If your house has an alarm system, surveillance cameras, or any type of security equipment to prevent burglars, then you can compare it to a firewall. A firewall will monitor and limit connections to your computer from the internet and other users. A computer without a firewall is defenseless, and makes it easier for hackers or unwanted programs to invade your computer. There are two types of firewalls, hardware or software.
Routers are devices that act as hardware firewalls. They prevent other users and unwanted software from entering your network. Routers are not only great for firewalls, but also can be used for sharing and connecting computers to a network. Some people use Network Address Translation (NAT) routers as firewalls, even though NAT routers primary purpose is to share an internet connection with local computers. If you do not have a router firewall, you can use a software firewall that will do the job.There are many software firewalls out there, but only a few are free. Most of the software firewalls are shareware, trials or subscription. Some free versions only have some features and if you want the full package, you will need to pay. Window XP comes with a decent firewall, but you need to make sure you have Service Pack 2 and the latest updates installed.
1. You can check to see if your Windows XP firewall is running by clicking Start / Control Windows Firewall /, or another way is My Computer / Control Panel / Network Connections / Right click your "Local Area Network" and click properties / Click on the Advance tab then click Settings. You can click to turn your windows firewall on or off.
Software firewalls can be very complex as they contain several features. Some of the features are antivirus and antispyware, program control, e-mail protection and privacy control. These features help boost your protection for your computer, since a firewall alone cannot do everything. A disadvantage of having a software firewall instead of a hardware firewall is that it will use your computer's resources to function. Make sure you have enough memory to prevent your system from crashing. Software firewalls can manage inbound and outbound traffic by placing policies or rules. These policies will allow or reject your programs from accessing the internet, and prevent any unwanted internet programs from invading your computer. These policies are at the owners control and may change any setting as they wish.Firewalls may give the user increased security by protecting your computer from hackers, as opposed to having no firewall. Hackers will try anything to get into your computer by searching through your computer's ports. Your computer has many ports. They are used to connect to the internet, but sometimes they are left open. Hackers can send a virus or spyware to these ports, and take control of your computer. To prevent this from happening, a firewall will make sure all unused ports are closed. If you plan to access the internet without a firewall, it is like putting your hand in a beehive. The risk of you being stung are high, and it is the same risk for your computer to be hacked. Without a firewall your ports will be opened, and make it vulnerable for hackers. Therefore, choose a proper firewall that suits your needs. For more information, visit my blog PC Software Revealed for details about the recommended software to keep you computer safe. | |
Monday, 26 March 2012
Firewall Protection - Why You Need It?
How to Manually Remove a Computer Virus
If you’ve been on the Internet for more than a minute or two, you should know that good anti-virus software is worth its weight in gold. This is doubly true if you find yourself on a broadband or wireless connection, which makes you even more vulnerable to hackers and other online baddies. Once in a while, however, even the best anti virus software needs a helping hand and you may find yourself in a situation where you have to manually remove a computer virus yourself. While this process sounds a bit intimidating, there are quite a few reliable websites out there that can help break down this process into easy-to-execute steps.
You do need to be careful, however, with any process that requires you to edit your Windows Registry. Your registry is like the brain stem of your computer. One wrong move and your computer can be rendered no more useful than a paperweight.
The first thing you need to figure out is if you have virus protection software installed on your computer. If you do, run a scan to find the virus that is causing all the trouble. If you have a decent virus protection program, it will either remove the virus for you automatically, or give you explicit instructions on what you need to do to remove it yourself. In most cases, the steps are as follows, although you may have to try more drastic measures to get rid of a computer virus.
You’ll need to create a back up of everything on your computer before you go about deleting things, especially if you are required to change your registry. Make sure all work files, family photographs and other essential items have been saved to disk. You also want to create a backup of your registry, just in case. Once you know the name of the virus, your protection software should give you step by step instructions on how to delete it, including deleting the virus itself, any sub directories that it has spawned as well as any changes in the Windows Registry that are required. Make sure you go very slowly when changing your registry as many of the long strings of information look very much the same. Editing your registry is often a crucial part of learning how to get rid of a computer virus from your computer, so if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask.
If you have found yourself with no virus protection, but you are pretty sure you have a virus, there are websites that will scan your computer for you. One of the best is located at although there are many others that work just as well. Once you know the name of your virus, you are going to have to perform a Google search to find the manual removal instructions. It is very important that you only trust respected virus removal websites since many of these sites that may come up in a search will only ask you to install programs that will actually make the problems you are having much, much worse. Yahoo has an excellent online directory of viruses and so does Norton, one of the largest and best known virus removal programs. These sites will help you remove a computer virus from your computer in minutes.
Since every virus requires different action for removal, it is difficult to give blanket instructions for removal, but here is a basic step-by-step process which may lead you in the right direction.
The following steps involve viewing and optionally editing the Windows registry. Before you do this, you should make a backup of the Windows Registry, so that you can restore it in case you inadvertently delete something that causes your computer to behave unexpectedly. You can backup the registry, by going into Regedit (described in step 1 below), select 'My computer', click File->Export, then type a file name, then click save. You can also export various branches (sections) of the registry by selecting the particular root folder of the section you would like to export. This generally makes more sense when you are only editing a specific area (as in the steps below). So for this example you might want to simply export the 'Run' section (described in step 2).
