A Bit About Malware (Part 1)

At some stage or another most people will be affected by malware (malicious software) on their computer. Malware usually takes the form of a computer virus, spyware, adware, trojans or various other forms of software based annoyance. Nobody is safe (not even hardened computer professionals!) so let's cover a few of the basic types of threat.



Types of Malware

• Virus : This is the common name which most people use for any kind of software infection on their computer but more accurately, viruses copy themselves around by attaching themselves to files (usually executable files like programs)
• Worms : Similar to a virus except they don't attach to programs but still copy themselves around.
• Trojan : A bit of software which pretends to be one thing but actually houses a darker side! (usually they allow remote access to your computer)
• Rootkit : A program or collection of programs which are designed to hide the fact your computer has been compromised. Usually they work hand in hand with some kind of Trojan.
• Spyware : Software which sits in the background and collects information about the user or computer it's on. Spyware often installs other junk alongside, such as search bars or emoticon collections!
• Adware : Software which at some stage will display / download advertisments. Most adware will use your browser to pop up silly adverts and suchlike.

How do you stop them?


Now you've met the main offenders - how can you stop them getting on your PC? The answer to this is arguable but here are some basic steps you can follow to prevent infection from the above scoundrels...

1. Antivirus : It's no shock really that AV would be top of this list. A good antivirus package is crucial to the prevention of viruses and will do a number of things which can help. First, they will scan files as they are being used by the computer and when files are being moved etc. This is crucial as viruses tend to spread by reading a file which contains a virus. Second, they may also scan your local email accounts (such as any email you collect in Outlook Express). Email is also a huge source of virus activity. I've seen instances where more than one antivirus package was running on one machine - this isn't necessary and may bring your computer to it's knees. You should however, keep your antivirus up to date!
2. Antispyware : Nowadays antivirus packages usually come with these as standard, but you can still download and install an individual antispyware if your AV doesn't include one. Packages such as AdAware (by Lavasoft) are popular and do a good job of detection and removal of spyware. The Antispyware package may detect spyware installs while they happen and can also remove spyware after it has become established in your computer.
3. Education : I'd argue that education is the most important non-software based aspect of this topic. With an understanding of how these little sods infect your computer - you can more easily avoid them. Let's cover that now.

Typical ways you may get infected


As you'd probably guess there are a number of ways you can get malware onto your computer and as antivirus manufacturers become more efficient - the malware creators are being forced to become more creative. Unfortunately for the home computer user this means that perfectly innocent looking things can often turn out to be dodgy. Here are some of the cunning ways you may get infected...

• Downloads : I suppose this would be the well known offender of the bunch and likely the most common type of infection. Yet strangely, downloads are probably one of the easier ones to control! The rules of downloading are simple and apply to ANY type of download, from a screensaver through to an antivirus package. (1) Only download stuff you actually need. (2) Only download from a reputable source (big name companies). (3) Always have antivirus running when you open your download for the first time.
• Email attachments : Probably one of the more common methods of malware infection is through attachments in emails - often disguised as something they aren't, such as screensavers. The first advice most people would give you here is "only open it if it's from someone you know". Well let's just back up the old thought train there... more recently the manufacturers of malware are actually hijacking our email accounts to send emails to our friends! (I kid you not) It's easily possible you could get an email from your old pal Pete, that he had no control over. The best way to spot these kinds of emails is look for generic messages. Because these emails are sent by software, there will be no personalisation. Most of the time, you know the format of emails from your buddies so pay attention! Also, if it seems out of character for them to just send you an attachment - call them and make sure! For me personally, I just delete ANY email that has an attachment that I'm not expecting. Don't rely on your antivirus to clean up your emails... be proactive!
• ActiveX Controls : Let me first explain what an ActiveX control is. Do you ever visit a website and get that bar appear which says that the website wants to install something on your computer? Well - those things that get installed are ActiveX controls and are basically a small program which gets installed through the web (usually as an add-on or enhancement to the browser). A good example of this would be Flash, Adobe Acrobat Reader or Shockwave. These are all perfectly safe products and you'd be fine to install them. Malware loves ActiveX controls and depending on the sites you visit, you may see offers to install this or that. The same rules apply here as they do for downloads.... make sure it's a reputable source (Adobe / Microsoft etc). If you're unsure - DENY IT!
• Popup Adverts : This is probably the one which is causing the most fuss in recent years. You'll often get a popup window which says something like "We've detected a virus on your computer - click OK to scan your computer now". These scams are on the increase and most unsuspecting people will think they have nasty stuff on their PC. The tricky part is, even if you click cancel or no - you may still install the horrible malware. The only way to really avoid these is to close all windows using the cross at the very top-right of the window - this is the close button for your browser window. Any other buttons on the page could install or activate something on your computer. Just check the window and see if it's a genuine alert (which of course can only come from your antivirus or antispyware package... in which case you'll know the name of it and it will be obvious to spot!).

That's all for now - we can look at some of these things a little more in the second part of this article. For now... be alert. (the world needs 'lerts'... lol)