Category Guidance

Introduction to Malicious Software

by Billy J Long PSA Articles

Article (PSA-0003)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: Introduction to Malicious Software
Original release date: March 27, 2017

The Internet has become a dangerous place, and computer security threats are a very real concern for any organization or home that uses a computer. Symantec, a computer security provider, reported discovering more than 430 million new unique pieces of malware in 2015. That number is up 36% from the previous year. Kaspersky Lab, another computer security provider, reported close to 2 million registered notifications about attempted malware infections aimed at stealing money via online access to bank accounts.

So why is there so much malware, and what is the point? It really comes down to theft. Stealing, and selling your personal information, your banking and credit card information is a huge money making industry. These attackers not only steal your information, but once they have compromised your computer system, they can use it to attack others, and perform other illegal activities – masquerading as you!

Methods for infecting computers with malware are often quite sophisticated. Malware can spread through, what appear to be, legitimate files, links, or websites. What’s even worse is “attack toolkits,” can be downloaded for free or purchased from the internet making cybercrime easy and inexpensive to commit and can be perpetrated by relatively unsophisticated attackers.

It’s important for all computer users to have a basic understanding of these threats and to learn how to protect themselves. This series of short articles will provide an overview of malware threats, suggestions for infection prevention using antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall software, and steps to take if you suspect your computer is infected.

What Is Malware?
The word “malware” is a portmanteau, blended from the words “malicious” and “software.” It is most often used as a catchall term for computer related threats such as viruses, spyware, adware, and other software installed without a user’s consent or knowledge.

Malware can get into your system in a variety of ways. Here is a short, not exhaustive, list:

  • Infected email attachments
  • Infected removable storage such as portable “thumb-drives”
  • Downloaded software
  • Links in email, social media websites, or instant messages

Here are a few categories of malware, again, not exhaustive:

  • Viruses are a kind of self-replicating software that can slow down or cripple systems, and destroy or alter data.
  • Spyware is software that spies on computer users’ activity to steal passwords, online banking login credentials, and other personal information, typically by using a “keylogger”. A keylogger records the keys you press and sends it back to the attacker.
  • Adware displays annoying pop-up ads.
  • Scareware mimics a legitimate antivirus or anti-spyware service, saying a computer has been infected, then encouraging users to download (and pay for) a fake security solution. The downloaded software is usually spyware.
  • Ransomware encrypts files on a computer, making them inaccessible until a specified ransom is paid. More information on ransomware can be found in these two articles:
  • Botnets are networks of infected computers used for illegal activities, such as sending spam emails or “denial of service” attacks.

Do You Need to Worry About Malware?

So you may be thinking this all sounds scary, but does it really affect me at home or at my place of business? Yes! It is not just large companies or government organizations that need to protect themselves. Anybody, home user or business, can be a victim of malware if not properly protected.

If you are a business, your customers trust you with their personal information. If you are a home user you probably have precious family pictures or important documents stored on your computer. If you’re not taking steps to secure your data, including using antivirus, antispyware and firewall software, your information is not safe. Information security breaches can have major financial and legal consequences.

In the next article we will discuss how antivirus and antispyware software works.

Security, Is More Better?

by Billy J Long PSA Articles

Article (PSA-0002)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: Security, Is More Better?
Original release date: May 25, 2012

Is more protection really necessary? When is enough enough? Anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware and firewalls, where does it all end?

First off, each case is different and depends on how the computer is used, and what the computer is used for. As a general rule of thumb, computer security can be broken up into two basic categories: “Online” and “Offline”.

Internet Connected Security Considerations:

1.) If your computer is connected to the internet, you should have a functioning, properly licensed and updated anti-virus program. At a minimum the anti-virus software you choose should offer “real time” scanning, as well as “scheduled” scanning functionality.

“Real Time” scanning allows the anti-virus program to continually scan files as they are downloaded to your computer, and will notify you if the file(s) you receive contain anything suspicious. This is “preventive protection”.

“Scheduled” scanning allows the anti-virus software to scan all the existing files (or selected files) on your computer hard disk in a systematic effort to locate existing files which may “look like” malware. This is “active protection”.

 
For those of you using a Windows operating system, Microsoft offers free antivirus protection.

  • For Windows 7 you can download and install Microsoft Security Essentials. Not only is this free for home users, but it can also be used, free of charge, for small businesses with up to 10 computers.
  • For Windows 8, RT, 8.1, RT 8.1 and Windows 10 the anti-malware software is built right in. It’s called Windows Defender.

 

2.) If your computer is connected to the internet, you should have a functioning, properly licensed and updated firewall. A firewall is software or hardware that checks information coming from the Internet or a network, and then either blocks it or allows it to pass through to your computer.

A firewall can help prevent hackers or malicious software (such as worms) from gaining access to your computer through a network or the Internet. A firewall can also help stop your computer from sending malicious software to other computers.

A “Software” firewall is installed directly on your computer. Microsoft operating systems have shipped with a software firewall built-in since the release of Windows XP service pack 2.

A “Hardware” firewall in most homes and small businesses will be your router. Routers provide protection to help prevent your computer from being “seen” from the Internet. With a hardware firewall there’s nothing to install on your computer.

There are “paid for” firewall products available, but I would recommend taking a close look at the built in firewall of the operating system you are currently using (if it offers one) before running out and purchasing the newest firewall product. For the majority of computer users the built in firewall is more than adequate.

Non-Internet Connected Security Considerations:

If your computer will not be connected to the internet, ever, then you are at liberty to relax your protection considerably, allowing more of your systems resources to be used on applications. However, there are still some very important considerations. If you will be using storage media containing files from other computers which are connected to the internet, then there is still the possibility of infection. If your computer will never be connected to the Internet, and you will never load files from another machine onto your computer, then you can bypass anti-virus security software all together. If your computer will be using files from another computer then you should have an anti-virus program installed.

Is More Protection Really Necessary?

In short, for a computer connected to the Internet, a single anti-virus program, a single configured firewall and a healthy dose of common sense is adequate. Installing more than one anti-virus program can generate a few notable issues. Let’s take a moment to look at the most critical of these issues.

(1) RAM Depletion. Each program running on your computer is using some of your system memory (RAM). The more programs running, the more RAM is used. When there is no more RAM available, your computer will begin to use your hard disk as a “type” of RAM. Hard disk access is not as fast as RAM access, and when your system has to start using the hard disk as RAM it greatly degrades the performance of your entire system.

(2) Software Conflicts. Having more than one anti-virus program running on your system may result in a software conflict. If both programs are scanning your computer for “viral activity” there is a high probability they will see each other as “viral activity”, causing a software conflict. This particular problem can be extremely frustrating and can lead to the next very challenging side effect.

(3) System Corruption. Files necessary to the other anti-virus program can often be identified as “malicious”, and will be quarantined (made inaccessible) or removed, leaving the anti-virus program corrupted. Trying to uninstall or repair a program in this state can be problematic.

(4) Unnecessary Complexity. Finally, maintaining the licensing and updates for your anti-virus programs can be time consuming and expensive.

Revisions

  • May 25, 2012: Initial Publication
  • May 24, 2016: Rewording For Better Clarity