A GUIDE ON HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PC FROM

VIRUSESKAPASAKALIS SPIROS

INDEX

Introduction. Threats to watch out for. Signs that you are corrupted. How to bar them if you have been corrupt

ed. How not to get corrupted in your every d

ay access to the pc. Conclusion. How to keep your computer running

smoothly.

Dear computer userINDEX

If you own a computer that has access to the Internet and e-mail, then it is certain that you will be a victim to malicious spyware, malware, viruses, worms, or hackers. Every day thousands of users report problems with their computer and are wasting money trying to fix the issue not knowing that they can do it alone, safely and freely.

The information in this Guide will not only educate you as to why you are experiencing these problems, but also what you have to do in order to avoid experiencing these problems.

THREATS

Spyware Malware Hackers

INDEX

SPYWARE

Spyware is Internet jargon for hidden programs advertisers install on your PC without your permission to spy on you, gather information, and report this information about you and your online activities to some outside person.

Spyware is not harmless, it can be responsible for delivering a boatload of spam, altering your web browser, slowing down your PC, and serving up a bounty of pop-up ads. In some of the more extreme cases, spyware can also steal your identity, passwords, e-mail address book, and even use your PC for illegal activities.

INDEX

MALWARE

Malware is short for malicious software and represents all programs, viruses, Trojans, and worms that have malicious intent to damage or disrupt a system. Malware is harder to remove and will fight back when you try to clean it from your system. In some extreme cases, you will have to completely wipe out all the information on the computers hard disk and re-install the operating system.

Among other things, a malware infection can corrupt your files, alter or delete data, distribute confidential information such as bank accounts, credit cards, and other personal data, disable hardware, prevent you from using your computer, and cause a hard drive to crash. Frequently, malware is also designed to send itself from your e-mail account to all the friends and colleagues in your address book without your knowledge or consent.

INDEX

HACKERS

Hackers are computer programmers turned evil. They are the people who design the spyware and malware programs that attack your computer.

Some of them have criminal intent and use these programs to steal money from individuals and companies. Some have a grudge against the big software vendors (like Microsoft) and seek to harm them by attacking their customers (you). Others do it purely for fun. Whatever the reason, hackers are getting more intelligent and sophisticated in their ability to access computer systems and networks.

INDEX

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE CORRUPTED

You are starting to get swamped with pop-up ads that come from nowhere and continiously interrupt your use of the computer.

Your computer is unstable, sluggish, locks up, crashes or deletes files on its own frequently.

Your web browser’s home page changes on its own and you cannot modify the settings. Also you might see some toolbars that you never installed.

Mysterious files suddenly appear. A second or a third we browser is popping up

when u open your browser instantly and you can’t prevent it.

INDEX

GET RID OF THE SPYWARE AND MALWARE

Method:1 Scanning Method:2 System Restore Method:3 Clean Install

INDEX

METHOD:1 SCANNING

There are thousands of different programs out there in the anti-spyware/malware/virus, many of which are free. The most important thing to remember is that these programs will not find and remove the same viruses and not of them are 100% sure to delete all of them.

Imagine yourself scanning your computer and finding viruses, then you try and remove them with your anti-virus program. But your computer is still suffering from them and you are forced to scan with another program, which enables you to find more of them.

However, you do not want to stack tons of virus removal programs on top of each other. Doing so can actually throw off effectiveness. One good antivirus scanner should be enough.

INDEX

METHOD:2 SYSTEM RESTORE

System restores are a good way to get rid of light malware and spyware programs. They require no downloading of any software and can be performed directly by Windows.

System restores work best if you catch the intrusion right away. But, you do not want to do a system restore if you believe that you have had malware, spyware, or viruses on your computer for any significant amount of time.

This could cause you to lose files, applications, or data. To do a system restore in Windows, navigate to the control panel using the path Start > Control Panel. Click the Recovery icon located within the Control Panel and hit the Open System Restore button on the next screen.

The rest of the process is very straightforward as the Windows Wizard will guide your through it. INDEX

METHOD:3 CLEAN INSTALL

A clean install is not the most fun thing to do. However, a clean install is the one guaranteed way to get rid of viruses, spyware, and malware. It’s simple… when you do a clean install, you are deleting everything on your hard drive. Thus, no more viruses.

Most of the time, viruses will not infect items like pictures, text documents, videos, or MP3 files. If step 2 (scan), is not working for you, more than likely the virus is in your computer’s registry. This is good because you can backup all of your pictures, documents, etc… before doing the clean install. That way you will not lose anything important.

INDEX

SIMPLE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR FILES AND COMPUTER

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

INDEX

STEP 1

Keep an up-to-date anti-virus software running at all times.

This is one of the most if not THE most important thing to do, because you will need it to scan for viruses and be able to remove them.

BACK

STEP 2

Don’t use internet explorer anymore. Just recently, hackers have figured out a

way to access and download malicious programs to your computer by using a security hole in Internet Explorer. What is extraordinary about this is that you don’t even have to click on anything or download a program to get infected. You are especially vulnerable if you have an older version of Windows such as Windows 98.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 3

 Don't allow your web browser to automatically run programs, such as MS Word or other programs through its e-mail program. Configure it to launch other programs such as NotePad or WordPad instead. This way the macro virus won’t spread on your computer. Therefore it is something you definitely want to do.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 4

Never open suspicious e-mails. Most of the viruses are attached to an e-

mail, so if you see one delete it immediately.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 5

Stop using peer to peer file sharing and don’t ever download programs that look nice.

Think of it like cyber candy. Hackers use these cute and funny programs as bait in order to get you to download their destructive programs. These are guaranteed ways of getting hit by malicious viruses, spyware, and malware. Also, peer to peer file sharing sites are mine fields of malicious programs. Don’t ever think of accessing those sites or download the programs that runs them.

BACK PREVIOUS

CONCLUSION

All in all computer viruses are a very common enemy on our every day life but we can prevent them from reaching us or remove them if we have already been corrupted.

There are many different things we can do about it but the core procedure is in this guide, but if what is written here doesn’t work for you then the best thing you can do before asking an expert is search in the internet, because there you can find all the answers you need.

INDEX

HOW TO KEEP YOUR COMPUTER RUNNING SMOOTHLY

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

INDEX

STEP 1

Do a clean up every month. This is very important, because there are

many files that fill your hard disk and if they become superfluous then they will slow down your computer.

BACK

STEP 2

Defragment the hard drive. Defragmenting your hard drive makes it

easier for your computer to complete actions in a faster way.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 3

Uninstall the programs you don’t use. It is just silly to keep programs you don’t

use in your computer because they fill your hard drive and make your computer slower.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 4

Delete cookies from the browsers. Clear your cache after you sign off. These

files are just unnecessary, take up memory, and can allow spyware to invade your computer.

BACK PREVIOUS

STEP 5

Format. If nothing else works you should really

consider formating your computer, but before you do it make sure you have already backed up your files.

BACK PREVIOUS