1.Virus

  Anti-Viruses: Anti-Viruses are the best defense you have against viruses. The best Anti-Virus I have tested is Norton AntiVirus 2003 and AVG. Norton has a great autoprotect and is updated every Wednesday. You can get Norton off most p2p networks (k-lite) or can buy it for 50 bucks at most software stores. AVGhttp://www.grisoft.com is a free anti-virus which doesn't update as much as Norton but is great at blocking viruses before they run.

 

Types of Viruses: Im going to go over a few of the most common viruses-

 1. Backdoor- Probably the most common virus, using ports or e-mail to send the hacker passwords, lists of files and logs on the computer. Then the hacker can take over your computer by deleting files, downloading files to your system, shutting down anti-viruses etc. Although they normally don't cause major damage with a payload they are still a bad threat.

 2. Trojans- A program that neither replicates nor copies itself, but causes damage or compromises the security of the computer. Typically, an individual emails a Trojan Horse to you-it does not email itself-and it may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort.

3. Worms- A program that makes copies of itself; for example, from one disk drive to another, or by copying itself using email or another transport mechanism. The worm may do damage and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort. Many times they have large payloads.

 

3. Precautions- The best way to get rid of viruses is not to get them at all. First of all, don't download keygens or cracks off any p2p network please use this site-http://www.gamecopyworld.com. Second, make sure the file doesn't have a double extension (aka song.mp3.vbs). Also watch for files with fake extensions. You can normally tell from looking at properties, using a hex editor or looking at the icon. If the icon is only an open window, its most likely a virus. Third, any file you get please scan so that you're not spreading viruses. Fourth, watch files that ask for internet access. Most are Trojans. They sometimes are not picked up by your AV and you need a firewall.Fifth, use heuristics to find new viruses.

 

2. Hackers

Hackers are a very dangerous group that try to look for open ports to connect with you. The best way to get rid of them is with a firewall. The best Firewalls are Zonealarm 4 and Norton Personal Firewall 2003. Zonealarm is good at blocking incoming connections and Norton has been useful in stopping Trojans from accessing the internet. The firewalls do a few things to get rid of hackers-1. Stealth all ports (when the hackers ping it-the port acts like a black hole) 2. Hide your ip 3. Block attacks.

 

3. Spyware

Lastly, i would like to talk about one of the least talked about threats, spyware. Although it normally causes no damage, it spys and tracks what web sites you go to. Here are someways to get rid of it: 1. Get Adware 6 and Spybot Search and Destroy. They work very well together and I caught over 100. 2. Disable Cookies, Ads and Java scripts(get zonealarm). 3. Dont download any pop up downloads(like Gator).4. Do not download programs like imesh and kazaa because its full of spyware. Find cleaned clients like kazaa lite and cleaned imesh!