The Google Redirect Virus is definitely in my top ten of annoying viruses. The main reason for this is that generally the first thing that I do as soon as I discover a virus on my system is to Google how to remove the virus. Of course this doesn’t work as . . . → Read More: Google Redirect Virus Removal]]> Google Redirect Virus Removal

The Google Redirect Virus is definitely in my top ten of annoying viruses. The main reason for this is that generally the first thing that I do as soon as I discover a virus on my system is to Google how to remove the virus. Of course this doesn’t work as you can’t get to the sites you want to get to.

Quick Explanation of the Google Redirect Virus and how it works

The main purpose of the Google Redirect Virus is to send you to websites which are either fake or they will contain other forms of malicious viruses which may have an impact on your system. These websites may also try and get you to buy products (and in the process collect your bank details and personal information).

An example of the Google Redirect Virus in action

Let’s say you are doing some research on something you are writing about, and you decide to search for it on Google. You will receive the list of search results as normal, but as soon as you try to click on one of the links, it will redirect you to another random site which has no relevance to what you are searching for in the first place.

How to remove Google Redirect Virus

Download TDSS Killer from this link:

http://support.kaspersky.com/downloads/utils/tdsskiller.zip

If you are unable to download the file because of the virus then I would suggest downloading the application from a different computer and then save it to a USB drive or CD and launch the file from there.

Once the file has downloaded, you will then need to extract the contents of the file. (I would suggest extracting to your desktop).

Once the files are extracted open theTDSSKiller.exe file. A window will then pop-up as shown below:

Click on the Start scan button, and the scan will begin. It will then check your computer for virus infections.

Once the scan has finished, the next window will pop-up showing you all of the viruses, malware and security threats that it has found from the scan. In this window there will be a dropdown menu next to each threat found. In this menu you can select what action to take on each of the security threats detected. In the dropdown menu you will have a choice of:

• Skip
• Cure
• Copy to Quarantine
• Delete

I would suggest selecting the delete option for any of the items that have been branded as malware by TDSSKiller. Sometimes if you just select Cure then it may come back with an error saying that the item couldn’t be cured.

Once you have selected the actions to take on the infected items, click on the continue button. TDSSKiller will then apply the actions that you have selected on the previous window, and will then pop-up with another window once finished to let you know whether the files have been disinfected or deleted.

Now close TDSSKiller and open your Internet browser and go to Google. Then try searching for something and clicking on a search result to check if your PC is clean.

It was relatively easy for me to pick up on the fact that it was a scam . . . → Read More: E-mail Phishing Scams | Santander Incorrect Login Attempts]]> There is an increasing number of e-mail phishing scams going around at the moment. One e-mail scam in particular which I have come across quite a few times recently is from someone claiming to be Santander Online Banking.

It was relatively easy for me to pick up on the fact that it was a scam as I don’t even have an account with Santander. I have included the content of the e-mail below. Another aspect you should not be fooled by is the from e-mail address, even though the e-mail states that the e-mail is from ‘notice@santander.co.uk’ it is easy for someone with the know how to appear to be someone else through e-mail.

One more thing that makes it blatantly obvious that it is a phishing scam is the attached file called form.html (I would advise not opening this – may have viruses etc.). The attachment asks for all your bank details including personal ID, Card Number, Passcode, Registration Number, Mobile Phone Number, Mothers Middle Name, Full Name, Place of Birth, Debit Card Number, Debit Card Expiry Date, Card Verification code (Cvv), Full Address and Date of Birth.

Out of all these things the form asks for, I know for a fact that all banks will never ask for your card verification number (the 3-digit security code on the back of your card).

The best way to be sure if the e-mail is legitimate is to go to the suppliers website (in this case Santander) and use the contact details or contact e-mail address from their site.

The E-mail reads as follows:

From: Santander – Online Banking

Subject: Incorrect Login Attempts

Attachment: form.html

Hello dear member,

Your account is suspended due to the number of incorrect login attempts.

For your protection, we’ve suspended your account . To reactivate your account

please download the document attached to this email to review your account activity.

If not completed until January 15, we will be forced to close your account .

Note: If you received these e-mail in your BULK/SPAM section please add to your address book retail@santander.co.uk

Thank you,
Customer Support Service.

________________________________
Copyright © Santander Group Bank Plc. Limited. All rights reserved.

Update: Shown below are other E-mails I have received since the initial one above:

From: Santander – Online Banking

Subject: Santander Bank – Warning Message

Attachment: form.html

Dear Santander Bank Customer ,
Due to concerns, for the safety and integrity of your online
account we have issued this warning message.
It has come to our attention that your account details
need to be updated due to inactive members, frauds and spoof reports.
Please download the document attached to this e-mail to update
your account details.

Note: If you received these e-mail in your BULK/SPAM section
please add to your address book retail@santander.co.uk .

Thank you,
Customer Support Service

From: Santander – Online Banking

Subject: Important Notice: Resolve your account

Attachment: form.html

Dear Santander Online Banking Customer,

We have noticed that someone other than you logged into your account on the
19 of January 2012 at 11:28 AM, due to this,we have decided to suspend your account.
Santander Online Banking to confirm, update and protect you from
this evolving threat.
Please download the document attached to this email to update your account.
Note: If you received these e-mail in your BULK/SPAM section please add to your address book retail@santander.co.uk

Thank you,
Customer Support Service.
________________________________________
Copyright © Santander Group Bank Plc. Limited. All rights reserved.

