Protection From Malware

What can happen to your computer?

allowing outside access to your computer can result in any of the following:

  1. keyloggers can be installed
  2. information can be stolen (passwords, account numbers, etc.) & emailed to the attacker’s address
  3. files can be destroyed
  4. spyware installed, which can gather information about your browsing habits, which sites you visit, etc. and slows down your computer because these are programs that are running in the background that you don’t even know are there; sometimes, programs that you download that contain spyware will explicitly state in the EULA that spyware is contained in the program – how many of you read this agreement?
  5. dialers can be installed – which take control of your modem to dial up expensive toll numbers without you knowing… until you get your bill; or to used for vishing scams
  6. your computer can be hijacked and turned into a zombie computer (or a proxy server) – which can be the result of a virus, Trojan Horse, etc.
  7. to launch spam (one statistic I found says that 90% of all spam comes from zombie computers)
  8. to stash stolen information (such as credit card numbers)
  9. to commit click fraud (sites that have pay-per-click advertising)
  10. host phishing web sites
  11. a collection of zombies is called a botnet – college students’ computers are a target for those who are hijacking computers and turning them into zombies to create botnets, many times made up of thousands of computers
  12. zombie computers can also be used to launch Denial of Service (DoS) attacks; when botnets are used to lauch DoS attacks, it is called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack

How to protect yourself:

be careful of:

  1. opening spam emails, or emails from people you don’t know, or emails with subject lines that are suspect
  2. phishing scams
  3. deceptive pop-ups
  4. freeware
  5. filesharing
  6. visiting corrupt web sites
  7. programs that you download and install sometimes also contain spyware – read the EULA when installing

You should do the following:

  1. set your Internet security setting on default or higher
  2. scrutinize what you download
  3. keep OS up-to-date (you need Internet Explorer installed and enabled for the automatic updates to occur)
  4. keep anti-virus up-to-date and scan your computer at least once a month
  5. use anti-spyware frequently
  6. follow your instincts – search on emails, or downloads, that you’ve never heard of or that makes you skeptical
  7. skim through the EULA when installing software
  8. use a firewall program – at least turn on Windows firewall or the firewall on your Mac (by default, it is turned off until you turn it on)