There used to be a time when all we did was turn on the computer and surf the internet in relative peace.  And then the viruses came and made it into a billion dollar industry!  Slow computers, numerous pop ups, avoid opening suspicious emails, making sure your antivirus updates are in check.  Those were the ABC’s to prevention.  But since October is the Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we are going to give you the low down on what's out there!

NOW, you have a new generation of viruses that are coming at you in numerous ways.  First of all, you have viruses.  These contaminate your computer and sometimes, render it useless.  Then you have malware and spyware.  Before, you just turned on your McAfee or Norton and made sure it was updating and worked properly.  But all of a sudden, you have to be careful of what emails are coming in, turning off preview pages, being careful of websites, you name it. 

Some websites will launch a Java coded pop up on you and you would have to read it twice, look it over three times and pray four times before you think what is genuine is actually a nasty little virus.  Take a look at the following images.  Do you know what is genuine or not?

The bottom one is the real deal.  I couldn’t find a pic of a good fakie online but the fake ones will always have some kind of grammatical errors.  If you notice, there will also be no icons on the bottom of the right hand side like the real ones as well. (Look where your time on the computer is.) 

Don’t let it fool you!  Here is another snapshot of a fakey looking antivirus ready to steal your personal information.

It's got the cute color scheme like a WINDOWS color scheme and looks fancy and things move around on the screen and it looks like it is doing a scan for you.  But here is how you spot this fake.  Look at the bottom left side.  Notice is says GET FULL REAL-TIME PROTECTION with ANTIVIRUS 2010?  There you have it.  Right there.  You click it, it will ask you to purchase a full version of it and once you put in your credit card, you have some kid in Russia or China ordering PS3’s and games on your behalf. 

So really, once they get you to purchase a copy of junk antivirus, you really have to do one thing really quick.  CALL YOUR BANK.  Let them know you made a charge on the internet and you need to cancel it.  Otherwise, you are going to quickly see your credit cards get wiped out. 

There are a lot of great free antivirus and anti spyware solutions out there on the web.  But there are a equal number of fake ones out there too so you have to be careful.  A few tips for fans of our AroundHawaii readers!

• There is free and there is trial.  But there is never free then pay me.  If you download something for free and it asks for credit card information or information that’s TOO personal, click outta there and go look for the next one.
• If you get pop-ups from a website offering a free scan, its really asking for a free SCAM.  Click outta there too.
• You ever wonder what happens to your information?  Just today, Sept. 30, police in the UK arrested 19 people for making off with $10M USD from peoples banking information!
• Even credible websites get infected.  Ask the NY TIMES and Washington Post! 
• Do you have a net nanny or something on your computer to pay attention to what your children are clicking or downloading? 
• The trick to anything is, as soon as you notice a pop-up message or slow down or interesting behavior, immediately start to scan the computer.  Better yet, if possible, update your antivirus and anti-malware/spyware as quickly as you can and then turn off your wireless connection or yank that internet cord (Blue or white Cat 5 cable) out of your computer and run a scan.  This way, you can quarantine the virus and stop it from spreading!
• Once the scans are pau, go ahead and get back online, see if there are any updates and then run a scan again! 

The internet is NOT an evil place.  But like driving a car, you can do everything possible to remain safe but if the person next to you isn’t paying attention... you get the drill.  You can be locked and loaded with anti this and anti that but you still have to be careful of the emails you open the websites you surf and sometimes, who you let to use the computer!  In fact, this month alone, two SERIOUS viruses have been discovered and guess what?!?  They won't bother your home computer but they can get into power grids, water supply systems and a whole bunch of other industrial bad boys.  So play it safe and with common sense!

Happy Surfing everyone!  Happy Halloween and see you next month when we talk about Black Friday!

LATE NEWS!
As we go to upload, I found out that there is a free recycle day for tech stuff!  If you have old computers, TVs, CRT monitors, you name it, take it to UH on the 30th of this month (October).  Get a bunch of updates and more by going to http://www.hawaii.edu/ewaste/. Share this news!