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If you own or use a computer,
chances are you or someone you know has been affected or
infected by some form of malware, or malicious software.
The result of such an infection can range from mild
irritation to the catastrophic. While even the most
vigilant computer user is never 100% safe from malicious
attacks, with a little bit of proactive maintenance and
good practices, you can reduce the chances you'll be
hit, and learn to recognize the signs of a malware
attack so that you might prevent or reduce the damage
one causes if it does get past your defenses.
How To Recognize Malware
Malware comes in a variety of
shapes and sizes, and it's next to impossible to list
every symptom or method of entry that this type of
software could use to access your system and its
information. Even if we could, by its very nature such a
list would be out of date rather quickly.
But that doesn't mean you can't
recognize most of the symptoms.
- Your computer
begins to run slowly, or more
erratically.
- Your computer
often crashes, or gives random errors,
that may or may not be repeatable or
reproducible on demand.
- Your computer has
a program on it that you don't recognize
and cannot uninstall.
- Your browser has
a toolbar on it you don't recognize or
cannot uninstall.
- Your computer
begins to act funny after installing a
program from a disc or downloaded from
the internet.
- You suddenly
start getting lots of pop-ups, even if
your browser appears to be closed.
- You get a lot of
"bounceback" messages in your email box,
and don't remember sending that email.
- You cannot access
the web, or are constantly redirected
from known websites to other pages.
- Your home page
changes and you can't change it back or
it won't stay changed.
This is not an exhaustive list by
any means, and having one or more of those isn't
necessarily an indication that your computer is
infected. However, a good general rule of thumb is if
your computer starts acting weird, then treat it as if
it might be infected.
How To Remove Malware
This is going to vary depending on
what software you have installed on your computer. At
minimum, you should have a good anti-virus program.
We currently use and recommend
Microsoft Forefront. This is what we run on our campus
computers. Microsoft offers a free version of this
software to consumers called
Microsoft Security Essentials. You'll want to do two
things with your software. First, you want to update the
software. If you are able to connect to the internet,
you should update straight from the program; otherwise,
you will have to download the updates to a USB drive
from another computer and then install it from there.
Again, you'll want to see the help and instruction
manuals for your particular Anti-Virus software. Then,
run a full system scan.
Sometimes it won't let you run
such a scan. If that's the case, try restarting the
computer in Safe Mode (when the computer reboots, start
tapping the F8 key until the option comes up).
If it finds anything, clean it.
Next you'll want to run a Spyware
or Malware remover. We use
MalwareBytes, but
there are a variety of free or commercial removers on
the market. Again, you'll want to update the
program following its instructions before scanning.
If that doesn't fix it, then
unless you're well versed in computers (in which case
you're already way past our tutorial here) you'll need
to see a professional. For SU-owned computers (ones with
an SU tag) that means calling the Help Desk at
410-677-5454. For personal computers, students, faculty
and staff can take advantage of the University
Bookstore, which has a computer repair service for a
small fee. For others, or for those who may be away from
the University, there are a variety of national and
local computer repair services in the yellow pages.
How to Prevent Getting Infected
in the First Place
The easiest way to deal with
malware is to not get it in the first place. There are a
lot of preventative measures you can take to minimize
your exposure.
- Change your
passwords frequently. Make them complex
enough to be hard to guess, and try to
avoid things that are obviously
associated with you. And don't use the
same passwords for everything; using a
variety of passwords will prevent
someone from gaining access to
everything should your password become
compromised.
- Likewise, try not
to use the same username for everything.
That way, if someone guesses your
password, they can't just try that
username and password combination
everywhere.
- Install an
antivirus program, keep it up to date,
and scan your computer at least once a
week. Having an on-demand scan is a big
plus. (note: don't install more than one
anti-virus program on your computer as
they tend to cause errors for each
other.)
- Like your
antivirus program, installing an
anti-malware or anti-spyware program and
scanning at least once a week is good
practice.
- Keep your
programs up to date, especially your
Windows Updates, Office Updates, Adobe
Updates and Java Updates.
- Run a software
firewall, like the one included in
Windows.
- Don't click on
suspicious links.
- Don't trust
popups that warn that your computer is
infected.
- When you do click
on links, make sure that they are
sending you where they say they're
sending you. Redirection is one of the
ways to trick users into installing
software.
- Read through
software you're installing, especially
software downloaded on the internet.
Often times spyware is packaged with
other software you may be trying to
install.
- Check for
suspicious USB devices and anything
plugged into your keyboard, especially
when looking to use a public computer.
- Be careful using
secure information on public computers
or on public unsecured wireless access.
This is just a small list of
preventative steps you can take to avoid being infected,
hacked, or worse. For more tips and information, see the
following:
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