Welcome To "Security Daze", Cousin to "CB DAZE"

I've had plenty of email which helped me to decide to start another Blog so I could concentrate on Radio's on the "CB DAZE" Blog, while using this one to post recently security flaws, new viruses or Trojans, as well as lending some personal tips which may just keep you from infecting your computers!

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I'll start this with some common sense tips for you to consider:

My reason for sending this email is to let you know about an extremely deadly virus going around the Internet, it is the latest version of the ZeroAccess! Trojan (Version 4).

You do not have to click on anything - it can happen just viewing a web page, or, you may get a fake pop-up telling you there is a new java, flash, adobe reader update available, click on it and get infected. This virus completely destroys your operating system to the point where you have to have your drive re-formatted and a new OS installed. Previous versions mainly infected Windows XP systems. This version attacks XP, VISTA, and Windows 7 (32 and 64bit versions).

Here is my advice:

If you get one of those "Pop-ups" telling you there is an update available, close them. Then go directly to that software's website (example: www.adobe.com for Reader and Flash) and download the latest update. Adobe Reader is at Version 10x.x, Flash, 11x.x.
(a link to Adobe can be found on the right side of this Blog)

Things you can do now:

Make sure your PC is setup to install Windows critical and security updates, and make sure that your computer is "ON" for the updated to be applied. I usually choose "Download Updates, and let me know" so I can install them as soon as possible. You might have to reboot your PC after the updates have been installed. Installing your Windows updates are super critical. XP users should all have Service Pack 3 on their systems by now, but you'd be surprised how many I find still using Service Pack 2.

If you need to use Java make sure you install Java updates and go to Java.com, download and install the latest version of Java.

Install the latest version of Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash from their website - NOT a pop-up.

If you are on XP and still using Internet Explorer 6 - upgrade to I.E.8 (please)

Buy a new Anti-Virus every year. Download it, buy it from SLPC, or go to the store, just do it. 95% of the new clients I meet believe they have the latest antivirus because they are renewing their antivirus subscription. This is not true. They are simply receiving antivirus database updates, not program updates [A good example of this is when I find someone running Adobe Reader 8, and when updates arrive they are for version 8, even though the current version is 10]. Some antivirus applications may do program updates automatically, however I rarely see this. If you want an Antivirus / Antimalware that works really well right out of the box then buy Symantec’s Norton Internet Security 2012. This was recently rated Number 1 by PC Magazine, PC World, Cnet, and many other technical websites. It will not slow your computer down like some of their competitors.

Buy an external hard drive for backups, or subscribe to Carbonite "Online Backup". Out of the many PC's which were formatted last week with no data recovery, one customer was okay with that because all of their data was on Carbonite and it was a simple matter for the customer to restore the files back to the PC. Without a backup it would have been a disaster. If you stop and think of all the digital photos you have on your PC, most of which have no negatives to recover from - it's a no brainer.

Should you become infected, shutdown your PC immediately - do not leave it on, call us, and keep the PC "off" until we arrive.

I know what it's like to lose your data, and considering this new viral strain I wanted to keep you informed and secure. I hope these tips help, and of course, surf the Web safely -

Regards,

Brian