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Norman Davie newsletter May 31, 2011August 31, 2013

Mac’s success brings viruses

Off the radar of hackers, Macs have had very few viruses to worry about, however, this year Apple increased it’s sales of computers in the business sector by 66%. This brought the attention of hackers. The most ‘virulent’ of the viruses today is called MacDefender (or MacProtector/MacSecurity) and ironically, pretends to be an anti-virus for your Mac. Yes, you do need an anti-virus for your Mac, but at least you don’t have to pay for one. Download Sophos’ free Mac antivirus by clicking here.

If you haven’t been installing all the updates for your Mac, now is the time to do it.

If you have this virus on your computer, at least it’s easy to remove. Click here and follow the instructions.

TIP: A way to protect yourself when using Safari is to un-check the box “Open ‘Safe’ files after downloading” — another irony.

Norman Davie newsletter February 8, 2011August 31, 2013

Viruses: How they get in

Unfortunately, Anti-virus software has lost the battle and it’s up to you to change your behaviour in order to avoid getting a virus on your computer. Even if you do everything right, you can still become infected.

Believing your anti-virus software will protect you is false security. Think of it from the bad guys point of view. They write a program, see if it’s detected by the anti-virus software, make changes until it isn’t and then release it. It may take months for the anti-virus companies to be notified of the new virus, then they have to figure out how it got in, how to repair the damage it’s done, test the solution on every version of the operating system, then release it. It’s a wonder anti-virus solutions work at all.

The question remains; how did the virus enter your system? Here are the most common ways:

E-mail is still the most common way for viruses to enter your system. Do you think you’re safe because you don’t click on links you receive, it’s not enough. You need to insure you have the reading pane or previewing turned off. Some e-mail viruses automatically install themselves just by displaying an image — and previewing the e-mail is no different that reading it.

“Free” music and videos. Kids and teens love music. Virus writers love these sites. It’s a lot cheaper to give your kids a $10 / month allowance for music than to spend $90 or more a month for virus removal services.

Drive by downloads. Ever misspell a website name and go to the wrong site? Believe it or not, frequently misspelled website names have been purchased specifically for this reason. These sites are designed to infect you as soon as you visit their site.

PDF and PowerPoint slide shows. These documents have built-in programming support within them, making them a perfect way to introduce viruses into your system.

“Free” programs. Remember the Trojan horse? If you’re getting something for free, there maybe something inside you weren’t expecting.

No router on your computer. A router is a device that allows more than one computer to connect to your internet connection, but it also provides another feature; since it has to keep track of which computer is communicating and to whom. Only locations that a computer has requested information can be sent to the correct computer. It’s like a one-way valve: if no computer is communicating, any incoming information is ignored. This prevents outside computers from attacking you.

Ads on web pages are quite sophisticated now and more than one website have unknowingly infected their customers with malicious banner ads.

To sum things up:

Anti-virus isn’t completely useless, but don’t pay for it. Use a free antiviral program like Microsoft Essential Security or Sophos Mac Antivirus
Don’t download free music, video or programs unless you’re sure the content is from a known source.
E-mail preview, pictures, links and attachments are the most common ways viruses enter your system.
A router is an excellent device to prevent outside computers from interacting with your computer without your permission.

If you found this article useful, please subscribe to my newsletter or tell a friend.

Norman Davie newsletter July 7, 2010July 19, 2019

Heat: A slow death for a computer

Have you noticed your computer slowing down? You’ve done the usual maintenance and it still seems slow? You may be experiencing heat related slowdown.

The computer has sensors that detect when it is overheating, and it automatically slows itself down to reduce its heat output. As a result your computer will run slower and slower. If you ignore this symptom and keep pushing it to work, it may eventually die of heat exhaustion.

There are many fans inside your computer who’s job is to keep the system cool, but they also suck in all the dust into the computer, but they can’t do anything if they don’t have access to outside air. Eventually the inside of the computer will fill with dust. Even if you keep the vents clear, the dust can accumulate preventing that cooling air from reaching components. Every year, have a professional clean the inside of your computer.