1. Click Start->Run->type regedit->hit enter
2. Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Here is where certain files are run when you start your computer. Many viruses place their files here.
3. Each item in this area represents a file, which can be seen in the data column, the actual file will end in '.exe'. For each file, you can do a search on Google to determine what it is. If you find that it is a virus, you should be able to safely delete the item registry so that it is no longer listed in the registry. You should also delete the actual '.exe' file from the file system by browsing to it in Windows Explorer, selecting it, hitting the delete key, and confirm by clicking Yes.
4. Repeat the process above but this time look in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
There are a few things you always want to do before deleting files from your computer like performing a complete back up of all of your files, which you should be doing on a regular basis, anyway, and remembering to back up your registry just in case you need it again later. Knowing how to remove a computer virus by hand is vitally important to owning a healthy and lasting computer.
You do need to be careful, however, with any process that requires you to edit your Windows Registry. Your registry is like the brain stem of your computer. One wrong move and your computer can be rendered no more useful than a paperweight.
The first thing you need to figure out is if you have virus protection software installed on your computer. If you do, run a scan to find the virus that is causing all the trouble. If you have a decent virus protection program, it will either remove the virus for you automatically, or give you explicit instructions on what you need to do to remove it yourself. In most cases, the steps are as follows, although you may have to try more drastic measures to get rid of a computer virus.
You’ll need to create a back up of everything on your computer before you go about deleting things, especially if you are required to change your registry. Make sure all work files, family photographs and other essential items have been saved to disk. You also want to create a backup of your registry, just in case. Once you know the name of the virus, your protection software should give you step by step instructions on how to delete it, including deleting the virus itself, any sub directories that it has spawned as well as any changes in the Windows Registry that are required. Make sure you go very slowly when changing your registry as many of the long strings of information look very much the same. Editing your registry is often a crucial part of learning how to get rid of a computer virus from your computer, so if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask.
If you have found yourself with no virus protection, but you are pretty sure you have a virus, there are websites that will scan your computer for you. One of the best is located at although there are many others that work just as well. Once you know the name of your virus, you are going to have to perform a Google search to find the manual removal instructions. It is very important that you only trust respected virus removal websites since many of these sites that may come up in a search will only ask you to install programs that will actually make the problems you are having much, much worse. Yahoo has an excellent online directory of viruses and so does Norton, one of the largest and best known virus removal programs. These sites will help you remove a computer virus from your computer in minutes.
Since every virus requires different action for removal, it is difficult to give blanket instructions for removal, but here is a basic step-by-step process which may lead you in the right direction.
The following steps involve viewing and optionally editing the Windows registry. Before you do this, you should make a backup of the Windows Registry, so that you can restore it in case you inadvertently delete something that causes your computer to behave unexpectedly. You can backup the registry, by going into Regedit (described in step 1 below), select 'My computer', click File->Export, then type a file name, then click save. You can also export various branches (sections) of the registry by selecting the particular root folder of the section you would like to export. This generally makes more sense when you are only editing a specific area (as in the steps below). So for this example you might want to simply export the 'Run' section (described in step 2).
1. Click Start->Run->type regedit->hit enter
2. Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Here is where certain files are run when you start your computer. Many viruses place their files here.
3. Each item in this area represents a file, which can be seen in the data column, the actual file will end in '.exe'. For each file, you can do a search on Google to determine what it is. If you find that it is a virus, you should be able to safely delete the item registry so that it is no longer listed in the registry. You should also delete the actual '.exe' file from the file system by browsing to it in Windows Explorer, selecting it, hitting the delete key, and confirm by clicking Yes.
4. Repeat the process above but this time look in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
There are a few things you always want to do before deleting files from your computer like performing a complete back up of all of your files, which you should be doing on a regular basis, anyway, and remembering to back up your registry just in case you need it again later. Knowing how to remove a computer virus by hand is vitally important to owning a healthy and lasting computer.
11 Most Common Computer Viruses
No matter how careful you might be, chances are, at one time or another, you will find your computer infected with a virus. If you are a frequent Internet user and you often download videos, music and other files from online, the chances of you picking up a trojan, worm, or other virus are almost assured. Thankfully, there are many great virus protection programs on the market today that can instantly vanquish even the toughest viruses, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an idea of some of the common computer viruses that are currently going around.
1. Encrypted Viruses – The encrypted virus is probably the most difficult kind of bug to detect and the most difficult to stop. You may accidentally have downloaded one of these bugs and before you know it, your entire computer can be infected. Many top virus protection programs miss encrypted viruses because these bugs use a different form of encryption every time. When the bug wants to run wild, it decrypts itself. In most cases, your virus protection can then identify it and stop it.
2. Secret Viruses – These types of viruses will make changes to files on your computer, or completely replace files, but then try to trick your computer and your anti virus program into thinking that the originals are being used. Most advanced virus protection programs can stop these common computer viruses dead in their tracks.
3. Time Delay Viruses – These types of viruses take a much slower, more disciplined path towards ruining your computer. Instead of instantly trying to take over your computer the moment you download them, they will wait and slowly infect files bit by bit. You may not have been online for days but then suddenly find yourself with an infection. These common computer viruses are the reason why you should run your virus protection every few days, just in case.
4. The Anti-Virus Virus – Believe it or not, there are viruses out there that do nothing more than attack your pre-installed anti virus program in hopes of disabling it so other viruses can then be downloaded. This is why many people have a virus protection program as well as a separate anti-spyware or anti-malware program on their computer.
