Sometimes we harbor virus on our computers (PC) without knowing that they really are there. If we do know how these viruses behave, and the main feature and effect on our systems, we will not that there are a whole lots of them on our system and we thereby give them space to operate to their fullest until a lot of unrecoverable damage has been done to our system. This article will help you to detect virus, worms, spywares and malwares without anti virus and anti spyware software.

How to Detect Viral Infection of Your PC (Computer)

Wondering how to find out if your computer has a virus? Some of this virus might even appear invisible that our anti-virus can never detect them and we will generally believe that our system is virus free without knowing that our system is the home ground of well-groomed virus that deals with people’s files. So as to avoid this and even detect the status of virus on our system even without the help of anti-virus, I will like to talk about some things to take note of so that we can detect the presence of virus on our system.

Programs take too long to Load

Part of the things that virus does once it have the avenue to enter the system is to go and attack the files that once opened, they will have the avenue to spread to other file. The reason for this is that those file will always need some other file to enable them run easily and smoothly and those file needed are hidden on the system. But once they have the opportunity to attack those files, it will aid them in spreading to other hidden files that are on the system.

As tis is been done, it will make it hard for anti-virus to detect them and if they eventually detected, the anti-virus that did not have the capacity of healing them will not be able to deleted those files because some of those hidden files are important operating system files that must be deleted because they aid in the smooth running of the O.S.

Once these files are deleted, you will discover that the system will complain of missing important O.S files and therefore will not be able to boot. Once the anti-virus have attack this programs, you will then discover that whenever you run those programs that run easily, they will be taking long before they will run. Once you see this, note that virus are already having their way on your system.

Accessing Disk Takes a long Time

Usually, the data disk that we sometimes want to install on our system contains executable files that always need the permission to access O.S files so that they can register the program which they represent into the folder that contains other programs. This folder is one of the major file that virus always look to attack because it takes them closer to the O.S files.

Check Out This List of Top 6 Best Antivirus Protection Program of 2011

Now, once this software are inserted into the CD/DVD drive on our system, and the presence of those executive files have been detected by the virus, the y will now attack that file with all they’ve got that is why access the disk during their attack makes the dis takes longer time before it can be accessed.

*Note: This only applies to a situation whereby the disk you want to read is a clean one. That is, it hasn’t scratched.

Files Disappear and File with Strange Name Appear

After your files have been successfully attacked by virus, as a result of the virus destroying your files, the files will one after the other begins to disappear. You might even be making use of that particular file and then you suddenly discover that the file will just change from what it used to be to something you have never seen before. Once you see this, know fully well that there is virus on your system.

Executable Files Change in Size

Once the virus has the access to attack the executable files on our system (mostly those people that like storing software on their system) you will discover that they will change in size and either the size increase abnormally or it reduce. This is because the main file that is very important for this executable file has been taken over by the virus. Once this is done, the virus then has all authority to alter the size of these files.

If this situation has not gotten out of hands, you can easily use a good anti-virus to scan your system and once the anti-virus have discovered the virus, you can ask the anti-virus to repair those files. But in a situation whereby important O.S file has been tampered with (that is the out of hand situation), the only and best solution is to reload (reinstall) the operating system.

Guest Author: Odesanya Taiwo is a tech writer and a tech blogger who writes for a technology blog, techatlast. He also spends time to provide latest news for thenewsofthepeople, a news website.

So believe it or not; your MacBook’s Battery is vulnerable to Viruses, Malware and Meltdown if a hacker decides to target it and bring it down.

What Apple Macbook Battery Hacking is About?

Charlie is just someone who wants his Mac to be safe from hackers. He is not out there to make Apple feel embarrassed. He wants Apple to go one step further, and make its devices foolproof. “I don’t want to be their adversary. I want to have them fix stuff — and I want them to get better“, Charlie said.

If you have a software problem or if someone hacks your device, you can reboot and have your system running like a horse again. But what to do when someone can affect the hardware with the use of a software? Charlie Miller has found a way to shut down the charging system in your Mac by playing around with the software.

How Apple Macbook Battery Hack Works?

There is a dedicated system for charging your laptop. There is a constant interaction between a computer and its battery module. The battery module is responsible for calculating how much more battery the computer needs, when to cut the power off. And for running that battery module, Apple has given software.

This software has passwords, so that a user does not rupture it in any way. Charlie Miller just goggled for those passwords and found them. He hacked his Mac, entered the passwords and changed the software according to what he wanted it to do. And now he can do many queer things.

