Virus and Virus Hoax Resources |  Virus et canulards |
Page révisée le 16 septembre 2009
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Virus and Virus Hoax Resources | Virus et canulards |
When
you're working on your home computer, you are your own Help Desk.
These are
some of the better resources I've found on the net when I think I may have caught
a virus, or when someone sends me one of those "URGENT VIRUS ALERT"
messages.
[By the way : If you do receive one of those URGENT messages, do check the "Virus Hoaxes" links below before forwarding the message to 250 people in your address book.]
What
you'll find on this page:
(click to jump directly to a particular topic further
down on the page you're reading now)
- Home computer security
- General Resources
- Want to find out if you have
a virus right now?
- what viruses are "out there"
right now?
- Need an anti-virus program?
-
Virus Hoaxes and Urban Legends
- General
precautions against viruses and virus hoaxes
[short version: (1) enable
Microsoft Windows Updates on your PC; (2) never open email attachments; (3) Be
careful out there.]
- Internet
Petitions, Shminternet Petitions. Stop now, plesase.
- is
it just the Internet that's slow or what?
Home
Computer Security:
General Resources
Computer
Virus Information & Resources
- everything you ever wanted to know
about viruses
Source:
DisAbled Women's Network
- Ontario
Anti-trojan.org
"the largest non profit anti trojan website on the planet, featuring
removal information on over 1000 different trojans, plus heaps of freeware downloads
and a free help forum"
If you want to find out if you have a virus or some other alien stuff on your machine right now:
HouseCall - online virus scan-n-fix. I highly recommend HouseCall if you're worried about a virus on your home PC. When I caught the MTS virus back in November 2000 from a newsgroup posting, several people told me that the only workable solution was to reformat my hard drive. As a measure of last resort, I found a web page that gave precise instructions on removing this specific worm and fixing its damage. With nothing to lose, I blindly followed the instructions, which included a visit to HouseCall. Everything worked out well - I didn't have to reformat my hard drive. HouseCall is very impressive...
Panda ActiveScan - like HouseCall, only different.
Free Online Virus and Security Check - from Symantec, makers of Norton Anti-virus
---
Do
you know what processes (programs/services) are
running on your computer right
now?
ProcessLibrary.com:
Free Process Information
Find the latest information about spyware,
adware, trojans, viruses, system processes and common applications.
WhatIsProcess.com
"a site dedicated to providing you with detailed information on the
processes that are running on your computer"
- over 12,000 processes identified
and described
If you just want to see what viruses are out there :
TrendMicro
Virus Map - tracks the progression and status of the 10 major viruses
in the world, and it includes links to detailed information on every virus that's
out there. You can move your mouse over a continent to see what viruses are spreading
there in real time (ongoing updates), or click on the name of a virus to see detailed
information about it and how to repair any damage it might cause. The stats used
to generate the virus map come from HouseCall virus scan logs (see above).
NOTE:
The link above will take you to the map on the TrendMicro website. Until recently,
there was a copy of the map on this page; however, I removed it because some browsers
have problems with the Java script used to generate the map.
- includes links
to free tools, virus hoax info and much more...
Symantec's
Anti-Virus Resource Centre - Latest Virus Threats
An excellent starting
place to search for viruses and virus hoaxes by name.
Need an anti-virus program?
AVG
Anti-Virus software --- FREE!
I use this one on my notebook.
Works like a charm, but if it's on a notebook, you have to remember to start it
up once in awhile so the AVG virus definitions can be updated...
Avast
Home Edition --- FREE!
This
is the antivirus service that I use now on my main machine. (I use AVG on my second
machine and my laptop.)
Free for non-commercial use, and just as good as the
McAfees and the Symantecs, if you ask me...
"Avast (www.avast.com) In
a world filled with high-priced subscription-based antivirus programs that bog
down your PC while protecting it, Avast stands out. This program is one of the
few free antivirus applications that do as good a job as any of the big boys.
Avast includes more than seven different varieties of shields, safe-surfing tools
and real-time virus protection for your OS, as well as for Outlook. Reader panelist
John Van Dam says: “It’s uncomplicated and quite happy to run in the
background without nagging me to allow it to update and install files.” The
program downloads and installs updates automatically, and Avast works with both
Windows Vista and XP. Why pay?"
(PC World Magazine, July 2007)
The Free Site --- FREE!
AntiVir Personal Edition --- FREE!
