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November 2010
Page 2,
Computer News Article
10 Ways To Avoid Computer
Viruses And Spyware
To have a fighting chance against today’s
rampant security threats, end users have to be informed and
proactive. Here are some practical guidelines they can follow to
minimize the risk of infection and attack.
Oh, the deck is stacked. Don’t think for a minute it’s not. As a
technology professional responsible for securing office
networks, workstations, and servers from viruses, spyware,
adware, Trojans, and other malware infections, I can tell you
that the situation is only getting worse.
A Computer Economics report showed that
annual worldwide malware expenses increased by $10 billion (to
$13 billion) over a recent 10-year span. Google Research
suggests that one in every 10 Web sites is infected with
“drive-by” malware. In June 2009, the Windows Secrets
e-newsletter reported that such seemingly safe Web sites as
Coldwell Banker.com, Variety.com, and even Tennis.com were
exposing Internet Explorer visitors to the Gumblar exploit,
which threatens to compromise visitors’ systems in order to
propagate.
IT professionals must encourage their users
to follow several security practices to minimize virus, spyware,
and malware exposure. But many computer techs are too busy to
spread the word, or they don’t have the time to build an
appropriate memo or handout.
With that in mind, here’s a handy reference
list of 10 steps end users can adopt to avoid infection
(including when using home systems to read and send work e-mail,
create, edit, and distribute documents and spreadsheets, access
the corporate VPN, and perform other office tasks). Post this
list on your Intranet, distribute it in an e-mail, or
download the PDF
version and pass it along to end users. Just be sure the
word gets out. Otherwise, you’re likely to find yourself losing
precious time cleaning and repairing infected systems or entire
networks.
1: Install quality antivirus
Many computer users believe free antivirus
applications, such as those included with an Internet service
provider’s bundled service offering, are sufficient to protect a
computer from virus or spyware infection. However, such free
anti-malware programs typically don’t provide adequate
protection from the ever-growing list of threats.
Instead, all Windows users should install
professional, business-grade antivirus software on their PCs.
Pro-grade antivirus programs update more frequently throughout
the day (thereby providing timely protection against
fast-emerging vulnerabilities), protect against a wider range of
threats (such as rootkits), and enable additional protective
features (such as custom scans).
2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection
Many computer users mistakenly believe that a
single antivirus program with integrated spyware protection
provides sufficient safeguards from adware and spyware. Others
think free anti-spyware applications, combined with an antivirus
utility, deliver capable protection from the skyrocketing number
of spyware threats.
Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Most
free anti-spyware programs do not provide real-time, or active,
protection from adware, Trojan, and other spyware infections.
While many free programs can detect spyware threats once they’ve
infected a system, typically professional (or fully paid and
licensed) anti-spyware programs are required to prevent
infections and fully remove those infections already present.
3: Keep anti-malware applications current
Antivirus and anti-spyware programs require
regular signature and database updates. Without these critical
updates, anti-malware programs are unable to protect PCs from
the latest threats.
In early 2009, antivirus provider AVG
released statistics revealing that a lot of serious computer
threats are secretive and fast-moving. Many of these infections
are short-lived, but they’re estimated to infect as many as
100,000 to 300,000 new Web sites a day.
Computer users must keep their antivirus and
anti-spyware applications up to date. All Windows users must
take measures to prevent license expiration, thereby ensuring
that their anti-malware programs stay current and continue
providing protection against the most recent threats. Those
threats now spread with alarming speed, thanks to the popularity
of such social media sites as Twitter, Facebook, and My Space.
4: Perform daily scans
Occasionally, virus and spyware threats
escape a system’s active protective engines and infect a system.
The sheer number and volume of potential and new threats make it
inevitable that particularly inventive infections will outsmart
security software. In other cases, users may inadvertently
instruct anti-malware software to allow a virus or spyware
program to run.
Regardless of the infection source, enabling
complete, daily scans of a system’s entire hard drive adds
another layer of protection. These daily scans can be invaluable
in detecting, isolating, and removing infections that initially
escape security software’s attention.
5: Disable autorun
Many viruses work by attaching themselves to
a drive and automatically installing themselves on any other
media connected to the system. As a result, connecting any
network drives, external hard disks, or even thumb drives to a
system can result in the automatic propagation of such threats.
Computer users can disable the Windows
autorun feature by following Microsoft’s recommendations, which
differ by operating system. Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
967715 and
967940
are frequently referenced for this purpose.
6: Disable image previews in Outlook
Simply receiving an infected Outlook e-mail
message, one in which graphics code is used to enable the virus’
execution, can result in a virus infection. Prevent against
automatic infection by disabling image previews in Outlook.
By default, newer versions of Microsoft
Outlook do not automatically display images. But if you or
another user has changed the default security settings, you can
switch them back (using Outlook 2007) by going to Tools | Trust
Center, highlighting the Automatic Download option, and
selecting Don’t Download Pictures Automatically In HTML E-Mail
Messages Or RSS.
7: Don’t click on email links or attachments
It’s a mantra most every Windows user has
heard repeatedly: Don’t click on email links or attachments. Yet
users frequently fail to heed the warning.
