Triona's Tech Tips

The battle for your computer has stepped up a notch, as fake security software now offers real tech support. Talk about twisted!

As I’ve written before, rogue security software pretends to be real antivirus and anti-malware software in order to commandeer your computer. It disables your bona fide protections and claims that you must purchase their super-duper software to save you from invented infections. Now, they’ve added a “support” option as further bait. After all, if the software offers you tech support by live chat and email, it must be legitimate, right? And so much money is being made on this fake software that they can actually afford to hire real people to provide said tech support! It’s a whole new take on social engineering, the unethical art of doing anything and everything to manipulate you.

Remember, rogue security software will not protect you; it will leave you vulnerable. Your best protection is to stick with security programs from known vendors. Norton, McAfee, AVG, Trend Micro, and avast! are all real companies with real products. Although I’m still not enamored of Norton and McAfee (see why), you’re certainly better off with them than a rogue. Become familiar with what your regular antivirus program looks like. If you sit down at your computer one day and see something different, be very suspicious. Also, be careful if you do a web search for antivirus software, because many of the “sponsored links” lead you to fake programs. Once fake security software is on your computer, it’s extremely difficult to remove. And don’t fall for the trick “uninstaller,” which leaves remnants of the rogue to regenerate itself.

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The real Microsoft Security Essentials is a free tool that helps protect your computer from viruses and other threats. A fake antivirus program is using the Security Essentials name to spread its infections.

Fake antivirus programs are viruses that purport to be legitimate security software. It can be very difficult to tell the tricksters from the real deal. In this case, if you run across something claiming to be “Security Essentials 2010“, stay far away.

Like other fake antivirus programs, this particular rogue hijacks your computer and prevents you from accessing the web sites of legitimate antivirus vendors. It uses hyperbole to convince you that your computer is infected, then tries to con you into paying for removal. Such tricks are becoming more common. I’ve previously written about the odious Win Antivirus 2010, a rogue that really raised the bar on how far these con artists will go in order to make money at your expense.

By itself, Microsoft Security Essentials (the real one) is not adequate security software. You need something more robust like the free or paid versions of AVG, or Trend Micro or McAfee. I’m still not recommending Norton because it’s such a memory hog, but use it if you must. Also be careful if you look for for antivirus programs via a search engine, as the con artists hijack search results to spread their dangerous look-alikes.

Am I serious? Yes, I am advising you not to renew your antivirus software.

There’s a difference between renewing and upgrading to the latest version. Many antivirus programs allow you to purchase another year’s worth of updates without upgrading the software, but it’s not worth the slight savings. Upgraded software gives better protection.

Antivirus programs use a combination of definitions and heuristics. Definitions look for known virus code. Heuristics look for virus-like behavior, meaning they can detect both known and unknown viruses. When your antivirus software updates itself each day, it’s getting new definitions to protect against newly released viruses. But it doesn’t make sense to wait for a new virus to come out, write new definitions and send them out to millions of machines. With computers these days, by the time you do that it’s already too late. What’s needed is software with better heuristics. The newest antivirus programs have the latest heuristics available to consumers, so you are better off paying that little bit extra to upgrade instead of simply renewing for another year of definitions.

While we’re talking about not renewing your antivirus software, if you Windows users are still running Norton, save yourself a headache and move to something else when your subscription expires. The 2009 versions are better but still memory hogs compared to Trend Micro, the free AVG and others (look under Windows Users in the Tech Tips blog sidebar).

In February I’ll teach you how to Break The Internet Explorer Habit. Don’t forget to subscribe to the email version of Tech Tips for the latest computer news.

If the cybercrime situation is so dire, what can an average person do about it? I present the four-legged chair of computer security. Without all four legs, your computer’s defenses could collapse.

• Antivirus software
  You know this; what you may not know is that antivirus alone does not catch every threat.
• Anti-spyware software
  Spyware is software you don’t want, similar to viruses but using different tactics. Adware, malware, keyloggers, Trojan horses, they all fit into the category of spyware.
• Firewall
  Just like a fire door in a hospital, a firewall keeps out Internet nasties that try to sneak under the radar of antivirus and anti-spyware software.
• Regular updates (”patches”)
  Every program has bugs, and these bugs can be used by viruses to manipulate your computer. Harden your security defenses by keeping your software up-to-date.

