Computer virus can really be a real problem. Since the onset of computers, they already have become an integral part of our daily lives. Especially with the onslaught of the Internet, we now depend on computers so much from our files, to address book, to information sources, to connecting with friends, etc.
A properly designed and executed virus can have a very disabling effect on our computer.
Computer viruses then show us how vulnerable we can be and how human beings became so intricate with computers and technology in so many aspects in their lives.
A computer virus is like any program. However, the goal of every computer virus is to destroy files or computer systems by spreading itself in such a fast phase to unsuspecting computer users. In order to protect your computers from these damaging and disabling viruses, we must be vigilant and employ all possible defenses against them.
So let antivirus program be your first line of defense against the paralyzing effects of computer viruses. Best tip yet, be sure to install anti-virus program from a reputable source. It is rather important to update and use the anti-virus program regularly. Everyday, new viruses come out so if you have an outdated antivirus program, it will not provide you with the much-needed protection your computer may require.
Take note that there are several reliable antivirus programs that can be downloaded for free, these are called antivirus freeware. Antivirus downloads can secure your computer and your very life. Make it a habit to check antivirus online help for updates on viruses to guard your computer before the virus hits you off-guard, which can surely bring out in you an unrelenting ogre.
The most common sources of viruses are from online chat sessions so be extremely careful about accepting programs and files. Computer virus creators are also Internet mainstays. They are these technologically gifted individuals who just want to create havoc out of their expertise, and that is creating computer viruses. So they frequent online chat rooms with the intention of generating tons of unsuspecting victims.
And then, spreading the venom they just created would never be a problem because of the myriad of online chat users logging on and off. If a virus already entered your computer, follow the directions in your antivirus freeware or antivirus downloads on how to clean it.
If you’ve got a virus, feel free to give us a call on 01792 713 773.
If you haven’t heard of smartphones, we’d like to learn where you’ve been hiding all this time. Smartphones have been all over the news and chances are, you do know what they are – only you know them under a different name. Smartphones are mobile phones with computer like capabilities.
What’s that? Aha! Yes, you’ve not only heard of them, you’ve probably seen them as well. Packed with Internet access, email capabilities, address books, and a whole lot more, mobile phones have come a long way since their first debut. But be careful not to confuse these newest toys with sandbox devices.
Sandbox devices are tools that come pre-loaded with things like calendars, calculators, and a notepad. What differentiates them from smartphones is that users can add (download and install) additional programs to smartphones and they seemingly become mini portable computers for the people who use them. That – and the ability to edit the content that sits on them – is what makes these phones “smart.”
Some of the more popular brand names include the Blackberry, PalmSource, Nokia, and Windows CE. Yet the craze is extending to even some off-brand company names. Today, it’s hard to find a cell phone that doesn’t offer some sort of “smart” technology because it’s in such a high demand. The convenience of having information at our immediate access is phenomenal – so much so that thousands of programmers have jumped on the opportunity to build unique applications specific to these small machines.
As a result, you can find tons of games, databases, GPA systems, weather reporting programs, and even small encyclopedias on these things – each accessible not at the click of a mouse – but at a few presses of a free thumb. Of course a mini keyboard is available for the text-messaging fan or for the poor fellow who can’t seem to get away from the office. In the latter case, don’t be surprised if you find the entire Microsoft Office suite displayed within a screen no bigger than a matchbook.
Is this a phase? That’s highly doubtful. The market for these devices extends from the highly technical and professional all the way to the pre-teen socialite. The product crosses all demographics and thanks to decreasing costs – it sees no economic boundaries as well. The Wikipedia encyclopedia claims that “Out of 1 billion camera phones shipped in 2008, Smartphones, the higher end of the market with full email support, will represent about 10% of the market or about 100 million units.”
But what is it that makes smartphones so appealing? As mentioned, smartphones give us the ability to not only carry our data around with us where ever we go, it also gives us the ability to edit that data any place – any time. In today’s “reality” based generation, we’re always looking for the opportunity to capture and relive a moment. And we want to share that moment with others. At best, smart phones give us the opportunity to express ourselves impromptu with entertaining results.
Attempting to do the same with a bulky desktop computer or laptop is to cumbersome. Even some of the smallest peripherals (digicams, digital cameras, etc.) don’t give us the same opportunities that smart phones do. Being able to carry around a device for communication, creation, recording, and editing simply compliments the need for today’s generation to do more and then do it, faster!
Over recent years, computers have become synonymous with viruses and viruses don’t show any signs of disappearing any time soon. In the past, we would be comfortable in telling new computer users not to worry about viruses and that catching a computer virus is rare. Today, that would be some of the worst advice we could give anyone. As reported in countless news reports, computer viruses are rampant and they’re extremely worrisome. This article will describe what viruses are and then point you in the direction of some rather unique protection and prevention.
