Archive for malware

Malware: Virus

Virus.  All I have to do is say the word, right?  In all likelihood, everyone reading this has had one at one time or another.  They are everywhere it seems, lurking in every corner of the internet.  Sometimes they find you through innocuous means, sometimes when you are surfing the dark waves of the internet, [...]

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Malware: Trojan Horse

Ah, the venerable Trojan Horse.  This form of malware has gained such notoriety that it’s what most people think of when they think of malware.  It’s link to the Trojan Horse from Greek mythology certainly plays a part, but this form of malware is very common, and can be very dangerous.  Let’s investigate what exactly [...]

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Malware: Rootkits

In the continuing series on Malware, we have reached one of the most scary – and potent – forms of malware out there:  the rootkit.  In this article I’ll explain what a rootkit is, why it is dangerous, what different forms there are of this beasty, and what you can do to protect yourself.  It [...]

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Manually Removing Malware

  Let me be clear – I don’t recommend this unless you are an advanced user.  Even then, I don’t really recommend it.  The tools currently available to a fantastic job at removing all but the nastiest forms of malware.  With that being said, sometimes bad things happen to good people.  If you feel adventurous, [...]

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How to Start in Safe Mode

  Microsoft has included the ability to boot into SafeMode since back in the days of Windows 95. When you start Windows in SafeMode it loads the bare minimum in terms of services and background programs to get Windows started. This includes not loading extraneous drivers for your graphics card and other devices. So, in [...]

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Anatomy of a Virus

  A friend of mine recently got a virus (an old one) and called me over to help remove it. Since this is an all too common scenario, I figured that I would dive into how a modern virus is written, as well as explain what it does in an effort to help you understand [...]

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Removing Malware/Viruses/Spyware

  Malware is easily the question that I get asked the most about by users.  It is ubiquitous on the internet sadly, and even the most careful users can be bitten by a nasty bug.  The question then becomes, what can you do about it? Let’s assume that you already have malware on your system [...]

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Malware

  I have to say that the main reason for this site to exist (and others like it) is due to malware. Just what is malware? How do you get it? Once you have it, how do you get rid of it? I will answer these questions so that you may better understand the modern [...]

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Software to Fix Problems

  If you already have a problem, you are not out of luck yet.  Many problems can be fixed with a little bit of work and the right software.  I encourage you to read through my troubleshooting pages to find an answer to your problem.  Some problems are bad enough that I would recommend a [...]

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Software to Prevent Problems

  We all run into problems with our computers from time to time. You needn’t fret however, as there are tools available to fix your machine. If you want a guideline on the general process of troubleshooting your machine, you can read mine. For the most part, computing problems fall under a small handful of [...]

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