Antivirus | Bay Geeks Computer Repair Services

February 2, 2010

Using social networks like Facebook inadvisable without proper protection

Filed under: Antivirus, Computer Advice — admin @ 8:10 am

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Growing percentage of internet users are becoming active users of social networks, represented especially by the increasingly popular Facebook. Easy sharing of personal photos and videos, keeping in touch with friends and family, instant messaging as part of the website, and a wealth of additional applications - all these features of social networks like Facebook are undoubtedly attractive. While the advantages of social networks are obvious after a short period of use, the risks resulting from them are generally disregarded by their users. Both the loss of private personal data and the possibility of malware infection are at stake.

Facebook has recently been the scene of a massive surge in fraudulent groups and social engineering. The dubious magic of these fraudulent groups lies especially in their name, promising everyone joining the group an attractive new feature. An example of such a scam is called Stalker Catcher, widespread on Facebook in many variants. The users are lured to the group on the pretext that they will see exactly who and when is visiting their personal profile. The alleged instructions for feature activation result in nothing more and nothing less than sending group invitation to all contacts of the victim. Due to privacy protection, Facebook does not allow tracking of browsing profiles, neither as a standard feature, nor as a possible feature of additional applications.

The numbers of users, who voluntarily join fraudulent groups and send invitations to all their contacts, are strikingly high. Due to this carelessness, people behind the scams are easily gaining large databases of contacts. These databases can be later sold to other cybercriminals, and used for sending spam or for further phishing scams. Some of the fraudulent groups explicitly invite the users to install a certain application, which is even more dangerous. The risk of malware infection should never be underestimated.

For safer use of Facebook, users should follow two basic principles. First, do not trust ostentatious promises, included in a title of a group. Before joining a group, it is good to consider, how realistic the promises are and whether they are worth one’s attention at all. Second, use regularly updated antivirus and antispyware software. In the worst case of accidental installing of fraudulent software, the security software is there to stop the process.

Check out Aviras’ Free Anti-Virus Program and see our instructions on how to configure it for proper use!

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August 29, 2009

Hackers serve up pre-release malware to Mac fanboys

Filed under: Antivirus, Malware, apple — admin @ 8:01 am

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Virus slingers are taking advantage of the release of Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system by offering malware from sites touting operating system upgrades.

Dodgy sites supposedly offering Snow Leopard were rigged to push an Apple-specific DNS changer Trojan, detected by Trend Micro as JAHLAV-K. The malware is a MAC OS X mountable Disk Image file (.DMG) that comes contaminated with various malicious scripts, as explained here.

Users infected with the Apple specific malware would find their internet connections redirected to phishing sites and other fraudulent endeavours. Some of these bogus sites hosted scareware (fake anti-virus) packages.

Fake sites offering the Mac malware were in operation in the run-up to the release of Snow Leopard on Friday. There are more details in a blog on Trend Micro’s website, here.

A similar attack, detected earlier this week, offered malware in the guise of Foxit PDF Reader software for Apple Macs. The pirated version “Foxit Reader for Mac” comes loaded with the Jahlav Trojan horse, anti-virus firm Sophos warns.

Foxit Reader is not yet officially available for Apple Macs. When it does come out, prospective users ought to use the official Foxit website, Foxit advises.

“While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, we are not happy about the recent malware attacks masquerading as our Foxit Reader,” said George Gao, vice president of sales and marketing at Foxit Corporation. “Foxit has always striven to insure that our solutions are secure for our users, and remains committed to address any Foxit product security issue in a professional and timely manner.”

Source

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April 10, 2009

Conficker Update: Creating Spam-Spewing Drones?

Filed under: Antivirus, Malware, Security, spam, viruses — admin @ 8:06 pm

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More than a week after its April 1 deadline, the Conficker C worm released an update that could activate the botnet to deliver spam and turn infected PCs into zombies.
Researchers say that the latest update could include a connection between the Conficker worm to the active spam bot W32.Waledac. Specifically, researchers said they have seen circumstantial evidence that the latest strain of Conficker, known as Downadup E, might drop a Waledac binary on machines infected with Conficker C. That binary is designed to steal information and turn infected PCs into spam-spewing drones under the control of the malware authors, experts say.

“We got a first look at the payload and we’re still looking at this one, a worm or Trojan called Waledac associated with tons of spam,” said Vincent Weafer, vice president of Symantec (NSDQ:SYMC) Security Response. “Ultimately it’s about information stealing.”

More Conficker updates could include widespread distribution of Trojans, keystroke loggers and other malware designed to grab user credentials and steal personal and financial information later down the road, Weafer said. “And then what’s left is a very robust botnet,” he added.

