Today one of our customers contacted us with the following note regarding Windows update.

“Beware Windows update KB981793 concerning daylight saving times.  This is called an “important” update and is installed automatically on to XP is auto-update is on.
It was installed on my computer last Tuesday and all seemed OK for a few days, but then I noticed both Firefox and IE8 getting very slow and hesitant.  On Saturday the whole computer began to get slow and by Sunday a every program took at least 2 minutes to open and all mouse and keyboard functions were delayed for nearly a minute.  An Avast scan that normally takes 30 minutes took 1½ hours and an SD scan that normally takes 50 minutes took nearly three hours.  They were both clean as this was not the problem.

I looked to see what had been installed and found this KB update from last Tuesday, so I managed to do a System Restore to last Monday (it took three hours with my fingers crossed) and when it had eventually restored I found that everything had returned to normal – thank goodness.”

Please note it effects XP, Vista and Windows 7. So if you have problems check to see whether you have the update and if so perform a system restore to a date earlier than when you installed the update. If the problem is not solved by this then you can always undo the restore.

Previously we have looked at malware and viruses (part 1), trojan horses and cookies (part 2), and spyware and rootkits (part 3). This time we look at latest trends and the forms of protection you can take to prevent your computer being infected.

Latest trends:

Most malware these days are not written by students or amateurs but by highly qualified criminal gangs using all the techniques of modern software writers. Malware is becoming increasingly complex and clever and often “protects” itself against anti-malware solutions, even shutting them down. Some malware are extremely difficult to remove, and even when removed leave the computer “damaged” in some way.
Protection:

This all sounds very scary, but there are some good ways to protect yourself against getting malware on your computer.

Firstly, make sure you install a recognised anti-virus system on your computer. There are many good ones, some are even free for consumer use. Check out our links section if you need some examples. Never “surf” the web without protection.

Keep your computer’s software patched and current. Both your operating system and your anti- virus application must be updated on a regular basis. You should also check for other software updates on a regular basis. The bonus here is that as well as getting potential problems sorted out you often get improvements and additional features to the software.

Only download updates from the manufacturers websites, or use the software’s own updates tool (generally located in the “help” menu).

Always think before you install something, weigh the risks and benefits, and be aware of the fine print. Does the lengthy license agreement that you don’t want to read conceal a warning that you are about to install spyware?

Install and use a firewall. If you are running Windows XP SP1 or later, Vista and 7, you can use the built-in software firewall under Control Panel, and there are free versions of firewalls that work on all versions of Windows.

Make sure your important data, documents, photos, etc are regularly backed up, just in case the worst happens and a virus takes out your system.

Prevention is always better than cure.

Future articles will deal with removal of malware should you be unfortunate enough to get some.