So what can you do about it?

Run a vacuum ON THE OUTSIDE of the computer and insure all the vents, front and back, are clear. Do this every three months or more frequently if you smoke, have pets, or are in a dusty environment.
Set your screen saver to show a blank screen. If you computer is drawing images or scrolling text, then it’s working; and this generates unnecessary heat.
Let your computer sleep. People usually use their computer everyday, but not every hour, letting your computer sleep will dramatically reduce its power usage. Less power equals less heat. If you access your computer remotely, you can’t do this.
If you’re not going to use your computer for more than a day, turn it off.
Finally, if you feel hot in the room you’re running the computer, then it’s too hot for the computer as well.

A cooler computer means a faster computer. That makes you more productive, and gives your computer a longer life.

Norman Davie newsletter April 29, 2010August 31, 2013

Cybercrime is close to home

Identity theft is on the rise, and it’s surprisingly close to home. Symantec released a report showing Port Coquitlam, Langley and Vancouver, BC are among the cities having the highest incidences of cybercrime in Canada.

We don’t know why these areas have higher incidents, but it could be speculated that residents in these areas have more access to computers, the Internet and WiFi hotspots and go online more often to shop, bank and communicate with family and friends, making them greater targets for cybercriminals.

1. Phishing Scams

Phishing email try to trick the intended victim into visiting a fraudulent website disguised to look like a valid eCommerce or banking site. The victim thinks they are logging into their real account, but instead everything they enter on the fake site is being sent to the scammers. Armed with this information, the scammer can wipe out the victim’s accounts, run up their credit cards, or even steal their identity. For an example of this, click on this link for http://youtube.com, but you’ll actually go to this website.

2. Greeting Card Scams

Greeting card scams arrive in email pretending to be from a friend or family member. Clicking the link to view the card typically leads to a booby-trapped web page that downloads Trojans and other malicious software onto the systems of the unsuspecting.

3. Scareware Scams

Scareware erroneously claims the system is infected and instructs the user to purchase a ‘full version’ in order to clean the bogus infections. Sometimes, fake anti-virus software gets installed by the user who fell victim to an advertising scam. Other times, a rogue anti-spyware scanner may be installed by exploit, a so called ‘drive-by install’. Regardless of how the rogue software gets installed, the user is often left with a hijacked, crippled system.

4. A Call for Help Scam

Emails which appears to come from someone you know, asking for money or help and include a link. Clicking on the link infects your system, then directs you to transfer funds to help them out. In the meantime, you system is now sending emails to your friends, and with your bank information, can now clean your bank account.

Being informed is 90% of the battle, and please, don’t do your personal banking on the same computer your children use.

Norman Davie

Norman Davie newsletter March 23, 2010August 31, 2013

A false Anti-virus coming soon to you

antivirus7 — Example 1 – False Anti-virus 7

Virus writers have taken another page from social engineering and found a new way to separate your hard earned cash from you. Realizing that everyone in the Windows world runs an anti-virus program (or should), now the viruses are masquerading as the programs that are supposed to protect us.

These false anti-virus programs then pop up messages indicating that your subscription has expired and request you “renew” your subscription. Not immediately, but eventually a slew of charges will show up on your card.

So how do these viruses get into your computer?

The most common avenue is through email. (Read about The Dangers of E-mail)
Music sharing or P2P programs;”Free” music. What you don’t pay for in music, you’ll pay for in virus removal.
Not having a hardware router (firewall) between the internet and you. A router is like a one way valve: Only places that you go to can reach back to you. Without a router, anyone can “touch” your computer.
Example 2 – False Anti-virus Security Guard
Assuming your anti-virus program provides 100% protection. With 1,200 new viruses every month, there is no way any company can recognize all new viruses immediately.
Going to a *bad* site. These sites instantly infect your computer as soon as you go to them! How do you identify a bad site? Unfortunately there is no simple rule.

With so many ways to get infected, assume at some time you will get a virus. Be prepared and have all your data backed up ahead of time.

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