In my last blog, computer maintenance, I discussed some basic computer maintenance tasks. After you take care of those tasks you should ensure that you’ve cleaned off any potential malware.
Spyware
1. Introduction
2. An ounce of prevention
3. Spyware Blaster
4. Spyware Search & Destroy
5. Web of Trust
1. Introduction
Malware (a word coined to encompass all software which might inhabit your computer against your wishes) has become pervasive on the internet.
Some of the anti-malware software providers leave unprotected “bait” computer computers on the internet to see what it catches in the wild. They’ve discovered a computer gets “attacked” within just a few minutes of hopping onto the internet. Even worse unprotected computers are often compromised within 10-20 minutes!
Malware affects the stability of your computer, slows its performance, but worse it often seeks to steal your personal data. This data is sold to the highest bidder and is used to steal your ID and take out credit cards in your name.
With just a little time spent on a one-time set up, you can set up your computer to automatically update its anti-virus, anti-spyware, and run scans.
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2. An ounce of prevention
First of all, you need to be aware that many malware attacks involve “social engineering,” which is a fancy way of saying “tricking you to install something you don’t want.” To avoid this type malware, don’t go to web sites you don’t trust, don’t open files in email unless they are attachments you expect, and don’t follow links provided in your emails especially to banks and other sites. Let me reiterate that last one, whenever you wish to do online banking or credit card transactions you should always type in the address or get there from a saved link.
Next you should install basic protection for your web browsing. I use multiple products to help fight for me. These include:
Spyware Blaster
Spyware Search & Destroy
And another Firefox addon called Web of Trust
Download this software and then run their install images. I’ll address the details of each piece of software in a separate section.
Back to the top
3. Spyware Blaster
1. Launch the software
2. Click on the “Updates” link on the left.
3. Then click on the [Check for Updates]
4. Once the update completes, click on the “Protection Status”
5. At the bottom of the page, select the “Enable All Protection”
6. That’s it!
This application does no scans or malware removal. Its only purpose is to protect you from your own web browsing.
Back to the top
4. Spyware Search & Destroy
1. Launch the software
2. After Spybot – Search & Destroy launches, click on the [Search for Updates]
3. When the update dialog pops-up, leave the selected site alone and click the [Search]
4. Make sure all updates are selected and click on the [Download] button.
5. Wait for the update to complete.
6. When finished, click on the [OK] button.
7. In the main Spybot – Search & Destroy window, click on the “Mode” menu -> select “Advanced Mode”
8. In the left pane of Spybot – Search & Destroy, select “[+] Tools”
9. In the main window, check all tool check boxes (we want to have access to all of these tools)
10. In the left pane of Spybot, select the “Resident” tool
11. Ensure both (SDHelper & TeaTimer) Check boxes are checked (see the note on TeaTimer below)
12. Click on the “ActiveX” tool
13. One-by-one click on each registry entry that does NOT have a green check mark.
14. Examine the information for these entries and delete all entries which you do not understand. You delete these entries by highlighting the entry and clicking on the “X Remove” pick at the top of the page.
15. Click on the “BHOs” tool.
16. Examine the information for these entries and delete all entries that you do not understand. You delete these entries by highlighting the entry and clicking on the “X Remove” pick at the top of the page.
17. Click on the “IE tweaks” tool.
18. Ensure the “Lock Hosts file read-only as protection against hijackers” check box is checked.
19. Click on the “Hosts File” tool.
20. At the top of the page, click on the “+ Add Spybot-S&D hosts list”. This will prevent you from navigating to a page which is known to transmit malware.
21. Now click on the “[+] Settings” bar in the left pane.
22. Click on the “Scheduler” tool
23. At the top of the page, click the “+ Add” button.
24. Select the “Schedule” tab, click on the [New] button, enter frequency (weekly), start time (when the computer will be on but not used), pick a day of the week (any).
25. Select the “Settings” tab, choose any settings that seem appropriate but I do recommend clicking on the “Wake the computer to run this task” check box to ensure your scan happens.
