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Malicious Programs
The cyber world out there is fraught with malicious programs, ready to sabotage your computer systems, once they get an opportunity to do so. Imagine a situation in which your computer suffers a virus attack, resulting in the loss of all the precious data, meticulously collected and saved over a long period of time. Will it make any considerable difference to you and your life? I am sure, it will. Most of the times, people fail to take precautions, regarding inoculating their computers against malware, thus exposing their computers to virus attacks. This casual approach regarding data security often has the potential to create big problems, at times. Three prominent computer programs that have the ability to wreck havoc with your computers are Viruses, Trojan Horses and Worms. Viruses are basically parasitic malicious programs, that have the inborn ability to duplicate themselves and often piggy-back a benign program, so as to propagate and infiltrate. A Trojan Horse, often called a Trojan, is a camouflaged program, which pretends to be something else. It may often lie dormant in your computer system for days, waiting for the appropriate opportunity to execute its nefarious designs. Worms are malicious micro programs. Unlike viruses, they do not rely on other programs to spread. Worms take advantage of the security holes in the computer systems and networks. Once you are hit by a malicious program, the results may vary from a simple blinking of a message on the monitor to deletion and erasing of important files and folders. The important applications may get damaged and the computers may lie exposed to possible data or password thefts. Hence the most urgent question is what to do in case of a malware attack? How can one save one’s precious data in such a scenario?
What to Do When Trouble Strikes
One thing to be kept in mind is that a malware strike is a crises situation, which demands a quick response on the part of the user. Any delay or fumbling may multiply the damage exponentially. As soon as you notice the problem, immediately report it to the IT security wing of your organization, if it has one. In case you do not have any IT security department, you can follow a simple procedure to respond to a possible malware strike. If your computer is connected to a network, immediately disconnect it. The malware may easily and rapidly spread from the host computer to the other computers in the network. Thus it becomes mandatory to urgently quarantine the infected hardware. Next try to back up all the intact data on a CD or any other portable storage device. However, it is not a certainty that the backed up data is free from any infection and is harmless. Try to identify the malware threat that has infected your computer. Then proceed to extract that malicious program, using antivirus software, designed specifically for the given threat. Due care aught to be taken that your antivirus software is updated on a regular basis and has the necessary patches required to deal with the threats under consideration. The chances are that the malware strike may have damaged your operating system. If it is so, you may need to reinstall your operating system using the restore CD that you received with your computer. It may be mentioned that this may lead to the loss of all the applications that you have installed in your computer or the important data that you have saved in it. Thus take care that you have all the requisite tools and information at hand, while reinstalling your operating system. Finally install the antivirus software in your computer and initiate a complete scan of your computer, not leaving a single file or segment. The chances are that you may be able to restore your computer to its previous state, using the given procedure. However if you fail to do so, you may require the services of some expert, who specializes in data recovery.
Further Precautions
You must learn from you experience and religiously back up all your important data in the future. A good back up plan will safeguard you against any malware strike and keep your valuable data intact under all circumstances. Invest in some authentic antivirus software and take care that it gets regularly updated with latest virus definitions and patches. Change all your passwords after a malware strike, as some malicious programs can steal passwords. Establish a strict protocol regarding computer usage and unexceptionally scan all the suspicious e-mail and downloads.
Source: Free Articles
http://www.articlecircle.com/computers/data-recovery/data-recovery-after-a-virus-attack.htmlThe cyber world out there is fraught with malicious programs, ready to sabotage your computer systems, once they get an opportunity to do so. Imagine a situation in which your computer suffers a virus attack, resulting in the loss of all the precious data, meticulously collected and saved over a long period of time. Will it make any considerable difference to you and your life? I am sure, it will. Most of the times, people fail to take precautions, regarding inoculating their computers against malware, thus exposing their computers to virus attacks. This casual approach regarding data security often has the potential to create big problems, at times. Three prominent computer programs that have the ability to wreck havoc with your computers are Viruses, Trojan Horses and Worms. Viruses are basically parasitic malicious programs, that have the inborn ability to duplicate themselves and often piggy-back a benign program, so as to propagate and infiltrate. A Trojan Horse, often called a Trojan, is a camouflaged program, which pretends to be something else. It may often lie dormant in your computer system for days, waiting for the appropriate opportunity to execute its nefarious designs. Worms are malicious micro programs. Unlike viruses, they do not rely on other programs to spread. Worms take advantage of the security holes in the computer systems and networks. Once you are hit by a malicious program, the results may vary from a simple blinking of a message on the monitor to deletion and erasing of important files and folders. The important applications may get damaged and the computers may lie exposed to possible data or password thefts. Hence the most urgent question is what to do in case of a malware attack? How can one save one’s precious data in such a scenario?
What to Do When Trouble Strikes
One thing to be kept in mind is that a malware strike is a crises situation, which demands a quick response on the part of the user. Any delay or fumbling may multiply the damage exponentially. As soon as you notice the problem, immediately report it to the IT security wing of your organization, if it has one. In case you do not have any IT security department, you can follow a simple procedure to respond to a possible malware strike. If your computer is connected to a network, immediately disconnect it. The malware may easily and rapidly spread from the host computer to the other computers in the network. Thus it becomes mandatory to urgently quarantine the infected hardware. Next try to back up all the intact data on a CD or any other portable storage device. However, it is not a certainty that the backed up data is free from any infection and is harmless. Try to identify the malware threat that has infected your computer. Then proceed to extract that malicious program, using antivirus software, designed specifically for the given threat. Due care aught to be taken that your antivirus software is updated on a regular basis and has the necessary patches required to deal with the threats under consideration. The chances are that the malware strike may have damaged your operating system. If it is so, you may need to reinstall your operating system using the restore CD that you received with your computer. It may be mentioned that this may lead to the loss of all the applications that you have installed in your computer or the important data that you have saved in it. Thus take care that you have all the requisite tools and information at hand, while reinstalling your operating system. Finally install the antivirus software in your computer and initiate a complete scan of your computer, not leaving a single file or segment. The chances are that you may be able to restore your computer to its previous state, using the given procedure. However if you fail to do so, you may require the services of some expert, who specializes in data recovery.
Further Precautions
You must learn from you experience and religiously back up all your important data in the future. A good back up plan will safeguard you against any malware strike and keep your valuable data intact under all circumstances. Invest in some authentic antivirus software and take care that it gets regularly updated with latest virus definitions and patches. Change all your passwords after a malware strike, as some malicious programs can steal passwords. Establish a strict protocol regarding computer usage and unexceptionally scan all the suspicious e-mail and downloads.
Source: Free Articles
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