-----------------------------------------------------------
McAfee ($)
Symantec (Norton Anti-Virus) ($) - I started with this on my main machine, but it slowed my system down to the point that I decided not to renew after the first year --- I went with BitDefender
BitDefender - this one cost me about half as much as the anti-virus products from McAfee and Symantec, and it worked as well. I'll resist the urge to say that I haven't had a virus since I started using this software, because that would be asking for it...
Virus Hoaxes and Urban Legends
25
Hottest Urban Legends
"This page compiles the 25 urban legends
currently circulating most widely, as determined by frequency of access, user
searches, reader e-mail, and media coverage."
Source:
Snopes.com
BreakTheChain.org
- Stop junk e-mail and misinformation!
- your source
for common-sense evaluations of e-mail chain letters.
"Though frequently
forwarded with good intentions, e-mail chain letters spread lies and half-truths
and too often serve as a substitute to personal interaction. To break the chain
of junk e-mail we must each think critically and question everything. This site
helps you do just that."
HoaxBusters
- incl. links to the following info : Hoax Categories
- Hoax Index - Hoax Search - What are Internet Hoaxes and Chain Letters? - The
Risk and Cost of Hoaxes - Recognizing hoaxes - What to do if you receive a hoax
or chain letter - History of Internet Hoaxes- much more...
Source:
U.S.
Dept. of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability
Don't Spread that Hoax! - from http://www.nonprofit.net/
How to spot a hoax computer virus alert - from Vmyths.com
Computer Virus Myths page - also from Vmyths.com
Urban Legends Reference Page - Snopes.com
Urban Legends Page - from About.com
Symantec Anti Virus Research Center Hoax Page
McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List
Centers for Disease Control Health Hoaxes
|
For General Hoaxes, Scams, Spam, Email Chain Letters, etc.
General
precautions against viruses and virus hoaxes
[short version: (1) enable Microsoft
Windows Updates on your PC; (2) never open email attachments; (3) Be careful out
there]
If you use a Mac or Linux, the following doesn't apply to you.
Check to see if Microsoft Windows
Update is set to work automatically on your machine:
http://www.update.microsoft.com
[
Windows Update is a free service of Microsoft that distributes patches and fixes
for their operating systems to protect them against malware, spyware, etc. ]
* Protect your PC by installing software to guard against viruses, spam, hackers and antispyware.
* If you find out that you didn't have Windows Update enabled on your machine, do a Windows update right away to get caught up re. system patches, etc. and then set the updater to work automatically from now on.
* If you don't want to give Microsoft
that much control over your machine, you can continue to update Windows manually
every
week or two. However, if you don't update your Windows operating system,
your PC will be more vulnerable to exploitation by malware and spyware that can
exploit and take control of your machine.
[Face it - you're now part of the
Microsoft Empire, and you'd better stick with them (and their Windows Updates)
for your own good.]
* NEVER open an email or Instant Messaging (IM) attachment unless it comes from a trusted source and you are expecting the attachment.
* For users of Windows XP and Windows
Vista: if you're not sure whether you have Anti-Virus, Firewall and Anti-Spyware
software installed on your computer, use this free service:
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/onlineservices/fshc.shtml
(Works
only in Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7)
* Use web-based email programs (Rogers/Yahoo, Gmail, Sympatico, etc.) as your main email account; they scan all incoming AND outgoing mail for bad things.
*
NEVER click on Web links sent by someone you don't know. It's quite simple to
disguise a hypertext link so it looks totally harmless; you *think* you're clicking
the link to a friendly site, but the actual hyperlink can be to any link of the
nasty person's choosing, including a site that starts doing bad things to your
computer as soon as you click on the link.
TIP : to check any textual hyperlink,
just move your cursor over the hyperlink without clicking your mouse. The web
page address or URL ("Uniform Resource Locator") that's behind the link
will appear on the status bar near the bottom of your browser. If you move your
cursor down over the link below and look at your status bar (at the bottom of
your browser), you'll see that the URL hidden in the link is to a different location
- that's how a malicious webmaster can trick you into clicking on nasty links...
Mom's
Apple Pie website
...and what's better than Mom's apple pie, eh?
* Keep security patches up to date for your computer's operating system.
* Avoid forwarding ANY virus alert message to others unless you can confirm with some certainty that the threat they describe is real. Go to Google.ca, and do a search using the word HOAX plus the subject line or some key words from the message itself.
* Re. "e-cards" : Since many of these malicious messages imitate notifications from legitimate e-card sites, recipients should get into the habit of never clicking on links contained within e-card notification e-mails. Instead, go directly to the web site of the card company, find the card pickup page within that site, and enter the ID code included in the e-mail. (If the message was a fake, the worst that will happen is that you won't get a card.)