5. The Multi-Headed Virus – This is one of the most nefarious bugs on the whole Internet. Not only are there parts of this virus that will attach themselves to .exe files on your computer, but it will also affect your computer’s start up so that you begin running the virus every time you turn your computer on automatically.
6. The Misdirection Virus – This type of virus is downright scary. It has a built in subprogram that is made to give false readings to your virus protection software. You think you have a bug in one directory, when, in fact, the virus is busy harming your computer in a whole other area.
7. A Cloning Virus – The cloning virus is an old fashioned type of bug. When you download it, it will quickly create duplicates for .exe files you have on your computer, hoping that you’ll click on it when you really mean to click on a healthy program you already have.
8. The Author Virus – When you download a virus, it usually attaches itself to a program and then runs when you run that program. The Author Virus, on the other hand, finds an .exe file and actually deletes and rewrites code so that the program is changed. Few common computer viruses run this way since the level of virus needs to be so sophisticated.
9. The Bad Penny Virus – The very first computer virus to ever hit the Internet was a Bad Penny virus. This is a bug that automatically passes itself on to everyone on a network or on the Internet unless something stops it. This was the whole reason why firewalls were invented.
10. When most of us think of viruses, we think of PC’s running Windows software. However, there are a handful of bugs out there for the Mac.
11. Rewriting Virus – This bug made a habit out of rewriting some of your most needed files, as well as filling up your hard drive with all sorts of invisible files you couldn’t normally see.
12. The Melissa Virus – This was a bug that hit everyone, both PC users and Mac users. It would automatically email itself to other people without permission. It can be extra harmful if you use a private mail server at your place of employment. The Melissa virus has gone down in history as one of the most common computer viruses of all time.
1. Encrypted Viruses – The encrypted virus is probably the most difficult kind of bug to detect and the most difficult to stop. You may accidentally have downloaded one of these bugs and before you know it, your entire computer can be infected. Many top virus protection programs miss encrypted viruses because these bugs use a different form of encryption every time. When the bug wants to run wild, it decrypts itself. In most cases, your virus protection can then identify it and stop it.
2. Secret Viruses – These types of viruses will make changes to files on your computer, or completely replace files, but then try to trick your computer and your anti virus program into thinking that the originals are being used. Most advanced virus protection programs can stop these common computer viruses dead in their tracks.
3. Time Delay Viruses – These types of viruses take a much slower, more disciplined path towards ruining your computer. Instead of instantly trying to take over your computer the moment you download them, they will wait and slowly infect files bit by bit. You may not have been online for days but then suddenly find yourself with an infection. These common computer viruses are the reason why you should run your virus protection every few days, just in case.
4. The Anti-Virus Virus – Believe it or not, there are viruses out there that do nothing more than attack your pre-installed anti virus program in hopes of disabling it so other viruses can then be downloaded. This is why many people have a virus protection program as well as a separate anti-spyware or anti-malware program on their computer.
5. The Multi-Headed Virus – This is one of the most nefarious bugs on the whole Internet. Not only are there parts of this virus that will attach themselves to .exe files on your computer, but it will also affect your computer’s start up so that you begin running the virus every time you turn your computer on automatically.
6. The Misdirection Virus – This type of virus is downright scary. It has a built in subprogram that is made to give false readings to your virus protection software. You think you have a bug in one directory, when, in fact, the virus is busy harming your computer in a whole other area.
7. A Cloning Virus – The cloning virus is an old fashioned type of bug. When you download it, it will quickly create duplicates for .exe files you have on your computer, hoping that you’ll click on it when you really mean to click on a healthy program you already have.
8. The Author Virus – When you download a virus, it usually attaches itself to a program and then runs when you run that program. The Author Virus, on the other hand, finds an .exe file and actually deletes and rewrites code so that the program is changed. Few common computer viruses run this way since the level of virus needs to be so sophisticated.
9. The Bad Penny Virus – The very first computer virus to ever hit the Internet was a Bad Penny virus. This is a bug that automatically passes itself on to everyone on a network or on the Internet unless something stops it. This was the whole reason why firewalls were invented.
10. When most of us think of viruses, we think of PC’s running Windows software. However, there are a handful of bugs out there for the Mac.
11. Rewriting Virus – This bug made a habit out of rewriting some of your most needed files, as well as filling up your hard drive with all sorts of invisible files you couldn’t normally see.
12. The Melissa Virus – This was a bug that hit everyone, both PC users and Mac users. It would automatically email itself to other people without permission. It can be extra harmful if you use a private mail server at your place of employment. The Melissa virus has gone down in history as one of the most common computer viruses of all time.
Internet Viruses Can Target Your Computer
No matter who you talk to, everyone has either had a computer virus or knows of someone who has gone through the agony of trying to get rid of the problem. Computer viruses are a hot topic that seem to affect everyone who owns a computer system, whether at work or at home.
The companies that produce software programs that catch and delete these computer viruses are constantly updating their databases for virus types and definitions so that they can better protect your system against all the newest viruses. Creating virus protection programs is a multi-billion dollar business that is growing more and more everyday.
The number of viruses being created and uploaded to the Internet is growing at an astounding rate of a new one every eighteen seconds! This definitely keeps the virus protection companies on their toes with research and development.
