Malware / Trojan / Virus removal tips for NEWBs
By Heather - Page 4
TIPS - continued
Learn About Malware / Trojan / Virus software
The Internet is the best source of information.(Another rule for life). Any search engine will identify sites and forums where you can learn about Malware, Trojans and Viruses.
But, you need to stay very sceptical. Just because you read about a new malware / trojan / virus threat online doesn't prove it exists. Nor do solutions you find online necessarily work. An malware / trojan / virus writer could post false advice about recognising and dealing with intrusions. S/he might offer a "solution" that would infect a clean PC. Look at as many unconnected sources as you can stand.
Don't let the amazing variety of perceived threats overwhelm you. You are not really likely to come across many of them, if any.
Don't get obsessed with the names, either. There is no reason why malware / trojan / virus software has to use a particular name and nothing to stop a hundred malware / trojan / virus names from referring to the same program. It's not trademarked...
Bearing that in mind, you can find lots of helpful information about malware / trojan / viruss on http://www.glocksoft.com/0_C_trojans.htm and http://securityresponse.symantec.com
Pay attention to the processes you are running
In Windows, Task manager will give you a reasonable idea of what processes you are running. Although there are better and more specific tools, it's not worth spending money on commercial ones unless you have some idea of what to do with the knowledge.
Stop your PC running unnecessary processes
Easier said than done. Modern operating system software is best described as bloatware. For example, you may find that you have installed Far Eastern fonts and speech synthesiser files that you will never use. If these are associated with processes that are loaded into memory when your operating system starts, you may not just be slowing down your PC by clogging up its memory, you may also be opening doors for esoteric bits of malware / trojan / virus software to hook in to.
Cut everything out of your Start up folder that doesn't really have to be there. Most programs will run when you ask for them whether or not they have loaded bits at start up. If your start up folder isn't full of rubbish, you have a better chance of spotting unwanted activity when you start your PC.
You can use Task manager to stop processes that you have started. (They will have your user name next to them. You probably can't stop the system processes even if you want to.)
Get to know what is normal for your PC
Use every resource you can to find out what is normal on your PC. This only works properly if you have a clean PC to start with. So make sure you've run all the av software you have.
Coming Soon On Sci-Tech:
These pages introduced the NEWBs guide. Next instalment- Coping with a malware / trojan / virus infection.
8 - Access Task manager by pressing Alt & Ctrl & Delete together.
9 - Software that has been stuffed with unnecessary routines. Almost all modern commercial software fits into this category. For instance, new features are added to make you feel that your version 6.7 of a program has been hopelessly outdated by version 6.8, so that you need to pay for it again. (This is completely understandable for companies that want to stay in the software business.)