In short, a computer virus is a software program designed to destroy or steal data. It attacks computers via distribution – often unknowingly – through email attachments, software downloads, and even some types of advanced web scripting. Viruses that destroy data are known as Trojan horses, viruses that explode their attacks are called bombs, and viruses that duplicate themselves are called worms. Some viruses are a combination of each, however they can be further identified according to where they’re located on a computer.
A virus originating from the boot sector of a computer is a boot-sector virus and this nasty devil does its dirty work the moment a computer is turned on. A virus that attaches itself to (infects) other programs is a file virus and activates the moment that an infected program starts. File viruses may also be referred to as parasitic viruses, however should a virus work from both the boot-sector and from an infected program, the virus is then known as a multipartite virus.
Why viruses exist remains a mystery, there are many urban myths on why they were started. One such story starts as a programmer explaining his motivation behind his destructive inclinations. Apparently, this person had a deep grudge against a popular online service which shall remain unnamed. In this hacker’s mind, the online service failed to do a quality job in protecting children from online smut and as retaliation, he created and distributed a virus to as many file libraries of this service as he could. His intentions were to disable the computers of the online service’s users so much that they wouldn’t be able to connect for days. In his mind, the loss of connection meant loss of revenue for the online service.
Although the malicious code that this person generated may have worked for a small percentage of users, sufficed to say, the online service continued on and still exists today. Despite his motivation or intention, his efforts were null.
We wouldn’t be surprised to learn if other motivations behind spreading viruses were similar to this person’s, but that doesn’t justify the damage that viruses do. Innocent people become pawns for the evil plans of others who’ve convinced themselves they’re doing the “right” thing.
To protect a computer from getting a virus, or clean a virus from a computer system once infected requires the use of an antivirus utility. But may be something else we can do. Perhaps we could make an effort to educate the people who want put viruses into the public about ways to display dissatisfaction with a service or product that don’t involve harming innocent parties. In doing so, we just might reduce the number of virus news stories and protect our own investments at the same time.
If you’ve got a spare USB memory stick lying around the house, or your external hard drive isn’t quite full yet, than why not backup large amounts of your data, for FREE!
Crossloop is an easy, automatic way to backup that doesn’t require an internet connection (unless you wish to pay the very low fee of £1/m for 10GB data, or £2/m for unlimited!)
And when they say unlimited, it really is unlimited:
When I get bored, I boot up the Evernet Virtual PC and deliberately infect it with new generation viruses and test the current virus-removal tools out. Most of the time, the in-built Anti-Virus catches it and shuts it down. When it doesn’t and posses a serious risk, I’ll post a VIRUS ALERT.
This virus came from an e-mail attachment, disguised as a Delivery Notification about a parcel. NEVER download an attachment from someone you don’t know!
This virus will only be effective against Windows 7 Users and mimics the ‘Action Center’:
It doesn’t matter whether you click ‘Turn on Now’ or the exit button. It’ll start a fake scan saying you’re infected with multiple viruses, using the Windows Defender Shield as a familiar symbol:
It then goes ahead and hijacks all browsers with a cunning and convincing alert message:
If you get this virus, shut down your computer/laptop immediately and call us on 01792 713 773. This is a very stubborn virus that can paralyse your device!
It’s as important as scanning for viruses, but not done half as much. Backing up is the task that should be done every day, but by most people done on average once every four months!
Why do people not backup? Because they don’t want to? No, it’s more that we’re all forgetful! If I had to remember every time to back up, it’d never get done! How can you do this? And for FREE? It’s simple!
Dropbox is a program that backs up and synchronises your files across computers, mobile phones and tablets. It’s very simple to install and on the free plan, you can have 2GB of documents, pictures and files backed up. There are also free applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry!
If you use Evernet’s Referrer link: http://db.tt/vzfCZBi, you’ll get an additional 250MB with your free 2GB plan, giving you a total of 2.25GB space to backup files, without spending a single penny!
Any student or small business who wants to keep their data in case their computing situation goes pear shaped should use Dropbox. It’s so easy and simple and Evernet Support will help you install and configure Dropbox should you need it – also for free – to make sure what’s important to you, survives your laptop being stolen or the tumble off the desk.
If you’ve got any questions regarding Dropbox, how it could fit into your life/business, please e-mail me personally at jon@evernet.co.uk and I’ll do my best to help!
This is an urgent message to all computer users: Please do not try and Google the word “Google”.
You will, in fact crash the internet.
