New Computer Virus

Geoff · June 03, 2014, 08:56:49 AM

OK the FBI are warning people all over the world to get really secure because of a new computer virus that is about to hit us in 2 weeks, 1 company in Birkenhead has been hit for £100,000 and to tell you the truth I know my way round computers to fix but when it comes to software I am completely not very SAVVY, so I am asking computer savvy folks out there what do we need to keep our Laptops and computers safe from this nasty virus that is incoming?

Windows 8 on 2 laptops and windows 7 on one laptop.

I am running windows Antivirus and also running Free Advanced System Care, but I have a feeling this is not good enough because I feel I need an antivirus that updates while on the internet.

Could someone please advise.

Cheers

Malc · June 03, 2014, 09:08:16 AM

The firm you mention got hit with a programme that encrypts the hard drive and the criminal demands money to unlock it. Often, even if you pay up, they don't do it. Probably because they don't really encrypt the data, just randomise it. The moral is don't run any downloaded programmes from web sites, unless you get them checked by a good antivirus/firewall software first. Even then you can get caught out. I use Norton and make sure it updates regularly. There are plenty of good progs out there, but I have been using Norton since the 80's.

Trev · June 03, 2014, 09:50:34 AM

I recently had a virus get on my PC even though I had been using the Windows Security programme.
A local computer fix it bod told me that the Windows security program is not robust enough to protect against a lot of the newer viruses . He recommended AVG. I installed it, did a full scan and it came up with a lot of problems that it was able to rectify.

The virus you refer to is called Cryptolocker and so far, there is no way around it if it gets on your computer.

It does indeed encrypt everything on your hard drive and the decryption key is held on a remote server somewhere for a limited amount of time. If you haven't paid by the end of that time the key is deleted.
If you have any networked backup drives, it will encrypt those as well.

A couple of things I would advise is do not leave any external backup drives permanently connected to the computer. Connect only when you want to back up then disconnect.
I would also suggest looking at one of the many on-line back up services such as Dropbox, Sugarsync, Gopgle drive or any of the other similar programs.
Most give at least 2 or GB of free storage and you can increase this to 50gb or more for less than a£1 a week. normally.

Sprintex · June 03, 2014, 09:53:53 AM

Another vote for AVG here (the paid-for version)

Was using Zone Alarm for years before that but it became too clunky - AVG is quicker and easier to use

Paul

Steven B · June 03, 2014, 12:35:06 PM

Avoiding most virus programs is easy:
Use a reputable anti-virus program - making sure it's up to date.
Don't open attachements unless you know what they contain (even if they're from someone you know).

Happy modelling.

Steven B.

red_death · June 03, 2014, 01:15:18 PM

Whoever told you that the Windows AV is not good enough is talking absolute tosh! It is much better than most (paid for) AV programmes. AVG used to be good (paid and free) but it is nothing special now.

It just is not true that you get what you pay for with AV software. In many cases there is little additional benefit comparing the paid for and free software.

As Steven says the most important things are making sure that it is up to date and that you don't open random attachments.

Cheers, Mike

Rabs · June 03, 2014, 01:43:02 PM

Unfortunately 90% of everything that's written on the internet about viruses and anti-virus software is complete tosh (present company excepted

). If you read forums all you ever get is subjective opinions, with the response for each bit of software based on a sample of one or two users - which is statically irrelevant. If you want to actually know which software works well and which don't then look at these sites:
http://www.av-test.org/en/home/?avtest[type]=3
http://www.av-comparatives.org/summary-reports/

These are organisations which do properly controlled studies with a meaningful number of trial infections so that they can actually give objective results.

kardkits · June 03, 2014, 02:08:06 PM

I have used Norton in the past, but it did have problems with some software i had installed. I have never had any joy with Mcafee, the best i have used and have been using for the past 10yrs or so is the AVG free, which is good for detecting virus, although when setting up or doing updates i find it best to install manual setup to avoid getting unwanted browser bars installed.
My brother told me a few years back he had problems with AVG and had to install Avast and after a brief return to AVG he went back to Avast.
The best software i have found to remove a virus so far has been bitdefender. It is not advisable to run more than one anti-virus program at a time, but if you can, i would recommend having at least 2 computers not networked, then if one gets a virus, you can still use the other to access the internet to fix the problem, and maybe having different anti-virus programs on each.
There are so many review sites on the internet it is not easy knowing which to trust, as some are fake sites that try to instal a virus or malware. A couple of good sites to check would be cnet.com or tomsguide.com

Andi

NTrain · June 03, 2014, 02:59:37 PM

When I was working in London, the American parent company advised us to use AVG, Adaware and SpyBot Search and Destroy.

They were a global insurance company anf took this type of threat seriously. I was surprised that they were also advising all employees to use the free versions at home and that we would not be allowed a remote access unless we did.

cjdodd · June 03, 2014, 03:07:55 PM

Just to take the scare out of this news story. The whole two week thing is a bit of scare mongering by the news. They just estimate that in about 2 weeks time the virus will be wild again as that's how long it will roughly take for someone to setup new servers and change the code of the virus a bit, so the world is not going to fall apart in 2 weeks.

As long as you run some form of antivirus on your PC then you will be fine, and yes MS Security Essentials is perfectly adequate, but just run what ever you are happy with, as long as your running something.

Rabs · June 03, 2014, 03:12:02 PM

And another thing - if scrambling your PC hard disc is enough for you to lose all your data then you were doing something wrong in the first place - not backing up to a separate system/external disc/the cloud.
Hard disks and power supplies (which can take other parts of a PC with it) both fail fairly regularly - and have the same effect as someone scrambling your disk with a virus.

cjdodd · June 03, 2014, 03:19:20 PM

I totally agree, if you need it back it up, there are lots of free online storage solutions

Google Drive, DropBox, Box, LiveDrive (SkyDrive)

All provide free online backup for those pictures of your cat.

Newportnobby · June 03, 2014, 05:12:02 PM

Not keen on online storage solutions

I use a 500Gb Seagrove* external drive to back up to.

* Other makes are available blah blah

Pengi · June 04, 2014, 06:48:57 AM

Anyone using a Mac as a virtual machine to run Windows needs to be vigilant too.

jeffjgale · June 22, 2014, 04:37:16 AM

G'day all, can I add another bit of info to the pot. A new kid on the block is YAC [Yet another cleaner] which is a very good Spyware and rubbish cleaner and is also free.
Don't forget that whatever anti virus software you use is only as good as it's update, if you only update once a week, nuf said. Regards Jeff.