Do It Yourself Guide:
How To Deal With Viruses, Trojan Horses, Worms, Spyware, Adware, & Malware
Viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware, adware, and malware are all terms for things that are bad to have on your computer. Some replicate themselves and spread through networks or email, others do not. Some set up mail servers on your computer and spew out spam. Others create a seemingly endless stream of "pop-up" windows. Malware can make your computer run slow, launch coordinated attacks against other systems or users, or even record and watch what you do on the computer. Microsoft defines malware (an abbreviation of the phrase "malicious software") as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses that intentionally perform malicious tasks on a computer system. For a more complete definition of malware, please see: Microsoft's The Antivirus Defense-in-Depth Guide.
Here's What You Can Do About Trojan Horses, Worms, Spyware, Adware, and Malware:
What follows are the steps that you can take to make your computer safe while browsing the internet. These steps should keep you safe from Viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware, adware, and malware. If your computer system has already been compromised by these threats, these steps should remedy the situation.
Troubledog.com Support cannot overemphasize how important it is to always keep current with the latest security fixes from Microsoft.
To bring your computer system up to date with all of the critical high priority updates recommended by Microsoft, open the Internet Explorer web browser on your computer. Go to the TOOLS menu and choose WINDOWS UPDATE. You can also get to the Windows Update site by visiting http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
Install all of the high priority updates listed.
All users should be running anti-virus software. Most of the major anti-virus software companies charge a small fee to allow you to continue to update your virus definition files. Do not let this service lapse! If you are not getting updated virus definition files, then your computer will be defenseless against new viruses. This is the only recommendation in this guide that may cost you any money. All of the other software recommendations in this guide are freeware or shareware.
If you do not have an anti-virus program installed on your computer, here are four free online virus scan web sites:
Trend Micro (PC-cillin) Free On-Line Scan
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
Computer Associates eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/virusscan.aspx
RAV Antivirus Online Scan
Panda's Active Scan
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security
But ultimately, it does not matter whether you use Trend Micro's PC-cillin, McAfee's VirusScan, Norton AntiVirus, or some other manufacturer's product. All of the major virus protection software products do a very good job. And, with all of the dangers and maladies on the Internet, it is simply unwise to run without virus protection software and updated virus signature files.
Be careful what you download! Freeware and P2P programs such as Kazaa, Grokster, LimeWire, Imesh, and others are not as free as they first seem. Programs such as these are bundled with spyware, adware, and other malware that will consume computer resources, slow your computer down, and interfere with installed software. Later in this guide we will cover freeware/shareware programs that will remove spyware and adware. Some of these programs will warn you when you try and install something that is known to watch what you do on your computer or "pop-up" ads. But the bottom line is this: Don't install something on your computer unless you are absolutely sure it is safe and can be trusted. If you don't know, ask someone who does.
When your browser (Internet Explorer) runs an ActiveX control, it is running an executable program, just the same as when you execute a program on your local drive or network. To prevent malicious web sites from running executable programs on your computer, adjust your Internet security settings so that ActiveX cannot be run on your computer without your permission.
Open Internet Explorer and click on the TOOLS menu. Choose INTERNET OPTIONS from the TOOLS menu. This will open the Internet Options dialog box. Click on the SECURITY tab. Now click on the INTERNET zone near the top of the dialog box. Click the DEFAULT LEVEL button in the lower right-hand portion of the dialog box. This will allow you to start with known settings for the Internet zone. Now click on the CUSTOM LEVEL button. This will open the Security Settings dialog box. Locate the section for ActiveX controls and plug-ins and set the option for Download signed ActiveX controls to PROMPT. Right below that should be an option for Download unsigned ActiveX controls, set this option to DISABLE. Click OK to close the Security Settings dialog box, then click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
Now when you visit a web site that wants to execute an ActiveX control, you will be asked whether you want the ActiveX object to be executed and whether you want the software to be installed.
Javacool Software has released SpywareBlaster, a package that will prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and other unwanted threats. SpywareBlaster will also block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox. In addition, SpywareBlaster will also restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.
Javacool's SpywareBlaster is freeware for personal and educational use. After you install SpywareBlaster the only thing you will need to do regularly download the latest spyware definitions from SpywareBlaster's menu. If you want to automate the spyware definitions update, you can subscribe to automatic updates for a very small yearly fee.