* If you *must* send an alert out to everyone in your Address Book, ALWAYS remember [after you've deleted MY email address from your Address Book] to use blind copy (BCC). Otherwise, you're handing people's private email addresses around like Halloween candy, and there's plenty of software out there that harvests lists of active email addresses directly from those messages that we send out from our machines.
****************************************
Internet
Petitions, Shminternet Petitions.
Please stop now.
Here's why.
I've had problems with the concept of online petitions from the very first one that I was asked to sign back in the late 1990s, because they offer a simplistic feel-good solution (for the signatories) that's easy to do. It's sometimes called "Slacktivism", and it's so easy that there's software out there now that can create the most authentic-looking collection of fake signatures and e-mail addresses for *any* petition. Lawmakers and judges know this, and they don't give much weight to such petitions...
In 2002-2003, the Internet conferred celebrity status upon Amina Lawal, a Nigerian woman sentenced to death under Sharia law for adultery. Like most people who are connected to the social justice movement in Canada, I received invitations to sign an online petition advocating for fairer treatment of Amina Lawal; I also received a number of requests to post the link to the Internet petition on my website and in my newsletter.
I decided to inform myself to help me make a more enlightened decision whether or not to post the Amina Lawal petition on my website. I exchanged e-mails with both Amnesty International Australia (the NGO that was spearheading the petition effort) and with BAOBAB, the Nigerian women's rights group that was defending Ms. Lawal. BAOBAB felt not only that the Internet petition would be ineffective, but that it could well inflame anti-Western sentiment among the Sharia judges and result in a worse outcome for the defendant than if there had been no intervention at all.
Needless to say, I didn't post a link to the petition. I also felt that it was worth documenting the whole course of events, and it was also worth including an article by Michele Landsberg of The Toronto Star stating flatly that Internet petitions are "a complete waste of time and cyberspace". I agree.
Internet Petitions
and Letter-Writing Campaigns - Yes or No?
The story of Amina Lawal
-
includes links to the e-mail exchanges and related web content - read all about
Amina Lawal here.
On a more general level, there are
many problems with the whole notion of Internet petitions in addition to fake
lists of signatories.
Here's one of the better overviews of the dangers of
Internet petitions that I've seen recently:
Internet
Petitions
[NOTE: this text is five years old, but every word is as
true today as back then.]
"(...) Those truly committed to righting the
wrongs of the world are encouraged to take pen in hand and craft actual letters
to their congressmen or to whomever they deem are the appropriate people to contact
about particular issues. Real letters (the kind that are written in a person's
own words and sent through the regular mail) are accorded far more respect than
form letters (let alone petitions), and that should be kept in mind by those intent
upon being heard."
Source:
Snopes.com
Urban Legends
[NOTE: Snopes.com is one of the best online sources if you
want to check to see if something you received via e-mail is a hoax.]
The
text below is part of a message from "A contact in the RCMP" forwarded
to me by my uncle Rick in Bancroft:
[the "alleged" source (RCMP)
is questionable, of course, but the techniques are very plausible...]
"Anytime you see an e-mail that says, "Sign this petition and forward this on to 10 (or 25, or all) of your friends, and you'll get good luck" or whatever, it has either an e-mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and e-mails of those folks you forward to, or the host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of "active" e-mails to use in spam e-mails, or sell to others that do."
Post Scriptum (Post Rantum):
Oh yeah - and the same goes
for those straight-from-the-heart expressions of True Friendship or religious
fervour, or awe and wonderment with respect to one of the Wonders of Nature.
No,
I won't send these to everyone in my Address Book within the next 24 hours, for
the reasons above AND because we all have different a different set of values
and a different sense of humour.
The only time I reply to ANY email (joke,
petition, expression of undying friendship, etc.) that's forwarded to me as part
of a mailing list by a friend or relative is when there's an actual message to
little old *me* somewhere in there. If you *must* send jokes and what-not, at
least have the decency to put people's names in a BCC list so they're not exposed
for all the world to see...
Maybe it's not a virus OR your computer --- maybe it's just just the Internet itself that's slow.
Internet Traffic Report - Real-time monitoring of Internet traffic around the world
| TIP:
How to Search for a Word or Expression on a Single Web Page Open any web page in your browser, then hold down the Control ("Ctrl") key on your keyboard and type the letter F to open a "Find" window. Type or paste in a key word or expression and hit Enter - your browser will go directly to the first occurrence of that word (or those exact words, as the case may be). To continue searching using the same keyword(s) throughout the rest of the page, keep clicking on the FIND NEXT button. Try it. It's a great time-saver! |
