Because you almost certainly know most virus threats occur when unsuspecting victims open e-mail attachments or visit attack sites which force feed this malicious software into your computer without you even knowing about it. In a second we will look at methods you can minimise the chance of a malware attack, but first let's look at some more facts.
Most computer users have taken precautionary steps by setting up anti-viral software and simply opening e-mail attachments after they have been suitably scanned for viruses. These simple methods are sufficient to protect your computer from the bulk of potential threats that flood the Net every day, but with the ever-increasing popularity of social networking sites like Twitter, new infections to your computer's security have emerged.
Social networking sites like Twitter are habitually created around networks of friends or business acquaintances but as more and more computer users tweet and re-tweet your list of acquaintances increases exponentially in a short space of time. Many computer users have their guard down when it comes to re-tweeting and clicking on links in their wall, and this has been capitalised on by malicious hackers who misuse the trust and spread their viral attacks without warning.
So, what can you do about this? Here are a few tips.
1. Regard all links as probably unsafe. Just since it looks as though your acquaintance has posted something to your wall does not make it genuine. Make sure the context is proper and that it sounds like something a friend of yours would say. If you are in doubt contact them through another channel to check it out. 2. Don't rely on Twitter. Twitter states that it stands all content for malware; this does not mean that they can eliminate every suspicious event. The shortened or URLs used on twitter can be easily redirected to malicious sites and Twitter cannot protect you against this. 3. Keep your browser up-to-date. By using an up-to-date browser you are assured that the necessary security patches have been installed. These patches present you added security on social bookmarking sites. 4. Install anti-spyware protection. Using the best antispyware maximises your protection so you should make sure that updates are installed automatically. Also ensure that you run a thorough spyware scan. Most software producers recommend this course of action and updates will occur at least every day. 5. Keep your software up-to-date. Reader software like Adobe and Adobe flash are commonly used to interpret data from various websites. Malware producers try to prompt users to download updates and in doing so unleash worms and Trojans that can potentially destroy your computer. Never download updates in this way. Always keep your product is up-to-date by downloading directly from the software producers sites. 6. Keep Windows up-to-date. As you increasingly know, Windows produces updates on a regular basis and most of these are to update the security of the operating system. Make sure your Windows updates are automatically updated. 7. Never be sure about the social network e-mails. By no means assume that an e-mail from Twitter or Facebook or any additional social network site are safe. Hackers use complicated spoofing techniques to mask their true intent and links enclosed in these e-mails are possibly lethal. Always go to the social network site itself to verify whether the content of the e-mail is legitimate.
Although all this may appear to be a topic of common sense, if you have ever had to utilize a data recovery service to bring your system back up to speed, you will appreciate that prevention is far better than cure.
Most computer users have taken precautionary steps by setting up anti-viral software and simply opening e-mail attachments after they have been suitably scanned for viruses. These simple methods are sufficient to protect your computer from the bulk of potential threats that flood the Net every day, but with the ever-increasing popularity of social networking sites like Twitter, new infections to your computer's security have emerged.
Social networking sites like Twitter are habitually created around networks of friends or business acquaintances but as more and more computer users tweet and re-tweet your list of acquaintances increases exponentially in a short space of time. Many computer users have their guard down when it comes to re-tweeting and clicking on links in their wall, and this has been capitalised on by malicious hackers who misuse the trust and spread their viral attacks without warning.
So, what can you do about this? Here are a few tips.
1. Regard all links as probably unsafe. Just since it looks as though your acquaintance has posted something to your wall does not make it genuine. Make sure the context is proper and that it sounds like something a friend of yours would say. If you are in doubt contact them through another channel to check it out. 2. Don't rely on Twitter. Twitter states that it stands all content for malware; this does not mean that they can eliminate every suspicious event. The shortened or URLs used on twitter can be easily redirected to malicious sites and Twitter cannot protect you against this. 3. Keep your browser up-to-date. By using an up-to-date browser you are assured that the necessary security patches have been installed. These patches present you added security on social bookmarking sites. 4. Install anti-spyware protection. Using the best antispyware maximises your protection so you should make sure that updates are installed automatically. Also ensure that you run a thorough spyware scan. Most software producers recommend this course of action and updates will occur at least every day. 5. Keep your software up-to-date. Reader software like Adobe and Adobe flash are commonly used to interpret data from various websites. Malware producers try to prompt users to download updates and in doing so unleash worms and Trojans that can potentially destroy your computer. Never download updates in this way. Always keep your product is up-to-date by downloading directly from the software producers sites. 6. Keep Windows up-to-date. As you increasingly know, Windows produces updates on a regular basis and most of these are to update the security of the operating system. Make sure your Windows updates are automatically updated. 7. Never be sure about the social network e-mails. By no means assume that an e-mail from Twitter or Facebook or any additional social network site are safe. Hackers use complicated spoofing techniques to mask their true intent and links enclosed in these e-mails are possibly lethal. Always go to the social network site itself to verify whether the content of the e-mail is legitimate.
Although all this may appear to be a topic of common sense, if you have ever had to utilize a data recovery service to bring your system back up to speed, you will appreciate that prevention is far better than cure.
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