Different Types of Virus and Worms Explained

Today we are going to have a deeper look of these different types like where they store, what they damage,and how to get rid from them?? So Guys read on...


System Sector Viruses 

System sectors are special areas on your disk containing programs that are executed when you boot (start) your PC. System sectors (Master Boot Record and DOS Boot Record) are often targets for viruses. These boot viruses use all of the common viral techniques to infect and hide themselves. They rely on infected floppy disk left in the drive when the computer starts, they can also be "dropped" by some file infectors or Trojans.


Stealth Virus

These viruses evade anti-virus software by intercepting its requests to the operating system.
A virus can hide itself by intercepting the anti-virus software’s request to read the file and passing the request to the virus, instead of the OS. The virus can then return an uninfected version of the file to the anti-virus software, so that it appears as if the file is "clean".

Bootable CD-ROM Virus

These are a new type of virus that destroys the hard disk data content when booted with the infected CD-ROM.
Example: Someone might give you a LINUX BOOTABLE CD-ROM.
When you boot the computer using the CD-ROM, all your data is gone. No Anti-virus can stop this because AV software or the OS is not even loaded when you boot from a CD-ROM.

Self-Modification Virus

Most modern antivirus programs try to find virus-patterns inside ordinary programs by scanning them for virus signatures.
A signature is a characteristic byte-pattern that is part of a certain virus or family of viruses.
Self-modification viruses employ techniques that make detection by means of signatures difficult or impossible. These viruses modify their code on each infection. (each infected file
contains a different variant of the virus)

Polymorphic Code Virus

A well-written polymorphic virus therefore has no parts that stay the same on each infection.To enable polymorphic code, the virus has to have a polymorphic engine (also called mutating engine or mutation engine). Polymorphic code is a code that mutates while keeping the original algorithm intact.

Metamorphic Virus

Metamorphic viruses rewrite themselves completely each time they are to infect new executables. Metamorphic code is a code that can reprogram itself by translating its own code into a temporary representation, and then back to normal code again.
For example, W32/Simile consisted of over 14000 lines of assembly code, 90% of it is part of the metamorphic engine.



File Extension Virus

File extension viruses change the extensions of files. .TXT is safe as it indicates a pure text file. With extensions turned off if someone sends you a file named BAD.TXT.VBS you will only see BAD.TXT.If you've forgotten that extensions are actually turned off, you might think this is a text file and open it. This is really an executable Visual Basic Scriptvirus file and could do
serious damage .
Countermeasure is to turn off “Hide file extensions” in Windows.

That's it..

Benefits of Using BCC While Sending an Email

Almost every user on the Internet sends and receives hundreds of emails on a regular basis. However, only a handful of them know what is BCC and what are the advantages of using BCC while sending an email.

If you are one such Internet user who is unaware of what BCC is all about, then this is the post that you should definitely read!

What is BCC?

BCC stands Blind Carbon Copy. It refers to the practice of sending an email to multiple recipients without disclosing the individual emails addresses.

While sending the same email/message to multiple recipients, it is a common practice for most users to separate the email addresses by using comma or semi-colon and insert all those recipient addresses in theTo: filed. When emails are sent in this way, each receiver is able to see the complete list of all the recipient email addresses to which the same message if being sent to.

Unlike the To: field, the BCC: option on the other hand allows you to hide the recipients in email messages. In other words, when emails are sent using BCC:,  the receiver will not be able to see the list of recipient email addresses. Thus, using BCC is a smart way to protect the privacy of the recipients.

Why should you use BCC?

Here are the reasons for using the BCC option:

Risk of Spammers: In order to avoid the risk of spammers, it is necessary that you encourage people/friends to use BCC: while forwarding any message to you. This prevents your email address from appearing in other person’s inbox thereby keeping yourself less exposed to spammers. You may also refer How to Protect an Email Account from SPAM for more information on spamming.

While forwarding email messages, people often do not bother to remove the list of previous recipients.  As a result, messages that are repeatedly sent to many recipients may contain a long lists of email addresses. This makes it easy for the spammers to collect and target those email IDs for spamming.

