How to prevent getting infected like a boss

[Akolyte]

Getting infected is not fun and removing the virus(es) can be dangerous and daunting.   Viruses can corrupt your data and steal personal information, Viruses are stronger than ever and I'm here to share some awesome ways to pretty much never get infected. 

 

Part 1:  Understanding the main concept.

 

You cant be safe from viruses unless you know what they are, what they do and what the symptoms are.  Most people think a slow computer, some errors or big bold alerts are symptoms.  These can be symptoms but most of the malware these days have almost no symptoms and scanners are not enough.  Here I will explain the main malware types on the internet today and what they do and their symptoms. 

 

EXPLOIT KIT - this malware can come in different variants however they all do a similar thing, they exploit programs and software, even your browser to get into your computer and steal data.  This is normally done within a matter of seconds, you visit a webpage... your browser freezes for a second and you have been infected by an exploit kit.   Some exploit kits exploit programs such as Java and will use a java enabled website that displays an animation that does nothing to trick the user while the exploit kit searches for a security vulnerability within a program.  You may get an alert from your antivirus or a slow computer for a matter of seconds, this is a symptom of an exploit kit searching your system. 

 

ADWARE/PUP - this malware is not as harmful as other types of malware but can execute malicious activity and is therefore considered malware.  Adware is usually software that is considered junk to some people and can bundle viruses, toolbars and other unwanted software.  There have been reports of Adware using system resources to mine crypto currencies. 

 

TROJAN - this malware is a popular type of malware and comes in many different forms.  This malware disguises as a legit program that the user could benifit from but turns out to be malicious.  This malware is usually designed to steal personal information such as credit card numbers.  Most times Trojans will be .exe files and will be very small, this is a symptom of a Trojan virus.  Another symptom is getting alerts from your antivirus of viruses on your system constantly.  This is a sign of a Trojan downloading more malware to your computer. 

 

Part 2: Zero Day Protection. 

 

Zero day protection is a type of protection designed to protect the user against malware that is not currently in the database.  You do not need an antivirus to have zero day protection, zero day protection is usually cloud scanning, sandboxes, and HIPS.  HIPS stands for host intrusion prevention system it protects critical parts of the system and alerts the user and gives the user choices when a certain file or program attempts to access these protected files or folders.  Some HIPS are fully automatic, and is what I like to call Application control, Kaspersky internet security has this and AVG Identity protection does as well.   A behaviour blocker is another type of zero day protection and watches the behaviour of programs to detect whether they are bad or not.  This method is getting old and can be easily bypassed by certain viruses these days.  A sandbox is where a program is ran in a virtual or restricted environment so that it cannot cause harm to the system.  A sandbox is becoming more popular among antivirus software and is a good way of protection your system. 

 

Here are some zero day protection programs:

 

Comodo Firewall (Firewall, HIPS and Sandbox) :http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/firewall.php?track=2740

 

Sandboxie (manual sandbox) : http://www.sandboxie.com/

 

Emsisoft Mamutu (behaviour blocker) :https://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/mamutu/

 

AVG Antivirus free edition (Antivirus, Application control and Behaviour blocker) : http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage

 

Part 3: Patches and updates.

 

Patches and updates update programs to fix found vulnerabilities in the program as well as improve it.  Updating your programs is very important to keeping secure and updated as well as maintaining performance.   Most times applications will warn your and will alert you when an update is available.  Certain drivers and programs can be updated using Windows update.  And programs such as Foxit reader have a way of securing from exploits built in to stop unauthorised scripts from running within the PDF.  

 

 

Part 4: Common sense. 

 

This is vital if you want a safe computer.  If you get sent a file called virus.exe... dont open it, if you get sent a PDF from a hated mother in law... dont open it.  Etc. 

 

 

[tedjani]

thanks

[TechTheWorld]

Mucho gracias mi amigo.

[Lays]

How to not get viruses 101:

 

1.) Don't click things that look fishy, because on the internet, if it looks fishy, it's fishy.

 

2.) When installing things, make sure you don't just click the next button 60 times, read and make sure there's no boxes that say "YES I WANT TO INSTALL MCAFEE, THIS, THAT, AND SOME OF THAT TOO"

 

3.) Don't run things that say "Java wants your permission to run" when the website looks like it was designed by a 2 year old.

 

 

BAM 

 

 

@op good thread

[Coolnesgamer]

Thabkjs

[Mooshi]

Or you can not visit porn sites written in Russian and clicking on those links by Nigerian princes.

 

Protip: Even when installing legit software, NEVER click "express". No one wants a crappy toolbar/their homepage full of STDs.

[Akolyte]

Or you can not visit porn sites written in Russian and clicking on those links by Nigerian princes.

 

Protip: Even when installing legit software, NEVER click "express". No one wants a crappy toolbar/their homepage full of STDs.

and if someone sends you a really long link to a website with a .ru domain....   dont click it

[Akolyte]

How to not get viruses 101:

 

1.) Don't click things that look fishy, because on the internet, if it looks fishy, it's fishy.

