Hackers + general web safety
1) This community is not closing. And if it were, you'd better believe that I'd have a better-phrased goodbye post than the one that the hackers are putting up.
2) My password is insane and I only remember it about half the time anyway so I doubt some bored Russian hackers could figure it out (really, they are Russian. Apparently the malware sites are in Cyrillic).
3) Rest assured that I'm currently running three antivirus software programs on my computer and the majority of the music I upload was purchased from AmazonMP3 so anything you download from me via Sendspace is clean.
4) Download Firefox. Or Safari. Or, hell, GoogleChrome. Opera, even. Cease using Internet Explorer. I know it's popular and I know it probably came with your system, but it's slow as molasses in Antarctica and no matter how many service packs Microsoft releases, it will still be full of security holes.
5) USE ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE. I recommend Norton Antivirus 2009 and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. I had the Vundo and Metajuan trojans infect some hidden system files in my computer a couple weeks ago and Malwarebytes was the only thing that could get my computer to stop spewing insanity. And I feel dirty when I'm on a computer that isn't using Norton. Also, Lavasoft AdAware is something everyone should have installed.
6) Be aware that websites should not be scanning your computer for viruses. This is indicative of at least Anti Virus 2009 which is, actually, a virus.
7a) If weird shit happens (a website starts scanning your computer, you have massive amounts of popup windows that you can't avoid clicking on, things start looking really bad for you and you're considering launching your computer and yourself out of the window) - shut it down. Don't go through the Start menu - go hardcore and hit the power button on the computer tower (laptop: hold the power button down until your system shuts off). Unplug your internet cable. Wait a minute (you should do this between restarts even if your computer isn't doing weird things). Restart and run your virus scan. Shut down, plug in your internet cable, start it up again.
7b) Avoid buying anything or entering any passwords while you're unsure of how clean your computer is. Trojans (or "keyloggers" as people on LJ are calling them) record every keystroke you make and send them back to some bored dude in a basement in Cambodia who then determines whether to do anything with that data or not. Like steal your identity and sell it to a fake fax company in Norway who will charge $500 to your student credit card. True story! Globalization works!
7c) Get your google-fu on. If Step 7a didn't work, open up Firefox or Safari and Google and start searching. Hit control-alt-delete, which will bring up your task manager. Go to "processes" and organize by alphabetical order. Google search for anything that's hogging your system or that looks bizarre and out of place. bleepingcomputer.com, Trend Micro, Symantec, McAfee, PC Support, CNet, and VUPEN are all solid, trustworthy sites with good resources.
7d) If you can't delete a file that you're positive is causing a problem (you get the warning "Cannot delete or move file. It's currently being used by another program"), restart in safe mode (XP/Vista: Hit F8 when the screen starts listing the hardware associated with your machine. Use your arrow keys to choose Safe Mode) and delete through there. Make sure to empty your recycle bin before you restart again. Safe Mode only allows a select group of programs to run (unfortunately, Norton Antivirus isn't one of them, which frustrates me) so the chances of your file being used by another program are pretty slim.
8) If you aren't sure of the link, hover over it. In the bottom of your browser (WHICH SHOULD BE FIREFOX OR SAFARI, ARE WE CLEAR), the actual URL will appear (instead of the text that the person posted). If it's .ru (and I apologize to any Russians who are reading this - I don't mean to offend, but really? Truth) or looks suspicious or you honestly can't tell where the frak this thing is sending you, don't click on it. Thanks to inventions in technology, you no longer need to tell a site you'd like to download something for it to download something onto your computer. Even if you don't let the page load or hit your browser's (which is...all together now!) back button really fast, it can still download.
9) If you already have a program installed and you're positive that you have the newest version installed and a site is asking you to download a plugin anyway (Adobe Flash, Macromedia Flash, anything required to play a video) - DO NOT INSTALL VIA THAT SITE. Go to the actual program's website and download from there. If you already have it installed, the video or animation should run just fine without you needing to do any extra installation. Going through the manufacturer's website prevents you from downloading an infected copy.
10) Password Security 101: Use a combination of letters and numbers that are neither initials, birthdates, anniversaries, street numbers or phone numbers (I think it goes without saying that social security numbers are way off limits). Always use a security question with an answer that is not publicly available (i.e., "Where did I go to college?" is a bad, bad plan if you have it listed in your userinfo). Use a different password for your email account than you do for your Livejournal account.
