October 2009

 

Greetings from “Your IT Department”!

 

Critical Priority Alert: Dangerous viruses and spyware are on the rise across all networks. Don’t become a victim. Find out how you can stop spyware and viruses from installing or what to do if you suspect you have a virus. Andy Riker, computer expert at OurTech Solutions, recently talked with Channel 7 News regarding a hijacked Facebook account and how to help prevent hijacking. See the full article here.

We would like to wish all of our readers and clients a spook-tacular time this Halloween season! Does your IT department provide you with detailed monthly reporting on your network device patch management, trouble tickets, security concerns, etc.? If not, consider switching your IT service support to OurTech Solutions, Inc. and let us become “Your IT Department”. Call us at 402.778.7999.

  

 

 

Tips and Tricks
For Avoiding Viruses
 Cindy Troyer, Vice President, OurTech Solutions™

 

Lately, there has been a rash of very nasty viruses going around.  Many of these viruses masquerade themselves as antivirus and anti-spyware programs, when they themselves are viruses and are used to collect sensitive data from the end user.  In our Tips and Tricks article this month, we would like to give you a few hints on avoiding these viruses.

 

1.    If possible, use Mozilla Firefox with the Web of Trust (WOT) plugin.  Even if you must use Internet Explorer for some web-based applications, use Firefox for browsing.  This plugin verifies whether or not web sites are safe to visit.

2.    Avoid downloading and installing applications from unknown companies.

3.    Be suspicious of email attachments, particularly zip files and electronic greeting cards.

4.    Make sure you keep your antivirus definitions up to date.

5.    Don't use P2P file sharing applications such as LimeWire and Kazaa.

6.    If you're a home user, use free anti-malware programs, such as Malwarebytes.

7.    Avoid using add-on toolbars, such as My Web Search Toolbar or Zwinky Toolbar.

8.    It should go without saying, but avoid porn sites and gambling sites.  Even visiting  free game sites or free clipart sites is an easy way to expose yourself to viruses.

 

Lastly, if you do get a virus in spite of all your best efforts, call OurTech Solutions at 402-778-7999 and we'll help you resolve your problem.



2010 Antivirus Alert

A Warning About A New Generation of Viruses
 Robert Troyer, CEO, OurTech Solutions™

 

OurTech’s clients have been experiencing a significant increase in virus infections, but it’s not just OurTech’s clients. In fact, according to a recent article published by Symantec, tens of millions of U.S. computers are loaded with scam security software. How is this happening?
A pop up alert on numerous legitimate websites warns users of a virus and then offers security software, sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee to fix the problem. "Lots of times, in fact they're a conduit for attackers to take over your machine," said Vincent Weafer, Symantec's vice president for security response.

 

Symantec found 250 varieties of scam security software with legitimate sounding names like Antivirus 2010 and SpywareGuard 2008 with about 43 million attempted downloads in one year but did not know how many of the attempted downloads succeeded, said Weafer. To read the complete article that was posted on Yahoo’s web site as published by Symantec you can go to the attached link: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/us_cybersecurity_symantec

 

Antivirus 2010 is particularly harmful. In a matter of minutes it will totally disable a user’s machine. In many instances the machine won’t even boot up after a restart and it almost always requires reloading the operating system in order to correct the problem.

 

What should you do if you get this popup alert or expect that you have contracted a virus? First off don’t click on anything if you get this pop up alert. Clicking on any button, or even the x in the upper right hand corner, will automatically trigger the virus to activate. The best thing to do is go to your “Task Manager” service and stop all instances of Internet Explorer “iexplore.exe” or whatever browser you are using. To start your task manager simple press alt, control and delete at the same time. A screen will appear giving you several options. Task Manager will normally be at the bottom of the menu. Go to Processes and highlight all instances of Internet Explorer and hit end task, then end task now. This solution often will help prevent infection.

 

Shown below is a sample popup that appears. If you kill IE through the task manager, it seems to stop the virus from installing, but if you even click the X in the upper right-hand corner, it will install.

 

 

 

 

Help!
I've Been Stolen!
 Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston, Vice President of Systems, OurTech Solutions™


Increasingly, hackers are relying on the fact that people have been educated on the problems associated with malware and viruses. They continue to rely on proven social engineering techniques to con their victims into giving up personal and critical information that can be used for identity theft. The newest attack comes in the form of fake “security software” that often contains the same or similar name as real antivirus and anti-malware. This software is designed to not only infect the machines, capture data, and impede productivity, but it is also almost impossible to remove. These programs then con the owner into buying the “security program” that happened to catch the virus, which happens to be a process of the program itself. Once the computer user uses their credit card to purchase the “security program”, the hackers have not only captured the coveted credit card information, but it also remains on the computer to further capture sensitive user data.

So how are these programs increasingly reaching its victims? The hackers have designed advertising affiliate programs similar to legitimate programs offered by merchants such as Amazon and Netflix and sign up unsuspecting website owners who believe that they are opting in to a normal deal. Often the website owners administer sites that previously tested safe and offer content appropriate for all audiences. When they initiate the advertisements they are unknowingly infecting their visitors with these viruses and malware on their computers, even though their content does not raise any alarms.

How does one prevent one of these virus-infested “security programs” from installing? The only proven method to stop some of these programs is to kill the Internet Explorer task the minute that one suspects that one of these applications has launched:

• Right-click on the Taskbar and choose “Task Manager”
• Click on the “Processes” tab
• Right click on each instance of “iexplore.exe” and choose “End Task”


If an infection has occurred the only certain method in removing any remnants or changes by these programs is a complete machine rebuild. If you believe that you have been infected, cease using the computer for any e-commerce related transactions and identify any programs that may need to be reinstalled. Rebuilding the machine can cost money and time, but preventing identity theft would be preferable to the time and money it would take to rebuild your credit score and any other issues created from the information stolen.


Newsletter Archive