Because these viruses copy themselves to any computer system they come in contact with, the spread of viruses throughout a computer network or the Internet is a very fast and deadly thing to happen to your computer. Because computer viruses are a hot topic, they routinely are the subject of magazine articles and forum topics online. While some viruses do nothing more than frustrate you with pop-up ads or other messages, others are completely malicious and set out from the start to destroy the files and operating systems of your computer.
Of the 53,000 viruses that have been identified and classed, more than 80 percent of them have been classed as malicious and capable of harming your computer system or data files. These computer viruses behave in much the same way as biological viruses by contaminating any computer systems they come in contact with. These self-executing programs are generally very small and work at damaging the way your computer works or by damaging or completely removing key system files.
When computer viruses are a hot topic, more and more people find out about the destructive power of these programs. In this way a great many people find out about virus protection programs and rush out to get the newest protection programs or they ensure that their computer virus protection is up to date. Many magazine and news articles about computer viruses have the effect of sometimes panicking people into believing that their computers are at risk. Having a good anti-virus program and current updates is one of the best ways to protect your computer system against virus attacks.
This must also be coupled with good file habits such as scanning all downloaded files with the anti-virus program before opening them. It is always a good idea to take the time to ensure that the file you thought you were downloading is indeed the file you have. For instance, a file that labels itself as a movie file and is less than one megabyte in size is not a movie file. Movie files are generally nearly a thousand times that size and therefore, the file you have downloaded is most likely not a movie file and may in fact be a computer virus.
Computer viruses are a hot topic at the office when a virus attack manages to get past protection protocols put in place by the network administrators. All it takes is one person allowing some executable files they have been sent to open and start replicating itself through the network of computers to make life Hell for that company. Virus attacks can cripple office systems very quickly resulting in lost revenue and consumer confidence which can affect the way that stocks in that company are traded resulting in even further financial losses. That is why it is so important for larger businesses to have comprehensive computer virus protection programs in place.
The companies that produce software programs that catch and delete these computer viruses are constantly updating their databases for virus types and definitions so that they can better protect your system against all the newest viruses. Creating virus protection programs is a multi-billion dollar business that is growing more and more everyday.
The number of viruses being created and uploaded to the Internet is growing at an astounding rate of a new one every eighteen seconds! This definitely keeps the virus protection companies on their toes with research and development.
Because these viruses copy themselves to any computer system they come in contact with, the spread of viruses throughout a computer network or the Internet is a very fast and deadly thing to happen to your computer. Because computer viruses are a hot topic, they routinely are the subject of magazine articles and forum topics online. While some viruses do nothing more than frustrate you with pop-up ads or other messages, others are completely malicious and set out from the start to destroy the files and operating systems of your computer.
Of the 53,000 viruses that have been identified and classed, more than 80 percent of them have been classed as malicious and capable of harming your computer system or data files. These computer viruses behave in much the same way as biological viruses by contaminating any computer systems they come in contact with. These self-executing programs are generally very small and work at damaging the way your computer works or by damaging or completely removing key system files.
When computer viruses are a hot topic, more and more people find out about the destructive power of these programs. In this way a great many people find out about virus protection programs and rush out to get the newest protection programs or they ensure that their computer virus protection is up to date. Many magazine and news articles about computer viruses have the effect of sometimes panicking people into believing that their computers are at risk. Having a good anti-virus program and current updates is one of the best ways to protect your computer system against virus attacks.
This must also be coupled with good file habits such as scanning all downloaded files with the anti-virus program before opening them. It is always a good idea to take the time to ensure that the file you thought you were downloading is indeed the file you have. For instance, a file that labels itself as a movie file and is less than one megabyte in size is not a movie file. Movie files are generally nearly a thousand times that size and therefore, the file you have downloaded is most likely not a movie file and may in fact be a computer virus.
Computer viruses are a hot topic at the office when a virus attack manages to get past protection protocols put in place by the network administrators. All it takes is one person allowing some executable files they have been sent to open and start replicating itself through the network of computers to make life Hell for that company. Virus attacks can cripple office systems very quickly resulting in lost revenue and consumer confidence which can affect the way that stocks in that company are traded resulting in even further financial losses. That is why it is so important for larger businesses to have comprehensive computer virus protection programs in place.
These virus programs are much more detailed and powerful than the anti-virus programs that many consumers have protecting their computer systems. Because the fallout from a virus attack is much more financially damaging to a large corporation, the virus protection program needs to be much more robust and capable of protecting multiple systems within the corporation. Computer viruses are a hot topic among businesses simply because of the way that they can affect the company financially.
Boot Sector Virus
term “boot sector” is a generic name that seems to originally come from MS-DOS but is now applied generally to the boot information used by any operating system. In modern computers this is usually called the “master boot record,” and it is the first sector on a partitioned storage device.
Boot sector viruses became popular because of the use of floppy disks to boot a computer. The widespread usage of the Internet and the death of the floppy has made other means of virus transmission more effective.
What are XP and Vista Rootkits?
With every new year comes a new batch of malicious computer viruses for us to all be aware of. One of the most common types of viruses are known as XP and Vista rootkits. These viruses allow a third party user to take control of your computer. They can either edit or embed themselves in your operating system and allow someone else to become the root user, or the administrator of your computer. This gives them the ability to look for personal information such as credit card numbers or it can allow them to haphazardly delete information you need. Let’s take a closer look at what rootkits are, how you may end up with one and how to get rid of one once you have it.
