Computer viruses are potentially as debilitating for the Pc as deadly viruses are to the human body. The best way to protect yourself against these problems is to become informed about the issues that tech experts will term ‘what you need to know about computer viruses’.

Basic Virus Operations

Viruses tend to try to change the contents of  a file or make the file adjust itself by a kind of reprogramming. Their main source of transportation is the host. There are times however that they travel through peripheral devices such as a floppy disk, a pen drive or CD/DVDs. Another mode of transportation for computer viruses is a private network or the internet.

Differentiating Viruses and Malware

Pretty often we hear the names viruses and malware being used interchangeably. This is slightly misleading though. While both are potential harms or the computer the term malware refers to malicious software while a worm does not rely on a host to transport itself from system to system. Often times too, a virus is mistakenly referred to as a Trojan Horse. The distinction lies in the fact that a Trojan Horse is pretty much a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It poses as a harmless program and has the potential to inflict serious damage to the system by way of secretly hidden commands.

Signs of a Computer Virus

The infected computer system will display certain signs.One symptom of a virus infection is the system refuses to start. Some viruses cripple the start up process leaving the system unresponsive. Your system may be infected by a virus if it suddenly starts to run very slowly especially after a new software or program has been downloaded. If the system shuts down and restarts itself without being prompted to do so then this may signal a virus infection.  Documents that have been recently opened that have a double extensions are often signals that a virus has attached itself to the system. The extension is usually in the form of .jpg, .vbs, .gif, or .exe.

Other signals of virus problems include: printing difficulties,distorted menus and dialogue boxes, the speakers start to play strange music unexpectedly.

PC Protection

It is important to know how to protect the computer system from harmful viruses. This protection can come in a number of forms. One method of protection is using anti-virus software. Additionally you should ensure that the anti-virus is updated frequently. This will help to ensure that the system is prepared to stave of attacks from newly developed viruses.

Exercise caution on the web or on a networked system. Emails and shared documents are sometimes carriers of viruses. Scan all documents before opening them. Additionally avoid and delete email messages from strange contacts. This is especially important when there is an attachment. Emails are often vehicles for viruses, which are usually contained in the attachments.

Reese Weller provides an assortment of article services pertaining to trojan virus and combofix

Some Important links:

• How to remove Virus from USB drives

• Viruses : Different types and Examples

• 10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Dangerous Computer Viruses

• 15 Tips To Staying Safe On The Internet

• Microsoft Security Essentials : Virus, Spyware and Malware Protection Software

• Panda USB Vaccine : Block Viruses Spreading Through USB Drives

What You need To Know About Computer Viruses is a post from: Snakebytez

Purchase an Anti-Virus Software

Anti-virus software are designed to prevent virus attacks on your pc. There are many anti-virus softwares available that wil assist in detecting and resolving virus issues as the emerge. In order to determine the best anti-virus software it is important to visit the web sites of providers. Be on the lookout for those websites that offer knowledge of the latest viruses. Many of these web pages will also allow you to sign up for email updates on the latest PC threat. This is an easy and convenient way to keep abreast of the dangers that exist. When you are on the ball you are less likely to become a victim.

Download Free Anti-Virus Software

Free anti-virus software is a great inexpensive alternative. Free anti-virus software can be used in collaboration with the purchased anti virus software to ensure greater coverage.

Ensure That Your PC is Automatically Scanned Monthly

Automatic scans are extremely important in pc protection. You may find that manually selected scans are neglected due to the busy nature of daily life. Automatic scans are there to ‘pick up the slack’ so to speak.

Stay Away From Certain Sites

Some web sites are hazardous to the health of your PC; avoid them. Some anti-virus software and firewalls will help by putting up a red flag when such a page is visited. Once this signal is seen, navigate away from the page immediate. If the signal emerges before you actually visit the page, avoid the page.

Use a Firewall

Firewalls are important because they prevent sites from forcing applications on your system. This helps to keep some viruses at bay since this is a favorite route for viruses.

Scan Your PC Regularly

Regular scans help to mitigate the many and sporadic attacks that your system will face.

