Dealing with Malware: Taking Care of What Antivirus Programs Miss

By Mark Bassingthwaighte, Esquire, Attorneys Liability Protection Society

I’m sure most of you are familiar with antivirus programs that help prevent a virus or worm program from contaminating your computer; however, viruses and worms are not the only forms of threatening software. There are a number of other types of programs that are potential security risks. Many people refer to these other programs as “malware.”

Most computer users are unaware of malware programs because they do not necessarily damage a computer system, and they quietly download from the Internet in the background and run in the background, usually without the user’s knowledge. Malware programs come in different forms, and can include such malicious functions as password crackers, spyware that monitors your internet activity and relays that information back to a third party, virus creation tools, and “adware” that creates those annoying advertisement “pop-ups” that keep appearing on your monitor’s screen. Other types of malware programs enable a remote computer to monitor your machine or scan your computer network. If you ignore malware programs and let them remain on your computer, undoubtedly they will increase your security risks.

PestPatrol, Inc. offers a software solution to the malware problem. Not surprisingly, they call the software “PestPatrol.” It’s a highly customizable program that identifies and labels as “pests” the programs and files that pose potential threats, and lets the user determine which files or program to remove. The program provides users with information on every threat that it has located, and provides several options for dealing with those threats. The options include ignoring the files that you wish to keep, deleting the “pest” entirely, or quarantining the “pest” until you further research whether you want to delete that “pest.” Also, the program provides a link to the PestPatrol internet site for additional information about the pests that PestPatrol identifies on your machine.

You should not use a malware detection and removal program like PestPatrol in place of general security programs such as firewalls or antivirus programs. You should use programs like PestPatrol in conjunction with general security programs to further tighten the security of your computer system(s).

Reprinted, with permission, from the February 28. 2003, issue of ALPS Risk Management Report.

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