a stolen debit card could be the entire balance of your account. If that is the case with your debit card then never, ever, ever use that debit card for purchases on the Internet. PayPal offers its members a free service (when you use their PayPal Plug-in) that gives you a single-use credit card number, once it's used you can set it so that it can't be used again.

13. Don't run executable email attachments, even if sent by a friend.

    Most worms today (including most Ransomware) spread by infecting a machine and launching a mass email attack. The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently got infiltrated by having a few of their employees open an Excel spreadsheet with an embedded Flash file that was infected with a virus, the attackers got over a gigabyte of sensitive data before it was stopped. You can stop that attack vector and protect your friends by not running attachments. If you get an attachment you really want to open, don't double-click it. Instead, download it (save the file to your hard drive) and then open it from within the appropriate application, such as Word (or OpenOffice) for .doc files or Adobe Reader for .pdf files. Be especially careful not to run executable files such as .exe, .pif, or .scr files!
    Report any Ransomware incidents to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

14. Run especially vulnerable software in a Sandbox or a Virtual Machine.

    Examples of software that is especially vulnerable are web browsers, and email clients. Having those types of software run in sandboxes (such as SandboxIE) and Virtual Machines (such as VirtualBox) can make it extremely difficult to impossible for a virus to actually infect your computer, but they do require some extra effort on the part of the user to install, setup and use.

15. Log in to Windows as a standard (or 'restricted') user.

    Most viruses rely on a user having administrative rights, so one of the most effective ways to thwart them is to be logged in with reduced rights. This is one of the most unobtrusive things a user can do to protect themselves, the only way you will realize you have reduced rights is when the system may occasionally pop up and ask you to enter an administrative password, usually software tries to install (this can be a good warning system and easily allow you to prevent a virus from installing by simply canceling out of the password box).

Remember...

Even if you follow all of the advice above, there is still a chance that a virus might get through (a few years ago just viewing an image infected the computer due to a vulnerability in the Windows library software Microsoft wrote to show images).

In any case: layers of security are always good.

If a virus does makes it past all other security measures, you may be the last and best line of defense. Be smart, be strong, be vigilant.

Last updated on 04-12-2018