The origins of XP and Vista rootkits are somewhat unknown. It is thought that these programs came from the designers of the operating systems themselves. They were used as a way for tech support people to gain remote access over computers that needed help. Even today’s XP and Vista machines come with a program that, with administrative access, can give control of your entire computer to another person at a remote location. It was once these programs became hacked that rootkits started to cause problems.
Rootkits can be acquired in any number of ways. The most popular form of transmission is still via email. The virus can be attached to an email or embedded in an otherwise normal attachment. Windows rootkits are also commonly transmitted throughout the Internet and can be installed on computers that don’t use firewalls. Hackers can use programs that search online networks for computers that are vulnerable. This is why it is so important to always have up to date firewall and anti virus programs on your machine at all times.
One of the most common places that XP and Vista rootkits hide themselves is in firmware. Firmware is the software that peripherals that you attach to your computer use to operate. Once in a while, firmware updates will become available for items like your router or your video card or sound card. If these files are infected, it can be extremely difficult to remove the bug since most virus programs don’t bother scanning firmware. In the future, never download firmware updates for any of your peripherals from any third party sites. Either download the updates from the manufacturer’s website or from the website of your computer’s manufacturer.
Removing XP and Vista rootkits isn’t as difficult as it sounds, assuming your computer is prepared. You should always have up to date anti virus software installed and running at all times. Shutting down your anti virus programs, even for a moment, can open your machine up to an attack. The same goes for your firewall. In most cases, these programs should detect rootkits as they are installed so you can authorize your virus protection to fix the problem. You can also use many top anti-malware and anti-spyware programs to help you out, as well.
The origins of XP and Vista rootkits are somewhat unknown. It is thought that these programs came from the designers of the operating systems themselves. They were used as a way for tech support people to gain remote access over computers that needed help. Even today’s XP and Vista machines come with a program that, with administrative access, can give control of your entire computer to another person at a remote location. It was once these programs became hacked that rootkits started to cause problems.
Rootkits can be acquired in any number of ways. The most popular form of transmission is still via email. The virus can be attached to an email or embedded in an otherwise normal attachment. Windows rootkits are also commonly transmitted throughout the Internet and can be installed on computers that don’t use firewalls. Hackers can use programs that search online networks for computers that are vulnerable. This is why it is so important to always have up to date firewall and anti virus programs on your machine at all times.
One of the most common places that XP and Vista rootkits hide themselves is in firmware. Firmware is the software that peripherals that you attach to your computer use to operate. Once in a while, firmware updates will become available for items like your router or your video card or sound card. If these files are infected, it can be extremely difficult to remove the bug since most virus programs don’t bother scanning firmware. In the future, never download firmware updates for any of your peripherals from any third party sites. Either download the updates from the manufacturer’s website or from the website of your computer’s manufacturer.
Removing XP and Vista rootkits isn’t as difficult as it sounds, assuming your computer is prepared. You should always have up to date anti virus software installed and running at all times. Shutting down your anti virus programs, even for a moment, can open your machine up to an attack. The same goes for your firewall. In most cases, these programs should detect rootkits as they are installed so you can authorize your virus protection to fix the problem. You can also use many top anti-malware and anti-spyware programs to help you out, as well.
Types Of Viruses
Not all computer viruses behave, replicate, or infect the same way. There are several different categories of viruses and malware. Below I list and discuss some of the most common types of computer viruses.
Trojan Horse:
A trojan horse program has the appearance of having a useful and desired function. While it may advertise its activity after launching, this information is not apparent to the user beforehand. Secretly the program performs other, undesired functions. A Trojan Horse neither replicates nor copies itself, but causes damage or compromises the security of the computer. A Trojan Horse must be sent by someone or carried by another program and may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort. The malicious functionality of a Trojan Horse may be anything undesirable for a computer user, including data destruction or compromising a system by providing a means for another computer to gain access, thus bypassing normal access controls.
Worms:
A worm is a program that makes and facilitates the distribution of copies of itself; for example, from one disk drive to another, or by copying itself using email or another transport mechanism. The worm may do damage and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive via exploitation of a system vulnerability or by clicking on an infected e-mail.
Bootsector Virus:
A virus which attaches itself to the first part of the hard disk that is read by the computer upon bootup. These are normally spread by floppy disks.
Macro Virus:
Macro viruses are viruses that use another application's macro programming language to distribute themselves. They infect documents such as MS Word or MS Excel and are typically spread to other similar documents.
Memory Resident Viruses:
Memory Resident Viruses reside in a computers volitale memory (RAM). They are initiated from a virus which runs on the computer and they stay in memory after it's initiating program closes.
Rootkit Virus:
A rootkit virus is an undetectable virus which attempts to allow someone to gain control of a computer system. The term rootkit comes from the linux administrator root user. These viruses are usually installed by trojans and are normally disguised as operating system files.
Polymorphic Viruses:
A polymorphic virus not only replicates itself by creating multiple files of itself, but it also changes it's digital signature every time it replicates. This makes it difficult for less sophisticated antivirus software to detect.
Logic Bombs/Time Bombs:
These are viruses which are programmed to initiate at a specific date or when a specific event occurs. Some examples are a virus which deletes your photos on Halloween, or a virus which deletes a database table if a certain employee gets fired.
Trojan Horse:
A trojan horse program has the appearance of having a useful and desired function. While it may advertise its activity after launching, this information is not apparent to the user beforehand. Secretly the program performs other, undesired functions. A Trojan Horse neither replicates nor copies itself, but causes damage or compromises the security of the computer. A Trojan Horse must be sent by someone or carried by another program and may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort. The malicious functionality of a Trojan Horse may be anything undesirable for a computer user, including data destruction or compromising a system by providing a means for another computer to gain access, thus bypassing normal access controls.
Worms:
A worm is a program that makes and facilitates the distribution of copies of itself; for example, from one disk drive to another, or by copying itself using email or another transport mechanism. The worm may do damage and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive via exploitation of a system vulnerability or by clicking on an infected e-mail.
Bootsector Virus:
A virus which attaches itself to the first part of the hard disk that is read by the computer upon bootup. These are normally spread by floppy disks.
Macro Virus:
Macro viruses are viruses that use another application's macro programming language to distribute themselves. They infect documents such as MS Word or MS Excel and are typically spread to other similar documents.
Memory Resident Viruses:
Memory Resident Viruses reside in a computers volitale memory (RAM). They are initiated from a virus which runs on the computer and they stay in memory after it's initiating program closes.
Rootkit Virus:
A rootkit virus is an undetectable virus which attempts to allow someone to gain control of a computer system. The term rootkit comes from the linux administrator root user. These viruses are usually installed by trojans and are normally disguised as operating system files.
Polymorphic Viruses:
A polymorphic virus not only replicates itself by creating multiple files of itself, but it also changes it's digital signature every time it replicates. This makes it difficult for less sophisticated antivirus software to detect.
Logic Bombs/Time Bombs:
These are viruses which are programmed to initiate at a specific date or when a specific event occurs. Some examples are a virus which deletes your photos on Halloween, or a virus which deletes a database table if a certain employee gets fired.
TOP Malwares are Listed below:
1. Bagle
Bagle was detected in 2004, it infected users through an email attachment, and also used email to spread itself. Bagle did not rely on the MS Outlook contact list to make a list of where to send itself. It harvested email addresses from various document files stored in the infected computer – from plain-text files to MS Excel files. The danger of this virus was that its design opened a backdoor where a remote user could gain access and control of the infected computer. It could download additional components to either spy and steal information from the user or launch DDoS attacks to certain networks and computers.
Bagle was detected in 2004, it infected users through an email attachment, and also used email to spread itself. Bagle did not rely on the MS Outlook contact list to make a list of where to send itself. It harvested email addresses from various document files stored in the infected computer – from plain-text files to MS Excel files. The danger of this virus was that its design opened a backdoor where a remote user could gain access and control of the infected computer. It could download additional components to either spy and steal information from the user or launch DDoS attacks to certain networks and computers.
2. Melissa
Melissa virus was made in 1999 by David L. Smith, created with Basic program, exactly with Microsoft Word macros. The Melissa virus was mass-mailing malware that was said to have infected up to 20 percent of computers worldwide. This virus spreads via email with the document “Here is That document you asked for, do not show it to anybodey else”. When this file will be opened or clicked it will automatically run the virus replication and automatically send a pass up to the top 50 in the address book of an email. Email servers around the world were forced to shut down in order to prevent the virus from spreading, as well as to remove the virus from their system.Smith was jailed 20 months and fined $ 5,000 and prohibited from accessing the computer without supervision.
Melissa virus was made in 1999 by David L. Smith, created with Basic program, exactly with Microsoft Word macros. The Melissa virus was mass-mailing malware that was said to have infected up to 20 percent of computers worldwide. This virus spreads via email with the document “Here is That document you asked for, do not show it to anybodey else”. When this file will be opened or clicked it will automatically run the virus replication and automatically send a pass up to the top 50 in the address book of an email. Email servers around the world were forced to shut down in order to prevent the virus from spreading, as well as to remove the virus from their system.Smith was jailed 20 months and fined $ 5,000 and prohibited from accessing the computer without supervision.
3. Sasser
Creator by 17 year old German student, Sven Jaschan in 2004. Sasser attack Microsoft Windows. Sasser does not spread via email. The virus is usually spread through the network. It infected computers by exploiting vulnerability present in both Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines, known as the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) exploit. This will create a computer virus could not be shutdown without unplug the power. Jaschan Finally caught but he’s not jail, was only given probation 1 year 9 months, because at that time still under the age of 18.
Creator by 17 year old German student, Sven Jaschan in 2004. Sasser attack Microsoft Windows. Sasser does not spread via email. The virus is usually spread through the network. It infected computers by exploiting vulnerability present in both Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines, known as the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) exploit. This will create a computer virus could not be shutdown without unplug the power. Jaschan Finally caught but he’s not jail, was only given probation 1 year 9 months, because at that time still under the age of 18.
4. ILOVEYOU a.k.a. Lovebug/Loveletter Virus
This virus started spreading in the Philippines, these virus classified as worm, which has the ability to do her own replication. Creator Onel de Guzman was from the Philippines. ILOVEYOU spread via email, with the title “love letters” from a secret admirer. Once opened, it loaded itself to the memory, infecting executable files. When a user received and opened the email containing the attachment “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs”, the computer became automatically infected. It then spread itself by infecting *.exe,*.jpg,*.mp3 files. After that, the virus sent itself to others by looking up the addresses contained in the MS Outlook contact list. The virus was written by a Filipino programmer who was still a college student at that time. He said the release of the virus was only “accidental.” This virus spread throughout the world in just a day, infecting computers of large corporations and governments, including the Pentagon in the United States. It caused billions of dollars in damages. The actual “damage” occurred during the removal of the infection from computers, as email servers and computer networks had to be shut down before the virus could be removed.His original file LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT. vbs.
This virus started spreading in the Philippines, these virus classified as worm, which has the ability to do her own replication. Creator Onel de Guzman was from the Philippines. ILOVEYOU spread via email, with the title “love letters” from a secret admirer. Once opened, it loaded itself to the memory, infecting executable files. When a user received and opened the email containing the attachment “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs”, the computer became automatically infected. It then spread itself by infecting *.exe,*.jpg,*.mp3 files. After that, the virus sent itself to others by looking up the addresses contained in the MS Outlook contact list. The virus was written by a Filipino programmer who was still a college student at that time. He said the release of the virus was only “accidental.” This virus spread throughout the world in just a day, infecting computers of large corporations and governments, including the Pentagon in the United States. It caused billions of dollars in damages. The actual “damage” occurred during the removal of the infection from computers, as email servers and computer networks had to be shut down before the virus could be removed.His original file LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT. vbs.
5. MyDome
MyDome virus was detected in 2004. This virus is making a backdoor on the OS. Computer was first known attack on first February by doing DDoS. Then reported back to attack on the 12th of Feb, after that the virus stopped spreading and start creating backdoors. MyDoom spreads via email. MyDoom slowed down global Internet access by ten percent, and caused some website access to be reduced by 50%.
MyDome virus was detected in 2004. This virus is making a backdoor on the OS. Computer was first known attack on first February by doing DDoS. Then reported back to attack on the 12th of Feb, after that the virus stopped spreading and start creating backdoors. MyDoom spreads via email. MyDoom slowed down global Internet access by ten percent, and caused some website access to be reduced by 50%.
6. Leap-A/Oompa- A
Mac that has a concept of security through obscurity, Mac believe thea system can’t be infected by a virus of cause of the OS system is a closed. But in the year 2006, Leap-A virus or commonly known as Oompa-A appears and spreads via iChat on the Mac. Having a Mac attack, the virus will search for contacts via iChat and send messages to each contact. The message will contain a form of corrupt JPEG file. It’s not dangerous, but this proved that the Mac OS systems are not immune to the virus.
Mac that has a concept of security through obscurity, Mac believe thea system can’t be infected by a virus of cause of the OS system is a closed. But in the year 2006, Leap-A virus or commonly known as Oompa-A appears and spreads via iChat on the Mac. Having a Mac attack, the virus will search for contacts via iChat and send messages to each contact. The message will contain a form of corrupt JPEG file. It’s not dangerous, but this proved that the Mac OS systems are not immune to the virus.
7. SQL Slammer
Appeared in January in the year 2003, spread quickly via the Internet. It caused a considerable amount of damage, though, by overwhelming routers, causing them to shut down. The target of this virus was web servers running a vulnerable version of Microsoft SQL Server. Upon infection of a server, the virus generated random IP addresses through which it attempted to further infect other computers.This virus has also been a U.S. Bank ATMs crash, the collapse of Seattle’s 911 service, and Continental Airlines.
Appeared in January in the year 2003, spread quickly via the Internet. It caused a considerable amount of damage, though, by overwhelming routers, causing them to shut down. The target of this virus was web servers running a vulnerable version of Microsoft SQL Server. Upon infection of a server, the virus generated random IP addresses through which it attempted to further infect other computers.This virus has also been a U.S. Bank ATMs crash, the collapse of Seattle’s 911 service, and Continental Airlines.
8. Nimda
Reported attacks in 2001, call Nimda taken from opposite the word “Admin”. With its multi-pronged attack, Nimda appears to be the most troublesome virus of its type that has yet appeared. Its name (backwards for “admin”) apparently refers to an “admin.DLL” file that, when run, continues to propagate the virus.These viruses spread very quickly, according to TruSecure CTO Peter Tippett, Nimda only takes 22 minutes to make the Top Ten Virus at the time. The main target of this virus is Internet servers, Nimda spread through Internet network by creating a backdoor into the OS.
Reported attacks in 2001, call Nimda taken from opposite the word “Admin”. With its multi-pronged attack, Nimda appears to be the most troublesome virus of its type that has yet appeared. Its name (backwards for “admin”) apparently refers to an “admin.DLL” file that, when run, continues to propagate the virus.These viruses spread very quickly, according to TruSecure CTO Peter Tippett, Nimda only takes 22 minutes to make the Top Ten Virus at the time. The main target of this virus is Internet servers, Nimda spread through Internet network by creating a backdoor into the OS.
9. Code Red
The world had not yet recovered from the damage caused by the ILOVEYOU virus when Code Red was released in simmer 2001.Code red virus attacks only Windows 2000 & NT OS. This virus will create a buffer becomes full so make the memory becomes full. Once a computer was compromised by the virus, it would modify the handled website, displaying the message “Welcome to http://www.worm.com! Hacked by Chinese!” Then, it would later seek other computers running the web server software and do the same thing. After about two weeks of infection, the virus was programmed to launch DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on certain websites, including the server of the White House.
