The Anti-Virus industry has been rendered ineffective for quite sometime and this came into attention only with one industry expert speaking out of the crowd to say so “AS IS”. We have all been under the impression that the security of our PC’s, Laptops and other computers has been quite effective and robust with online active updates that allows them to deal with evolving threats. The problem is as the discussion states, how do you deal with today’s millions upon millions of viruses and other forms of threats without super-computing status? You can’t, that is the reality we have to face that there is no one solution to the problem and that it is going to stay that way.
Anti-virus software engineers do their jobs round the clock to prevent these malware form doing the most harm on the millions if not billions of computers around the world that connects to the internet daily. As one sector of the globe goes to sleep, another wakes up to a new day of infections and threats that is exaggerated more by the constant online status of some pc’s meaning they are always connected whatever time of day it is. Imagine scanning through a database that can give you the ability to determine a virus among the millions of known types, variants and mutations (even with a super-computer it takes time) every time you download a file or click on an internet link, that would be unfathomable. The best these guys can do and hope for is that they (the many anti-virus vendors) get to the problem early on when the virus or malware is still propagating when they can still reverse engineer it, then issue the proper identifiers along with the removal instructions that they send out to their respective clients hoping they are still not infected and spreading the virus themselves.
If they already are infected, it takes more time to formulate an approach on how to remove the problem form the computer system leaving it untouched and without the threat. This is almost next to impossible for any seasoned PC user knows that anything that is installed stays installed (even fragments of files and other programs) long after the known un-install procedure has been done. The only sure way to clear an infected system would be to re-format the hard drive and then re-install the whole myriad of software and drivers that came out with the PC (most of them are lost during the years necessitating an online search from manufacturer sites and other help sites which may also be infected), losing them is suicide for a PC without proper drivers is like a car without brakes that constantly breaks down and has to try to get itself to run to a level of its former self.
Anti-Virus Programs – Losing Teeth
Recent studies are showing that having merely traditional Anti-Virus Programs Installed onto a computer is proving to be highly ineffective with today’s code morphing malware. The complexity and uncanny ability of these malware to change signatures defeats most if not all intrusion prevention systems. Hackers have also capitalized on the fact that users trust content that is seemingly from legitimate sources like the recent incident with a Goggle Mail application which is used to archive email from the email company’s servers which incorporated information gathering code. The problem was only found when a programmer unknowingly de-compiled the program and found an email address along with a log-in password to the program author’s mailbox. Upon using the derived information to get into the email account, he found several user information along with usernames and passwords of others who have used the program. He took drastic steps and deleted all information (email) he found not to be the author’s and informed the company which released the program about the incident. The developer simply said an error checking routine or some draft code was arbitrarily left within the released version. They promise not to do so in the upcoming versions of the said archiving program…. Yeah Right.
People have been warned again and again regarding the risk of getting free software and other free stuff that seemingly comes from legitimate sources (not the developer’s page) for they may have embedded payload which they unload once installed. Current Trojans also use swift actions to copy itself onto all peripherals(flash disk, digital camera, digital media players, PDA’s and other similar devices which can hide the code) attached to the system it infected so even a complete Operating System reinstall would only result in reinstallation if re connected to the same system. Other malware simply use the email addresses within certain programs like outlook and messenger sending out copies of itself to all those listed and infecting further computers as it travels all over the world.
The scenario has come to the point experts are talking about implementing a white list of sorts of all valid applications, sources for all legal and safe systems which are to be allowed access to their systems. This would have a sort of inventory program which keeps track from online sources of trusted sites and sources of files and rejecting those which are not included. Manual inclusion would be the Achilles’ heel of such an audit system for any wrong addition would again make it vulnerable to attack.
Economics – the driving force of Mobile Spying Malware
Experts have said it again and again and history has shown us that money is the root of all evil and so it goes the same for the development and eventual spread of more sophisticated malware intended for the ever growing mobile computing environment. Current malware is simple yet experts are warning users and other experts alike that it would only be time before some hacker develops a more robust and discreet form of malware that would circumvent standard virus scanners. As we have seen and read in news articles, these viruses, Trojans and other forms of malware are evolving so fast that removal and detection experts are finding it very hard to get one step ahead of them. In the time it takes to read this post, about 35 or so new types of malware would have been released into the wild to infect any of the millions of unprotected systems over the internet. The problem has gone into the pandemic stage that no system is safe for long. The soonest a new and more robust intrusion prevention and security system is in place, several new vulnerabilities in the computer systems we use are found and immediately exploited by hackers and their minion.
Economics or the promise of earning a buck from such malware creation and spreading is the major motivation for hackers. Say you get into the cell phone of your favorite Celebrity and get hold of private pictures, or get hold of a confidential report which lists the amount of funds along with the corresponding account information and much more information that one can sell quite profitably over the internet.
Formatting May Be the Answer but Is not the Only Answer
People who own computers who have given up hope for remedying the problems that their workstation has solicited, either from viruses, Trojans or spyware will normally resort to formatting and re-installation of all programs to make things easier for them. This is usually the case for people who would not bother finding ways on solving such issues, the less technical savvy people who want the best and fastest solution to such issues.
People, often referred to as geeks would go at anything to be able to find alternative solutions without having to resort to the dreaded formatting decision since it will entail a lot of issues such as data loss and re-programming as well. While it is true that it is like doing a general cleaning for the entire workstation, historical files and programs will surely be missing one by one. But it is also like starting from scratch and locating the files and programs that a person has been used to having around.
[tags]computer, formatting, programming, viruses, spyware[/tags]
Being Aware of File Name Extensions
Downloading files on the web can be done at will but the proper identification of file extensions should be taken into account as well. While most of the programs are compressed in zip and rar files so that downloading can be done easier and faster, being cautious with regards to the contents such executable files must also be exercised.
Most of the viruses and contaminations that most files have would be initiated once installation ensues. Ordinarily, tracing the harmful effects cannot be seen until after the full installation has transpired. Only then would a user be able to identify that such programs that are supposedly to be helpful, would turn from aiding to being a destructive means towards a computer workstation.
Files sent through emails are another way of receiving distressing program files that will create mischief and havoc in any computer. It is best to look for alternatives or gather information first before actually pushing through with the download, for the sake of ensuring the overall safety and peace of mind of computer users today.
[tags]filenames, file extensions, zipped, archived, viruses, spyware[/tags]