Alan E. Mann, AG

alan.familyhistory@gmail.com Accredited Genealogist

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy January 2006

Power Tools for Internet Genealogy

Spyware, Viruses, Firewalls, & Other Scary Stuff

This session deals only with Windows computers and the bad stuff that can happen to you or your computer. First, some definitions courtesy of wikipedia.org:

Virus: a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other programs or documents. While viruses can be intentionally destructive (for example, by destroying data), many other viruses are fairly benign or merely annoying. However, the predominant negative effect of viruses is their uncontrolled self-reproduction, which wastes or overwhelms computer resources. Anti-Virus software was originally designed to protect computers from viruses, has in turn expanded to cover worms and other threats.

Phishing (also known as spoofing) is the act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business with a real need for such information in a seemingly official electronic notification or message (most often an email, or an instant message). (See an example.) The term phishing comes from the fact that Internet scammers are using increasingly sophisticated lures as they "fish" for users' financial information and password data.

Pharming: an attack in which a user can be fooled into entering sensitive data such as a password or credit card number into a malicious web site that impersonates a legitimate web site. It is different than phishing in that the attacker does not have to rely on having the user click a link in an email to deceive the user-- even if the user correctly enters a URL (web address) into a browser's address bar, the attacker can still redirect the user to a malicious web site.

Hacker: one who subverts computer security without authorization or indeed, anyone who has been accused of using technology (a computer or the Internet) for terrorism, vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, and many other forms of crime. This can mean taking control of a remote computer through a network, or software cracking. This is the pejorative sense of hacker, also called cracker or black-hat hacker or simply "criminal" in order to preserve unambiguity.

Adware: any computer program or software package in which advertisements or other marketing material are included with or automatically loaded by the software and displayed or played back after installation or in which information about the computer or its users is uploaded automatically when the user has not requested it.

Spyware: a program that includes code that tracks a user's personal information and passes it on to third parties, without the user's knowledge or consent. The line between adware and spyware is fuzzy when the adware behaves as spyware, but the “user consent” is buried in a user license agreement which most users never read.

How do I protect myself from this “Bad Stuff”?

You get protection in the form of software and you “practice safe computing”

Protection software includes, Antivirus software, spyware protection (usually covers adware), and firewall protection. A package which tries to do all of these things may be called a protection suite of programs.

Virus protection software: our computers need to be protected from malware infection. Potential sources for infection include diskettes (from clients, fellow researchers, potential relatives…), CD-ROMs, flash drives, the Internet, and networks (particularly wireless). McAfee and Norton are the leaders in virus protection, but a new, free alternative is AVG AntiVirus (free.grisoft.com). A useful lists of links:

Symantec Antivirus Research Center www.symantec.com/avcenter/
F-Secure Virus Information Center www.f-secure.com/v-descs/
Stiller Research Virus Information www.stiller.com/
Virus Bulletin Home Page www.virusbtn.com/
NIST Virus Information Page http://csrc.nist.gov/virus/
McAfee Virus Pages www.mcafee.com/

Sophos Virus Information www.sophos.com/virusinfo/

Unfortunately, your virus education isn’t complete until you know about hoaxes. Many good intentioned emailers forward messages about a terrible threat on to their acquaintances. In a short time, millions of messages are being forwarded around about a virus that never existed. Check out virus reports at www.vmyths.com/ or at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ before passing on warnings.

Spyware protection software. There are many, but the most popular is Spybot Search and Destroy, available free at www.majorgeeks.com/download2471.html. However, Spybot can miss some types of spyware. I suggest you use the free scan available at www.pestpatrol.com/prescan.htm to see if Spybot has missed anything. This scan is free, but you have to buy the product to have it remove any “pests” that it finds. Be aware that what one program considers to be a pest may be essential to your needs.

Security/Firewall protection software. A computer firewall refers to a piece of hardware or software which prevents undesired transfers of information or other communications forbidden by your policy. It has the basic task of preventing intrusion from a connected network device into other networked devices. It is needed if you connect your computer to any type of network, including wireless networks (business, home, school, library, or ?) and the Internet. When you connect to a network, other computers on that network may be able to steal information from your computer, put viruses on your computer, or use your computer to commit an illegal act which could be traced back to your computer. A firewall is an attempt to block these attempts. Connecting to the Internet or any network without firewall protection is asking for serious trouble! Windows XP comes with a basic firewall, but a more robust firewall is advisable. To check your computer for security vulnerabilities, use NeWT, available free at www.tenablesecurity.com/newt.html.

Practice safe computing

Use common sense. Don’t open an email attachment if you don’t know the sender. Don’t click on links that say “click here to verify your bank account.” Don’t respond to email messages that ask you to give a password or verify your Social Security number. If you receive a message that claims to be from your bank asking you to verify something, CALL them.

Operating System (OS) updates – occasionally, Microsoft releases updates that correct problems with their OS. More frequently, Microsoft releases “patches” that close loopholes (vulnerabilities) that hackers use to cause problems. No matter what OS you use, you should download updates! When patches and updates since the original release of the OS are numerous, Microsoft will release a Service Pack. A service pack is just the combination of all the patches and updates since the OS was first released. A second service pack will only contain the patches and updates since the previous service pack.

Use Firefox or Opera – use a less security-flawed web browser. Firefox is a smash hit. In the fourth quarter of 2004 alone, 5% of Internet Explorer users switched to Firefox. Maximum PC says using Firefox is a primary strategy for protecting your PC.

Make regular backups and store one backup offsite (on the Internet or at work?). Update the offsite backup frequently—the question is how much data can you afford to lose?

Learn more about your system--how to configure, improve, and troubleshoot. Use:

§ www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/app_taskman.mspx

§ www.techrepublic.com

§ Google and wikipedia.

Getting more from what we have

Right now, most of us use Windows. There will be a shift to Linux or other “open source” software soon. There are several Windows concepts that are important:

· Windows Explorer – ( - E) Use it; folder options & file associations.

· Windows Task Manager varies according to which OS you’re using. I recommend using XP. The task manager has four tabs—applications, processes, performance, and networking. There is a lot of information available in these four panels. Watching the data on the performance panel can help diagnose or prevent problems.

· System tray and startup. The task bar at the bottom of the screen has a notification area (formerly called system tray). Every icon in that area represents a process that is using your computer’s resources. Know what each icon is. Close unnecessary processes to conserve resources and make your system run faster. When you reboot, they may come back. To permanently remove them, use www.windowsstartup.com, a utility that tells you what each process does and whether it is safe to remove it, then will remove it at your request. For processes that are running but not listed at WindowsStartup, see www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm.

· Be careful using flash drives (pen drives, key drives, jump drives or a variety of other names) for sending/receiving/carrying data. Use the “unplug” icon in the notification area to stop flash drives before removing them. Failure to do so may result in loss of all data on the drive. A rule of thumb is to only remove a flash drive when the light on it is not lit.

· If you want to use wireless networking, be aware that anyone with a wireless computer near your home may be able to see the files on your computer. Launch the startup instructions for your wireless in your web browser and set a WEP key (Wireless Equivalent Privacy).  For complete information on what all this means and how wireless works, see http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network.htm.

· A recent trend in security is the movement of fingerprint readers. See www.digitalpersona.com

©Copyright 2004-2006 by Alan E. Mann, AG. All rights reserved. Written permission to reproduce all or part of this syllabus material in any format, including photocopying, data retrieval or the Internet, must be secured in advance from the copyright holder.