April 1 marked the day the Conficker worm was scheduled to undergo an update that provided a new domain generation algorithm allowing the infected computers to “call home” to about 500 of the 50,000 newly generated domains, possibly for new instructions.

The new strain of the Conficker worm updates machines infected with Conficker C to the new strain, known as Downadup E via peer-to-peer techniques.

Researchers said that they’ve seen a few differentiators from the previous Conficker C.

The updated Conficker prefers to travel through peer-to-peer networks to distribute its new version E. However, researchers say that the new sample doesn’t appear to include new infection vectors that might allow it to propagate faster or onto new machines.

The latest version also incorporates a previously unseen self-removal functionality that is programmed with the ability to eliminate itself from infected hosts on May 3, and reaches out to a new list of high-profile domains.

Before its update April 1, Conficker C was renowned for exhibiting an array of sophisticated self-preservation techniques, which included blocking access to security vendor sites, dodging numerous antivirus products, and disabling Windows automatic updates. In addition, Conficker C has the ability to patch its own vulnerability once it has infected a machine, presumably to prevent competing malware from attacking the same host.

The earliest Conficker variants, Conficker B, and its predecessor Conficker A, had unique abilities to replicate and spread rapidly, infecting millions of PCs with techniques that ranged from brute force password guessing to transmission through USB sticks and peer-to-peer networks. Experts say that the highest rates of infections were found primarily in Latin America and other markets that rely on pirated Windows software, which doesn’t receive security updates.

Meanwhile, the entire upgrade is anticipated to take weeks to months, Weafer said.

“We describe this as step five of a 1,000-step chess match. This is going to go on for a while,” Weafer said. “This is not going to be an overnight upgrade.”

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February 14, 2009

Kaspersky denies leaks after SQL hack

Filed under: Antivirus, Malware, Security, viruses — admin @ 7:15 pm

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Russian antivirus vendor Kaspersky Labs’s US website was hacked over the weekend, exposing the company’s customer database, but Kaspersky has denied data was compromised and says the vulnerability wasn’t critical.

An unidentified hacker reported over the weekend that he was able to access a complete profile of the company’s databases, revealing its clients’ names, activation codes, list of bugs the company tracks and client email addresses.

The hacker claimed to have hacked Kaspersky Labs’s databases using an SQL injection attack, which exploits a vulnerability in an application’s database layer.

The method has become a popular means to gain information via web-facing applications or as a way to use popular websites to spread malicious software.

Microsoft’s UK website came under a similar attack in 2007 when hackers used an SQL injection to inject HTML code which seemingly defaced its web pages.

The Kaspersky hacker, who published their finding on the Hackersblog.org website, has since said that confidential data would not be released.

“[The] Kaspersky team doesn’t need to worry about us spreading their confidential stuff. Our staff will never save or keep any confidential data. We just point our fingers to big websites with security problems,” they reported.

Kaspersky Labs has admitted that a subsection of its usa.kaspersky.com domain was vulnerable last Saturday when a hacker “attempted an attack on the site”.

“The site was only vulnerable for a very brief period, and upon detection of the vulnerability we immediately took action to roll back the subsection of the site and the vulnerability was eliminated within 30 minutes of detection. The vulnerability wasn’t critical and no data was compromised from the site,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

This article was originally posted on ZDNet Australia.

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January 20, 2009

Simple, Proper Avira Anti-Virus Configuration

Filed under: Antivirus, Computer Advice, Computer Repair, General, Malware, Tutorials, viruses — Tags: anti-virus tutorial, Antivirus, antivirus programs, Avira, help with anti-virus — admin @ 7:46 am

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As computer consultants, we at Bay Geeks are constantly answering this question: “Which Anti-virus program do you recommend?”

Our answers change based on a variety of factors including our experience, technical articles and feedback from our clients.

We’re always on the look out for high quality, low cost solutions we can offer our clients. One of the latest up and comers has been Avira. We’ve seen this product more and more over the last year and some of the recent research results we’ve reviewed has brought this product into our favor, (assuming you don’t mind two pop-ups per day {for the free version}… once when it updates and once when it scans).

According to www.av-comparatives.org Avira has been beating out the best Anti-virus products, by albeit a small margin… but they’re winning none the less.

For an in depth look at the research, installation and configuration details… please check out this Avira Anti-Virus Research, Installation and Configuration Tutorial (2.64 MB).

We hope this helps!

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January 18, 2009

3.5 Million Windows PCs Attacked

Filed under: Antivirus — Tags: trojan, virus, worm — admin @ 9:06 pm

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The worm Downandup, Conficker, or Kido!, has affected 3.5 million computers with Windows operating systems according to various tech sites.

