I'm not posting a log, just a question why are there so many. Are these computers getting infected before or after they have protection installed ? The B/C people who work in this section sure got there hands full with all those logs.

A great number of people are first time computer owners who are not really prolific on the ways of the internet and safe computer practices until it's too late

"The B/C people who work in this section sure got there hands full with all those logs. "

To put it mildly.

Many users either do not have adequate and layered protection, or do not keep it updated, or elect to download a file without checking it out first. Others are not cautious about what sites they visit and are over trustful, or regularly use P2P file sharing.

Cheers,
JOhn

Also, I might just add that the HJT Team are volunteers - they spend their own time helping out everyday people who are not as savy in keeping their computer clean

I wonder how many people there are out there who have computers and dont know what a firewall, or anti virus is...... My parents didnt.. Until I told them.............................................................

Another part of the problem is that certain people just will not learn and change their behaviour. Despite warnings from this site(and getting help from its helpers) some people continue to use p2p and warez.

I'd imagine some people dont know what malware is, or the fact that their computer is infected, untill the pc starts to play up, and they google the symptoms.. ??

There is also the fact that malware is becoming more and more advanced and can infect systems using traditional protection methods. For example tools that rely on lists of known malware will have trouble finding malware that is not on that list unless heuristic search methods are used.

Many people I know simply want to use the computer to do their business or have fun. They have no idea about computer security or the need for it. If it hadn't been for my brother, I would have had no clue about how to secure my computer or even the need to do so before hooking it up. The computer manual certainly did not mention it, nor did any of my computer classes. Given today's cyber-environment, simply hooking up to the internet without protection can result in computer infections within a half-hour or less. My brother is adamant about NOT using wireless internet. He says that while it make hooking up to the internet convenient, it makes it really easy for the "big, bad wolves" to compromise one's computer, so I refuse to use a wireless connection.

Learning how to keep a computer secure and infection free and maintaining that security takes, skill, research, all too often the need to learn computerese in order to understand what the resources are saying, and an enormous amount of time. It also requires a certain level of computer knowledge which many people feel is quite advanced. The time and necessary skills needed to keep a computer secure are among the reasons why I didn't even have a computer of my own until the spring of 2004. There are folks who think I'm very knowledgeable about computers, but I'm not. Most of what I know about computer security I've learned on this site.

Orange Blossom

Hello, OB.

Yes, the "Big Bad Wolves" do like bunnies. As well as orange blossoms.


Just because you learned it here, doesn't mean you haven't learned it. You do a great job helping others out


Billy3

For the most part it is just lack of knowledge.

Myth #1
"I just bought a new PC and it has Norton Security Suite so I must
be protected"
Truth: I have files that will crash Norton if you try to scan them, but they are
not malicious and won't harm your PC.

Myth #2
"I never visit evil websites"
Truth: Websites generate revenue from ads which come from other sites. A compromised
server can deliver bad things to your PC without you ever going there. Especially if you use
Internet Explorer.

Myth #3
"I only download files from my friends/people I know"
How can you be sure that file is safe? MP3's, JPEG's, PDF's can all be trojaned.

People simply don't know. When I sat down at a PC 10 years ago with Windows 98 and
AOL I had no idea what was out there. It wasn't until a few password stealers and one very
nasty Deltree program that I looked into securing my computer. I learned quickly not to click
on the latest greatest screensaver, mouse cursor changer, disk cleaner, super secret program of the day.



This is a great article for new PC users:
Infected in Twenty Minutes