Scan Peripheral Devices Before Use

Some peripheral devices (thumb drives for example) should be scanned before they are used. This allows the system to detect and arrest viruses before they have attached themselves to the system. Many systems crash as a result of a virus from a thumb drive.

Email Control

Ignore and delete emails from questionable sources. Many dangerous viruses are transferred through email. Often, it is the attachment of the email that carries the virus, and it launches into the system once it is opened or downloaded. A red flag should go up when emails arrive from unknown or strange contacts. Be wary of email from known contacts too, as sometimes a contact’s email account may be compromised and the virus is sent through these sources.

Store Backup Information on Permanent Removable Devices

This is one of the most secure plan Bs that can be implemented for PC protection. Since dangerous viruses are unavoidable even with the best efforts it is key that back up is available. This means your data is protected by a back up storage device. These devices include CDs and external drives.

Back Up Information Regularly

This ensures that your latest data is virus-proofed.

This is a guest blog post by Belle Mutchler who blogs about what is a trojan virus and how to get rid of trojan viruses for free.

10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Dangerous Computer Viruses is a post from: Snakebytez

1. GIMP

 
The Paint application that comes with Windows 7 has gone through a tremendous improvement; however, it is still not good enough to cater to a professional’s requirement. And to consider it as a replacement of Photoshop would be nothing but an overstatement.
GIMP is one such free graphics editor that can be described in a single word – remarkable. From splendid render effects to 3D perspective tools, GIMP is one software that impresses throughout.

2. VLC Media Player

The developers of VLC Media Player have paid great attention to the core aspects of a media player and you can play virtually any audio or video format using this application. Thus we see that there are more reasons to have VLC Media Player on your system than just the cool menu colours or the glowing play button.

3. Google Quick Search Box

Although a very useful feature, it has not been so publicized. Google quick search box adds a Google button on your taskbar, and you can then have the advantage of performing a variety of searches without having to open the browser window. This feature is a part of the Google Toolbar package for IE8.

4. Picasa

Picasa is a product of Google. It gathers as well as organizes all your pictures and make it easy for you to access them. In just few clicks of mouse, you can fix your photos and post them online.  Included is another great feature called Picasa Photo Viewer, which allows you to preview the photos in Windows explorer folders.

5. Auto Login and Lock

It is no less than an annoyance to wait for Windows processes and Startup programs to load once you log on to your PC. Especially when you start your PC and go for a cup of coffee, you still have to enter your login and password when you come back and wait for the processes to load till you can start to work. Auto Login and Lock automatically login to Windows on startup and then immediately lock windows. Now when you return you can enter the password and start working instantly, as the Auto Login and Lock would have already taken care of the startup and load processes.

6.  Fences

Windows 7 has brought a brand new taskbar, but nothing much has changed as far as actual Windows desktop is concerned. With the application called Fences, you can organize your desktop in a beautiful manner. Using this application, you can arrange and sort the icons into different “fences”. Fences would certainly serve to make your life more organized and easier.

7. Monitor ES – A lot in one

You can use this small portable tool called Monitor ES to turn off display, notify contacts and pause media when you lock your Windows desktop. Yes, this very handy application pauses your media playback, sets the IM status to away and turns off your monitor in one single action of locking your system.

8. Ditto

Ditto can be rightly called an extension to copy paste utility provided by Windows 7 OS. With Ditto, you have a universal clipboard that stores every single object you copy and you can then use any of the text and paste in any order you require.

9. Recuva

Recuva is a completely free application that lets you recover files that were permanently deleted (even from Recycle Bin) by mistake. The program can also help to recover files that were accidently deleted from memory cards, MP3 Players or flash drives.

10. Keep your Desktop Clean With Zum

Zum is an amazing application launcher that combines ease of use, minimalist features and an artistic design. It is a must-have if you prefer to keep your desktop clutter-free.

This article is provided by Kevin Moor who writes for slow-computer-solutions.org, a site, which is seeking ways how to fix slow computer.

