Malware & MySpace -
Protecting Your PC from "scumware"

Back in the days before I joined Florida Telco I ran my own PC repair business and I loved peer to peer networking services. You know those things that let you download music for free and share your own MP3 collections with the world? Why did I love them? Because I made a lot of money cleaning up the messes left behind by the viruses, Trojans and malware that were rampant on those networks. Now that legal music downloads are fairly cheap, Peer 2 Peer services aren’t as big a deal as they used to be, so the scumware writers have moved onto more fertile ground – MySpace.com.

MySpace is a social networking site. It allows users to create their own web pages and invite friends to read them, building a social network. It’s kind of like hitting a singles bar without actually leaving your house.

The problem is that we now have a place where millions of amateurs are designing web pages with no idea about how to secure them. The result is that the scammers routinely hack these pages and implant malicious code in them that can download onto your PC just by you dragging your mouse across a graphic on the page. There are also services that provide “free” layouts for MySpace, many of which have malicious code in them already, the user customizes the layout with colors and pictures and posts it, so all of their friends get infected as well.

What do you do? If your home computer is on a DSL or Cable line, you MUST have a firewall installed, either one of the free ones or a commercially available product such as Symantec’s. You have to keep your antivirus software up to date, and a Spyware scanner such as Lavasoft’s Adaware, Spybot Search and Destroy (Both free) or Webroot’s Spysweeper ($29.95). These will help keep your home PC clean and running well. All of the free products can be found at www.download.com . The commercial ones are available at the usual places -- Wal-Mart, Target, Office Depot, etc.

- 'Till next time...

Larry, the IT Man