From: Santander – Online Banking

Subject: Security Alert: ** Details Confirmation **

Attachment: form.html

________________________________________
Security Alert: Please read this important message

Our new security system will help you to avoid frequently fraud
transactions and to keep your investments in safety.
For your protection, we’ve suspended your account.
Due to tehnical update we ask you to confirm your online banking membership details.
Please download the document attached to this email and fill the form.

Thank you,
Customer Support Service.
________________________________________
** This is an automated message, please do not respond **
Copyright © Santander Group Bank Plc. Limited. All rights reserved.

From: Santander – Online Banking

Subject: Important !

Attachment: form.html

From: Santander
Date: 23/01/2012

We wish to inform you that your account has been accessed from an unauthorized computer.

Please visit www.santander.co.uk and confirm that you are the owner of the account.

Login :

https://www.santander.co.uk

Once these computers are hijacked, they could be used for a range of criminal activities including sending spam e-mails, attacking websites or collecting your personal details such . . . → Read More: Cyber Crime | Growing Botnet Criminal Networks]]> According to figures from a recent study approximately 6% of the UK’s 19 million online household PC’s are linked to criminal networks called Botnets on a regular basis.

Once these computers are hijacked, they could be used for a range of criminal activities including sending spam e-mails, attacking websites or collecting your personal details such as your bank details, to name some of the most popular criminal activities. Once these criminals have control over your PC they can collect, use and sell your personal data, and can also send e-mails from your e-mail account to all of your contacts, infecting their machines as well.

Also, once the PC is infected there is a good chance that the user will not have any idea that it is linked to these criminal networks, especially if the machines are not covered by anti-virus or some other form of security software.

Read the full article here.

This Virus generates fake reports about your computers health. Some of these reports include:

The Malware also generates a program on the desktop called Systemrestore.exe. Needless to say, don’t open this . . . → Read More: System Restore Virus / Malware]]> New Virus Alert : System Restore Virus / Malware

This Virus generates fake reports about your computers health. Some of these reports include:

• Computer has Low Disk Space
• Hard Drive Failures / Hard Disk Failures
• Other Virus Infections

The Malware also generates a program on the desktop called Systemrestore.exe. Needless to say, don’t open this file as it will most likely infect your PC even more by shutting down your firewall and all of your anti-virus programs you have on that PC which will open your PC to many more viruses and mailicious programs.

To remove this virus from your PC, click on the following link and download Hitman Pro and select to run a one time scan and this should clear up the malicious software.

Hitman Pro

If you want to recieve updates on the latest Viruses, Malware, Adware, Spyware and anti-virus programs then Follow Us On Twitter and we will keep you updated.

The . . . → Read More: Email Security | E-mail SPAM Alert]]> There is a new spam email going around with the title ‘We are going to sue you’. This E-mail is a hoax. Also don’t be fooled into opening any attached documents, the one we received is named ‘VIRUS_DETECTED_AND_REMOVED.TXT’. If you do receive this email I would suggest you swiftly remove it from your inbox by pressing DELETE.

The complete message we received is as follows:

Subject: We are going to sue you
Attachment: VIRUS_DETECTED_AND_REMOVED.TXT

Hello.

Your email is sending spam messages!

If you don’t stop sending spam, we will be impelled to sue you!

We’ve attached a scanned copy of the document assembled by our security service to this letter.

Please carefully read through the document and stop sending spam messages.

This is the final warning!
Corporate Technology Information Services.

You can find the Disk Defragmenter tool by going to Start . . . → Read More: Improving PC Performance | Disk Defragmentation]]> There are many things which can be used to speed up your computers performance without actually having to upgrade hardware. One thing that can be done to keep your PC operating at it’s best performance is to defragment your hard drive/s by using the Disk Defragmenter tool.

You can find the Disk Defragmenter tool by going to Start –> All Programs –> Accessories –> System Tools –> Disk Defragmenter. The disk defragmenter is very simple to use, all you have to do is select the hard drive/s and then click defragment disks or analyse if you want to just check them.

If you defragment your hard drive on a fairly regular basis then you shouldn’t have any issues with fragmented files. However if you have a PC that hasn’t been defragmented for 2 years, then it can slow your PC quite considerably.

Set Up A Schedule

How often your PC needs to be defragmented depends on how often it is used, including how often files are created, edited, moved and removed. For a PC that is used for work and is being used basically 24/7 I would suggest that you defragment at least once every week. If your PC is used less often then I would suggest a minimum of once a month (for any PC).

To set up a schedule for defragmentation open the disk defragmenter as shown below:

In the top-right hand corner of the window there is a button for Configure Schedule. Click on it and it will open a window to configure the schedule for defragmentation as shown below.

Select the schedule that you want and the disk you want the process to run on and then click OK. Once this has been set up, you won’t have to worry about manually defragmenting your disks and it will be completed automatically.

For other useful tips about improving your PC performance please see the blog page.

If you wish to be kept up to date with the most recent virus threats, phishing scams and general tips on keeping your PC healthy please subscribe to our newsletter below.

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Also if the updates aren’t installed on your system then . . . → Read More: Windows Updates – Important!]]> Windows Update is a crucial part of any Windows Operating System. The majority of the updates are mainly to do with security of the product and your system. If the updates aren’t installed then there are potentially loopholes which hackers could identify and breach your system.

Also if the updates aren’t installed on your system then Microsoft will have even pointed out the loopholes to the potential hackers as Microsoft publishes the details of each update on their website. Your system should be set to update automatically as this takes away the inconvenience of having to manually check them.

To check whether your system is set to automatically update, go to your Start Menu —> All Programs —> Windows Update. For some older versions of Windows it will take you to a web page, where you will be able to see whther it is set to update automatically. For newer versions, there will be software built in to the actual operating system.