Best Practices to Avoid Spyware

(1)

Steve McEvoy

January 8th_{, 2013}

Best Practices to

Avoid Spyware

(2)

Goals

• To discuss technology in a way that might actually be useful to

you in your

practice

• Share ideas that you should be able to implement immediately

• Talk will be available to you online so you don’t need to take notes

• Ask your questions to the moderator right when you are thinking about it

(3)

Agenda

• What is Spyware? • What does it do? • Why do they do it?

• How can I protect myself? • What do I do if I get it?

(4)

Spyware

• Who has had their PC infected with Spyware before?

– How did you get infected?

– How did it get fixed (if at all)?

– How many just replaced the computer?

• I suspect this is why many of you signed up for this course

(5)

What is Spyware?

Application(s) running on your PC that: • Steal your private information

• Redirect your actions

• Seek some form of financial gain • Seeks to Propagate itself

Is Spyware a HIPAA violation if its on a work computer?

(6)

Is it a Virus?

How is it Different from a Virus?

• