The best anti-virus software today come with essentially multiple virus scanning options. This allows users to create schedules for scanning. Users also benefit from advanced scanning options that provide them the access to various location-specific scans and real-time scanning which enable computers to automatically scan for viruses every few minutes to stop viruses from causing damage almost all the time. Complete and optimal system protection is obtained from anti-virus programs that are updated regularly. This is the answer to the fact that viruses are actively being created everyday, or worse, every minute. Over-all, the best thing that an anti-virus software can provide to its users is the peace of mind.
There are a lot of components that can cause virus on your computer. One is downloading on the internet not knowing that it is infected with virus. Virus is attached with the program or file that you are to download. If the all downloads have been completed and unfortunately, it has virus, it will be transmitted to other files or programs in your computer infecting them. Another one is accepting or receiving files from other sources (from other computer directly to your computer). It is convenient to receive or accept files directly to your computer from another computer. Because it takes you little time to receive it. However, it is also a disadvantage when it comes to scanning it for any virus. If you are to accept or receive files from other source, it will be directly stored or saved on you computer. If the files that you have received is infected with virus, like what was said earlier, it will affect or infect the other files regardless of its status whether it is infected or not. So if you are to download, receive or accept, even install programs or software on your computer, observe precautionary measures to prevent computer virus that may blocked your access to the files that had been infected.
An internet firewall is a system or cluster of system that enforces an access control policy between two or more networks. Firewall can be a pair of mechanism in which one performs blockage and the other is permission. As said in above statement, firewall enforces an access control policy in which it depends on it of what kind of access to be allowed or denied. If you have a good idea about what access to be denied and allowed, firewall will be useful. Firewall has configuration which should be updated and given emphasis to enforce the policy. The importance of a firewall is that it protects you from being intruded or keeping out bad ‘stuffs’ out of your network while doing or finishing your job. Firewall is often used by huge corporations for the purpose of protecting the data about corporate products and services or files to download and the like. Firewall is like a preventive measure that guards your network from any harmful ‘stuffs’ that can corrupt important data.
Virus is a threat that is contagious for it infects your files as well as other programs installed on your computer. A computer virus should be attached on top of other program or document in order to launch. Once it is running, it will now start the onset of infecting other programs or documents. Maybe a lot of computer users would ask about from whom or where does computer virus come from? Well sadly, it comes from computer users also. These people write the computer virus in which he or she is required to write the code, put it to a test to be assured that if it will infects a program, it will run and spreads properly. If the test is successful, that person will release the virus. There are various reasons as to why some people make computer viruses:
1. For them, making unusual things such as making computer virus gives them thrill or excitement to boast that he or she knows much about computer programs to the extent that he or she may channel energy in creating destructive viruses.
2. Fascination pushes a person to make a computer virus in the sense that when the virus is already released, he or she would sit back and enjoy the scenario as things blow up with somebody’s computer.
3. Curiosity also is one of the components as to why some people are interested to make destructive viruses. One wants to exploit things first before others would. It’s like grabbing the opportunity to test something dreadful and see how masses would react.
Computer virus creators are overlooking the fact that they can cause real damage not only to hard disks of the computer, but with real people who are not aware about such things.
In the passed few years, there has been computer viruses that took great effect on global economic growth. However, there are these viruses that have cause millions, worse, billions of dollars loss. Here are the top 10 most destructive computer viruses of all time according to techweb:
1. CIH (1998)
Estimated Damage: 20 to 80 million dollars worldwide, countless amounts of PC data destroyed
Unleashed from Taiwan in June of 1998
2. Melissa (1999)
Estimated Damage: 300 to 600 million dollars
3. ILOVEYOU (2000)
Estimated Damage: 10 to 15 billion dollars
4. Code Red (2001)
Estimated Damage: 2 billion and 600 million dollars (2.6B $)
5. SQL Slammer (2003
Estimated Damage: Because SQL Slammer erupted on a Saturday, the damage was low in dollars and cents. However, it hit 500,000 servers world wide and actually shut down South Korea’s online capacity for 12 hours.
6. Blaster (2003)
Estimated Damage: 2 to 10 billion dollars, hundreds of thousands of infected PCs
7. Sobig.F (2003)
Estimated Damage: 5 to 10 billion dollars, over 1 million PCs infected
8. Bagle (2004)
Estimated Damage: Tens of millions of dollars…and counting
9. MyDoom (2004)
Estimated Damage: At its peak, slowed global Internet performance by 10 percent and Web load times by up to 50 percent
10. Sasser (2004)
Estimated Damage: Tens of millions of dollars
The effect of computer virus is really serious because it can harm not only computers, same is true with the life of others.
The famed micro-blogging site was again targeted by an attack that re-directed users to sites that took the usual form of malware laden sites, telling users to install software that in fact did nothing but loaded their system with exploits that is reserved for later by hackers. The detected problems had computer systems made ready for drive-by attacks that would get hold of their user data and log in’s for the many other social sites or those they find saved on the computer’s memory for their use in identity attacks. Much more dangerous that the previous attack which was more the result of a bored teen who wanted to become famous, responsible for the Mikey attack that victimized and spread much like malware, using the saved names in the database sending out copies of itself as it goes out to propagate. That time, there was a mere nuisance message that kept popping up everywhere but this time round, security analysts have found links to organized criminal groups that have been poised to take advantage of the security flaws should it have not been detected. (more…)
Symantec has long been recognized as one of the security software industry’s biggest players yet even these blokes are prone to make errors. Some while back as their developers were out to test some features of their virus scanners and other security software, they unknowingly released a test file without attaching a valid and proper security certificate, and what do you know, they tried to make it disappear. As it turns out, the file was supposed to be a valid test program and in fact it was, yet the lack of the security signature had it recognized as such and as an attempt to infiltrate the computer systems of their clients. On the client side, their firewalls set out and performed what they were designed to do, and that was to block the attempt to allow entry to their protected systems. System administrators and personal users alike got so worried that they flooded the support site for information due to fear of a large-scale hacking attack that may be trying to get into their system. (more…)
Continued from the previous post…………
There is also a facility that allows people to report attack sites that have either been pre-loaded with malware or exploits that can later be used for hacking attacks for whatsoever reason. The way Google searches also tends to expose the power of their bots that also gather data on the overall site statistics and other facts about a particular page where it finds the said information thus becoming a sort of data store for hackers to use. These hackers somehow managed to circumvent security measures in place, intercepting the data the bots gather and stores them in some remote area or hidden site on the web where hackers check regularly for the easiest sites to get into. (more…)
In security that is and the stuff of fiction has become reality when hackers developed a bit that uses it’s immense search capabilities to do their dirty work for them. Everybody knows that when it comes to searching for information on the internet, nobody can come close to Google’s never ending banks of data center servers and storage racks. (more…)
The world would be a better place if there were no malware around the internet which we have become so dependent on. May it be for research, casual browsing or ranting on your blog, we seldom go on each and every day of our lives without logging into the internet. The many malware out on the internet is one of the signs that it is well loved and hated by so many. There is one thing that you can do though, help the many security software developers out there, by enabling the ability of such software to send in samples of the virus/worm or malware into their laboratories for them to take a hack at.
These people are hackers themselves only on the good side of the law in the forever raging battle between good and evil in what is the internet. After all, what is life without a bit of spice, which these malware provides to the many users and developers out there who are out to get at each other.
