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Entries on 2-February 08
While now I would avoid doing something so foolish, there was a time when I was just plain foolish with some of things I did with my computer. Years ago I installed a program that I knew nothing about but I was one of those people who just wanted to install it and see. Then the problems began, the program turned out to be one that sets your computer to stay in the same state when the program was installed every time it was rebooted and probably when I logged out and then logged in again.  So basically I could install programs, etc. but once the computer was rebooted it was as if I hadn't done any such thing. There was a password needed to change its settings but when I installed it I was never asked to choose a password, so I couldn't change its settings or uninstall it.Eventually it got to the point, after trying different things to remove it, that I decided to do a reformat and reinstall. Now if that wasn't annoying enough, it totally screwed up my ability to use the Internet on that computer afterwards. My computer at the time had a built in modem(I was using dialup) and even though I disks for the modem, none of the drivers on the disk worked for the modem and searching online didn't help either, so I gave up on using the Internet on that computer.  However that was a long time ago and it is no longer my main computer. To summarise, even some of us trained malware fighters(I recently graduated from What the Tech Classroom) made computer mistakes that we even come across when working with people to clean their computers.
These are essential computer security measures to secure your computer. Antivirus Okay, so maybe you think it doesn't catch much more than viruses and these type of infections are steadily being replaced by more complicated threats like Trojans, adware, spyware, infections that steal personal information, etc. Well antivirus programs are not going to be as effective in catching these types of malware as other programs but many antivirus programs these days detect at least some of these type of malware and therefore it's not an outdated piece of technology.In addition to that, even though viruses are rarer these days than the other types of malware I mentioned, they are still around and that's what antivirus programs were originally designed to detect and remove. Firewall Well many people know that Windows XP and Windows Vista comes with Windows Firewall. The Vista one blocks both incoming and outgoing communications but the XP one only blocks incoming ones and therefore it's not really the best one to use. However using any firewall at all that works is better than nothing. There's some disagreement as to whether these are really needed, especially for infected user's but I think they are important, infected or not. Port scanners also scan ports for unprotected ports(basically user's not using a firewall usually) and if they find one they can then use it to infect your computer or in some cases gain access to it, if you're using a Firewall then these are often blocked. For already infected user's the ability to stop outgoing communications means stopping the malware from giving out information. I generally recommend free versions of commercial firewalls because they block outgoing and incoming communications and give you more features and flexibility than Windows Firewall on XP.However I don't feel it is a good idea to have a user install a firewall on an infected machine, instead I ask them to turn on Windows Firewall if it's not already on and recommend they install a firewall once the user's computer appears to be clean. Antispyware programs These programs are on the front line of both stopping malware infecting your computer and cleaning it up. The best types are ones that include real time protection so that they can stop you getting infected but most of these only offer trials and then either stop working or degrade to on demand scanners. Therefore I usually suggest using a free one that includes real time protection. Having at least 2 is a good idea because some will pick up malware the other ones wont, however only one running with real time protection enabled. This is where antispyware programs that after their trials have expired and degrade to on demand scanners are useful. Make sure if you use Windows XP you have SP2 installed Service Pack 2(SP2) for Windows XP is one the most important updates for the Operating System to date and not having it installed will leave your Computer very vulnerable to malware. Also stay on top of security updates, they patch bugs that can leave your computer insecure in certain areas. I choose myself to turn on the option to alert you that new updates are available but that it is your choice to look at what each of them are and choose what ones you want to download, install and when. Iif you're computer is on low resources and/or you're on dialup, you can choose when a more appropriate time to download and install them may be, just don't leave it more than a day. However if you use this method it requires some diligence on your part. However I advise most people to turn on the option that automatically downloads and installs updates for you. Entries on 1-February 08
I am a natural geek. In addition to my interest in cleaning people's computer's of malware I'm generally interested in computer's. Now I'll openly admit I barely have a clue when it comes to hardware, I wont even install my own because I don't want to risk stuffing things up. I taught myself the ways of the Internet back when I was 12 but never had the Internet at home until I was 16. Now for the rest of my geek nature, I am a sci fi lover, I'm a fan of Dr. Who and Star Trek. I suppose back in my teens I didn't want to be called a geek, it was something you want to avoid, especially being a girl. However now I embrace the title for what I feel it is. Entries on 30-January 08
So why does someone get interested in malware removal in the first place? Well for me it was an all too common reason, I'd been the victim of malware. Yep, even though now I can clean myself up if needed(not that I do need to) and wouldn't install just anything, there was a time when I thought if someone was hosted on a general download site then it's probably going to be safe, just like user's I've helped . Ironically it was supposed to be an antispyware product but instead of cleaning my machine it infected it and before that I'd never heard of HijackThis or knew forums like this existed(however I suspected they probably did). However it wasn't just the desire to help others whose shoes I'd been in that prompted my interested in this field, I was looking for an interest, a way of joining a community and feeling useful and it really does feel that way.  There are many different reasons why people become involved in training to fight malware, being a victim themselves is a common one others include.
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Feb 2 2008, 09:35 AM
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