When you are dealing with most malware, you pretty much know how they are going to act on your system. Even the worse of them seem to follow a pretty steady pattern that will help you to get rid of them. But there is one piece of malware that even security researchers hate to hear the name of. When you know that you have one of these on the system, it is going to be a long day of trying to get it out. The piece of malware that we are talking about is known as a Rootkit and it is one of the most damaging pieces of malware out on the internet right now. We will go over the basics of what a rootkit is and look at what kind of damage it can do to your system.  We will also look at the tools that you need to do to get it off of your system.

What is a rootkit?

A rootkit is program that is able to get into the kernel level of our system which means that it is able to hide from scanning programs that is on your computer. For those programs to be able to sniff it out they need to be at kernel level as well. For the people who might not know, the kernel level of the computer is the part where a lot of the sensitive things that your computer can do, happens. It is basically the part of the operating system that communicates with the hardware of the machine. You do not want user level access programs to communicate with the hardware directly so the kernel is the break off point. While we know a lot more about rootkits now than we did before, they can still be a pain to get rid of off of your system.

The damage that it can do

A rootkit, once it is in your system, can give the attacker unlimited power over your computer. They are able to assume the rights as a power user and they will have the same administrative rights that you have, maybe even more. This is because they are able to access the kernel. This is the main objective for any rootkit attacker that is trying to get into someone’s system. When an attacker is able to get this deep, most of the time, they will turn your computer into a simple node. This means that anything illegal that they want to try and hide, they will do on your computer. This means that if someone is going to get into trouble, it will be you.

How can I get rootkit off my system?

In the past it was very hard to get an infection like this off of your system. Formatting the system was the only way that you can get it off. Now there is plenty of software out on the market that will help you get the rootkit off of your system. Download one of these programs and hopefully you will be back to normal.

A rootkit is one of the more serious threats on the internet. If you get one on your system, take care of it right away.

There are many applications that are out on the market right now. Some are free and others you will have to pay for. In those two categories there are certain breeds of applications that are more important than others. While some people are gamers and others need to be reminded of what recipes they can cook in the kitchen, there are some applications that are a must have on your machine. If you do not have them then you will leave yourself at risk while you are on the internet. And not just the internet. If you are on any network at all and you do not have certain tools then you are just asking for trouble. In this article we will take a look at some of the tools that you will need to protect yourself. Most of the tools on this list you may have heard of before but it does not hurt to be reminded of them. This is especially true if you have heard of them but have not installed them into your machine. So let’s take a quick look at some of the applications that you will need to be safe on the internet.

A good antivirus program

The top of our list is of course a good antivirus program. These days, you can never tell where a piece of software or a file has truly originated from so it is better to be safe than sorry. There are too many ways for the bad guys to be able to put bad things on your system. With a good antivirus program, you will be able to combat this type of intrusion very easily. Well, we shouldn’t say it will be easy but for the most part the new antivirus programs that are out on the market are very simple to use. Do not forget though, the job that they do is very complicated and they are helping you a great deal in the background. The best antivirus programs make you forget that they are there while at the same time protecting you from all of the dangers on the net.

A firewall to protect your system from intruders

If you have a computer that is connected to the internet then that means that you have a port open somewhere. It is the only way that your system would be able to connect, through an open port. This is why you must have a firewall installed on your system. A good firewall would be able to block the ports that are open that you do not necessarily want open. The bad guys are always scanning random IP addresses looking for one that has an open port available for them to get through. With a firewall, you are able to set aside those fears and block all the traffic that you do not want in your system. So when you are thinking about security, make sure that this is a program that is installed.

Bitlocker

If you have Windows 7 then you might want to think about getting the highest edition. This way you will be able to purchase a version that has support for bitlocker. Bitlocker is a program that allows you to protect the hardware of your machine. People will have to login with the right credentials to be able to use the hardware. If they do not then it remains inaccessible.

This is a small but good list of the types of software that you should have installed on your machine.

Ever since Windows 7 was released, there has been a renewed sense by the consumer that a Microsoft product was actually concerned about security. And they were not only concerned about security but also about making the security on the operating system easy to set up. If you look at both the professional and the consumer reviews, you will see that the new operating system by Microsoft has been getting rave reviews. But the security of the system is still not complete when you first turn it on. While Microsoft has put more effort than ever in securing the system there are still some things that you must make sure that are installed when you start using it. We will take a look at some of the security measures that you must take to make sure that Windows 7 has all of the security that you need when you are surfing the internet.

The first thing we will look at is the firewall

When you start up Windows 7, you want to make sure that the Firewall that comes with the system is set up. There is other third party firewall software that you can use on the market but when you are first starting, make sure that you turn the windows 7 one on first. If you decide that you want to try another brand, then you can surf the web and easily download and install it. But you do not want to get on the internet and your home network without having at least the one that comes with the machine installed first. Also, if you have a router, make sure that the firewall that comes with it is turned on as well. A hardware firewall is better than a software one but when you use them in tandem then you will have an even more safe machine.