It targets the vulnerability in Microsoft’s server service which was patched in October 2008. It resets the System Restore point of the affected machine which means that administrators could not delete it.

The article at topnews.us notes that the worm shields itself by disabling Windows security, networking, and updating.

“The vulnerability is potentially wormable on older versions of Windows, XP and earlier; we’re encouraging customers to test and deploy the update as soon as possible,” said a security program manager at Microsoft.

Source: TOPNEWS

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October 15, 2008

State of Malware in 2008

Filed under: Antivirus, Computer Advice, General, Malware — Tags: anti virus, Malware, patches, updates, vulnerability analysis, vulnerability remediation — admin @ 1:56 pm

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Vulnerability Assessment & Vulnerability Remediation

Bay Geeks is now offering an in-depth vulnerability assessment & vulnerability remediation solution.

Bay Geeks has been strategically aligned with global leaders in the information security industry to provide the most comprehensive, in-depth vulnerability analysis which not only covers your critical systems but also your PC workstations.

We were invited to participate in a recent security conference along with several other leaders in the security industry. “We’ve seen a shift from hackers and virus writers almost exclusively targeting Windows machines (81%) to recently 92% of the exploits targeting 3rd party applications” according to a Senior Security Evangelist with Kaspersky Labs .

Microsoft, after years of public scrutiny has made tremendous progress in securing the most popular operating systems in the world. So much so, that these hackers are realizing that as soon as they start taking advantage of various exploits, Microsoft is already working on patching these holes.

These international crime rings have some of the most talented individuals, committed to their cause, constantly learning from the collective work of their respective colleagues who share tips, techniques and processes in much the same way the security analysts work who are dedicated to thwarting their archenemies, but publish much of their findings online for all to read.

These illicit groups have realized that they are having much more success targeting 3rd party software (Adobe Reader, Flash, Real Player, Google Earth and others) because these other software companies don’t have the resources in place to address the security issues as quickly as Microsoft. The more time they have with unpatched vulnerabilities, the more profitable their ventures will prove.

Keeping up with Microsoft Updates is no longer sufficient to protect yourself from these attacks. Well-trusted web sites have become unknowingly infected, such as USA Today, Superbowl, CNET, Walmart, Target, ABC News, Bank of India and more.

What we’re seeing is a frightening reality: The internet is under permanent siege.

- Malware is up 278% in 2008
- 1-in-5 desktop applications are unpatched
- 98% of PCs have unpatched software
- Over 90% of all e-mail sent is spam
- Majority of these e-mails are lures for malware
- 2H07: MSRT removed malware from 15.8 million computers worldwide – 80% increase over 1H07
- Total disinfections in 2H07 rose to 42.2 million, an increase of ~ 120% over 1H07

Bay Geeks solution:

We’ll analyze your system on a quarterly basis to identify known security holes and other issues with your system.

Vulnerability Assessment: A Bay Geeks Security Analyst will provide an in-depth analysis of your computer systems. Our database of more than 7,500 software titles will ensure we find problems with some of the most obscure applications on the market (past and present). We will ensure your anti-virus is up-to-date, anti-spyware measures are sufficient and up-to-date, we will identify deficiencies in your operating system and provide a detailed report on our findings.

This detailed Vulnerability-Threat Assessment & Report is currently $50.00 for a limited time (normally $89.00).

Vulnerability Remediation: A Bay Geeks Security Analyst will work through the report to resolve outstanding security issues identified in the Vulnerability Assessment.

Our Vulnerability Remediation service is provided at our standard service rate.

Call Bay Geeks today at 727.579.GEEK (4335) or go to www.BayGeeks.com for details.

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March 18, 2008

Gmail vs Outlook

Filed under: Antivirus, Computer Advice — Tags: gmail, outlook, viruses — admin @ 3:34 pm

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Three or four times a year I get a virus so nasty I have to wipe out my entire system and start over from scratch. This has gotten to be more than just a minor annoyance; it’s gotten to be a ritual. It’s not like I’ve planned on it and I’ve had a chance to make back-ups, and notify my team that I’ll be off line for while. No, it hits out of the blue. Sometimes I can wait a day or two with a known infected machine, sometimes I have to jump right on it and fix it right away.

The last time, it took out the top 20 programs I use the most. Outlook was the first one to go, which had the last 5 years worth of email I’ve been saving. I guess I’m quite the data pack rat, but still… you never know when you’ll want to send that hilarious joke or find that website that promises men a whole new outlook on life… er.. um… yeah, back to the post..

I make routine back ups, so not all was lost, but still some was lost. That sucks, never to be returned and taken in just a split second. Gone. Even our best data recovery techniques left me hanging.