Protect the Privacy: BCC provides an easy and simple option for protecting the privacy of your recipients. Under many circumstances it is necessary for us to send an email without letting the recipients know who else is receiving the same message. Also, it is highly recommended that you use the BCC: option while forwarding a joke or a funny email to a list of your friends. If you are sending email on behalf of a business or organization, it may be especially important to keep the list of clients, members, or associates confidential. So, don’t forget to use BCC: option in those instances wherever privacy matters.

How to BCC an email message?

Most email clients provide the BCC: option under a few lines below the To: field. All you have to do is just enter the list of recipients in the BCC: field instead of entering the same in the To: field. You may leave theTo: field blank or enter your own email address. Once you do this, just hit the Send button.

The moral is that you should use BCC: while sending bulk messages so as to protect the privacy of your recipients.

Google Funny Tricks

Just type the following words in Google search and click on "I'm feeling lucky" to see amazing results:

Google gravity

elgooG

Google pacman

Find chak norris 

Google Easter Eggs

Early Google

Google Heart Page 

Google sphere 

Google gothic

who's awesome

poopgle

Google l33t

Try it :)

How Anti-Virus Do programs Detect Virus?

Hey friends, have you ever wonder how our Antivirus software scans for Virus, Worm, Trojan or what exactly happens in this process.

We scan a Folder Or Local Drive for Virus at this time, the antivirus software which you use follow some techniques, today we gonna see some overview of these techniques.

5 Techniques used by Anti Virus Program to Detect Malware: 

1.Signature Based Scan.
2. Heuristic Based Scan.
3. Threat Sense Technology.
4. Artificial Intelligence (Behavioral Antivirus Programs).
5. Proactive Defense.

1. Signature Based Scan:

Traditionally, Antivirus solutions have relied strongly on signature-based scanning, also referred to as “scan string-based technologies”. In signature based scanning anti virus program searches within given files for the presence of certain strings (also only in certain regions).If these predefined strings are found, then antivirus report A Threat has been detected.

2. Heuristic Based Scan:

The first heuristic engines were introduced to detect DOS viruses in 1989.Heuristic (hyu-ˈris-tik) is an adjective for methods that help in problem solving. A heuristic scan is used to detect new, unknown viruses in your systems that have not yet been identified. Only some anti viruses can do this type of scan, the majority are only able to detect known viruses.
In this scanning, anti virus program searches instructions or commands within a file that are not found in typical good application programs. As a result, a heuristic engine is able to detect potentially malicious files and report them as a virus.

3. Threat Sense Technology:

In past when a virus was released it was detected by antivirus experts after 15-30 days. Till then virus had done enough damage to millions of users like “I love you worm”. Then anti virus experts started using Threat Sense Technology.
In this technology , when a certain files does specious activity in computer, Av program doesn’t perform any action and keep eye on that file. Next, when you update your anti virus these files are send to security experts of that anti virus that you are using. They analyze the file, if it is a virus then they make it’s signatures. By this a virus is caught within 3-4 days.

4. Artificial Intelligence (Behavioral Antivirus programs):

These programs monitor you computer activities. If any dangerous or specious activity occurred by a file, they inform user and give some option to perform certain action. Now user has to take decision that is it a virus file or helpful file. Some times, if user takes wrong decision then the software which is reported by anti virus get corrupted and antivirus quarantined.

5. Proactive Defense:

One more technology is “Proactive Defense”. It was first used by Kaspersky. When a program or process gets executed, “Proactive Defense” tells the user about the activity of the program and asks it to allow or Block.
The Most advanced Proactive Defense is provided by Comodo Internet Security.


So friend did get how our antivirus works.
I will try to get some deeper information on this topic later in the blog.
Till then have fun with your computers.

How to Protect your Email Account from Being Hacked

Today one more friend of mine came to me and said that his email account has been hacked. Regaining access to such an account if a bit difficult thing even if the email sites are trying to prevent account takeover. 

Friends protecting your account from getting hacked if better than crying later, so today i m gonna tell you how you can protect your account from getting hacked. Its an easy job if you take some precautions.

Many people lose their accounts because they don’t know how to protect themselves from being hacked! In fact most of the people who lose their email accounts are not the victims of hacking but the victims of  

Trapping. They lose their passwords not because they are hacked by some expert hackers but they are fooled to such an extent that they themselves give away their password.

