|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Virus Nightmare..Lessons Learned
I got a virus the other day, Thursday I believe and since then I have been making FRANTIC efforts to save all my info. The most important thing for me to save are my Outlook Express emails and my Roboform passwords. That way I can at least access all the places I need, to download and re-install all the software I use. Thankfully I was able to still access my Laptop and very, very slowly(the system was painfully slow because of the damge done by the virus) start a process of trying to save my system without having to reformat the whole disk. I say thankfully because after a virus attack not everyone is able to even access the system. I tried anti-virus software, I attempted to fix things using the various "malicious advertising" expulsion applications(Ad-aware, Spybot etc.). All to no avail. After almost three days I resigned myself to the fact that it would have to be a re-format which means restoring my Laptop to factory settings. What a nightmare! First of all I made a backup of my Outlook express email software, emails, account settings etc. For this I downloaded a great little free trial software application called Outlook Express Back Up Wizard, a free trial can be downloaded here:http://www.outlook-express-backup.com/ This software met by needs better than others I tried. If you don't use Outlook Express then you can download others by searching here:http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2004-35,RNWE:en&q=email+backup+free+downloads The I did a search for some backup software to back up the files that I could and also to use for future occasions. After trying a few that either wouldn't work on my system, or didn't back up to the medium that I wanted(CD Rom Discs) I found a great tool that just did the trick and in fact I plan to buy as soon as the free trial is up. The software is called "NTI Backup Now 4 Deluxe Suite" and it is so straightforward that even a tech dummy like me found it simple. Again you can use the full version for 30 days free:http://www.ntius.com/ I added my Roboform(www.roboform.com) passwords, my Internet Explorer favourites, my Outlook Express backup, my Microsoft Money backup files(For accounting purposes), as many software installation files as I had and most of the files and folders that I have used recently. Of course what I also ralised is that I have not kept the Install files of loads of the software that I have on my Laptop. Bad mistake! This means that I will have to go search for these again to download to my reformatted system. What I will do in future is save every Install file in it's own folder with passwords, serial numbers and any other useful info in a notepad file alongside them. The hard lesson I have learned is to make sure in future I do frequent backups of my system. I have been online since 1998 and never had any major problems. This is the first and I foolishly underestimated the damage a virus could do. My next step is to get an external drive to use as a backup and as I mentioned to use it frequently. I hope this has given you some food for thought. As I sign off here I am going to insert my Toshiba Product Recovery CD-Rom. If I had taken the necessary precautions I wouldn't have just lost three days of my time. Three days I could have been putting to better use. Ah well, there is positive in every bad situation. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself:-). Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter:http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/For more help and support from Mal Keenan visit his online training site:http://www.pluginprofitstraining.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer withspy ware, ad ware, dialers and hijackers. These, unwelcomeguests, are some of the fastest growing threats on theInternet today. It is important to protect your computerand one of the most powerful software products, availablefor this, is Spy ware Blaster, a program created by Javacool. Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself There are folks out there who use their powers for evil, not good. Let's not give them the opportunity to sneak into our lives and wreak havoc. Submitted for your reading pleasure are some of my tips to protect yourself and your identity. Computer Viruses - How to Remove a Computer Virus from Your Computer Computer viruses infect millions of computers every day. Viruses can destroy data, steal important information, and even make a computer completely unusable. When a computer is infected by a virus it is imperative that the virus be removed as quickly as possible. A Basic Introduction To Spyware Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on theInternet in recent times. When spyware infects a computersystem, it may be relatively harmless or it may bedevastating. Just Whos Computer is this Anyway? Well, this is an article I never thought I would have to write. Computer ownership was just not something I thought people would get confused over but, after overhearing a number of conversations last week from my co-workers, I realized that quite a few people just don't know how cut and dry this topic is. Keeping Worms Out of Your Network... No auntie Sookie, not earth worms, computer virus worms that can get to you computer and slowly dig deep into your files and eat them away. Put that eggnog down and I'll tell you some more about these new worms. Watch Out For That Scam The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) received over 200,000 complaint submissions for 2004, an increase of 66.6% from 2003. The total dollar loss from all