SpyHunter, 2008 Anti guard, Trojan buster. Sounds like the making of a great summer movie season. Unfortunately, these are not movies that we are talking about but these are known spyware and actual names of viruses. How does it get in the system and what can we do about it?

First, let's look at the very nature of what a virus is. As much as spyware, adware are concerned, they act breathe and look like a virus. One small difference is all it is. A virus is a computer program that can find its way into your computer, replicate and infect a computer without your knowledge. There are thousands of different kinds of viruses out there. Some are referred to as Trojan viruses and they can remain dormant until something "wakes" it up. They can infect your computer through CD, jump drive or external hard drive. Of course, one of the more common ways of getting this is still through email. They can readily infect all of the files on your PC and cause tremendous damage to your operating system.

Adware/spyware/malware is concerned with a revenue stream in mind. Damage can be done to your computer but the main purpose of these files is to show you advertising and marketing promos that pop up on your screen and inundate you with advertising. These files usually choke down the resources on your computer and can basically immobilize your PC. Imagine trying to pull a trailer with a HONDA Accord with a 50 pound bag of rice being put into the trailer every block. By the time you make 5 miles, your Honda will be running on one cylinder from all of the weight. That's what these files do. And yes, they can also damage your operating system and files as well as mine for personal data.

A lot of our customers have an antivirus guard on the computer and they don't know why or how they got the viruses to begin with. Let's look at the reality.  No matter how many precautions we take, we are still susceptible to these things. How many times have you gone to a doctor for a cold, gotten medicine, felt better and caught a cold right after that?  Same thing. We can wash our hands as much as we want, wear a mask over our mouths and live germ free but the reality is, the chances of catching a cold are still very much there. What this antivirus software does is not prevent you from getting it, but it prevents the damage from spreading. And if /when you do get infected, gives you a chance to clean it out.

Marketing 101. This class should be taught by leaders of the virus adware community. After all, we've been told a million times, how to be careful downloading files, going to fake websites and we still do it. We do it to the tune of making the antivirus industry a $32 billion dollar industry. Whether it is a chance to win a free Wii, get a cool looking cursor or look at naked pictures of a celebrity, we all open those emails. In fact, one of the latest ploys involves you clicking over a link to go and get an "electronic card" you got from someone. Remember, 60% of the world's websites are malicious or fake. The only intent of some of these websites is to get information into you or out of you.

Marketing 201. This class should be taught by those virus marketing gurus who are incredibly persistent and well funded. As long as spyware, viruses and adware have been around, there have been groups of people who play the good cop and bad cop. The bad cop being the ones who blatantly try and infect your system and the good cop, who try to get in through another way. Some of these good cop virus makers offer you a free download to fix a problem noticed on your computer. Some of the icons actually look like it is a genuine WINDOWS based application too. Did you know that those are the very ones that can ruin your operating system the fastest?  They go right into your registry files and create duplicate files to confuse your OS and start probing for your personal information to send it all back to the mother server.

So what can we do?  The adage of being careful of what we download goes without saying. It's more important to know who it is that we are downloading what from. We need to also be careful of which websites we are viewing. Some of the streaming video web sites might ask you to download a viewer or player. You sure about that?  Those music files on Limewire or other file sharing programs might not be as cool as you think. Could be Ludacris!  Think again.

Once you are infected, a couple of things should immediately happen. The first thing you should do is immediately update all of your antivirus and spyware busting software. Then, the second most important thing to do is to disconnect the network cable from the back of your computer. These programs won't have anything to do if you do this quickly. Quickly go ahead and scan your computer. Sometimes, you may actually get to it quick enough to prevent it from doing TOO much damage to your Operating System.

If the software solution didn't quite do the trick, you might want to go ahead and take it to your reliable computer repair shop. Before you do, try and back up all of your personal data as much as possible. This saves money and grief when you get back a computer with no data on it. Expect to see the computer go away for at least 2 days. Anything longer than 3 days and you might want to look for another shop to take it to. And finally, there are some great solutions for viruses and spyware out on the Internet that are free. You just have to make sure you are getting the right ones!  Always go to a reliable source like cnet.com or even Google the name of any software and see if it is really something that will help you with your problem instead of adding to your problem.

Add Your Own Comment