Also Check: Best Tips For Macintosh Crash/Freeze Troubleshooting

He can change the software in a way that the computer doesn’t know whether the battery is connected to it or not. And your Mac won’t get charged, and you will just keep checking the battery wire connectivity to your Mac. And will keep checking if the battery is plugged in properly to the electric socket.

Implications:

If someone is heartless enough, he can force your Mac to blow. And it’s not in theory. If someone changes the battery software in such a way that the computer keeps getting charged, then it can blow up, leaving you with burns.

Solution:

The solution is that Apple should change the default passwords which are keyed in when the Mac is manufactured. Charlie presented his hacking technique at the Black Hat security conference. And he thinks that changing the passwords will stop this kind of Mac hacking. So, if next time you are going out to buy a Mac, then do open your wallet with a pinch of concern.

Author Bio: This guest post is contributed by Amanda Kidd, who by profession,  is a blogger and writer who is very vigilant while selecting perfume she selects only top perfume. Writing on beauty portal is something she loves to do and she believes that a healthy body is a prime requisite for a beautiful skin. Beside this she also likes to write on Environment Issues.

About 163 mobile vulnerabilities have uncovered in the past year. Compare that to 6,500 reported violations of Microsoft’s Windows system and Apple’s iOS.

Still, he persevered, smartphone security threats are on the up and up and homeworkers should consider themselves particularly vulnerable. But the biggest threat for, by definition, highly portable smartphones is still just being lost or stolen by opportunistic thieves from a pocket or open bag.

How to Protect Your Smartphone From Virus Attacks?

So how do you secure your smartphone against those two threats: malware and malice aforethought?

1. Set A Password

Yes, it’s annoying to have to constantly sign in but, particularly if you’re often out and about with your phone, setting a password is smartphone kindergarten stuff.

iPhone passwords up to iOS 3 have a PIN number-style four digit password while iOS 4 and higher users can set a, more secure, full password.

Windows 7 phones also allow users to set traditional letters and digits passwords to lock the screen. That means that, unusually, the password is set from within the Lock option inside the settings menu. Some Android phones have additional security in the form of a swipe pattern rather than a password.

There’s good and bad to that: in one way it should be easier to remember since it’s pretty intuitive but, on the other hand, there’s a risk that it’s so new you’ll end up setting the swipe equivalent of ’12345′.

Still, it’s better than nothing – look for ‘Change Unlock Pattern‘ or similar in the settings menu. Notes that even if your phone isn’t covered above it will still have some sort of password facility. Take a look in the security section of your settings menu or the technical manual.

2. Encrypt Personal Data

Even with a password set up, we’re far more willing to walk around with important data on our smartphones then we would be to have them written down and on our person.

Prevent malware and thieves from gaining easy access to important information by encrypting and backing up to webspace or just thinking twice before storing it there.

If you regularly connect to unsecured, unknown wi-fi networks while you’re out and about you may also want to consider treating your smartphone as you would a shared computer and not save passwords.

3. Get Wise To Remote Wiping

Even after taking the precautions listed above, our phones are now such an extension of our lives that knowing how to wipe personal data or lock the device down is fast becoming invaluable.

Newer HTC phones are particularly good for this. With an online account set up, the data on the phone can be wiped remotely and, if it’s just lost, users can even call it really loud to find it.

iPhone users that pay for the MobileMe account can also wipe their phone remotely, although they’ll need to enable push and Find My iPhone.

Android users have fewer built-in wipe options. Many download the free Mobile Defense app which means they can later wipe the phone from the Mobile Defense site, just as with MobileMe and HTC.

4. Consider Mobile Security

If you’re using a smartphone for business, in particular, it may be time to think about mobile security. Specialist software from firms like Kaspersky can run a full, real-time check on apps, downloads and attachments received through email or instant messaging for threats.

WaveSecure from McAfee – which works with Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian and Android smartphones – scans online activity just as a PC security programme would.

It can also lock and wipe data from a stolen smartphone. Cleverly, locking means a message informing whoever finds the phone of its owner and how to get in touch stays on the screen permanently.

Guest Author: This is a guest article by John Thomson from Choose.net, a site that helps users compare mobile phones and find the best broadband deals.