So, this has happened roughly 3-4 times per year and having gotten used to it, I’ve learned how to be more careful. I’ve learned that backups are extremely important and automated is the only way to go.

Outlook is a great program, but not for keeping your computer safe. Outlook, Thunderbird or any other Pop mail client will pull all of your email off of the server and down on to your computer.

I never really thought about that before. I just used Outlook Express as that was the standard thing to use way back when my family got their first PC. I continued to use Outlook Express, until I realized how cool and how many features Outlook has and then I made the switch.

At least 2-4 times a year, I’ve had problems ranging from a small innocuous virus to a whoa Nellie, where’d my data go, stomp you till you cry virus that really has no sympathy for folks without a decent data back up plan.

What’s the solution? Gmail! It’s great; I leave my email on their web servers. They give me over 6 gigabytes of storage which is 3 times the space I needed for 5 years of email, they scan for viruses, I can access my email anywhere over the internet, and it’s been almost a year since I’ve had to re do my entire computer! It’s still running like a champ!

Gmail is free, fast and it’s kept me from having to re do my computer 2 or 3 times this year alone. What more could I ask for? I’ve recommended it to my family, friends and now clients. Gmail gets my full support and endorsement. I really should be paid for this… hmm…

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Anti Virus Thoughts

Filed under: Antivirus, Computer Advice, Computer Repair — Tags: anti virus, Antivirus, Computer Repair — admin @ 2:48 pm

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As a computer repair technician, I find myself constantly trying to remove viruses from my client’s machines. There are many methods we use, but one of my favorites has always been to directly attach the client’s hard drive to my computer and scan away with our professional grade anti-virus programs.

One of the problems with doing this is that the viruses don’t always want to stay on their hard drive. They like to hop on over to my computer and do their best or should I say worst on my machine. This has never really bothered me, but the fact remains that even the best antivirus programs are only 98%-99% effective against malware, spy ware, trojans, viruses and god only knows what else. That’s not so reassuring when you figure that we’re commonly pulling hundreds of viruses off of these machines and removing literally thousands of viruses each and every day.

Many Antivirus programs are only 88%-97% effective. That means that out of a hundred viruses, 3-12 viruses are not found, nor are they removed. Everyone tends to have a false sense of security when they install their Norton, McAfee or what ever…

A strong percentage of our clients are not keeping their anti-virus programs updated, much less keeping their subscriptions up to date or even scheduling their anti-virus programs to run!

So, we see folks who shell out $25, $50 and even $100 for antivirus programs that never run. A simple check can save a whole lot of head aches, lost files and a smiling technician leaving your home with a check written out for your hard earned money.

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March 8, 2008

Which anti virus program do we recomend?

Filed under: Antivirus — Tags: antivirus programs — admin @ 12:11 am

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Here is a question that we find our clients posing on a regular basis. The truth of the matter is that after a whole bunch of research, we’ve learned that Kaspersky Anti-virus is one of the best. We feel it’s worthy of our endorsement for several reasons. First, many commercial desktop management tools will use the Kaspersky antivirus engine to remediate viral threats. What does that mean? That means that the high-end corporate computer management solution providers are choosing Kaspersky to cure the viruses they find. Take LANDesk Antivirus for example. They’re using the Kaspersky antivirus engine and they’re ranked among the best desktop management solutions according to Gartner. We’ve compiled several other documents for your review on why Kaspersky’s Antivirus has become our antivirus program of choice for both business and personal uses. We stand behind Kasperskys, but let’s face it. No antivirus program will be 100% effective. Then again, 98% effective is about as good as you’ll get. I tried G-data. Had to pay in pounds or euros and that about doubled the cost. I had a virus that wiped out all of my programs I used most within a week!When you look at Norton’s antivirus’s code being added to and added to over the years without so much as one rewrite… it’s no wonder their code is bloated just like all of their other programs. That’s one of the problems with growing by acquiring other companies. You have to patch together all of the code and ultimately you are creating weaker software. Take that into consideration that it’s 96% effective against 500,000 viruses… that means that there were 20,000 viruses it didn’t protect against!I’d argue that the best software Symantec has ever written was the Norton removal tool! I wish I could take credit for that, but I can’t. I also wish I could give credit to that one!Computer Associates Antivirus is free with Road Runner. Why do I pay $60 per year for a subscription to Kaspersky’s? It just works. Computer Associates has bogged down my clients computers to the point that I had to stop recommending it. It’s just using too many resources like Nortons. I’ve never been very fond of McAfee. With a shameful 91% effective, they’re horrible and I can’t see how they’re still in business. I figure it must be from paying off the big hardware vendors to install their software on their boxes. When it comes down to it, the best antivirus program is Kaspersky’s hands down. You can pick up a copy here.

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