10 Windows 7 Free Apps Worth Downloading is a post from: Snakebytez

Run the Performance Troubleshooter as the First Thing

As the very first thing, you can try running the Performance troubleshooter. This utility helps you to automatically find and fix the problems. Performance troubleshooter will check for those issues that might be hampering the performance of your computer, for example, how many users are logged in and if multiple programs are running simultaneously.
To run this utility, you need to click on Start button > Control Panel. Type “troubleshooter” in the provided search box. You would be able to see “Troubleshooting” in the results displayed; click the same. Now click  on “Check for performance issues” under section “System and Security”.

Upgrade your RAM

If you have happened to migrate from XP to Windows 7 with 1 GB of Ram, which is the minimal requirement, you should consider upgrading your RAM to 2-3 GB. This would not only improve the performance of your system tremendous but would also let you enjoy all the visual effects that Windows 7 comes with (Aero Snap and Aero Peek features).

Speed up Windows 7 using a Pen-drive

If you are not interested in upgrading your RAM, then you can use another feature of Windows 7 called Ready Boost Feature. This feature uses the flash memory provided to add instant RAM to your system.
Here is how you can setup this feature in Windows 7:
Insert your Pen-drive or USB drive into the USB slot provided on your computer. An Autoplay will pop up; from here you select “Speed Up My System”.
If Autoplay is not enabled on your system, you can click on “My Computer” and then right-click on the Pen-drive/USB Drive; click on Properties and then “Ready Boost” tab and check the “Use this device” checkbox.
You can now move the slider to choose how much space you would like to be associated with this device.
In case you want to dedicate all the memory on your device, you can directly check the “Dedicate this device to Readyboost” and click OK.
Ready boost feature can prove to be blessing in disguise, if you are running short of memory and for some reasons cannot go for upgrading the memory immediately.

Increase the Paging File or Virtual Memory

When it comes to optimizing Windows 7, we have to but focus on memory size and RAM as this OS consumes more memory than does Windows XP. You can utilize some of the free hard disk space as virtual RAM, if your system is running short of memory.
You can follow the below given steps to configure virtual memory:  
1. Click on Start button and the right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties” from the context menu that appears.
2. Click on “Advanced system settings”. Next, click on “Settings” button under “Performance” section.
3. From the window that appears, click on Advanced tab and click the “Change” button.
4. The recommended virtual memory size is generally 1.5 of your physical RAM. So if you have 3 G of RAM, you should ideally set the value to 4605 MB.

Limit the Running Programs at Startup

It is strongly advisable to keep only those programs in the Startup processes which are really necessary to load when the system boots. Rest all processes should be removed and started manually when you actually need them than to have them running in background all the time and slowing down the system performance by eating precious resources.
To enable or disable processes from Startup, you need to click on Start button and then run msconfig. From the window that appears Click on Startup tab and uncheck all those processes which you think are not really needed at the startup time.

Registry cleaning

If you think you have been using the system for a while now, it is good to have your registry scanned and fixed for errors. It can play a very important role in improving the performance of your computer. However, it is necessary that you opt for a reliable registry cleaning software.
This article is written by Kevin Moor, who also writes for speedmycomputer.net, a site emphasizing on how to speed up computer.

Some Top Performance Tweaks for Windows 7 is a post from: Snakebytez

Many users  have been receiving such fraudulent emails lately from alert@sbi.co.in or update@sbi.co.in

The HTML attachment contains the following text:

Dear Valued Customer, Your account has generated an Error code SB-907 in our new security system due to mis-match access. Please login via the security
link below to resolve this problem in order to enroll your SBI account in the new online System for mixmum security protection against online phishing.
For security reason all information should be match correctly to avoid account suspension,
including hint question and answer that you had set for the Profile password.  

CLICK HERE TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM

---

Thank you for using STATE BANK OF INDIA
© SBI . All rights reserved.

the link on that page directs to a phishing site http://gymbrand.com/includes/js/tabs/sbi/indexx.html which has an interface similar to https://www.onlinesbi.com/ which is UNSAFE and intended to steal your login info and other details.

How to avoid being victim of such phishing scam?

