Computer Infections and Your Options For Sanity

When I take a step back and look all the computers that I have repaired over the last year, there is one common trait that stands out - malware. Of course, this should come as no surprise really. Malware, spyware and the common run of the mill computer virus are more of a problem today than they ever were. On one hand you might think that we would have been doing a better job fighting these threats considering there are more anti-infection software on the market and people are more aware today than ever before. While this might be true, there are also just as many more infections out there  too.

It is all relative. More infections means more ways to fight the infections. The other part of the equation, people's knowledge of the situation is also somewhat on the rise, just not as much as you would think. When I see people about the infections on their systems, I would say about 80% of them have already run an anti-virus program of some sort. This is where the problem lies however. It is also where the "knowledge" of the whole computer infection situation is somewhat lacking.

When people first get a computer they usually get a bundle of software included with that computer. This is what we in the repair business call "bloatware". Essentially it is a bunch of applications that are for the most part, useless. In other words, they do nothing but unecissarily bloat your computers hard drive. One of these software applications that fall into this category is Norton Anti Virus. To most of you Norton Anti Virus might seem like it is on the same side as the rest of us. Fighting the good fight against the evil virus. The problem is that although Norton does its best to try and look like it is a useful program, it can also be considered a double-agent. Why? Because it too does some of the same things to your computer that a virus or malware can do.

In the world of computer infections there is one simple method used by almost everyone to get something past the computer user and get malicious programs installed, that method is to prey on ignorance. In general people just do not pay enough attention to things. This is especially true if they already do not fully understand something they are doing, or if they put their trust in something. This is the case with Norton. When going through the installation process for Norton or the setup menus when you first bring your computer home, they (Norton) will do what they can to get their toolbars or the toolbars of their "affiliates" installed on your computer.

Although a toolbar might seem harmless at first, they are anything but. A toolbar brings along with it permissions to change your homepage, your preferred search engine, and various other options that you would normally probably not want adjusted or changed. The problem is that when you are asked by a program like Norton you might not be so guarded because it is a security program asking you. Along with the toolbars and changes to your browser and other things, software like this will also become a major nuisance to your general everyday life.

They will change the way your firewall behaves and attempt to scan almost anything that you add to your computer. Now you might be thinking to yourself, "self - this might not be a bad thing. Scanning things is how you protect me right?" Well.. not really. Sure scanning in general is the method used to look for infections but no computer user need everything they do scanned. This only serves to slow down everything you do on your computer and for no good reason. This is an age where we try and make everything faster, there should be no reason that we add something that will only do the opposite.

The fact of the matter is, the programs that come with your computer or are given to you for free when you get cable or buy a computer are for the most part a waste of time and space. Look at it this way, if the company making this software needs to force it on people by giving it away and putting it on every computer in the country before they are even boxed up then that means that people are not actively downloading the software because they need it on their own. So the company combats this by throwing the software at people. It is a way to inflate their numbers and their market share... nothing else.

If you want to protect yourself from infections you need to employ one general rule, use common sense. Do not install anything without actually reading every menu option and choice they give you during the installation process. This is the best time to try and sneak a toolbar by somebody. Do not open email from people you do not know and use your junk mail filters. They are there for a reason. If you do get infected then you need to run a scan using software that actually works to clean your system. There are two ways to clean a system of a virus or malware infection. The first is to run a scan with a good virus program. The second is to clean out a specific threat using a tool made for that threat. If you have a rootkit infection you need a rootkit cleaner. If you have a registry infection then you need to clean the registry.

There are some really good tools and programs out there to rid a system of just about every infection, unwanted toolbar, or unneeded software that there is. There is really no infection that cannot be cleaned out. It is just a matter of knowing what you are doing and how to work the problem. If you need something more than a general scan or your problem gets too big and you are worried about losing important data then you need to call someone.  Personally I would stay away from places like Geek Squad because they are known to cause more problems then they can solve. Plus they can be expensive and always want to sell you something else that you do not need. If you really need a good cleaning, my company does it better than the rest and you get one major benefit after using us just once. You will get unlimited email tech support!

I will continue to write various articles on Geneva Patch to try and help, educate, and warn people about the various dangers and issues that can come up with our technology these days. You can also find me at my blog at www.dbdnet.blogspot.com or email me at diversebydesign@gmail.com

Until next time, be safe and be smart. Common sense can usually fix anything!