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Reducing Risk of Malware Infection

No method exists today which will completely eliminate the risk of a malware infection on an Internet connected MS Windows computer. The best solution to date is a combination of technology and behavior.

Technology:

• Keep up to date on MS Windows updates and patches (Windows Update).
• Install a good Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware product on your system and KEEP IT UP TO DATE.
  
  1. Keep it up to date
  2. Use it regularly to scan of your ENTIRE system.
• Install additional Anti-Spyware software on your system and
  1. Keep it up to date
  2. Use it regularly to scan of your ENTIRE system.
• Regularly scan your entire system with a different tool, e.g. www.trendmicro.com's "Housecall".
  Use it regularly to provide a "second opinion" scan of your system.

Behavior:

• DO NOT OPEN EMAIL that is in any way suspicious.
• DO NOT BROWSE "dangerouse" websites (illegal music/video/software downloads, gambling, porn, etc.)
• DO NOT ACCEPT unsolicited offers of "free" software.
• DO NOT ACCEPT unsolicited offers to imporve the performance of your system or remove malware.

Additional Recommendations

Only have ONE antivirus software installed and operating on your computer at a time. Multiple anti-virus programs on a computer will result in unstable behavior and may prevent the computer from booting. If you change anti-virus products, download or obtain a disk with the new product. Disconnect from the Internet, un-install your existing product, reboot your computer, install the new product, reboot your computer, and connect to the Internet to get the current updates.

At SSSI, we use either Avast or NOD32 antivirus software. Other products have not performed as consistently well in preventing and removing malware. This is not to say that there are not other perfectly good products. This software category, like many others, tends to be a game of leap-frog, where one vendor jumps ahead of other, albeit temporarily, with each release of a new version.

Avast offers a "Free for home use" version of it's antivirus software. You can find it at http://www.avast.com. It does a generally very good job. A particularly nice feature is the ability to do a scan at boot (system startup) which allows the detection of some malware that would otherwise disguise itself as legitimate software. The free version requires an annual registration. What it does not do that the commercial product does is scan for scripting attacks in real time. The commercial version has a 60 day evaluation period. Avast also offers a free virus removal tool.

The antivirus product that SSSI is currently using is transitioning to NOD32 from ESET.com (http://www.eset.com). Among the reasons for moving to this product are:

• it is faster than other products we have used
• it uses less memory than other products we have used
• it has the best track record for protecting against previously unknown versions of malware

It is a commercial product and does not have a "Free for home use" version. It does have a free 30 day trial.

There are several commercial spyware protection tools on the market today. At SSSI, we use Avast or NOD32 for general protection and regularly scan with free anti-spyware and online anti-malware tools. The favored products at present are:

• Spybot S&D
• Trendmicro.com's Housecall

Summary

If you do not have up to date security patches and anti-virus software on your computer, GET THEM! If you use an unprotected computer on the Internet, it is not a question of whether or not your computer will be infected, it is only a question of how quickly and how badly it will be infected.

Nothing is perfect. Reduce your risk by keeping your computer up to date, keeping a good anti-malware software up to date, and avoiding questionable emails and web sites. Scan your computer regularly with other tools to catch the things that slip by your primary defenses. In other words, practice "Safe Computing" and perform regular checkups.