5 easy tips to avoid infections

[malbky]

Most installers come bundled with open candy which shows adds which is a kind of spyware/adware. To skip it look for installer without open candy the site usually provides this or use the /nocandy switch.

[jamescv7]

MRF71: keygens especially called Password Generators were hold as .exe type of file so generally it can cause serious risk and came from warez sites.

[Overkill]

Thanks guys, I will stay away!

[whizkidraj]

One more important tip I would suggest is to always have a look at ur start-up programs before shutting down the PC or restarting as there are other family members too who install some programs from unknown source and then I always have to deal with finding the right one and keeping an eye on the start-up programs everyday. Best tool for this is CCleaner which now also comes with the Scheduled Tasks option in Tool > Startup. So always do check that also mate. Cheers for CCleaner !

[softwareFREEk]

big reason why I love disposable email addresses and malwaretips giveaways

Disabling ActiveX/Scripting/Java/iframes etc etc. is useful

some malware that has been prevalent since mid 2000's
is malware enbedded in .jpg, .doc extensions (.jpg embedded with executable)
click on a picture without scanning first and wallah.
Facebook had one recently thought to be the file icon but alas was NOT, I think Germany? but
could be wrong as I do not do facebook..

[mohitpatel09]

Opensource softwares like Process Hacker 2, VLC media player does not specify publisher name but they can be trusted.

So be sure to make differences between legitimate and malicious softwares and learn about opensource and other softwares and their UAC notifications.

[Littlebits]

If you follow these basic rules, all you will need is a good AV, secure browser and Windows Firewall. Most infection occur because users ignore Windows File Checker and UAC warnings, if the file is not digitally signed by a trusted vendor then don't run it unless you have got it from a trusted source like vendor's official website, Softpedia, MajorGeeks, FileHippo, etc.

You can use your host file to block OpenCandy and other online installers that use third-party adware or use a portable version instead.

HostsMan with MVPS Host block list will block OpenCandy and most of the other online installer adware.

Thanks.

[illumination]

Keeping the PC/programs up to date and not running unknown programs will pretty much cover most users. The majority of infected systems i have seen have been caused by these issues.

[Umbra Polaris]

(04-20-2012 08:02 AM)jamescv7 wrote:  MRF71: keygens especially called Password Generators were hold as .exe type of file so generally it can cause serious risk and came from warez sites.

just use them sandboxed/virtualized

[bo.elam]

Three tips that work for me, I believe in them and no one has mentioned.

One, just like Java can be a problem, plugins and extensions also can be. If we don't use a plugin, we should get rid of it. Four years ago when I started learning how to be safe, I had 13 plugins in my PC. The funny thing is that I did not know what they were, how they got in or if they came with Firefox. I thought they all came with Firefox. Wrong. None came with Firefox is what I learned. Anyway, little by little I stated learning about what they were and how I got them. When I finished with them, only one remained. That was Flash. I kept Flash because I use Flash. All the others plugins that I had, I had no use for any of them.

If it sounds familiar, you should take a look at your plugins or Active X and get rid of them if you don't use them.

Two, I normally stay around the same sites all the time. I visit all kind of sites but I have never gotten anything that looks or acts like malware from sites that I have bookmarked. What I am trying to say is, get to know the sites that you visit and bookmark and visit sites that you know that you never had any kind of problem when you have visited them in the past. Stay around the sites that you bookmark. I feel that the less that I go away from my bookmarks, the safer that I am. Thats my experience.

Three, searches. Be extremely careful when doing searches. The last few times that I got infected or was close to getting infected was doing searches and I am not talking about searching for the "good stuff", I mean searching for things like Dr Webb or Emsisoft. Sounds unbelievable but is true. Well, now that I know a little how the bad guys work, those close encounters with malware while searching for security products don't seem rare anymore.

Bo