10 Security Problems and 10 Security Solutions

If your firewall didn’t fire up an alert and your antivirus software is giving everything the green light, how can you know if your PC is compromised nevertheless? Here are the signs to watch out for.

1. PC suddenly starts running much slower – malware uses RAM and CPU resources to run in the background that would otherwise be used by your legitimate programs.
2. You cannot send email – your ISP may have blocked port 25 because your machine is compromised.
3. You cannot access the internet at all – your ISP may have blocked your connection.
4. You’re getting lots of unwanted popups and spoofed system messages offering free antivirus and other downloads – these are usually phishing messages designed to persuade you to download a Trojan without realizing it.
5. Your browser favorites or bookmarks have links to pr0n, gambling and other illicit sites that you didn’t add yourself – not so common these days.
6. Your browser homepage was changed to something undesirable – no longer a common attack
7. You’re getting constant browser popups to sites you’d rather not see – again, this is rare these days but still happens, it’s usually marketing rather than malicious.
8. Scanning your network with “netstat -an” at the command line shows lots of internet protocol numbers (IP numbers) you don’t recognise. 127.0.0.1, 0.0.0.0, 192.168.*.* are safe. Others maybe Microsoft, Google or other apps, some may be malicious connections.
9. Your router or modem lights are flashing fast and constantly even when you’re not doing anything on the net – a good sign that a hidden program is accessing the net without your knowledge or someone is piggybacking on your wireless network. Alternatively, it could be your antivirus program updating.
10. There are suspicious programs loading at Windows startup. You can check and delete these by installing the Control Panel addon startup.cpl or a similar tool.

According to AssociatedContent:

Hackers infiltrate unprotected computers by using automated tools to sniff out susceptible computers on the Internet. Once found, malicious software is installed and the computer mindlessly follows whatever instructions the hacker sends its way. Once the computer becomes a robot, it is part of the larger botnet and you have become a pawn for malicious deeds!

Surf safe

1. Make sure you heed Google and other malware warnings when surfing the net and don’t visit compromised sites.
2. Ensure you are running good antivirus software (ESET’s NOD32, AVG, Avast! Kaspersky, Avira) and keep it up to date.
3. Make sure you have changed your router default username and password to something else and switch on the hardware firewall.
4. Run Windows Firewall as a bare minimum, but better still install and run ZoneAlarm, and keep it updated.
5. Visit GRC.com and download the various small security tools that scan and block problems.
6. Run Windows Malicious Software tool periodically, or install SpyBot S&D or AdAware, keep them updated and run periodically to detect and immunize against malware.
7. Use NoScript in Firefox to protect against malicious downloads and clickjacking.
8. If you’re using a public wireless network or even a public wired network connection, use a VPN to encrypt all internet traffic.
9. Periodically check Windows Task Manager for spurious applications running the names of which you don’t recognize – Google those and double check they are legitimate. e.g. svchost.exe
10. Make sure Windows Updates is running and that you download, install and reboot all Windows security fixes and patches as soon as possible; especially important if you reinstall Windows from backup disks.