Now I’ll mention some of the most commonly used online scams which fool people and make them lose their passwords. I’ll also mention how to protect your email account from these scams.

1. WEBSITE SPOOFING

Website spoofing is the act of creating a website, with the intention of misleading the readers. The website will be created by a different person or organisation (Other than the original) especially for the purposes of cheating. Normally, the website will adopt the design of the target website and sometimes has a similar URL.

For example a Spoofed Website of Yahoo.com appears exactly same as Yahoo Website. So most of the people believe that it is the original site and lose their passwords. The main intention of spoofed websites is to fool users and take away their passwords. For this,the spoofed sites offer fake login pages. These fake login pages resemble the original login pages of sites like Yahoo,Gmail,Orkut etc. Since it resemble’s the original login page people beleive that it is true and give away their username and passwords by trying to login to their accounts.

Solution:

• Never try to login/access your email account from the sites other than the original site.
• Always type the URL of the site in the address bar to get into the site. Never click on the hyperlink to enter the site.

2. BY USING KEYLOGGERS

The other commonly used method to steal password is by using a Keylogger. A Keylogger is nothing but a spyware. The detailed description of keylogger and it’s usage is discussed in the post Hacking an email account. If you read this post you’ll come to know that it is too easy to steal the password using a keylogger program. If you just access your email account from a computer installed with keylogger, you definitely lose your password. This is because the keylogger records each and every keystroke that you type.

Solution:

Protecting yourselves from a keylogger scam is very easy.Just install a good anti-spyware program and update it regularly. This keeps your PC secure from a keylogger. Also there is a program called Anti-keylogger which is specially designed to detect and remove keyloggers. You can use this program to detect some stealth keyloggers which remain undetected by many anti-spyware programs.

3. ACCESSING YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT FROM CYBER CAFES

Do you access your email from cyber cafes?  Then definitely you are under the risk of loosing your password.In fact many people lose their email account in cyber cafes. For the owner of the cyber cafe it’s just a cakewalk to steal your password. For this he just need’s to install a keylogger on his computers. So when you login to your email account from this PC, you give away your password to the cafe owner. Also there are many Remote Administration Tools (RATs) which can be used to monitor your browsing activities in real time.

This doesn’t mean that you should never use cyber cafes for browsing the internet. I know, not all the cyber cafe owners will be so wicked but it is recommended not to use cafes for accessing confidential information. If it comes to the matter of security never trust anyone, not even your friend. I always use my own PC to login to my accounts to ensure safety.

Hope your Email account remains safe after reading this.

Please let me know your opinions. Enjoy...!!!

Protect yourself and family from Internet Scams and Frauds

hey friends there has been a lot of increase in the internet scams and frauds these days. You may think it will not happen to you, but what about your father, mother or brother or sister who are unknown to these frauds. This article is dedicated to prevent yourself and your family from different types of internet scams and frauds.

The term Internet Scam or Internet Fraud refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more online services to conduct fraudulent activities. Internet fraud can take place on computer programs such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites. In this post I will discuss about some of the commonly conducted scams and frauds across the Internet.

1. Phishing Scam

This is one of the most commonly used scam to steal bank logins and other types of passwords on the Internet.Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging.
Example:You may receive an email which claims to have come from your bank/financial institution/online service provider that asks you to click a link and update your account information. When you click such a link it will take you to a fake page which exactly resembles the original ones. Here you’ll be asked to enter your personal details such as username and password. Once you enter your personal details they will be stolen away. Such an email is more than likely the type of Internet scam known as “phishing”. Phishing is said to be highly effective and has proved to have more success rate since most of the common people fail to identify the scam.
Most legitimate companies never request any kind of personal/sensitive information via email. So it is highly recommended that you DO NOT respond to such fraudulent emails.