Whether distracted, trustful of friends or
colleagues they know, or simply fooled by a crafty email
message, many users forget to be wary of links and attachments
included within email messages, regardless of the source. Simply
clicking on an email link or attachment can, within minutes,
corrupt Windows, infect other machines, and destroy critical
data.
Users should never click on email attachments
without at least first scanning them for viruses using a
business-class anti-malware application. As for clicking on
links, users should access Web sites by opening a browser and
manually navigating to the sites in question.
8: Surf smart
Many business-class anti-malware applications
include browser plug-ins that help protect against drive-by
infections, phishing attacks (in which pages purport to serve
one function when in fact they try to steal personal, financial,
or other sensitive information), and similar exploits. Still
others provide “link protection,” in which Web links are checked
against databases of known-bad pages.
Whenever possible, these preventive features
should be deployed and enabled. Unless the plug-ins interfere
with normal Web browsing, users should leave them enabled. The
same is true for automatic pop-up blockers, such as are included
in Internet Explorer 8, Google’s toolbar, and other popular
browser toolbars.
Regardless, users should never enter user
account, personal, financial, or other sensitive information on
any Web page at which they haven’t manually arrived. They should
instead open a Web browser, enter the address of the page they
need to reach, and enter their information that way, instead of
clicking on a hyperlink and assuming the link has directed them
to the proper URL. Hyperlinks contained within an e-mail message
often redirect users to fraudulent, fake, or unauthorized Web
sites. By entering Web addresses manually, users can help ensure
that they arrive at the actual page they intend.
But even manual entry isn’t foolproof. Hence
the justification for step 10: Deploy DNS protection. More on
that in a moment.
9: Use a hardware-based firewall
Technology professionals and others argue the
benefits of software- versus hardware-based firewalls. Often,
users encounter trouble trying to share printers, access network
resources, and perform other tasks when deploying third-party
software-based firewalls. As a result, I’ve seen many cases
where firewalls have simply been disabled altogether.
But a reliable firewall is indispensable, as
it protects computers from a wide variety of exploits, malicious
network traffic, viruses, worms, and other vulnerabilities.
Unfortunately, by itself, the software-based firewall included
with Windows isn’t sufficient to protect systems from the myriad
robotic attacks affecting all Internet-connected systems. For
this reason, all PCs connected to the Internet should be secured
behind a capable hardware-based firewall.
10: Deploy DNS protection
Internet access introduces a wide variety of
security risks. Among the most disconcerting may be drive-by
infections, in which users only need to visit a compromised Web
page to infect their own PCs (and potentially begin infecting
those of customers, colleagues, and other staff).
Another worry is Web sites that distribute
infected programs, applications, and Trojan files. Still another
threat exists in the form of poisoned DNS attacks, whereby a
compromised DNS server directs you to an unauthorized Web
server. These compromised DNS servers are typically your ISP’s
systems, which usually translate friendly URLs such as yahoo.com
to numeric IP addresses like 69.147.114.224.
Users can protect themselves from all these
threats by changing the way their computers process DNS
services. While a computer professional may be required to
implement the switch, OpenDNS offers free DNS services to
protect users against common phishing, spyware, and other
Web-based hazards.
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November 2010
Page 2 - SBA News Article
The U.S. Small Business Administration
WASHINGTON ─ The U.S. Small Business Administration and Count Me
In for
Women’s Economic Independence (CMI) launched a cooperative
Strategic
Alliance Memorandum to promote opportunities for women
entrepreneurs
through education, training and counseling.
The launch, held in Washington, D.C. at SBA’s headquarters, also
recognized
Women’s Small Business Month.
The alliance between SBA and CMI will help to strengthen and
expand small
business development opportunities, particularly those to women
entrepreneurs. The alliance is intended to promote
collaboration on the
development of resources and information to benefit the needs of
the small
business community, and of women-owned small businesses. SBA
and CMI will
develop a joint podcast on business start-up and financing, as
well as a Web
chat on small business issues affecting women entrepreneurs.
“SBA shares a common mission with Count Me In to help encourage
more
women to be entrepreneurs and to give them the tools to succeed
as business
owners,” said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. “Coordinating
efforts with this
tremendous organization will help to ensure that we reach even
more women-
owned small businesses.”
Speakers at the event included Administrator Mills and Nell
Merlino, president
and CEO of Count Me In. They addressed an audience of small
business
owners, local business women and SBA employees, and recognized
oovoo
design, a woman-owned small business that has thrived during the
challenging
economy.
Pauline Lewis, owner of oovoo design, is a wholesaler of unique
handbags and
a past recipient of CMI’s Make Mine a Million $ Business Award
that encourages
women entrepreneurs to increase their revenues and develop their
businesses. Lewis received counseling and training for her
business from the
SBA’s Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia. The center
is part of a
network of more than 100 WBCs that provide education and
training to help
women start and grow small businesses. Barbara Wrigley,
executive director
of the Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia, was also
highlighted
during the event.
For more information on how SBA can help you start or grow your
business,
visit
www.sba.gov.
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