Within the last month there have been
a large number of cases where users were infected by Malicious or Poisoned
Web-Sites. These sites pose as something they are not by advertising search
criteria that a person might be looking for, with the sole intention of snaring
innocent victims that stumble into the site. I tripped into one myself looking
for a data recovery utility a couple of weeks ago.
Typically, a pop-up ad indicates that
an error has been detected on your computer and suggests that you click a
button to correct it. Should you do this, a malicious piece of software will
install itself on your computer and then your problems will really begin.
Another common scam is the message
that an Activex Control or new Video Player is required to view this site. This
closely resembles prompts at quite legitimate sites like Microsoft or Apple but
the results are quite different. Again, a malicious program will invade your
computer if you proceed.
Some new sites have even found ways to
infect your computer without even having to click on anything which means you
have only to hit these sites once to become infected.
Once these programs have infected your
computer they can create a great deal of havoc. One of the most common ones is
called Anti-Virus Pro 2009. This claims to have located several viruses,
but it needs to be updated to be able to remove them properly.
If you go ahead with this you will be giving
your credit card numbers to a bunch of criminals and your computer will
actually end up in far worse shape than when you started. This message pops-up
every few seconds until it is properly removed. Removal is often complicated
and you may need professional help to remove or disable it in some cases.
AVOIDING INTERNET INFECTIONS
A good Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware
product can help you avoid the worst of these infections, but they must be kept
up to date. Occasionally older products, even if their subscriptions have been
updated, are unable to handle the newer software invaders.
Microsoft is also involved in fighting
these culprits but it requires that you apply the Windows Security Updates that
appear on the bottom right corner of your computer screen. These are
accompanied by a small Yellow Shield icon. Recently these new invasive programs
have created icons similar to those used by Microsoft in order to deceive users
into believing Windows itself is asking them to do things. Anti-Virus Pro 2009 creates a
The best way to avoid these infections
is to surf the web cautiously. The Internet can almost be compared to venturing
into a dark alley at times. You need to be aware of what’s out there and what
to do if you come across it.
Fortunately, most of the bad products
out there still require that you do something to activate them which gives you a chance to escape without an infection. If you
see a suspicious pop-up message on the Internet do the following to exit the
page safely. Merely clicking the red “X” in the corner of the window will often
be enough to activate it.
Pressing <ALT> <F4> will
often close the Window. It may also close Internet Explorer as well. If this
does not work, close Internet Explorer completely. Do this by clicking File and
Exit on the Internet Explorer Menu.
If this does not work, press
<CTRL> <ALT> <