At home, you’re your own computer security czar. Run a full-fledged security suite, and install a firewall for extra protection. (See the sidebar, right, for suggestions.) Remember, you must purchase security software yearly, and update it every few days. And don’t forget those patches! For Windows I like a combination of Microsoft Update plus Secunia’s Personal Software Inspector. Mac users, be sure to check for new patches via Apple’s Software Updates, Adobe Updater and the other update features of your software.

If you have a company-owned computer, talk to your IT department about the protections that are installed. Find out if your corporate network prevents laptops from logging on unless the laptop has updated security. You can also explore one-time password systems, or biometric options like the fingerprint scanners now built in to most laptops.

Do you have questions about protecting yourself from cybercrime? Ask them here (click Comments below any article), and be sure to sign up for the email version of Tech Tips for bonus tips and product reviews.

As an update to my post about problems with Norton AntiVirus, I’d like to note that a serious conflict has been discovered between several Symantec products (Norton Antivirus 2008, Norton Internet Security 2008, and Norton SystemWorks 2008) and the new Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

Why should you care? Because SP3 is being installed automatically on consumer computers via Microsoft’s Automatic Updates. If you have AU enabled and you are running a Norton product, your antivirus may become corrupted and unusable.

The fix is to uninstall the Norton product before installing SP3, then reinstall after. Reports indicate you may need to do this for Windows Vista SP1 as well. Or, set your AU to “notify but not install” and bypass the service pack installation until Microsoft and Symantec resolve the conflict.

In my opinion, neither Windows XP SP3 nor Vista SP1 are quite ready for consumers yet. Stay tuned to Triona’s Tech Tips for the latest computer news.

[This article was originally published in the August 2007 issue of Triona's Tech Tips. I'm reprinting it because I am continuing to see problems with the Norton suites slowing down Windows computers, and generally misbehaving. I've been recommending Trend Micro's Internet Security suite, which is less expensive and less of a memory hog.]

Antivirus? Norton. For many consumers, those words go hand in hand. But us computer folks have sensed a changing tide for a while, and as a result we’ve been drifting from Symantec’s shores. Now the situation has become dire enough that I’ve decided to send up the red flag. Folks, you need to stop using the consumer Norton products until the problems with them are fixed.

Note that I’m talking specifically about the Norton programs intended for home use. Symantec’s corporate products are a cut above their consumer cousins, and I’m still recommending (and using) those. But concerns about the home versions are mounting.

Last year I mentioned some serious conflicts between the new Norton AntiVirus 2007 and Internet Explorer 7. Given that most consumers end up with IE7 via Microsoft’s Automatic Updates, this seems like a crime, or at least a grave oversight. Besides this notable issue, NAV 2007 is also a resource pig, taking up so much memory that all but the newest and fastest machines bog down.

Therefore, a lot of users have decided to skip the upgrade to 2007, in favor of renewing their subscriptions to the 2006 editions. Unfortunately, this isn’t a solid solution, because the spectres of perpetual upgrade work against us. Internet threats get trickier, and the only way to combat them is better protection software. To make matters worse, there are known bugs in Norton 2006 that can leave you open to threats. As we’ve seen, winding up with a zombied computer is no one’s idea of fun. And I have yet to see anything to convince me that 2008 will be a better year.

What are your antivirus alternatives? McAfee is Pepsi to Norton’s Coke, but I don’t always recommend it either because it’s had its own share of problems. (On the other hand, McAfee’s enterprise-level software is stellar.) I prefer Trend Micro Internet Security, ZoneAlarm Internet Security, or the free and paid versions of AVG. Given that Norton has become more trouble than it’s worth, I heartily encourage you to explore these alternatives.

Not to leave out the Mac folks; there are some good non-Norton options for you as well. Try Intego VirusBarrier or MacScan. If you run Windows on your Intel Mac, Intego VirusBarrier DualProtection will give you antivirus on both sides.

As for Norton, Symantec seems to be resting on its laurels. I’ll let you know if the situation improves.