Malware

One of the biggest fears and traumas encountered with computer use is "Malware", or "Malicious Software". The threats are very real, and quite prolific. "Cyber Crime" (especially "Identity Theft") is one of the fastest growing nefarious activities on the planet, largely because it is so difficult to catch and prosecute the "Bad Guys".

Malware includes computer code in the forms of such things as: "computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, scareware, and other malicious programs".

• These are very real threats.

• You can never be too cautious.

• Be Careful of what you click on!

• Education is your best defense!

In most cases you cannot get malware on your device (computer, tablet, phone, etc.) without your taking some sort of action. Unfortunately this action can be as benign as opening an e-mail, or simply visiting a web page. Most malware today is "launched" by visiting an infected webpage, and clicking on a link that executes the code to install the malware on your device, or by opening an attachment associated with an infected e-mail.

Five Myths About Malware You Need to Know

This Zone Alarm (security product) blog post is well worth the visit.

Try similar searches as well... such as:

• Google: myths about computer malware

• Google: identify malware

I always suggest skipping the "Ad" links!

Be Sure That You Are Getting Information From A Trusted Site.

• The best way to know what is a trusted site is from experience.

• Learn how to read a web address... i.e. URL.

  • Be very careful about reading the Domain Name!

• Manufacturers of Security Software can usually be trusted.

  • Examples:

  • www.avast.com/en-us/index

  • www.avg.com/us-en/about-viruses

  • www.f-secure.com/en/web/labs_global/threat-descriptions

    • Hoax Warnings

    • Virus News

    • additional F-Secure Virus Info

  • www.symantec.com/security_response/

    • see also: Norton Security Center

  • housecall.trendmicro.com/

  • www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-symptoms.aspx

    • Microsoft Security Essentials

  • home.mcafee.com/virusinfo

• Popular Information Sources can usually be trusted.

  • Examples:

  • www.cnet.com/topics/security/how-to/

  • www.howtogeek.com/search/?q=security

  • www.wikihow.com/Category:Internet-Security

    • • NOTE: This site is not 100% bulletproof, but it is a really good place to start.

  • www.pcmag.com/reviews/security-software

  • www.pcworld.com/category/security/

To further your education, try searching the web. Here are a few examples:

• Google: can you get malware by visiting a website ?

  • • Answer: Yes!

• Google: can you get malware from opening an email ?

  • • Opinions vary on this one.

    • "Yes" seems to be a thing of the past with this one.

    • I say: "Better safe than sorry".... Leave the suspicious messages alone, even if it is (or seems to be) from someone you trust. Better to compose a message back to them to verify that they actually sent the message themselves, and not that their e-mail account has been hijacked.

OK

If you are a MS Windows user... there is additional information on this site. Try starting with:

• Windows OS > Software

:-)