Posts Tagged ‘anti-virus’

April Fool’s Virus

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

April 1st is a day in which malware creators like to have their viruses activate and this April Fool’s Day will be no different. According to this article from Yahoo, the virus named Conficker, will activate itself on April 1st. What this means is that there is a possibility that the virus is on your computer right now and is just in a dormant state. It is vitally important that you have the latest Microsoft Updates and Anti-Virus definitions installed on your machine. Please refer to my “Computer Security” blog post which gives you a list of programs that should be installed on your computer. These will greatly reduce your risk of coming in contact with this new virus. Also, if you haven’t done so recently, run your scans as soon as possible to make sure your system is clean and also make sure to do a system backup of your important data. There is also a free online scan here.

This virus has the potential of doing severe damage including wiping out your hard drive and stealing your personal information so be sure to not take this threat lightly. If you have any doubts feel free to contact Catanoso Computing. We’ll update your computer’s security and make sure it is virus free so you have nothing to worry about.

I will continue to update this post with any new patches and information that may come out in regards to this virus. Please continue to check back on a daily bases.

Nicholas Catanoso
Catanoso Computing
http://www.catanosocomputing.com

Computer Security

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

The computer security of personal/businesses nowadays is extremely important. When repairing a customers computer it is a priority of mine to make sure it has anti-virus and anti-spyware programs installed. Having these  installed is just part of the solution. More often than not I see customers’ computers whose anti-virus programs have not been updated for quite some time. With new viruses popping up everyday, updating your anti-virus software is critical.  Another major threat is identity theft. When your computer is left vulnerable you risk someone being able to steal your personal information including passwords to online banking, credit card numbers from online shopping and so on and so on. Here is a list of programs that I recommend:

•    AVG Free Edition
•    Malwarebytes
•    Superantispyware
•    Comodo Firewall Pro (advanced users only)

These programs can all be downloaded for free here. Make sure you run and update them at least once a week. If you don’t feel comfortable installing these yourself, contact Catanoso Computing and we’ll take care of it for you.

Nicholas Catanoso
Catanoso Computing
http://www.catanosocomputing.com