Archive for the Category ◊ General Security ◊

I removed Malware and now all my personal files are gone!
Thursday, April 21st, 2011 | Author:

The latest versions of Malware I have been witnessing is rather clever and tries to trick the user into believing that all of their files are deleted.  First off make sure you have removed all the infections by running your virus protection and following the Computer Solutions LLC’s malware removal instructions (see here).

Once you have removed the infections and your files are still missing, follow the instructions below:

1. Open “My Computer”

2. Select “C:/ Drive” (or main hard drive is different letter)

3a. For XP, go to C:\Document and Settings

3b. For Vista/Windows 7 go to C:\Users

4. Now you are looking at what should be where all your personal data is stored.

5. You might not see anything in here as the Malware infection has hidden all folders

6. TO UN-HIDE FOLDERS: Go up to “Tools”, then down to “Folder Options”.  (If you don’t see the Tools menu bar, press “alt” and it will show the menu bar. (SEE BELOW)

7. Scroll down to “Hidden files and folders”, and select “Show hidden files and folders” (SEE BELOW)

 

8. Press “OK”, now you should see your user folder (named your user name)

9. Right mouse click on your folder, select “Properties”.  Now un-check the box that says “Hidden”.

10. Press “OK” and select “Apply to all sub-folders and files”, let the process finish and you should have all of your documents back.

11. You might want to perform the same option described in steps 9 & 10 to default user, or all users to bring back all of your start menu items.

12. When you have all of your files un-hidden, you will want to repeat steps 6 & 7 in reverse order to re-hide hidden folders.

13. Done, you should be malware free and have all of your personal files back.

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the Computer Solution llc
Computer Help Durango Colorado - Computer Repair Durango Colorado - PC Repair Durango Colorado
Category: General, General Security, Internet, Malware, Viruses  | Comments off
Intel Completes Acquisition of McAfee
Tuesday, March 01st, 2011 | Author:

SANTA CLARA, Calif., February 28, 2011 – Intel Corporation today announced the acquisition of McAfee, Inc. is complete.

As the Internet expansion pushes it way into our cellphones, cars, and living room, the rise of more and more malware infections is imminent.  The question of how to protect our information has been an ongoing battle within the tech world.  With the acquisition, Intel plans to move into the security industry and possible take a new look at the preventative measure in IT security.

Intel and McAfee believe today’s approach to security does not adequately address the billions of new Internet-ready devices, including PCs, mobile and wireless devices, TVs, cars, medical devices and ATM machines. With the surge in cyber threats, providing protection to a diverse online world requires a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services. Together the two companies will work to help people more securely take full advantage of the potential of computing and connectivity (Ramirez, 2011).

References:

Ramirez, S. (2011, February 28). Intel completes acquisition of mcafee. Retrieved from http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/02/28/intel-completes-acquisition-of-mcafee

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the Computer Solution llc
Computer Help Durango Colorado - Computer Repair Durango Colorado - PC Repair Durango Colorado
Category: General Security, Hardware, Malware, Tech News  | Comments off
Un-secure Wifi’s Threats
Thursday, February 17th, 2011 | Author:

Imagine you’re sitting in a coffee shop surfing your Facebook page, or Twitter account and all of the sudden the stranger sitting at the next table is updating your status and sending messages to your friends from your account.

It could happen and anyone can do it.

Firesheep is a free Firefox browser plugin which allows attackers to monitor un-secure wireless hot-spots for people logging in to websites that do not require secure connections (ex: Facebook, Twitter, Many Consumer Websites). Once a person logs in to their account, the attacker is able to steal their browser cookie (a process called “session hijacking”) and access the victim’s account with just a few mouse clicks, virtually undetected. Firesheep is almost idiot-proof, and gives even the most inexperienced computer user a access to your accounts.

For testing purposes I download Firesheep and within minutes I had access (I didn’t log on, just testing) to random users personal accounts from the coffee shop beneath my home.

This is an area of security which some of the most popular sites in the world (facebook, twitter) need to update to use HTTPS technology and not be storing credentials in Cookies, which as you can see can be easily intercepted.

Be careful what you do on an un-secure Wifi connection and we will see which major site will implement changes in response to Firesheep and the publicity it is receiving.

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the Computer Solution llc
Computer Help Durango Colorado - Computer Repair Durango Colorado - PC Repair Durango Colorado
Category: General Security, Internet  | Comments off