Peace.
2) My password is insane and I only remember it about half the time anyway so I doubt some bored Russian hackers could figure it out (really, they are Russian. Apparently the malware sites are in Cyrillic).
3) Rest assured that I'm currently running three antivirus software programs on my computer and the majority of the music I upload was purchased from AmazonMP3 so anything you download from me via Sendspace is clean.
4) Download Firefox. Or Safari. Or, hell, GoogleChrome. Opera, even. Cease using Internet Explorer. I know it's popular and I know it probably came with your system, but it's slow as molasses in Antarctica and no matter how many service packs Microsoft releases, it will still be full of security holes.
5) USE ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE. I recommend Norton Antivirus 2009 and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. I had the Vundo and Metajuan trojans infect some hidden system files in my computer a couple weeks ago and Malwarebytes was the only thing that could get my computer to stop spewing insanity. And I feel dirty when I'm on a computer that isn't using Norton. Also, Lavasoft AdAware is something everyone should have installed.
6) Be aware that websites should not be scanning your computer for viruses. This is indicative of at least Anti Virus 2009 which is, actually, a virus.
7a) If weird shit happens (a website starts scanning your computer, you have massive amounts of popup windows that you can't avoid clicking on, things start looking really bad for you and you're considering launching your computer and yourself out of the window) - shut it down. Don't go through the Start menu - go hardcore and hit the power button on the computer tower (laptop: hold the power button down until your system shuts off). Unplug your internet cable. Wait a minute (you should do this between restarts even if your computer isn't doing weird things). Restart and run your virus scan. Shut down, plug in your internet cable, start it up again.
7b) Avoid buying anything or entering any passwords while you're unsure of how clean your computer is. Trojans (or "keyloggers" as people on LJ are calling them) record every keystroke you make and send them back to some bored dude in a basement in Cambodia who then determines whether to do anything with that data or not. Like steal your identity and sell it to a fake fax company in Norway who will charge $500 to your student credit card. True story! Globalization works!
7c) Get your google-fu on. If Step 7a didn't work, open up Firefox or Safari and Google and start searching. Hit control-alt-delete, which will bring up your task manager. Go to "processes" and organize by alphabetical order. Google search for anything that's hogging your system or that looks bizarre and out of place. bleepingcomputer.com, Trend Micro, Symantec, McAfee, PC Support, CNet, and VUPEN are all solid, trustworthy sites with good resources.
7d) If you can't delete a file that you're positive is causing a problem (you get the warning "Cannot delete or move file. It's currently being used by another program"), restart in safe mode (XP/Vista: Hit F8 when the screen starts listing the hardware associated with your machine. Use your arrow keys to choose Safe Mode) and delete through there. Make sure to empty your recycle bin before you restart again. Safe Mode only allows a select group of programs to run (unfortunately, Norton Antivirus isn't one of them, which frustrates me) so the chances of your file being used by another program are pretty slim.
8) If you aren't sure of the link, hover over it. In the bottom of your browser (WHICH SHOULD BE FIREFOX OR SAFARI, ARE WE CLEAR), the actual URL will appear (instead of the text that the person posted). If it's .ru (and I apologize to any Russians who are reading this - I don't mean to offend, but really? Truth) or looks suspicious or you honestly can't tell where the frak this thing is sending you, don't click on it. Thanks to inventions in technology, you no longer need to tell a site you'd like to download something for it to download something onto your computer. Even if you don't let the page load or hit your browser's (which is...all together now!) back button really fast, it can still download.
9) If you already have a program installed and you're positive that you have the newest version installed and a site is asking you to download a plugin anyway (Adobe Flash, Macromedia Flash, anything required to play a video) - DO NOT INSTALL VIA THAT SITE. Go to the actual program's website and download from there. If you already have it installed, the video or animation should run just fine without you needing to do any extra installation. Going through the manufacturer's website prevents you from downloading an infected copy.
10) Password Security 101: Use a combination of letters and numbers that are neither initials, birthdates, anniversaries, street numbers or phone numbers (I think it goes without saying that social security numbers are way off limits). Always use a security question with an answer that is not publicly available (i.e., "Where did I go to college?" is a bad, bad plan if you have it listed in your userinfo). Use a different password for your email account than you do for your Livejournal account.
Peace.