You can download and install Javacool's SpywareBlaster from here:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Just as anti-virus software scans files before you open them and prevents execution if a virus is detected, SpywareGuard does the same thing, but for spyware! And you can easily have an anti-virus program running alongside SpywareGuard.
It now also features Download Protection and Browser Hijacking Protection!
You can download and install Javacool's SpywareGuard from here:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
You can download and install Spybot Search & Destroy from here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
You can read through the Spybot Search & Destroy tutorial here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/tutorial/
You can download and install IE-SpyAd from here:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/res/ie-spyad.exe
You can download CWShredder from here:
http://www.download.com/3000-8022_4-10301587.html
Or here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3019
With Lavasoft’s all new Code Sequence Identification (CSI) technology, you will not only be protected from know content, but will also have advanced protection against many of their unknown variants. To further protect you, Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition also has the capability to scan and list Alternate Data Streams (ADS) in NTFS enabled volumes. In combination with the new scanning engine, Ad-Aware SE will scan your computer faster and more thoroughly than ever before!
You can download and install the freeware version of Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition from here:
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
You can read through an Ad-Aware tutorial here:
http://forum.gladiator-antivirus.com/...adaware+tutorial
Reboot your computer after you have reached this point, and have completed the first five steps.
After you have completed the five previous steps, you should verify that your security is as strong as you think it is. Mr. Jason Levine runs a site called Jason's Toolbox with a series of browser security tests. If there are any holes in your browser security settings, Jason's Toolbox will show them to you.
You can run Jason's Toolbox Browser Security Tests from here:
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/
If you have completed the six steps above, then your system should now be much better protected from dangers on the Internet.
Step One: Keep Your Windows System Up To Date!
Step Two: Run Anti-Virus Software & Keep Your Virus Definition Files Current!
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/indexie.php
If you need virus protection software, Troubledog.com Support recommends Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security which features comprehensive virus detection and removal, anti-spam filtering, plus advanced privacy and spyware protection. Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security has been awarded Virus Bulletin's 100% Award, C|Net Editors' Choice Award, and PC World's World Class Award.
Step Three: Watch What You Download!
Step Four: Adjust your security settings for ActiveX!
Step Five: Keep Spyware From Being Installed In The First Place!
Spyware, adware, and browser hijackers are among the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, you could find your computer popping up unwanted advertisements, or sending your private personal information (including the keystrokes you enter on your computer) being sent to unknown hackers anywhere in the world.
Javacool Software has released SpywareGuard, a freeware real-time protection package that will catch and block spyware before it is executed with signature-based scanning for known spyware and generic detection capabilities to catch new/mutated spyware. SpywareGuard also features download protection to prevent spyware from being download in Internet Explorer, browser hijacking protection to stop browser hijacking activity in real-time, and SpywareGuard LiveUpdate to provide easy updating. Spyware files are blocked before being opened or run, they are not simply shut down after they are loaded in memory (and after they have performed their tasks)
Download and Install Javacool's SpywareGuard
Spybot Search & Destroy is a freeware program (though, they do accept donations) that will scan your system for spyware, adware, and other malicious software, and fix problems that it finds. Spybot Search & Destroy has won PC World's World Class award.
Download and Install Spybot Search and Destroy
IE-SpyAd puts over 5,000 sites in your restricted zone, so you'll be protected when you visit innocent-looking sites that aren't actually innocent at all. You can read about IE-SpyAd at the IE-SpyAd web site.
Download and Install IE-SpyAd
CoolWebSearch is a name given to a wide range of different browser hijackers. Though the code is very different between variants, they are all used to redirect users to coolwebsearch.com and other sites affiliated with its operators. This small utility is good for removing CoolWebSearch (a.k.a. CoolWwwSearch, YouFindAll, White-Pages.ws and a dozen other names).
Download and run CWShredder
Ad-Aware is designed to provide advanced protection from known data-mining, adware, Trojan horses, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. With the release of Ad-Aware SE Personal edition, Lavasoft takes the fight against Spyware to the next level.
Download and install Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition
Step Six: Test Your System And Verify Security!
Your System's Protection Has Now Been Fortified!