 

2.) When installing things, make sure you don't just click the next button 60 times, read and make sure there's no boxes that say "YES I WANT TO INSTALL MCAFEE, THIS, THAT, AND SOME OF THAT TOO"

 

3.) Don't run things that say "Java wants your permission to run" when the website looks like it was designed by a 2 year old.

 

 

BAM 

 

 

@op good thread

you forgot one thing mate, if you see some link on facebook to a porn video dont click it.  Thanks mate btw! 

[Lays]

you forgot one thing mate, if you see some link on facebook to a porn video dont click it.  Thanks mate btw! 

 

 

LOL

[legopc]

pfff btch please i aint afraid of virus 

[Akolyte]

LOL

Yeah, a friend told me he clicked a Rihana undressing video on Facebook.  He said it gave him a virus that opened cmd a ton and redirected every webpage to a bunch of old gay men having sex. 

[Akolyte]

pfff btch please i aint afraid of virus 

you aren't afraid of viruses?  I'm not afraid of viruses either and probably everyone looking on this thread isn't either.  Its like spiders for example, you may not be afraid of spiders but its a possibility it will bite you and you will die.  Same goes for viruses, theres no need to be afraid of viruses.   People who are afraid of viruses have layers upon layers upon layers of protection slowing them down all you need is zero day protection and a firewall and an antivirus.   AVG uses 40mb of RAM, Comodo Firewall uses 10mb of RAM.  So 50mb of RAM and no CPU usage isnt going to slow you down. 

[Akolyte]

Extra Tip:  If you think a file might be malicious, I recommend scanning it with an online website called Virus Total.  They use over 40 (I think) antivirus scanners and reputation to check the file and reports back whether its good or bad based on the overall score. https://www.virustotal.com/

[legopc]

you aren't afraid of viruses?  I'm not afraid of viruses either and probably everyone looking on this thread isn't either.  Its like spiders for example, you may not be afraid of spiders but its a possibility it will bite you and you will die.  Same goes for viruses, theres no need to be afraid of viruses.   People who are afraid of viruses have layers upon layers upon layers of protection slowing them down all you need is zero day protection and a firewall and an antivirus.   AVG uses 40mb of RAM, Comodo Firewall uses 10mb of RAM.  So 50mb of RAM and no CPU usage isnt going to slow you down. 

oh but thats not the point if i get i virus i reinstall. 

[Nineshadow]

RATs are fun.

[TechTheWorld]

Muchas gracias*

Anyway, was a bit long to read but seems legit

Umm, I was just testing to see if anyone new spanish...

[Alex780]

If I don't have Java installed, I can't be harmed by an exploit kit attack, right?

[flibberdipper]

One word to prevent from being infected: Linux.

[Akolyte]

One word to prevent from being infected: Linux.

Linux can still get infected, its just rare and patches come out as soon as its found.  So as long as you don't go getting viruses that are freaking 1 day old that's a good reply. 

[Akolyte]

If I don't have Java installed, I can't be harmed by an exploit kit attack, right?

I guess not, by why risk that?  Java has a control panel where you can control everything to make it more secure for your needs. http://geekarmyblog.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/tutorial-how-to-make-java-more-secure.html

[Unhelpful]

As cool as this is... You suggested AVG. AVG is almost a virus on its own.

[Akolyte]

As cool as this is... You suggested AVG. AVG is almost a virus on its own.

Mate, AVG is not a virus.  Firstly, the toolbar was removed due to negative user feedback.  And it protects from viruses.  It sits in the background using 30mbs of RAM and protecting you from the dangerous threats. So I disagree, though if you tell me why you think its almost a virus I can write a complaint to the guys. 

[Unhelpful]

Mate, AVG is not a virus.  Firstly, the toolbar was removed due to negative user feedback.  And it protects from viruses.  It sits in the background using 30mbs of RAM and protecting you from the dangerous threats. So I disagree, though if you tell me why you think its almost a virus I can write a complaint to the guys. 

Ah if that is true then my mistake. I havent used it on a machine in about 2 years or so.

[Akolyte]

Ah if that is true then my mistake. I havent used it on a machine in about 2 years or so.

Yeah, the toolbar was optional anyways for about 3 years.  Now its completely gone.  And a friend of mine who tests these antivirus software actually compared Avast and AVG 2014 (AVG 2014 Identity protection was greatly improved, it acts like an Automatic HIPS now).  AVG actually won,  AVG had a better detection and better zero day with less website blocking. 

[flibberdipper]

Mate, AVG is not a virus.  Firstly, the toolbar was removed due to negative user feedback.  And it protects from viruses.  It sits in the background using 30mbs of RAM and protecting you from the dangerous threats. So I disagree, though if you tell me why you think its almost a virus I can write a complaint to the guys. 

That RAM usage doesn't justify it still being terrible. As I sit typing this, Avast 2014 Free is using less than half what AVG does, and it protects better than AVG.