Here are some more variation of wall post phrases that this worm seems to be using while spreading on Facebook:

1. OMG <your facebook profile name> you should untag yourself in this vid
2. OMG <your facebook profile name> why are you in this vid
3. hey <your facebook profile name> you look so stupid in this vid
4. hey <your facebook profile name> why are you in this vid
5. hey <your facebook profile name> i can’t believe youre tagged this vid
6. ROTFL <your facebook profile name> what are you doing in this vid

When the user clicks on the video, it seems to be loading in an enlarged video player window.

But the real problem starts when the user clicks on the apparently innocent ‘Play’ button on the enlarged video screen. Once you click the Play button, it does not play any video, but instead displays a message that reads, “Select Address bar.  Press Ctrl+V. Press Enter.“

But here is what it does in the background. As soon as the user had clicked on the first video link, it starts scanning the user’s friends list and generates a malicious code, which the worm copies into the clipboard memory.

When the user selects the address bar and presses <CTRL>+<V> (which is the keyboard shortcut for paste) then <ENTER> , he/she ends up posting a similar OMG why are you tagged in this vid type message on one of his/her friend’s Wall.

At this moment, it is not yet known what kind of data, apart from your friends list, is accessed by the worm. But knowing some of the past Facebook worms and their malicious abilities, the possibilities of this OMG/WTF worm can be scary!

So how to prevent this spam? Simple, don’t click on any suspicious links in Facebook however attractive it may appear! Hackers are just exploiting the curious nature of human mind to good use in doing their job. To avoid getting such malicious wall messages, you may restrict other people (who are NOT your friends and not in your contact list) from posting on your wall. For doing this, choose:

“Account -> Privacy Settings -> Customize Settings -> Things others share -> Friends can post on my Wall ( Enable / Disable ).”

There are over 200,000 applications on the Android App Store/Market today – up from 50,000 a year ago while the store was launched – but the huge growth in the platform has brought with it a rise in malicious apps designed to steal user data.

Unfortunately, this issue highlights the flaws in Google’s open store approach compared to the tightly controlled nature of Apple’s iTunes App Store.

Over the past few months, Android users have been victims of threats ranging from various levels of intensity. What began first as a threat tool for desktop users has now furthered onto the mobile users.

Keeping this view in mind, a host of anti-virus applications have been released in a last ditch. For instance, this week security firm Webroot released its Webroot Mobile Security for Android software, which is available on the Android Market. There is a free and paid version.

Even Google has been trying to be proactive to fight such malware attacks, but often the outcome has been far from desirable. One instance would be the attacks that a malicious app called DroidDream began doing rounds. Although Google did intervene but most of the damage had been done already.

In another instance, on Wednesday, Google removed multiple applications from its official Android Market application store that contained malware.

Google’s move came after AegisLab, a security firm based in Taiwan, released a security alert warning that applications including iBook, iCartoon, iGuide, iCalendar, Sea Ball, LoveBaby, and 3D Cube Horror Terrible — all published by “zsone”–contained code designed to quietly send SMS messages to premium telephone numbers in China, resulting in either a one-time charge or an ongoing subscription.

At least 11 Android apps contain malware that is rigged to automatically send text messages from your Google Android smartphone to phone numbers in China. Moreover, 17% of all reported smartphone infections “were due to SMS Trojans that sent SMS messages to premium-rate numbers, often at irretrievable cost to the user or enterprise.“

However, even though alarming the four-fold increase in malware targeting Android isn’t unexpected. “You don’t have to be extraordinarily smart to write mobile malware these days because most devices don’t have any security tools to stop the malware,” said Dan Hoffman, chief mobile security evangelist at Juniper Networks.

Asked whether the reported rise in Android malware meant anti-virus programs for the platform were desirable or necessary, a Google spokeswoman did not directly answer the question.

“We are committed to providing a secure Android Market experience for consumers,” the spokeswoman said.

In the meantime, watch where you procure mobile device applications, and especially beware third-party application stores, for example in China, where access to the official Android Market remains blocked. In particular, criminals often hide malware in clones of well-known applications, and especially Android games.

This nasty worm on Twitter preys on users who click on a shortened link that takes them to a fake anti-virus site for “Security Shield” software. Once there, the aim is to get users to download what is billed as anti-virus protection, but is really malicious code.

Affected (Infected) users might notice mysterious tweets that they did not write showing up on their feeds, many of which include goo.gl links that end with “m28sx.html.“

“If you make the mistake of clicking on one of the malicious goo.gl links you are ultimately taken to a website which attempts to scare you into believing that you have a virus problem on your computer,” writes Sophos’ Graham Clueley on the security software company’s blog.  “You are then frightened into installing malicious code on your PC, and asked to pay money to disinfect your systems.”

Attacks hiding behind shortened URLs are not new, and are also not technically challenging to execute. By their very nature, URL shortening services like goo.gl and bit.ly take cumbersome, long URLs and condense them down to a nice, short alias that can be used in its place. The concept makes it much easier to send some exceptionally long links, and is a necessity for a site like Twitter which caps messages at 140 characters.

Adam Wosotowsky, principal researcher at McAfee Labs, explains, the Twitter attack “is not new, and is fairly simple to execute.” “The attack is most likely a Trojan that began by Twitter phishing, possibly by a social media worm like Koobface,” he said in a statement.

“Shortened URL sites are not 100 percent malicious, so blocking the domain completely can cause false positives, which is something researchers try and avoid. Goo.gl is an example of a site associated with Google, so blocking the domain may be frowned upon by Google, allowing the spammer to continually abuse the site.“, Adam adds.

To avoid falling victim to Trojans, drive-by downloads, and other malicious attacks hiding behind innocent-looking shortened URLs, try using a tool like Tweetdeck that offers an option to reveal the full-length link behind the shortened URL before visiting it.

In short: For now, avoid clicking on that shortened link if it shows up in your Twitter feed. If you click on a link and find yourself unexpectedly on a page that resembles the Twitter login page, don’t give up your username and password! Just type in Twitter.com into your browser bar and log in directly from the Twitter homepage.

According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball, the vulnerability exists only in apps that don’t follow Apple’s app validation advice. For example, some apps check only for a valid receipt, without checking whether the receipt matches the app’s bundle ID.

Apart from this simple file replacement crack, some hackers claim to have cracked Apple’s security for the Mac App Store, according to Gizmodo. The crack will not be available until February 2011 though, according to Dissident, the hacker who created the hack – Kickback.

In late December, Dissident announced that the crack, named KickBack, would not be released “until well after the store’s been established” in an effort to ‘protect’ developers. “When we feel that [the Mac App Store] has a lot of crap in it, we’ll probably release Kickback,” said Dissident. So basically they’re giving Apple time to make a patch for a crack that isn’t even out yet.

At any rate, it indicates that the security of the Mac App Store is very easy to circumvent. Though developers reported support for Mac App Store receipts in early builds of Mac OS X 10.6.6, there’s no evidence that the Mac App Store was broadly or externally tested by Apple.

However, the way in which the App Store has been cracked does not endanger your personal security unless you download pirated versions of the apps from untrusted sources that could package the pirated versions with malware. It is pretty hard to have a complete computing experience without some third party software on any OS.

Most people use social networking clients, online games, Adobe software, and etc. Piracy just allows the possibility that the third party software you are using is a carrier for malware. Moreover, this opens the door to wide piracy, which is not good for anyone, developers and users alike in the long term.So Apple is right, at least in this case — stay away from piracy to stay protected!

How Does Trojan Geinimi Infect Android Smartphones?

A server can tell the Trojan what it can do, which makes it more advanced and sophisticated than other Android malware we’ve seen so far. The mobile Trojan has been found in apps infected and repackaged to look like legitimate apps, and uploaded onto Chinese third-party Android app stores. Infections have been found in games like “Monkey Jump 2,” “S3x Positions,” “President vs. Aliens,” “City Defense,” and “Baseball Superstars 2010.“

What this new trojan Geinimi does? Not so much! Well, it doesn’t do that much for now, but apparently it has some huge potential to be a bit of a pain later on. Geininimi basically latches onto applications disseminated using portals outside Google‘s Market, expands the range of data permissions that the application asks for, since nobody so much as glances at those things and then sends the extra info it has managed to glean to unknown whereabouts.

Though not that active right now, security firm Lookout speculates that it may be building a botnet, which, considering how many Android phones are out there, is the tiniest bit scary. Moreover, it can send your location, device identifiers (IMEI and IMSI) and list of installed apps to someone. It can also download an app and prompt the user to install it.

How to Detect And Prevent Mobile Phone Trojans?

- One quick and dirty method for detecting mobile Trojans, is to learn an app’s permissions and compare them to what the downloaded app is actually asking for. For instance, if the app’s description only lists requests for age and gender, a red flag should go up if your downloaded app suddenly asks for your home address, too.

- Users should also be aware of any unusual activity on a smartphone. Signs of a Trojan include unusual phone behavior, the sending of SMS messages to unknown numbers, and calls being made without you placing them.