26. Click the [OK] button.
27. You will be prompted to enter the username and password of the account that should run this scan, enter the administrators username and password.
28. Click the [OK] button.
29. Click on the “+ Add (Updater)” and repeat steps 24-28 with the exception that I’d recommend running the updater daily.
30. Click on the “[+] Spybot-S&D” bar in the left pane.
31. Click on the “Immunize” tool.
32. Spybot S&D will ask you to close your browsers – do so, and click on the [OK] button.
33. Wait for the immunization check to complete (it’ll show you that you need to immunize your computer).
34. Click on the “+ Immunize” button at the top of the page. Wait for the browser immunization to complete.
35. Click on the “Search & Destroy” tool.
36. Click on the “Check for problems” button at the top of the screen.
37. Wait for the check to complete.
38. If Spybot S&D finds problems, they’ll appear as checked entries. Click on the “Fix Selected” button at the top of the page.
39. That’s it. You’ve updated Spybot S&D, scheduled to automatically run on its own, and performed your own scan.
Back to the top
5. Web of Trust (WOT)
Web of Trust is a web site rating tool. Rated web sites should have a ring rating next to their links. Untrusted sites should have red rings. Trusted sites should have green rings. Unrated sites could be safe or not. I highly recommend avoiding untrusted sites, these have been known to sell user information or worse.
To install WOT:
1. Launch Firefox
2. Click on the “Tools” menu.
3. Select the Add-ons pick
4. Type “WOT” into the upper left “Search” window and hit your enter key.
5. You will probably need to hit the “See all results (#)” link at the bottom of the page.
6. You should see the “WOT – Safe Browsing Tool”, click on the “(+ Add to Firefox)” button to download the software.
7. The Software Installation dialog should appear. Wait for the 5 second countdown timer and click on the [Install Now] button.
8. You will be prompted to restart Firefox, so do this now.
9. Congratulations! You have installed Web of Trust!
10. If this is your first installation, you will be prompted to subscribe to a WOT list. Select one geographically close to you.
Back to the top
Proceed to my next computer blog, Antivirus software.
Return to my previous computer blog, Computer maintenance.
Spyware
1. Introduction
2. An ounce of prevention
3. Spyware Blaster
4. Spyware Search & Destroy
5. Web of Trust
1. Introduction
Malware (a word coined to encompass all software which might inhabit your computer against your wishes) has become pervasive on the internet.
Some of the anti-malware software providers leave unprotected “bait” computer computers on the internet to see what it catches in the wild. They’ve discovered a computer gets “attacked” within just a few minutes of hopping onto the internet. Even worse unprotected computers are often compromised within 10-20 minutes!
Malware affects the stability of your computer, slows its performance, but worse it often seeks to steal your personal data. This data is sold to the highest bidder and is used to steal your ID and take out credit cards in your name.
With just a little time spent on a one-time set up, you can set up your computer to automatically update its anti-virus, anti-spyware, and run scans.
Back to the top
2. An ounce of prevention
First of all, you need to be aware that many malware attacks involve “social engineering,” which is a fancy way of saying “tricking you to install something you don’t want.” To avoid this type malware, don’t go to web sites you don’t trust, don’t open files in email unless they are attachments you expect, and don’t follow links provided in your emails especially to banks and other sites. Let me reiterate that last one, whenever you wish to do online banking or credit card transactions you should always type in the address or get there from a saved link.
Next you should install basic protection for your web browsing. I use multiple products to help fight for me. These include:
Spyware Blaster
Spyware Search & Destroy
And another Firefox addon called Web of Trust
Download this software and then run their install images. I’ll address the details of each piece of software in a separate section.
Back to the top
3. Spyware Blaster
1. Launch the software
2. Click on the “Updates” link on the left.
3. Then click on the [Check for Updates]
4. Once the update completes, click on the “Protection Status”
5. At the bottom of the page, select the “Enable All Protection”
6. That’s it!
This application does no scans or malware removal. Its only purpose is to protect you from your own web browsing.