2. Nigerian Scams

This type of scam involves sending emails (spam) to people in bulk seeking their help to access large amount of money that is held up in a foreign bank account. This email claims that in return for the help you’ll be rewarded a percentage of the fund that involves in the transaction. Never respond to these emails since it’s none other than a scam.
In case if you respond to these emails you will be asked to deposit a small amount of money (say 1-2% of the whole fund) as an insurance or as an advance payment for the initialization of deal. However once you deposit the amount to the scammer’s account you’ll not get any further response from them and you lose your money. In fact “The large amount of money” never exists and the whole story is a trap for innocent people who are likely to become victims. The scammers use a variety of stories to explain why they need your help to access the funds. The following are some of the examples of them.
Examples:

• They may claim that political climate or legal issues preclude them from accessing funds in a foreign bank account
• They may claim that the person is a minor and hence needs your help to access the funds
• They may claim that your last name is the same as that of the deceased person who owned the account and suggest that you act as the Next of Kin of this person in order to gain access to the funds

3. Lottery Scams

This type of scam is similar to the one discussed above. In this type you may receive an email saying that you have won a large sum of money in online lottery scheme (ex. UK Lottery) even though you have not participated in any such schemes. The message claims that your email ID was selected randomly from a lagre pool of IDs. When you respond to such emails they initially ask for your complete name and address so that they can mail the cheque accross to you. After getting those details they may also send you an image of the cheque drawn in your name and address so as to confirm the deal. But in order to mail this cheque they demand a small amount of money as insurance/shipping charge/tax in return. However if you send the amount in hope to receive the cheque all you get is nothing. You’re just trapped in a wonderful scam scheme. Thats it.

4. Other General Scams and Frauds

The following are some of the other types of scams that you should be aware of.
In general, be aware of unsolicited emails that:

1. Promise you money, jobs or prizes
2. Ask you to provide sensitive personal information
3. Ask you to follow a link to a website and log on to an account.
4. Propose lucrative business deals

However it may seem to be a difficult task for novice Internet users to identify such online scams. Here are some of the common signs of such scam emails. By knowing them it may help you to stay away.

• All these scam emails never address you by your name. In turn they commonly address you something like “Dear User” or “Dear Customer” etc. This is a clear indication that the email is a fraudulent one
• When you observe the email header you may notice in the “TO:” Field that, the same email is forwarded to a large group of people or the “TO:” field appears blank. So this confirms that the email was not intended particularly for you. It was forwarded for a large group of people and you are one among them

 I hope this post help you.
Always waiting for your comments and queries.
Stay safe..... Enjoy...!!!

How to convert any blog into an Ebook for offline reading

Internet is full of some nice blogs with nice content, but you need to go online for reading the nice posts available on the blogs. But you can also convert a blog into an ebook for further reading offline

Follow these steps:

1. Go to Booksmith website
2. Click on starts Now
3. then Enter blog address and then specify platform (blogger and wordpress). Also specify the way you want to fetch the posts. 
4. Choose the options.
5. Click on the get Posts. You can uncheck any post that you don’t want to include in your PDF.
6. Then download the ebook with the given download link.

Shortcut Keys For Windows

You may think that you know these thinngs but some of them will surely be new to you.

 Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts:

Copy.    CTRL+C
Cut.       CTRL+X
Paste.    CTRL+V
Undo.    CTRL+Z
Delete.   DELETE

Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE
Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an item
Create shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Rename selected item. F2
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW
Highlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select all. CTRL+A
Search for a file or folder. F3
View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER
Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4
Switch between open items. ALT+TAB
Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10
Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC
Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW
Refresh the active window. F5
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE
Cancel the current task. ESC
SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:
Move forward through tabs. CTRL+TAB
Move backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through options. TAB
Move backward through options. SHIFT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letter
Carry out the command for the active option or button. ENTER
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBAR
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keys
Display Help. F1
Display the items in the active list. F4
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE

If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
Display or hide the Start menu.
Display the System Properties dialog box. +BREAK
Show the desktop. +D
Minimize all windows. +M
Restores minimized windows. +Shift+M
Open My Computer. +E
Search for a file or folder. +F
Search for computers. CTRL+ +F
Display Windows Help. +F1
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. + L
Open the Run dialog box. +R
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.
Open Utility Manager. +U

Helpful accessibility keyboard shortcuts:
Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Switch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five times
Switch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five seconds
Open Utility Manager. +U

Keyboard shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:

Display the bottom of the active window. END
Display the top of the active window. HOME
Display all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Collapse current selection if it’s expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROW
Display current selection if it’s collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW