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This threat has been an on-going concern for web browser developers and security experts for the past five years. It is a very serious threat because it involves you and me, the victims when a hijacker takes over the computer without us even knowing what hit us.

Hackers can easily snatch up all the cookies in the jar. HTTP cookies are the reason we have anti-spyware, malware, and weaknesses in the wall against attack from invaders. They leave a trail of information, since they are basically text files saved by the web browser, a hacker can follow the trail towards sensitive, personal information saved from the internet. Here is a couple tricks the hackers will use to pull your pants down, no one wants to be caught with their britches hanging out in the wind, so Geek Choice will tell you how to prevent this from happening too.

Session Fixation: A session is when you log onto the internet, either through LAN or Wireless. The fixation is sending a link that will set the user’s session id once the user logs in. Once this is done, the hacker has easy access to that user’s computer.

Sidejacking: This is a common attack from hackers where they sniff out the packets of information being sent back and forth between two parties and steal the session cookie. While many sites encrypt the login password at the homepage, the rest of the site is often unrestricted, allowing hackers to intercept the information that the user might think is secure yet little does he know…a hooded, sniveling little junior high genius knows this is his in, his entrance into your computer. WiFi are vulnerable and are perfect for hackers to run around hijacking your browser and stealing all the files you thought were safe.

Cross-site scripting: Another widely used and widely damaging attack by hackers who want to hijack your computer is by a trick. The trick is by fooling the computer into thinking the code is trusted, meanwhile it is malicious and once in your computer-devastating.

Man-in-the-Middle: The worst one of all. Let’s set the stage for this attack: Two people are involved in a private conversation online about matters that do no need to be heard by anyone else. On the side is a third party, an unknown party that could benefit from the information being said between the two people. All the third party has to do is wait for one of them so send the public key, and once that is intercepted, the third party can impersonate the two people and take complete control of what is talked about. Scary. The best way to prevent this is to put passwords on public keys so that when you are using WiFi, it is not open for hackers to jump right in.

We talked about the different types of hijacking, now let’s talk about preventing them.

Use a long, random number as your session key, this stops the hacker from guessing the key through trial and error. Encrypting your session is a good way to waylay attackers by creating complicated algorithms that will make the sensitive information only readable to you and others who have the key.

One simple and easy tip that Geek Choice will leave you with: log out when you are done with a session, it will save your life.

A few blog posts ago, I touched upon Microsoft Security Essentials’ recent accolades from AV-Comparatives, an anti-malware testing group that compares various anti-malware solutions and ranks them accordingly. As reported, Microsoft Security Essentials is one of just two anti-malware packages — the other being F-Secure Anti-Virus 2010 — that were rated “very fast” in every test category included in the company’s comparisons.

Adding to that initial honor, AV-Comparatives has also given Microsoft Security Essentials the award for the best performance of those programs tested.  Subjecting the competing anti-maleware solutions to a variety of tests derived from real-world scenarios — downloading, extracting, copying, encoding files, application launches, etc. — gave a  clear leader in Microsoft Security Essentials.

What became most noticeable was how little Microsoft Security Essentials demanded of a system’s resources, contributing to AV-Comparative’s decision to rank it as the best-performing anti-malware solution that you can get for free. Brisk performance in every major category, while being light on resources, is reason enough to give this highly recommended anti-malware program a look — particularly when you taking into consideration that it’s free, outpacing those solutions that cost money.

Proving its mettle against the competition, Microsoft Security Essentials is a great tool to protect your computer with.

Read AV-Comparative’s findings here.

If you’re interested in using Microsoft Security Essentials, you can find it here.

Whether it’s Conflickr or a new fake anti-spyware program, it seems like spyware and viruses are inescapable for any computer connected to the Internet. It’s estimated that the amount spent annually on security software in the United States has risen to over $800 million in recent years, but computers are still getting infected daily. Why aren’t we virus free yet?

The answer lies in the nature of malicious programming. Computer viruses don’t spring up out of nowhere, they’re designed by programmers who either have nothing better to do and think it will be interesting, or professionals who make money by abusing your computer. Whenever anti-virus vendors are made aware of a new virus, they create a new definition for their anti-virus software to help isolate and remove that virus if it is downloaded onto your computer. Once the new definition is widespread enough that a significant percentage of computers are safe against that virus, a new one is created by the malicious programmers and the cycle begins again. Nearly two thousand new viruses were identified every day in 2007, and the problem isn’t going away any time soon. This is why you need to allow your anti-virus software to download new virus definitions so often.

Frustrated hackers tired of the rapid turnover of “regular” viruses have graduated to attacking your computer’s defences directly: your anti-virus software. Many new viruses include programming that either hides itself specifically from several popular anti-virus programs, prevents them from downloading new virus definitions, or shuts them down entirely. Even when these new viruses are identified quickly, many computers will already be infected and the software on the machines will be unable to remove the virus. In cases where one virus shuts down the anti-virus software entirely, other viruses will often infect the machine and can render it inoperable in a matter of hours if not minutes. Still other nasty viruses employ tricks to avoid removal techniques, and will re-infect a machine after an anti-virus program or a user tries to delete them.

The fight against computer viruses is non-stop, but you can do something to help protect your system. Installing a good anti-virus program and allowing it to update frequently is just the first step, but beware of fake anti-virus programs you may find online (many of these are viruses themselves). The fake anti-virus programs normally go by the names: Antivirus 2010 Pro, Windows Pro Police, System Guard  2009, Personal Antivirus, Antispyware XP 2009, and many more. You can see a pattern in how they name themselves. Never download anything from a person or website you don’t trust, never open a suspicious email (you don’t always have to open the attachments to get infected), and don’t go to websites with a poor reputation. If you take these steps and your computer still gets infected, have a trained professional remove the virus for you instead of trying to remove it yourself. Modern viruses can be very difficult to isolate and remove, and it’s very easy to damage your system accidentally while trying to remove one.

If you’ve got a slow computer and think you’re infected, call Geek Choice today. Our techs have the tools needed for proper virus removal and have access to fast breaking news about new types of viruses and their removal. Geek Choice is a nationwide on-site computer service and repair company.  If your computer has any of the following problems, we can help: Slow computer, Virus or Spyware, Computer startup problems, Printer not printing, Not connecting to the Internet, Scanner not working, or the “blue screen of death”. We also offer other technical support services, including: New pc setup, Data Backup or Recovery, Wireless network setup, Business Network Firewall setup, Upgrading memory, cpu, hard drives, video cards, and more. You can pick up the phone at any time and call us at 1-800-GEEK HELP (433-5435).

Geek Choice is always staying on top of the latest malware to emerge from underbelly of the internet. In addition to the providing the best onsite technical assistance in this industry, we pride ourselves on alerting you to the latest pests to watch out for.

Most recently, hapless internet users have fallen prey to the URLZone Trojan, a decidedly nasty bug that rewrites their online bank statements to conceal fraud.

This bug is tucked away on websites – many of them legitimate – with the Luckyspoilt toolkit. Unbeknownst to visitors of these websites, bogus .PDF files or Javascripts traffic the URLZone Trojan onto their computers.

Once planted on the victim’s system, the bug begins to record keystrokes that are performed whenever they’re logged into their online bank account, pairing that with screenshots it takes of the user’s activity while they navigate the account.  This information is then fed to the source of the bug, a command and control center located  in the Ukraine.

With your information in their possession,  the perpetrators of this fraud transfer money from the user’s account. After the theft, the Trojan forges a bank statement to deceive the user into believing their account is not compromised, always ensuring that their online bank statement reflects a positive balance.

A more in-depth overview of this threat and its implications can be found here.

Geek Choice always advises its clients to exercise vigilance when browsing the internet. If you think your computer has been compromised by malware, call our offices immediately.

From creating spreadsheets to playing the latest games, we use our computer for multiple purposes, one of the most common being our navigation of the internet.  With the use of the internet occupying so much of our time, it stands to reason that we’d want to enhance that experience as best we can.

When it comes to internet browsers, there isn’t a more ubiquitous one than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Bundled with Microsoft Windows, the most widely used operating system in the personal computing market, Internet Explorer is the standard by default.  However, in spite of its widespread use, there are alternatives to Internet Explorer that are arguably more popular with the geeks amongst us.

Because of its de facto popularity, a result of being packaged with Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer has seen only incremental advances in how it functions. This lack of innovation has paved the way for competitors to release alternative choices which offer greater functionality and more reliable security for users browsing the internet.

Of those choices, my favorite is Mozilla’s Firefox.

Free and thoroughly customizable, Firefox is fast becoming the choice to which users are migrating from Microsoft’s problematic browser, its superior functionality immediately apparent:

• Firefox includes helpful features that augment the browsing experience, such  as spell checking and saving sessions for those who accidentally quit the browser.
• hundreds of plug-ins afford users a staggering level of customization for their browsing experience.
• Though Internet Explorer now has tabbed browsing , which allows multiple pages to be opened within a single browser, Firefox’ tabbed browsing is faster and easier to manage.
• With the advent of malware, those bugs that creep along the porous byways of the internet highway, your computer remains at risk whenever you use the internet. When it comes to security, Firefox is unmatched, with seamless updates that keep you protected from vulnerabilities that leave Internet Explorer users subject to spyware and viruses.

While your internet browser of choice is a personal preference, there’s no denying that Firefox adds a bit more to the experience than Internet Explorer. Yes, Microsoft’s offering has certainly taken steps in the right direction, but much of its improvements were available in the first version of Firefox.

The functionality of Firefox may prove daunting to new users, but Geek Choice is always available to show them how to get the best out of its use.