Avg And Antivirus

Millions of Web pages are hacker landmines

That's the latest development in a new style of hacking sweeping across the Web, according to research by website security firm Armorize.

"The misuse of numerous small sites is making the Internet a much more dangerous place," says Alena Varkockova, lab analyst at antivirus firm Avast. "Even the unimportant sites can do big harm when misused."

A single criminal gang using computer servers located in the Ukraine is responsible for the latest twist in converting legit web sites into delivery mechanisms for "driveby downloads," according to Wayne Huang, chief technical officer at Armorize.

In a driveby download, malicious software gets inserted into the web browser of any unsuspecting Internet user -- just by navigating to a hacked web page. These silent attacks first appeared in 2005 and became pervasive in 2008.

This particular gang cleverly combined several tried-and-true hacking techniques to swiftly pinpoint and break into websites that use osCommerce, a free customer interaction tool used by smaller merchants and professional services firms. At the recent Black Hat conference in Las Vegas , security researchers marveled at the gang's inventiveness.

To find smaller e-commerce sites equipped to handle customer transactions, the attackers deployed a network of compromised PCs, called a botnet, to run automated search queries through Google and Bing. To avoid detection, the botnet used a low-and-slow pattern, giving the attackers "a pretty accurate idea" of vulnerable targets, says Noa Bar Yosef, security strategist at security firm Imperva.

Cybercriminals have begun to use search engines to "slice up the Web in bite-sized chunks to find what they're looking for, in this case sites using osCommerce," says Jeremiah Grossman, chief technical officer of web site security firm White Hat Security.

Next the gang inserted a mechanism that redirects the PCs of all site visitors to make a connection with a different server acting a distribution hub for a portfolio of malicious software. One such program, for instance, determines which web browser the visitor is using, then installs a customized program to usurp control of the specific browser.

"We currently intercept on average around 1,000 of this particular attack a day," says Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technical officer of antivirus firm AVG.

is it safe to download AVG anti virus or any other free anti virus ...

When my computer crashed and needed a new hard drive I noticed when I got it back that the tech had loaded AVG free on the machine. This guy was no dummy so I loaded it onto the brand new HP last year when I got it. These have been running successfully on both amchines for two years nad are the best, even compared to NORTON. Get it straight from AVG only and be secure!!!!!!!!!!!

In severe cases your system restore files will also be infected. In these cases you will need to turn off system restore to prevent malware hiding in the system restore files and reinfecting the computer during removal or during a future system restore. Turning off system restore deletes the system restore files.

Right click on "my computer"> Properties > System Restore Tab > Check box turn of system restore

After the malware is removed turn on system restore.

I personally downloaded AVG anti virus and used it for a year. It seemed to work but not to my full satisfaction. Also, at the end of the year you have to buy it anyway. I also sort of remember reading in their download agreement info that your name is kept for future advertisers. AVG is based in Europe somewhere. I wasn’t too happy about that, but like you, it was free and I was financially strapped at that time.

If you have to buy, I would recommend Zone Alarm Security (with anti-virus & spyware). This is a fabulous system and you only have one software that covers both virus security and spyware, automatically checks your email for "Junk Mail" and "Phishing Mail" and moves these to specific folders in your Inbox list. Very easy to update and work with.

On a final note, I just didn’t feel that the AVG did the best job. What do you expect for a freebie, right? NOTE: Most freeby downloads seem to always have a spy attached! Therefore, I have now realized it doesn’t pay to get free software off the internet. Your computer will suffer eventually from that download. I know mine did!

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