How To Be Computer Virus Friendly – Part Three

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Administrator
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Then one of my websites got hacked. New information had been inserted into one of my web pages. It was not a malicious attack only one by an overly zealous dealer that I was trying to work with, who apparently had changes in mind to my web page for him and he just went ahead and did it on his own. Boy, was I upset. Why in heavens did I have to put up with passwords if anyone could just walk in and change whatever? I was injured by his lack of respect to me but I was upset with my Web Host more. So I contacted my Web Host and inquired how this could have been prevented. I was advised that my user identification and password were incredibly weak and I was lucky that this person had only their self-interest in mind. The moral of this story is make sure your ID and Passwords to your Web Host, FTP and Internet Provider are as strong as possible. You can still be hacked but this is the first step to preventing the issue.

Roboform to the rescue. If you have never used this program I highly recommend it. They go up to 10 digits for passwords, alpha, number and character mixed. I have used it now for 4 years and have never been let down. No goof ups, no excuses, just automatic ID’s and Passwords on demand. I log into a site and their window bar brings up the site account. I click their “Fill Form” and get on with my business. There are other attributes involved as well but you can discover that yourself. It is free for only a limited time now, then you can buy it for $29.95. Of course, I bought it after using it for about 2 years. I mean, think about it. If you use everything for free how are these people to stay in business? If they are not there for us where are we?

I have lost track of the amount of viruses I have picked up. It seems malicious websites are getting more prevalent. However, the last attack was a mystery. When I did a boot scan with Avast they picked up on the Trojan and fixed it, however it was my website that was infected. I tried to bring up my website, Avast went nuts. It is quite a routine they have figured out. Sirens, red message boards, wild graphics – the first time I seen and heard all of it my socks just about fell off. Anyways, you know when Avast finds something it does not like.

So, based on a previous experience I had, I did a HiJackthis dot com scan. This is a step up from Avast and only necessary when something bad is present. HiJackThis dot com does not fix anything rather it creates a Log about the contents of your computer. They do a scan and then recommend you take the Log they created to a website which features a whole list of other websites where people there volunteer to help you fix whatever the issue is.
(to be continued)

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How To Be Computer Virus Friendly – Part Two

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Administrator
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A few months later I caught another virus. So instead of taking it in to be serviced I thought I would work with the Norton System and see if I could clean my computer myself. To do this, you let Norton scan your computer and they isolate the virus. Then you go onto their website to find the instructions to remove whatever it is you caught. Sounds good right? Well, if you are not an IT person, maybe you should think twice about this as usually their instructions have you deleting or amending the Registry of your computer. Remember, if you mess up your Registry and your have not had training in this field you might as well threw your computer away. It means hours of someone trying to correct the mess.

Always make sure one of your kids takes Computer Science in school and college. Seriously. It is cheaper than paying by the hour for a computer person.

The last virus scenario really upset me and occasionally I get a flash of brilliance (well, to me anyways).

I bought another hard drive and installed the Linux system in the new hard drive. So now I had a hard drive with the “Windows” system and a hard drive with the “Linux” system. I figured I would do my work in the Windows system and then save my work in the Linux system as Windows is attacked by the viruses and hackers and Linux is far more secure. I was told to switch to Linux completely but I do not like the Open Source Programs even if they are free. I had gotten too used to the bells and whistles on Windows. If you are impatient by nature you will understand. I tried to learn the new programs but when you have a day job, have a family and entertaining an ambition to create something (some people call it a business) on the Internet, time is really at a premium.

I deleted Norton/Sympatico from my computer after that, but kept ZoneAlarm. The computer people had recommend “F-Secure” Virus protection and it was shareware (meaning free but if you want all the bells and whistles you buy it). So I tried it and bought it and was good for about another 6 months and then a virus infection seemed to be in the computer. I ran the F-Secure scan and sure enough there it was but F-Secure did all the work. I just had to click a few buttons. That was easy. But, although the computer was much better I knew it was not right yet. I used it this way for awhile and started researching virus programs.

I was intrigued with “Avast” as they offer a free virus scan from their website. So I tried their scan and lo and behold, there was a virus but in the Linux System. F-Secure could identify the virus in the Windows Sytem but did not address the Linux System. The Avast program handled the virus on it’s own and my computer was okay again. It is offered free to home users and $300 per year to Companies. So I downloaded it and have not been without it since. I got rid of ZoneAlarm too.
(to be continued)

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How To Be Computer Virus Friendly – Part One

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Administrator
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December 20th, 2011 I became aware that I was dealing with a Trojan virus in my computer system… Again!

Those boys (and girls) sure get their jollies in a strange way.

However, as getting virus infections in my computer is really getting to be old hat, the real question is how did I get this condition to begin with?

To back up a tad, my first computer was serviced with McAfee. I guess it worked, I don’t know. I was too stupid and/or ignorant to even know that computers got viruses. I don’t remember what conditions I was working with at that time as I was blessed with another computer unexpectedly.

I came home from work one day and there was one of my family members busy transferring my documents to a new computer. He had upgraded his own system and thought I could use an upgrade too as he was not impressed with what I was using.

This time my virus protection was Norton/Sympatico in the new computer. He had been using it and he just left it there for me together with a bunch of other programs I had never heard about. Good programs – DreamWeaver, Illustrator, ZoneAlarm, etc., with a bunch of games. He had also burned CD’s for each program so I had all the data for each, including I.D.’s.

Although I was impressed with his generosity, this was when I learned to dislike new computers. It took me about 6 months to figure out what all was there and where it was. I haven’t used Dreamweaver or Illustrator to this day. I found my own rainbows.

Norton/Sympatico is only second to Microsoft for invading your available working space. It was during this time I became aware there was something really, really wrong with my computer. Windows, menus, were popping up randomly on their own, or if I tried to open a folder It took f o r e v e r. So I took my computer into a computer service center and they introduced me to how they fix viruses. To fix my computer, they simply deleted everything on my computer, reinstalled my programs and sent me on my way.

By their cleaning my hard drive, I lost all my documents, favorites, bookmarks, passwords and saved email. In other words everything I had been working on or doing or wanted to keep. Have you ever tried to figure out lost passwords or re-create documents like your address book?

That is quite a solution…there are other ways tho’. You can pay an IT guy by the hour while he looks at each and every file and folder in your computer including all the hidden files. (To this day, I have never been told by any of them there are programs which do this service for you.) Ahh…I can’t afford that and you probably can’t either so although I didn’t like the system I lived with it.

(to be continued)

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