Protect Your Computer from Worms and Viruses

compworm You turn on your computer and you get the shock of your life. The thing that you feared most is happening and you don’t know what to do or where to start to get rid of it.

YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN WORMED!!

The latest one, a worm called Koobface, (what kind of name is that?) has hit all the social networks, including Facebook, Myspace, hi5, Bebo and Twitter, and can riddle your network with malware, spyware and can steal sensitive data right from your workstations’ hard drives. Like past generations of computer bugs, Koobface wants to not only infect your computer, but then use you as a jumping off point to infect others.

Koobface sounds like a character from a movie that gets it’s energy to live for you, like a vampire.

Protect yourself from Koobface and all of his evil friends (computer worms) by doing the following:

Anti-virus, Anti-spyware
First and foremost every computer user on the Internet needs professional, up-to-date protection software. This should at a minimum include both anti-virus and anti-spyware support (some free packages do not include anti-spyware), and ideally should also include a link scanner component to minimize the risk of visiting websites which are known to be infected.
Claim your name, Check your fame
If you are using social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, do periodic searches for yourself. This is especially helpful with small businesses to see what people are saying about you, but if you’re infected you may find updates from yourself – which you never sent.
Use a 3^rd party Twitter application or your phone
Third party applications such as Tweekdeck or Twhirl can help block certain exploits that would otherwise infect you from the Twitter website. They can also help by showing where a “shortened” URL will take you before you click. Using your cell phone for updates is also safer than using the Twitter or Facebook websites directly.
Secure Your Browser
Make sure your web browser is the most up-to-date version, since many vulnerabilities in older browsers (even ones from just a few months ago) are often used by malware creators to infect your computer. Chrome and Firefox are generally considered safer than Internet Explorer, but any browser with its security setting set to “High” and with the most recent updates should be fine. For the highest level of security consider using Firefox plusNoscript.net to block most potential points of vulnerability.
Ask to Include Social Media protection in your IT Management Plan
Many small businesses and home users today are outsourcing all their computer management to a local computer service provider through what’s called a Managed Services plan. Ask your local Computer Troubleshooter or other service provider to include social media protection in your computer management plan.

About the Author: Chip Reaves, a native Georgian, began fixing computers for small businesses while studying Computer Science at Georgia Tech. In 1992 he started his own computer services business in Atlanta. In 1999, he bought the right to operate Australia-based Computer Troubleshooters in the US which has led to over 230 CTS locations in North America. Chip Reaves’ website can be found at www.comptroub.com.