There are many free download edition of anti-virus in the internet to install in your computer having now your own anti-virus software that will update your computer every time you will turn it on. By just using any search engine, and typing in some keywords and with a few seconds, list of different anti-virus editions will appear on your monitor. You can now have the chance to choose or select the edition that will go well with your processor. It will be dependent on you on what brand of anti-virus you want, for as long as it is compatible with your computer, you can choose any free edition or version of your preferred anti-virus. Anti-virus gives you updates about the status of your computer in terms of the discovered viruses. Free of charge so it is practical to have one.
A firewall is like a guard that allows or prohibits intruders to the network. It has a control policy that indicates and dictates what should be denied and permitted to access the network in order to protect the network from any harm. It is a preventive measure and not completely the solution to viruses or any harmful things that can be acquired in the internet. It is designed to protect and not to heal infected data. Firewall is not able to do that. Unlike anti-virus software, it updates and scans the memory or programs when you reboot your computer. During the reboot, it can detect whether there are viruses, the location of the viruses and eventually cure it. Anti-virus software is designed for the purpose of healing and detecting harmful virus on your computer. In other words, even if the viruses had infected some parts of the data saved in your computer, it is still capable of adjusting allowing its features to cure the infected area. Compared to a firewall, it is designed only to protect and guard the network due to its control policy.
Both spyware and a computer virus are forms of unwanted or malware (malicious software) that can be harmful and give nuisance to your computer. The difference is that spyware collects information without any notice or consent. Spyware will not actually harm or corrupt the data on your computer but as stated earlier, it can give nuisance because it takes control or your computer. Anti-virus programs or software cannot remove spyware, so there is still further study of some anti-virus developer to create an antivirus that also features anti-spyware. There is a lot of ways on how Spyware can be installed on your computer. One is via virus and another is by being secretly attached to the software that you want to install or download. Furthermore, spyware is a specific type of malware that collects information about you and your computer, without you knowing it. Meanwhile, virus is just a specific way of having spyware get into your computer and be secretly distributed via e-mail or instant messaging.
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…)
You’d better beware of a new worm that’s literally worming its way into infamy: the Conficker (AKA Downadup) worm.
A prolific new worm has spread to infect more than 3.5m Windows PCs, according to net security firm F-secure. The success of the Conficker (AKA Downadup) worm is explained by its use of multiple attack vectors and new social engineering ruses, designed to hoodwink the unwary into getting infected. The worm uses a complex algorithm to develop a changing daily list of domains which infected machines attempt to establish contact with. Hackers need only register one of these possible names to establish contact with the botnet established by Conficker. The tactic is designed to frustrate attempts by security watchers to dismantle the command and control network associated with compromised machines.
Read the full article here.
That’s 3.5 MILLION PCs folks. Which is why it really pays to be careful about the site you go to and the files you download, or even the emails that you open. Virus, trojan and worm developers are becoming more clever in disguising their creations nowadays, so you should always be wary of unsolicited emails and messages and downloads that are offered to you. Also, have a good anti-virus that you update regularly, as well as a anti-spyware and malware software. Run these programs regularly to remove any suspicious files that are just waiting for you to open them. These scans may seem tedious, but it’ll be doubly hard if a destructive worm such as Conflicker gets into your system and ruins it.
The anti-virus companies are doing their darnest, but there’s something they won’t be able to factor in when doing their software, the human error.
From Jan. 1 to Nov. 25, the top 100 attack programs infected 53% of their victims by duping them into downloading something from the Internet. An additional 12% of the infections tracked globally were caused by users opening e-mail attachments.
Just 5% of the infections were related to an exploit of a software vulnerability, said Trend’s analysis.
“That’s something we can’t engineer against,†said Ferguson. It’s also is why Trend Micro and other security vendors have stepped away from a pure anti-virus detection and deletion model, and instead have been bringing in other protective features, such as domain reputation ranking and URL filtering, to their products.
Educate and be vigilant regarding malicious websites and downloads, if you do, you’ll be a whole lot safer.
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The latest edition of the popular Avast anti virus software is here. The Avast Home Edition is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified anti virus program. It is also certified by Checkmark for its anti spyware and anti rootkit bundled package. Avast boasts of its featured components like an On Demand scanner with a simple, easy access user interface. The skin can be changed according to your meticulous preference. What you do is just pick out the drive or media device to scan and then simply press the Play button, Voila! On Access scanner is one other feature. These are special providers that protect mostly available email clients, instant messaging and the Network traffic which detects easily, any intrusion. It is a light weight firewall. Peer to Peer protection for file sharing programs like Kazaa. Bit torrents, the most popular file sharing method. It has Web shield which monitors and filters HTTP traffic. It has Boot time scanner which scan disks in the same time as Chkdsk does in Windows. it provides a much more secure and prompt detection of trojans and rootkits.