Install the correct browser

By the title of this paragraph, you may think that we are going to advocate one browser over the other. That is not going to be the case. While in the past we would have advocated Firefox, there are other browsers on the market that are just as secure. Even the picked on Internet Explorer has made their latest releases very secure compared to what they put out in the past. And the new version of Internet Explorer will also be updated as far as keeping up with the acid test that all browsers go through. So these days, an updated version of IE is almost as safe as Firefox and Chrome. The key thing is to make sure that your browser is updated against any known security flaws. All browsers these days are vulnerable when they are not updated.

And last but not least, the correct antivirus software

It should go without saying that you are going to need to run some sort of antivirus software on the machine. You can either go with a third party antivirus solution or you can go with security solution that is created by Microsoft themselves – Security Essentials. It has a good reputation and it is updated on a regular basis. This way you know that your machine will always be safe.

This is a short check list of things that must be activated when you first start up Windows 7. This way you can make sure that your operating system is secure.

The worst thing in the world to happen to some people is to find out that their computer has been ravaged by some virus from the internet. Sure, it is not as bad as a relative dying but it can be a disaster for some people. They may have all of their personal mementos on the hard drive. Or they may have all of their work information on the computer. No matter what is on the system, losing all of their data can be rough to a person that relies on their computer a lot. This is why you must be prepared just in case something like this happens. You must be ready for all of the problems that might come across on your system. One of the ways that you can be prepared is by using a restore disk. This way, just in case something happens, you will be able to use our computer again. In this article we will show you what a restore disk is and explain to you how a mixture of that and backing up your data can save you from disaster.

What is a restore disk?

Before we go any further, for the people who are not quite as technical in the audience, we will let you know what a restore disk is. It is a disk that will allow you to reset your computer to the state it was in before it became messed up by the virus. This is a little bit different than an installation disk because a restore disk will give you other options besides just reinstalling the operating system. It will allow you to do a memory check and other types of diagnostic checks on the system.

Another good option when it comes to the restore disk is that it will allow you to reinstall the operating system on your computer without losing the data that is already on it. If you have a lot of files that you worked on over the years, you would hope that you would be able to save them and not have to destroy them because of a reinstall. With the restore disk you are able to do this. But even though you have the ability to do this, it might not be the best option for you to choose. If you keep the data that is already on the disk, you might also keep the infection that is on there as well. Sometimes it is necessary to get rid of the data as well so that you can start fresh. But there is a solution that will help with that as well.

Back up your data

Not only should you use a restore disk but every month or so, you should back up your data as well. This means that you will be able to format your data on a restore and you will still be able to have your data. That way, you can get rid of the infection as well as keep your data. You can store the data by using a second hard drive or by using an online backup service.

Using a restore disk is a great way to bring your computer back to life when a virus tries to kill it.

Unlike in the past, there are certain tools that you must have so that you can surf the web in relative safety. But even if the web site does not have any dangerous malware on it, it can still be invading your privacy by having spyware installed onto your computer. This is the type of infection that can cause someone to be able to collect a lot of data about you. Some spyware is even installed by legitimate companies but they collect information about your surfing habits and not anything that is personal. There is a fine line between the illegal types of spyware and the legal kind. No matter if the spyware is illegal or not, this is something that you do not want on your computer. In this article we will show you several ways that you can either get rid of the spyware that has already been installed on your system or keep new spyware from being introduced.

To stop a web site from installing spyware into your system, one of the more popular ways is to change the browser that you use. If you are still using Microsoft Internet Explorer then this means you. Internet Explorer has many holes in it that a lot of the spyware authors use to introduce exploits into your system. A popular browser to switch to is the famous Firefox. Not only is the browser inherently more safe than Internet Explorer, it has a lot of plugins that are available, that will help keep spyware off of your system as well.

Besides changing the browser you use, you can also avoid going to sites that will cause your computer to become infected as well. There are certain sites that are more prone to introducing spyware than others. Sites like this include adult sites, warez sites, and other sites that are considered on the fringe of the internet. When you want to keep your computer safe, then you definitely want to avoid going into the places that will set the most traps. If you do go to one of these types of sites, make sure that you go to one that is trusted and the members give it a grade “A” review.

If you already have spyware on your system you must do what you can to make sure that it is off of your computer. The longer that it stays on your computer, the more information it is able to build up. To get it off of your computer, you can start with a program like Ad-Aware. This program has been the number one way to get spyware and rogue cookies off of your computer for years. All you have to do is install the program, let it do a quick update, and then let it scan your system. It will be able to find most if not all the spyware and eliminate it from your system for good.

You want to get rid of all the spyware that you can that is on your system. Once you do this, then you will be able to surf the internet without worrying that someone is spying on you.