4 Ways to Keep the Ghouls & Goblins Away From Your PC

The Ghouls – Internet Hackers

“Hackers are attacking PCs with Internet access every 39 seconds.”

- Hackers Attack Every 39 Seconds – James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland

The Goblins – Free Downloads

Based on last month’s poll results, it’s pretty clear that the majority of voters, that is, 58% of you wait for feedback from trusted sources before you update your browser. But how do you decide if a “trusted source” is to be trusted? What should you look for?

Keep Your PC Ghoul and Goblin Free – See All 4 Ways

1) Make sure that the Web site is legitimate and reputable.

Verify that an anti-virus program has checked the files on the download site. If you have any doubts, don’t download the file at all.

If you download software from the Internet, be especially vigilant of free software, which often carries adware or other potentially unwanted content along with it. Always read the privacy policies and end-user license agreements (EULAs) for software you install, regardless of the source.

Be especially wary of:

-  Screensavers

-  Games

-  Browser add-ons

- Peer-to-peer (P2P) clients & torrent sites

-  Any downloads claiming to be “cracked” or free versions of expensive applications, such as Adobe® PhotoShop® or Microsoft® Office.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Avoid downloads from non-Web sources altogether. The chances of downloading infected software from Usenet groups, IRC channels, instant messaging clients, or P2P is very high. Links to Web sites seen in IRC and instant messaging also frequently point to infected downloads.

Avoid obtaining your software from these sources.

2) Look For 3 Types of Trust Marks

Privacy (e.g. TRUSTe)

Secure Sockets Layer (e.g. Verisign SSL)

Security/Vulnerability Scanning (e.g McAfee service)

If you are experiencing popups, crashes or freezes, then you may have already downloaded malicious files to your operating system.  Every time you install or update a program on your PC, you re-arrange the elements of your operating system, potentially disrupting the stability of your computer.

3) Remove Suspected Malware

If you suspect malware on your computer, you need to do 2 things.

a)      Remove the malware.

b)      Replace corrupted and deleted files.

To detect and remove malware, get Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool to get rid of any malicious software on your PC right now.

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool removes specific, prevalent malicious software families from computers running compatible versions of Windows. Microsoft releases a new version of the tool on the second Tuesday of every month, and as needed to respond to security incidents.

Additions are made each month to address the latest threats.

Click here to see a list of which malware this tool cleans.

4) Stop Crashing and Freezing

If you are still experiencing crashing and freezing, then you may need a total repair of your OS. 

Scan for major damage to determine how deep the malware has penetrated.