COMPUTER HEALTH PART 2: VIRUSES, MALWARE, AND EMAIL

©2021 by Donald R. Snow - Last updated 2021-04-19
Return to the  Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page  or  Don Snow's Class Listings Page .
ABSTRACT: Part 2 of this series deals with viruses, malware, and email helps.  These are constant concerns and there are helpful programs to prevent problems on your computer.  We will discuss some of these and what to do, if you get hit by a virus or other malware.  There are helps for email that makes them more private and avoids some problems. The notes for this class and related articles, all with active Internet links, are posted on my website  https://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .

    WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

  1. Instructor is Donald R. Snow ( snowd@math.byu.edu ) of Provo and St. George, Utah.
  2. These notes, with active internet links and other related articles, are on Don's website  https://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .
  3. Tips:  (1)  Easy to put an icon on your desktop for these notes or any other webpage; just drag the icon from in front of the address in your browser to your desktop.  (2)  To open a link from here in another tab, but keep your place in these notes, hold down the Control key while clicking the link.
  4. The problem for today:  How to avoid viruses and malware on your computer and what to do if you do get hit.

    5. THIS SERIES ON COMPUTER HEALTH

  5. Part 1 of this series dealt with operating systems, e.g. Windows 10 and iOS,  and hard drive problems
  6. This class, Part 2,  deals with viruses, other types of malware, including PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs), and ideas for email that help prevent some problems
  7. Part 3 will deal with backups, both online and offline.
  8. Computers need caring for to keep them running smoothly and they slow down with age and with virus and other problems such as 'bloatware"
  9. Here we discuss mostly Microsoft's Windows 10, but similar things work for Macs.
  10. The free programs discussed in Part 1 help here, including BELARC ADVISOR (shows your Virus Protection) and GLARY UTILITIES (The 1-Click Maintenance has a Spyware Remover.)   

    11. VIRUSES AND MALWARE

  11. DEFENDER antivirus program is built-into Windows 10 -- details in articles  https://www.howtogeek.com/220232/how-to-use-the-built-in-windows-defender-antivirus-on-windows-10/  and TechConnect article about Windows 10 anti-virus features -- works OK, but other free programs are better
  12. To check DEFENDER on your Windows 10, type DEFENDER into the search box (lower left corner) > Windows Defender Firewall 
  13. To check for other antivirus checkers, look at BELARC ADVISOR under Virus Protection; also type Control Panel into the search box > System and Security > Security and Maintenance> View Archived Messages
  14. Two good free antivirus programs are AVG -- https://www.avg.com/en-us/free-antivirus-download#pc  and  AVAST -- https://www.avast.com/en-us/index#pc -- these find and prevent most problems
  15. MALWAREBYTES FREE -- https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/ -- free for private use; run it periodically, e.g. monthly, to find and clean out malware problems
  16. PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and bloatware -- these come from installation programs and can sometimes be avoided by reading carefully and unchecking itemsas you install other programs.
  17. Ransomware -- if you get hit, turn off your computer immediately and take it to an expert; can sometimes use a Restore Point before the ransomware hit to get back to a previous state or may be able to use a complete backup to clean it off; sometimes the hard drive needs be be reformatted and then all programs reinstalled with their licenses (Remember BELARC ADVISOR for your license keys) -- Regarding backups, you only need a backup of your DATA FILES, since the programs can be reinstalled with their licenses     
  18. New malware problems come out all the time; keep your operating system and programs updated to avoid many problems
  19. Some helps, tutorials, and articles 
    1. YouTube tutorial -- 12 minutes -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqC2k4vbXY -- computer security technical info, but helpful; has a short commercial at the start; includes virus and backup info 
    2. Article: Understanding Computer Viruses -- https://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/ComputerViruses/  
    3. Article - Computer Virus (types of viruses) -- https://www.javatpoint.com/computer-virus 
    4. Best Free Antivirus Software 2021 -- https://www.lifewire.com/best-free-antivirus-software-4151895  

    20. PROBLEMS FROM EMAIL

  20. Fill in the Subject line on email so people (and you) know what's in it
  21. Send yourself a copy so you know that it actually went out, how long it took, and you have a copy for your records
  22. Spam -- bad guys harvest email address and sell them and you get spam -- some email programs have spam filters, so check regularly to see if they have inadvertently filtered out some valid emails
  23. The Cc: line is "Copy To" -- sending copies to anyone in here makes their email address visible to everyone, including the email address harvesters for spam 
  24. The Bcc: line is "Blind Copy To" -- email addresses here are only visible to the addressee and to you, so addresses can't be harvested    
  25. Don't forward messages that include things like "Forward this to everyone in your address book." -- most are problems and hoaxes; check stories before you forward them on
  26. Be careful about clicking on links and attachments, even if they seem to be from someone you know; bad guys "spoof" the message so it looks like it came from your friend, but it contains a virus; if in doubt, contact the person or forward the email to them without clicking on the link and ask if it's valid
  27. Use an email address that you don't have to change when you move or change internet providers; e.g. use Gmail or many alumni associations will give you a free email address and you can use it anywhere

    28. CONCLUSIONS

  28. Viruses and malware are major problems, but most can be controlled.
  29. Keep you operating system and programs up-to-date and use a virus checker.
  30. It's not always easy to determine whether a computer problem is major or minor, but be careful. 
Return to the  Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page  or  Don Snow's Class Listings Page