Always look for the Green Security seal in the address bar. Websites protected by SSL Security will have security certificate which will be shown in Green by Firefox. Chrome and IE would be showing it differently. In this case the address bar will appear as shown in the images below:

Firefox

Chrome

Internet Explorer

Avoid online transactions on websites which don’t have security certificates, information entered like you password or your credit card details can be easily grabbed and misused. Moreover, always keep an eye on the address bar while logging in every site whether its Facebook or Gmail, etc. always check the spelling in the address bar.

How to report a Phishing Website?

Best way to report a phishing site is through Google.

Visit the Report Phishing Page http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/ 

Enter the Website address, Fill the captcha text, comment(optional) and Submit Report.

Alternately, you can visit http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/report_phishing.html and follow the instructions on the page.

Hope you find this post informative. Beware of increasing Online Scams and Phishing attacks.

Beware: SBI Fraudulent email to Steal Personal and Financial Information is a post from: Snakebytez

IE Restorator is a small utility for troubleshooting common Internet Explorer issues.

It can Flush DNS cache, Re-register concern dlls for Internet Explorer (3 different types 64-Bit, 32 Bit on 64-Bit OS and 32-Bit) Reset IE to Default settings, Reset Winsock.

It Works only on IE8 and 7. Will work only if you have .NET Frameworks 3.5 installed.

Download IE Restorator : Click Here (126 KB)

Fix common Internet Explorer problems with IE Restorator is a post from: Snakebytez

Defense of the Ancient which is commonly known as DotA is a custom map made for Warcraft III through Blizzard Map Editor. It was originally authored for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos which was later unofficial remake for Warcraft 3 expansion pack, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (TFT). Today’s version of DotA map is the DotA AllStars, currently being maintained by IceFrog and his fellow development team.

Dota-Allstars 6.68b Official Map has just released! This map is a quick patch to fix the major bug with Techies on Dota 6.68

Dota 6.68b Changelogs

* Fixed a major bug with Techies Remote Mines

* Fixed Geomancer clones restoring mana with Arcane Boots
* Wisp can no longer teleport to the enemy fountain
* Fixed a small bug with Flak Cannon against buildings when gyro has very low damage
* Fixed a bug when casting tether from outside of range limit while being moved with Relocate
* Fixed an issue with illusions and flak cannon
* Fixed a few other minor things

Dota 6.68b Download Link
Dota 6.68b Download – GameWebZ Mirror
Dota 6.68b Download – MegaUpload Mirror
Dota 6.68b Download – GetDota Mirror

DotA Allstars 6.66b Download and Changelog is a post from: Snakebytez

The Tweaks.com Logon Changer for Windows 7 provides an easy way to customize the logon screen background with just a few clicks. Simply download the free application, run it and click Change Logon.

The application will prompt for the location of the new background image and then install the new screen behind the scenes. Tweaks.com Logon Changer will even provide a preview of your new background on a logon screen.

When you have settled on a good logon background, click the Test button to see it in action.

Key Features:

• Automatic Image Resize – Don’t worry about the 245KB file size limit imposed by Microsoft. The Tweaks.com Logon Changer will give you the option to automatically resize and recompress the image to the highest quality possible. The original image is left untouched.
• Automatic Image Backup – All OEM backgrounds and any previously used backgrounds are automatically backed up when a logon background is changed.

If you want the default Windows 7 logon screen back just click Revert to Default Logon Screen and the application will automatically uninstall any customized screens.

Download Logon Changer : Click Here (243 KB)

Customize windows 7 logon screen with Logon Changer is a post from: Snakebytez

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Here is a step-by-step explanation on how to use Kaspersky Rescue Disk:

1. Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.

2. Record the Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 image to a CD/DVD.

3. Configure the computer to boot from CD-ROM.

4. Boot your computer from Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.

5. Once the boot disk is loaded completely, you can select specific drives to clean the viruses.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 allows performing the following actions:

• Configure objects scan settings:
  • change security level
  • change actions to be performed on detected objects
  • create a scan scope
  • change types of objects to be scanned
  • limit scan time
  • configure scan of compound files
  • change a scan method
  • set default settings
• Configure databases update settings:
  • select an update source
  • specify proxy-server settings
  • specify regional settings
  • roll back to previous databases
• Configure additional settings:
  • select detection of specific threat types
  • create a trusted zone
  • configure notifications settings
  • specify time of storing reports
  • specify time of storing Quarantine and Backup objects
• Create a report on scan and update tasks.
• View statistics about applican’s functioning.

Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk : Click Here (192 MB)

Kaspersky Rescue Disk : Clean Virus safely without booting in Windows is a post from: Snakebytez

In simple terms computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation.

A virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your e-mail program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk.

Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in e-mail messages or instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never open e-mail attachments unless you know who it’s from and you are expecting it. Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files.

Viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit software or other files or programs you might download.

The different types of viruses are as follows-

1) Boot Sector Virus: Boot sector viruses infect either the master boot record of the hard disk or the floppy drive. The boot record program responsible for the booting of operating system is replaced by the virus. The virus either copies the master boot program to another part of the hard disk or overwrites it. They infect a computer when it boots up or when it accesses the infected floppy disk in the floppy drive. i.e. Once a system is infected with a boot-sector virus, any non-write-protected disk accessed by this system will become infected.

Examples: Form, Disk Killer, Michelangelo, and Stone virus

2) Program viruses: These infect executable program files, such as those with extensions like .BIN, .COM, .EXE, .OVL, .DRV (driver) and .SYS (device driver). These programs are loaded in memory during execution, taking the virus with them. The virus becomes active in memory, making copies of itself and infecting files on disk.

Examples: Sunday, Cascade

3) Multipartite viruses: A hybrid of Boot and Program viruses. They infect program files and when the infected program is executed, these viruses infect the boot record. When you boot the computer next time the virus from the boot record loads in memory and then starts infecting other program files on disk.

Examples: Ghostball was the first multipartite virus, discovered by Fridrik Skulason in October 1989. Other examples are Invader, Flip, etc.

4) Stealth viruses: These viruses use certain techniques to avoid detection. They may either redirect the disk head to read another sector instead of the one in which they reside or they may alter the reading of the infected file’s size shown in the directory listing. For instance, the Whale virus adds 9216 bytes to an infected file; then the virus subtracts the same number of bytes (9216) from the size given in the directory.

Examples: Frodo, Joshi, Whale

5) Polymorphic viruses: A virus that can encrypt its code in different ways so that it appears differently in each infection. These viruses are more difficult to detect.

Examples: Involuntary, Stimulate, Cascade, Phoenix, Evil, Proud, Virus 101

6) Macro Viruses: A macro virus is a computer virus that "infects" a Microsoft Word or similar application and causes a sequence of actions to be performed automatically when the application is started or something else triggers it. Macro viruses tend to be surprising but relatively harmless.A macro virus is often spread as an e-mail virus.

Examples: DMV, Nuclear, Word Concept, Melissa Worm.

7) Active X:  ActiveX and Java controls will soon be the scourge of computing. Most people do not know how to control there web browser to enable or disable the various functions like playing sound or video and so, by default, leave a nice big hole in the security by allowing applets free run into there machine. There has been a lot of commotion behind this and with the amount of power that JAVA imparts, things from the security angle seem a bit gloom.

What is a Trojan horse?

Trojan horses are impostors—files that claim to be something desirable but, in fact, are malicious. A very important distinction between Trojan horse programs and true viruses is that they do not replicate themselves. Trojan horses contain malicious code that when triggered cause loss, or even theft, of data. For a Trojan horse to spread, you must invite these programs onto your computers; for example, by opening an email attachment or downloading and running a file from the Internet. Trojan.Vundo is a Trojan horse.

What is a worm?

Worms are programs that replicate themselves from system to system without the use of a host file. This is in contrast to viruses, which requires the spreading of an infected host file. Although worms generally exist inside of other files, often Word or Excel documents, there is a difference between how worms and viruses use the host file. Usually the worm will release a document that already has the "worm" macro inside the document. The entire document will travel from computer to computer, so the entire document should be considered the worm W32.Mydoom.AX@mm is an example of a worm.

These are just few broad categories. There are many more specialized types. But let us not go into that.

Viruses : Different types and Examples is a post from: Snakebytez