referred cases exceeded 68 million dollars, an average loss of $894 per complaint. There are many types of internet frauds that exist including auction, email, foreign investment letters and online dating. Here are some ways to identify a possible scam or fraud that you may have encountered while surfing the internet. Remove Rogue Desktop Icons Created By Spyware If you have used a Windows machine for a while, whether it's Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows 98, you're sure to have noticed desktop icons appearing from out of nowhere. How can icons mysteriously emerge on your Windows desktop? The 5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet Spyware, viruses and worms... oh my! What Can Be Done About Spyware And Adware Having a good Spyware eliminator on your computer is vital now a days with all of the different Spyware, Adware, and other malicious computer parasites that are out there. Most of them are reasonably priced and very easy to use. Social Engineering - The Real E-Terrorism? One evening, during the graveyard shift, an AOL technical support operator took a call from a hacker. During the hour long conversation the hacker mentioned he had a car for sale. The technical support operator expressed an interest so the hacker sent him an e-mail with a photo of the car attached. When the operator opened the attachment it created a back door that opened a connection out of AOL's network, through the firewall, allowing the hacker full access to the entire internal network of AOL with very little effort on the hacker's part. The Saga of the Annoying Adware When we think of adware, what comes to mind are those annoying and pesky ads that pop up out of nowhere whenever we are surfing the net. Anybody who has surfed through the net has encountered those irritating pop-up adwares advertising everything from computer software down to Viagra. Adwares are some of the most derided objects in the web alongside viruses, spyware and other malicious softwares and programs. Although adwares are alleged to be the most benign form of spyware, most web users hate the blatant and bothersome way of advertising. Most are often tricked into clicking on such adwares and end up unintentionally downloading something far more serious. Everything You Need To Know About Spyware and Malware You are at your computer, checking out software on EBay. The computer is really sluggish, and you are not running anything else. You click on a link, and BLAM you are redirected to a search page you've never heard of and the "back" button won't work. Its War I Tell You! There are ways to insure security though. You can get the Windows Update CD from Microsoft and install that before you get online, You can also get most Antivirus Definitions downloaded and save them to disk, then install those before you go online, (of course you have to be using that Product in the first place), and you can get Anti-Spyware on a disk and do the same. But how many people do that in their excitement to take their new computer out of the box and hook it and see what it will do? Sans Internet Storm Center says those people will have their computer infected with adware or worse in less than 20 minutes! Virgin computers online are an easy target, open to attack. When that person soon realizes their brand new computer is sick, first comes the shock, then the anger, then the question; how do I fix it? If the new computer owner is lucky they can fix it fairly cheaply. It might involve a lot of time listening to elevator music while you're in the hold queue?. either way it's no fun. Anti-Spyware Protection: Behind How-To Tips There is no doubt that "how-to articles" have become a separate genre. One can find such an article about almost anything; there are even some entitled "How to Write a How-To Article". And, of course, the Web is swarming with the ones like "10 Steps to Protect Your PC from Spyware"(if not 10, any number will do; odd ones like 5,7,9 are most popular) or "How to Forget About Spyware For Good". Please don't accuse me of being sarcastic -- I am not; all these articles by all means are informative and so very useful. They all include really handy tips to protect you from this recently emerged plague called spyware. But? Spy Scanners ? Don?t Compromise your Privacy Spies, spyware, internet parasites are among what they are usually called. These are scouts that monitor your web activities. The work undercover to check on your surfing patterns, spending habits, items bought, they extract email addresses, hijack browsers, steal credit card information. These are just some of the things a spyware is capable of. Parental Control - Dangers To Your Child Online & Internet Child Safety Tips Did you know...? Free Antivirus Security Software: Download Now to Eliminate Spyware, Pop Up Ads, etc. Adware. Spyware. Pesky pop up ads. Internet congestion. Computer malfunctions of every kind. Obviously, you're infected! The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information Do you know what "phishing" is? If You Sell Anything Online Your ePockets Are Being Picked You and I are a lot alike. We are both software publishers and eBook authors getting hosed on a regular basis. You and I, my friend, are victims of software piracy that accounted for over $24 BILLION dollars in lost revenue over the last two years*. There are so many ways people can get your product for free these days. If we continue doing nothing we will lose even more money this year as potential customers become more and more aware of just how easy it is to obtain digital products without paying for them.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