A few users have tried doing this, but most companies and schools have put in strict policies to stop this happening. All computer companies are urged to advise people not to crash the internet by Googling the word “Google”. It would create an infinity loop so long it would literally stop all internet traffic.
This plight has been highlighted in the media before, on the IT Crowd when Jen is warned of the dangers of breaking the internet.
Thanks for reading this post on April 1st, posted before midday. If you’re still in the dark, please note the URL of this page (http://www.evernet.co.uk/april-fools)
File sharers around the world celebrated when ACS Law shut it’s doors last month, after it’s MD Andrew Crossley received death threats and had his e-mail hacked.
So how much of a crime is File Sharing? Well it depends what kind of file and what the copyright status of the file is. There are a plethora of legal file sharing directories out there, most of them for out-of-copyright files and many also offer stores where you can purchase individual tracks/films.
Darien Graham-Smith, a technical editor of the PC Pro Magazine recently said “it’s the pirates who are at the forefront of our “creative” industry.”
At first glance, this can easily be dismissed with a thought of artists are far more talented that people downloading on LimeWire. But the more you think about it, the more it is true.
The Music industry was quick to sue Napster, close Kazaa and shut down Limewire, but it took over a decade before a reasonable and viable platform, iTunes to emerge as a decent paid-for service. Why? Because the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) was too busy trying to shut down these creative (if somewhat illegal) outlets. If they had sat down at a table and worked out a way to offer low-cost music in a safe, virus-free environment that was more convenient than illegal P2P file-sharing, people would pay.
The advert “you wouldn’t steal a car, you wouldn’t steal a handbag” before films criminalised the P2P networking, without regard for legal transfers of music, films and documents. The British Copyrighting law written over 300 years ago stated that it is for the “encouragement of learning,” not the forceful hand of music industry bosses losing money to sue individuals.
That said, most of the laptops that come in with a virus infection do have LimeWire or FrostWire installed. Every time I’ll advise the customer to remove it because it’s unsafe. Every time I’m sure I’m being ignored because people think this is free music. It’s not.
Quite alot of the illegal P2P files have viruses or malware inside them, waiting to wreak havoc. That album you download with a Trojan would have cost £9.99 on iTunes. But now it’s going to cost £35 to repair and remove the virus. You’ve just lost £25.01 on the price of the download.
How much of a crime is File Sharing? It’s not car-jacking, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t want a hefty fine (up to around £500 per track!)
It’s been in the media quite a lot recently, the News of the World and John Prescott mobile phone hacking allegations. So how does someone hack into a voicemail?
The most obvious way isn’t really hacking – it’s just getting the voicemail PIN. Many people leave it as the default pin (1234, 1111 or similar) and then wonder how on earth someone accessed their voicemails.
Similarly, changing it to your birthday only means someone has to look up your birth certificate online or even easier, ask Facebook.
How to protect your mobile phone voicemail? Put a secure PIN on it. Perhaps a number you like, the last four digits of your debit/credit card or possibly an anniversary – whatever it is, make sure it’s not the default setting and that people wouldn’t be able to guess it. It sounds simple and repeated so many times, but it’s amazing how people ignore this basic advise and become victims of ‘hacking’.
Computer virus can really be a real problem. Since the onset of computers, they already have become an integral part of our daily lives. Especially with the onslaught of the Internet, we now depend on computers so much from our files, to address book, to information sources, to connecting with friends, etc.
In short, a computer virus is a software program designed to destroy or steal data. It attacks computers via distribution – often unknowingly – through email attachments, software downloads, and even some types of advanced web scripting. Viruses that destroy data are known as Trojan horses, viruses that explode their attacks are called bombs, and viruses that duplicate themselves are called worms. Some viruses are a combination of each, however they can be further identified according to where they’re located on a computer.
Why viruses exist remains a mystery, there are many urban myths on why they were started. One such story starts as a programmer explaining his motivation behind his destructive inclinations. Apparently, this person had a deep grudge against a popular online service which shall remain unnamed. In this hacker’s mind, the online service failed to do a quality job in protecting children from online smut and as retaliation, he created and distributed a virus to as many file libraries of this service as he could. His intentions were to disable the computers of the online service’s users so much that they wouldn’t be able to connect for days. In his mind, the loss of connection meant loss of revenue for the online service.
It’s as important as scanning for viruses, but not done half as much. Backing up is the task that should be done every day, but by most people done on average once every four months!
A few users have tried doing this, but most companies and schools have put in strict policies to stop this happening. All computer companies are urged to advise people not to crash the internet by Googling the word “Google”. It would create an infinity loop so long it would literally stop all internet traffic.
