Welcome to the first post in Web2Go’s ‘Help!’ series.
For the next twelve weeks I’ll be blogging to you plain English explanations of the things that can go wrong with your computer and what you can do to deal with them. This week we look at ways to combat those nasty files that can sneak into your computer and cause havoc, otherwise known as malware.
For all you superstitious Web2Goers out there, I think this is Web2Go’s 13th post. Some would say that the number 13, and all its associations with bad luck and misery, is the perfect number for blogging about malware. There’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when you realise that something’s not quite right with your computer and that sense of impending doom that takes over when you realise the problem’s most probably being caused by a file that shouldn’t be there.
If your computer starts to do things more slowly than usual, continually freezes or opens programs for no reason, it could signal malware in your midst.
Malware is ‘malicious software’ that’s designed to infiltrate or damage your computer system without your informed consent. It includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, some adware, and other unwanted software. The word ‘virus’ has incorrectly become a general term covering different types of malware.
Viruses are files that attach themselves to legitimate computer programs. When run, a virus can make copies of itself by infecting other programs and files on your computer. Virus infections tend to stay within your computer, unlike worms, which can travel independently between connected computers. An activated worm program can spread by sending copies of itself to all the email addresses stored on your computer or by attacking other unsecure computers connected to the Internet.
If you’re familiar with your ancient legends, you’ll know that the Trojan Horse was a huge, hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to gain entry to the city of Troy. Similarly, computer Trojans are programs designed to appear innocent but actually contain malicious code to cause damage to your computer or to provide a ‘backdoor’ for intruders to enter.
Likewise, a rootkit is a program (or combination of programs) created to get into your system and take control of it without your knowledge or consent.
And let’s not forget spyware and adware. If a piece of spyware wheedles its way into your computer, it can monitor your activity and send information back to other computers without you knowing.
Adware programs on the other hand, generate unwanted pop-up ads on your computer. Not all adware is bad – annoying, definitely, but if advertisers are up front about using pop-ups in their software it’s generally not considered harmful.
To stop these different types of malware running on your computer you should have a firewall (software which inspects network and Internet traffic passing through a computer and denies or permits entry based on a set of rules), anti-virus software (AVG Free Anti Virus, AntiVir Personal, McAfee and Norton are all examples) and anti-spyware software (Spyware Doctor, Spybot Search and Destroy or Spyware Terminator, for example) installed.
If you don’t have any of these installed on your computer, do it as soon as you can. If you suspect you’ve got a malware problem you can also try running an online scan.
There’s lots of software on the market to help combat malware. If you’re overwhelmed with the choices or if you just want to see how each one stacks up against the latest malware threats, visit The Wildlist Organisation and The Virus Bulletin index to get the heads up.
If you’ve got a computer problem that’s got you stumped now’s the time to ask Web2Go for help. Leave us a comment below and we’ll see what we can do to help.
Next week … Help! How do I use email attachments?
Jenny Kapp