The world had not yet recovered from the damage caused by the ILOVEYOU virus when Code Red was released in simmer 2001.Code red virus attacks only Windows 2000 & NT OS. This virus will create a buffer becomes full so make the memory becomes full. Once a computer was compromised by the virus, it would modify the handled website, displaying the message “Welcome to http://www.worm.com! Hacked by Chinese!” Then, it would later seek other computers running the web server software and do the same thing. After about two weeks of infection, the virus was programmed to launch DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on certain websites, including the server of the White House.
10. The Klez
This virus was first known infected on 2001, this virus spreads via email by conducting continuous replication, and sent to all email addresses in the victim’s address book. This virus makes the victim computer becomes very slow and can also turn off the antivirus application.
This virus was first known infected on 2001, this virus spreads via email by conducting continuous replication, and sent to all email addresses in the victim’s address book. This virus makes the victim computer becomes very slow and can also turn off the antivirus application.
How to remove a computer virus and spyware.
Even for an expert, removing a computer virus or spyware can be a difficult task without the help of computer malicious software removal tools. Some computer viruses and other unwanted software reinstall themselves after the viruses and spyware have been detected and removed. Fortunately, by updating the computer and by using malicious software removal tools, you can help permanently remove unwanted software.
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Computer Virus creates lots of problem in an organization which would result in millions, even billions of dollars in damages and losses. Though not all of these malicious computer programs are massively destructive, there are still some that have caused a lot of damage.Checkout, 6 Techniques used by malware composers to know more about malwares. Here are the top 10 most destructive computer viruses of all time.
What is Spyware?
Spyware can install on your computer without your knowledge. These programs can change your computer’s configuration or collect advertising data and personal information. Spyware can track internet searching habits and possibly redirect web site activity.
Symptoms of Spyware
When a computer becomes affected by Spyware, the following may result:
- Slow internet connection.
- Changing your web browser’s home page.
- Loss of internet connectivity.
- Failure to open some programs, including security software.
- Unable to visit specific websites, which may include redirecting you to another one.
Symptoms of worms and trojan horse viruses in e-mail messages
When a computer virus infects e-mail messages or infects other files on a computer, you may notice the following symptoms:
- The infected file may make copies of itself. This behavior may use up all the free space on the hard disk.
- A copy of the infected file may be sent to all the addresses in an e-mail address list.
- The computer virus may reformat the hard disk. This behavior will delete files and programs.
- The computer virus may install hidden programs, such as pirated software. This pirated software may then be distributed and sold from the computer.
- The computer virus may reduce security. This could enable intruders to remotely access the computer or the network.
- You receive an e-mail message that has a strange attachment. When you open the attachment, dialog boxes appear, or a sudden degradation in system performance occurs.
- Someone tells you that they have recently received e-mail messages from you that contained attached files that you did not send. The files that are attached to the e-mail messages have extensions such as .exe, .bat, .scr, and .vbs extensions.
Symptoms of a computer virus
If you suspect or confirm that your computer is infected with a computer virus, obtain the current antivirus software. The following are some primary indicators that a computer may be infected:
- The computer runs slower than usual.
- The computer stops responding, or it locks up frequently.
- The computer crashes, and then it restarts every few minutes.
- The computer restarts on its own. Additionally, the computer does not run as usual.
- Applications on the computer do not work correctly.
- Disks or disk drives are inaccessible.
- You cannot print items correctly.
- You see unusual error messages.
- You see distorted menus and dialog boxes.
- There is a double extension on an attachment that you recently opened, such as a .jpg, .vbs, .gif, or .exe. extension.
- An antivirus program is disabled for no reason. Additionally, the antivirus program cannot be restarted.
- An antivirus program cannot be installed on the computer, or the antivirus program will not run.
- New icons appear on the desktop that you did not put there, or the icons are not associated with any recently installedr programs.
- Strange sounds or music plays from the speakers unexpectedly.
- A program disappears from the computer even though you did not intentionally remove the program.
Symptoms that may be the result of ordinary Windows functions
- Windows does not start even though you have not made any system changes or even though you have not installed or removed any programs.
- Windows does not start because certain important system files are missing. Additionally, you receive an error message that lists the missing files.
- The computer sometimes starts as expected. However, at other times, the computer stops responding before the desktop icons and the taskbar appear.
- The computer runs very slowly. Additionally, the computer takes longer than expected to start.
- You receive out-of-memory error messages even though the computer has sufficient RAM.
- New programs are installed incorrectly.
- Windows spontaneously restarts unexpectedly.
- Programs that used to run stop responding frequently. Even if you remove and reinstall the programs, the issue continues to occur.
- A disk utility such as Scandisk reports multiple serious disk errors.
- A partition disappears.
- The computer always stops responding when you try to use Microsoft Office products.
- You cannot start Windows Task Manager.
- Antivirus software indicates that a computer virus is present.
What is a computer virus?
Computer viruses are most easily spread by attachments in e-mail messages or by instant messaging messages. Therefore, you must never open an e-mail attachment unless you know who sent the message or unless you are expecting the e-mail attachment. Computer viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files. Computer viruses also spread by using downloads on the Internet. Computer viruses can be hidden in pirated software or in other files or programs that you may download.
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