- People should treat their smartphones with the same level of caution and awareness as they do their PCs.

- Users should also consider the developer of an application, and look at ratings and user reviews.

- Though the Trojan spreads only through Third-Party Chinese App Store, all Android phones users must resist downloading Apps from untrusted sources. Always read and then allow the necessary permissions to the Apps.

- In case of any unusual behavior, get the Android mobile security Apps and get the mobile system checked.

You can install Geinimi on your Android device only if you install an infected app, and Lookout reports it only saw those in third-party Chinese app stores. Most users download apps from the official Android market, which is a much safer option; if you must install an app from a third-party store, make sure it’s safe before you do.

Sabina Datcu, technology writer for anti-virus firm BitDefender, wrote in a blog post today that the threat arrives via an unsolicited email urging the recipient to download the latest version of iTunes as a prelude to updating their iPad software.

The e-mails have a subject line that says “iPad Software Update” and offer a link to a Web page that looks like a legitimate iTunes download page, according to BitDefender. Instead, the link installs malware identified as Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY.

“Unfortunately for these users, following the malicious link means opening up a direct line to their sensitive data, as instead of the promised iTunes update they get malware on their systems.” Datcu said. The Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY malware injects itself in to the “explorer.exe” process and opens up a back door that attackers can use to take control of the system whenever they want, warned Datcu.

“It also attempts to read the keys and serial numbers of the various software programs installed on the computer and logs passwords to the victim’s ICQ, Messenger, and POP3 mail accounts, and protected storage“, Datcu said.

What to do if Attacked by an Apple iPad Malware (Backdoor, Virus, Trojan, Worm)?

- Do not download or save files from sources you do not know, even if an email purports to be from the official source.
- Use only the software vendor’s official website to download software for your iPad.
- Install and activate a reliable antimalware, firewall solution and spam filter.
- Enable automatic updates for your antimalware, firewall and spam filter with the latest virus definitions and application/file signatures.
- Run an anti-malware scan before opening or copying any files to your system, even if the file comes from a trusted source.

In this case, the specific malware/virus is seemingly primed for the Windows users with an iPad, as the Mac users are totally unaffected by the email link. So it seems to also indicate that it’s a Windows malware and doesn’t attack iTunes or the iPad itself. (It seems to have nothing to do with the iPad except that it phishes for iPad users.)

If the sheer amount of exploits in Adobe’s products over the last year haven’t scared you off yet, then maybe a PDF attack (that doesn’t require an exploit or JavaScript to run) will. Here’s a proof of concept video for your viewing pleasure:

Jeremy Conway, product manager at NitroSecurity, created this proof of concept for an attack in which malicious code is injected into a file on a computer as part of an incremental update, but which could be used to inject malicious code into any or all PDF files on a computer. So looks like a new generation of PDF Worms are coming soon.

The attack requires the user of the computer to allow the code to be executed by agreeing to it via a dialog box. However, the attacker could at least partially control the content of the dialog box that appears to prompt the user to launch the executable and thus use social engineering to entice the computer user to agree to execute the malware, said Conway.

Worse, another growing competitor to Adobe: Foxit PDF, does not even warn the user that code is about to be invoked.  It just quietly lets the code run without any user interaction!

Turning off JavaScript would not prevent the attack. It also does not require that the attacker exploit a vulnerability in the PDF reader itself. The PDF reader incremental update capability “can be used as an infection vector,” said Conway. The attack “does not exploit a vulnerability. No crazy Zero-Day (exploit) is needed to make this work.“

Another PDF security specialist Didier Stevens has developed a PDF document which is capable of infecting a PC – without exploiting a specific vulnerability. The demo exploit works both in Adobe Reader and in Foxit. Stevens says he used the “Launch Actions/Launch File” option, which can even start scripts and EXE files that are embedded in the PDF document. This option is part of the PDF specification.

Stevens intends to keep his PDF document with the embedded code under wraps until the vendors respond. However, he has provided a document (direct download) which launches the command prompt when the PDF file is opened. When tested by the TechChunks Security team, this worked under Windows 7 with the current versions of Adobe Reader and Foxit. In principle, this concept is also said to be suitable for starting an FTP transfer to download and start a trojan.

The authors are not releasing the method, but I can tell you that once the concept is released, which it has been, someone on the wrong side will figure it out soon enough. Adobe, Foxit and other PDF reader providers need to look into this ASAP and  release a patch quickly.