Back to the top
4. Spyware Search & Destroy
1. Launch the software
2. After Spybot – Search & Destroy launches, click on the [Search for Updates]
3. When the update dialog pops-up, leave the selected site alone and click the [Search]
4. Make sure all updates are selected and click on the [Download] button.
5. Wait for the update to complete.
6. When finished, click on the [OK] button.
7. In the main Spybot – Search & Destroy window, click on the “Mode” menu -> select “Advanced Mode”
8. In the left pane of Spybot – Search & Destroy, select “[+] Tools”
9. In the main window, check all tool check boxes (we want to have access to all of these tools)
10. In the left pane of Spybot, select the “Resident” tool
11. Ensure both (SDHelper & TeaTimer) Check boxes are checked (see the note on TeaTimer below)
12. Click on the “ActiveX” tool
13. One-by-one click on each registry entry that does NOT have a green check mark.
14. Examine the information for these entries and delete all entries which you do not understand. You delete these entries by highlighting the entry and clicking on the “X Remove” pick at the top of the page.
15. Click on the “BHOs” tool.
16. Examine the information for these entries and delete all entries that you do not understand. You delete these entries by highlighting the entry and clicking on the “X Remove” pick at the top of the page.
17. Click on the “IE tweaks” tool.
18. Ensure the “Lock Hosts file read-only as protection against hijackers” check box is checked.
19. Click on the “Hosts File” tool.
20. At the top of the page, click on the “+ Add Spybot-S&D hosts list”. This will prevent you from navigating to a page which is known to transmit malware.
21. Now click on the “[+] Settings” bar in the left pane.
22. Click on the “Scheduler” tool
23. At the top of the page, click the “+ Add” button.
24. Select the “Schedule” tab, click on the [New] button, enter frequency (weekly), start time (when the computer will be on but not used), pick a day of the week (any).
25. Select the “Settings” tab, choose any settings that seem appropriate but I do recommend clicking on the “Wake the computer to run this task” check box to ensure your scan happens.
26. Click the [OK] button.
27. You will be prompted to enter the username and password of the account that should run this scan, enter the administrators username and password.
28. Click the [OK] button.
29. Click on the “+ Add (Updater)” and repeat steps 24-28 with the exception that I’d recommend running the updater daily.
30. Click on the “[+] Spybot-S&D” bar in the left pane.
31. Click on the “Immunize” tool.
32. Spybot S&D will ask you to close your browsers – do so, and click on the [OK] button.
33. Wait for the immunization check to complete (it’ll show you that you need to immunize your computer).
34. Click on the “+ Immunize” button at the top of the page. Wait for the browser immunization to complete.
35. Click on the “Search & Destroy” tool.
36. Click on the “Check for problems” button at the top of the screen.
37. Wait for the check to complete.
38. If Spybot S&D finds problems, they’ll appear as checked entries. Click on the “Fix Selected” button at the top of the page.
39. That’s it. You’ve updated Spybot S&D, scheduled to automatically run on its own, and performed your own scan.
Back to the top
5. Web of Trust (WOT)
Web of Trust is a web site rating tool. Rated web sites should have a ring rating next to their links. Untrusted sites should have red rings. Trusted sites should have green rings. Unrated sites could be safe or not. I highly recommend avoiding untrusted sites, these have been known to sell user information or worse.
To install WOT:
1. Launch Firefox
2. Click on the “Tools” menu.
3. Select the Add-ons pick
4. Type “WOT” into the upper left “Search” window and hit your enter key.
5. You will probably need to hit the “See all results (#)” link at the bottom of the page.
6. You should see the “WOT – Safe Browsing Tool”, click on the “(+ Add to Firefox)” button to download the software.
7. The Software Installation dialog should appear. Wait for the 5 second countdown timer and click on the [Install Now] button.
8. You will be prompted to restart Firefox, so do this now.
9. Congratulations! You have installed Web of Trust!
10. If this is your first installation, you will be prompted to subscribe to a WOT list. Select one geographically close to you.
Back to the top
Proceed to my next computer blog, Antivirus software.
Return to my previous computer blog, Computer maintenance.
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