How to avoid (or remove) spyware/scareware from your PC.

1. How to avoid (or remove) spyware/scareware from your PC. Sources: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/09/what_to_do_when_rogue_anti-vir.html http://www.tucsoncomputerrepairservice.com/tucson-virus-and-malware-blog http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3140 http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/assets_c/2009/07/scareware-3550.php

2. How to identify spyware/scareware Most types of infections users will see on their PC are referred to as “scareware”. When a user has scareware on their PC, they will often times be harassed with constant popups and warning messages about PC infections. Scareware messages are designed to fool the user into thinking that the popups are legitimate by copying a common look for windows XP machine system windows (Control Panel, Windows Firewall)

3. Other examples of scareware:

4. What to do if you think you have a virus/scareware • Remain calm • Take a deep breath. Most of these attacks go from bad to worse if you click "yes," or "no" or "cancel" (The scareware may try to install even if you click no or cancel). • When in doubt, close it out • If you click no or cancel and still are seeing popups, you can always close the browser process. To do this, press ctrl+alt+delete, then click on the bottom middle button that says task manager. Select the process for the browser you are using (e.g., iexplore.exe, firefox.exe) and click End Process. • If you are unable to close out of the browser using this method, a last resort to avoid infection is a hard reset of the PC. This is not recommended because you will lose any open data you have. To do this, hold the power button on the PC tower for approx 10 seconds. • Call the Help Desk • If you have followed these steps and are still seeing popups when you are logged in to your machine, call the ECM helpdesk (443 – 4363) to report the problem.

5. How to avoid scareware • Avoid “shady” websites • Adult websites, besides being frowned upon at work, are big offenders when it comes to scareware. • Examine suspicious emails • Technology exists to “spoof” an email address, making an email look like it is coming from someone you know, that will very often contain links or attachments meant to infect your computer. If you think an email doesn’t look right, delete the email and do not click the links. If possible, verify with the person that appeared to have sent the message, if they deny sending it, it is most likely not legitimate. • Be wary of popups • Many legitimate websites (cnn.com, yahoo.com, facebook.com) have been infected in recent months with links to spyware and scareware. If you are on a website and are receiving popups, follow the steps listed previously to stop scareware from infecting your machine, and try to avoid the website for at least that day. Usually the site owner will catch and remove any bad links by that time. • If you are still unsure? • Call the helpdesk. Any of our techs have experience with spotting bad popups, or scareware infections.