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30 September
When Is An AntiVirus Message Not An AntiVirus Message? Answer: When It's A Virus
The AntiVirus Virus
by
SoftwareGuru
I really do hope that very few of our blog readers will be
familiar with what I'm writing about today because it's one of
the most annoying things that can happen to your computer.
For the sake of not getting bogged down with technical malware
names, let's just say that it messes up your computer big time.
Meet the
Antivirus Virus.
I first came across it nearly a year ago while using a Windows
Vista Business PC.
You're working away online when suddenly a windows pops up in
the browser which looks incredibly like Windows Defender and
appears to start running a scan.
"Your PC is infected! Click here to fix it" it will
yell at you repeatedly.
Visually, it's very convincing and the temptation is to click
immediately to solve the problem.
That's where it gets you.
Browser vulnerabilities are the easiest way to infect a computer
now. Most people know not to open attachments from spam emails.
However, security in the browser is still lacking in most cases
and it's not difficult for popular, well known sites or blogs to
become infected.
Just look at Twitter...
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A Real Threat
There's enough fear in the world being pumped
out daily by the media that the last thing I want to do is add
to that.
Unfortunately a quick search in Google or Bing on this topic
will give you plenty of examples of people who were unlucky
enough to get caught out.
This type of attack currently targets XP and Vista users and can
bypass most of the popular big name brand security solutions.
Most recently, a teacher contacted me to say her XP SP3 PC had
been infected through the browser while visiting an educational
site.
As a result, that computer will need to have its operating
system reinstalled and all of the hassle that goes along with
it.
I.T. experts can edit the OS registry and try to fix the problem
themselves but that's well beyond the capability of the average
home user.
If educational sites are infected, thats a lot of computer
resources at risk.
When asked what could be done to prevent this type of browser
attack, I listed all of the usual points that I made in last
week's Twitter attack article.
Ultimately, the bottom line was recommending Windows 7. On top
of all the outstanding usability features, from a technical
point of view it's more secure.
Need proof? No problem.
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Security Reasons for Windows 7
Esecurityplanet.com have written a useful explanation of how
Windows 7 can provide better security than previous editions.
Most parents and some students will find the jargon a bit
confusing so I'll simply list the key benefits here for you:
1. Improved platform security
2. Safer Browsing
3. Secure protocol support
4. Location-aware connection security
5. Quick-and-easy file recovery
6. Always-on secure remote access
7. Usable user access control
8. Better desktop auditing
9. Application whitelisting
10. On-the-go data protection
The first point is important because essentially it makes it a
lot harder for malware to cause problems.
Microsoft take OS security very seriously so Windows 7 can only
benefit from future Service Packs and free updates to keep it on
top of its game.
Yet another reminder why not using a legitimate operating system is
not very clever!
Those free updates could be the difference between staying safe
online and having to reinstall everything on your PC after a
malware attack.
While security packages like Kaspersky are necessary, it's
becoming even more important to have strong OS foundations
courtesy of Windows.
Cutting corners can often come back to haunt you.
Just ask anyone with XP or Vista who discovered the "AntiVirus
Virus".
At Software4Students we provide amazing
Windows 7 Upgrade deals.
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Posted by
admin
at
17:40
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When Is An AntiVirus Message Not An AntiVirus Message? Answer: When It's A Virus