Viruses, Facebook, yadayadayada

Mother: "Well, doctor, I took my child to you for immunizations when he was 6 months old.  So why has he caught a virus now, at age 12?"

Doctor: "Mrs. Jones, your child has to have regular immunizations to remain immunized against certain viruses. Think of it as preventative maintenance, just as you would with maintenance required of your car."

The parallel? Let's say that you've installed malware, spyware, and antivirus programs on your computer.  Think you're safe now? Think again.  All of these need updated regularly...as often as possible.  I update Anti-Malware, SUPERAntispyware, ThreatFire, and Norton Antivirus weekly.  That's not all.  I have these programs perform full system scans as well, and just as often.

This week I examined more than ten (10) computers.  EVERY SINGLE ONE was infected. One of them had over 1,200 infections. It was so damaged by all of the intrusions that the operating system had to be reinstalled.

I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly. I also backup my files regularly.

On another (related) note, some of my Facebook friends have (unknowingly) sent messages to me; the product of a virus.  Little did I know (said tongue-in-cheek) that they were spying on me with a web camera!  NOT!

If you've received a similar Facebook message, don't even open it. Make friends with the DELETE key and trash that bad boy!!  Read from the page at the following link for clarification:

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100413131613AAFlCoP

Stay healthy!

Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly. Backup your files regularly.

Really Nasty Malware - AntiVirus 360

Recently several people have contacted me, reporting that their PCs have been infected with a "virus" that keeps bugging them to purchase a program called "AntiVirus 360". it reports that their computer is loaded with all kinds of viruses, malware, and trojans.

Antivirus 360 is a rogue anti-spyware program intended to fool users into purchasing a fake product. Persistent pop ups and system tray warnings pound users with fake system alerts. Often -- without knowing -- users are tricked in to thinking these fake alerts are official "Windows Alerts". AntiVirus 360 is a nasty program running silently in the background which kills PC performance.

So...the facts is that AntiVirus 360 IS malware. Really REALLY bad malware. Some have taken their computers to repair shops and had the hard drives totally reformatted to get rid of it. That doesn't have to be done, though. There's a "triple-whammy" that I've used to get rid of the pest.

First, I disable "System Restore", the screen saver, and disable Hibernation mode.

I start by keeping my LEGITIMATE antivirus program, Norton Antivirus, up-to-date. I don't use the Norton Security Suite. It's a resource hog. I just use the plain-Jane Norton AntiVirus. It's updated at least every week, then I run a full system scan.

I also use Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware. It's free. I also update it and run a scan to remove threats. Ad-Aware is also used. It, too, is free. It requires updating, scanning, and the removal of any threats found.

Using all three of these programs in concert has successfully removed AntiVirus 360 from three PCs without having to reformat the hard drives. Keep the programs up-to-date. Scan your PC regularly. Make backups of your files.

Hint: Be wary of buying a program claiming to be a tool that removes AntiVirus 360. It just might be more of the same.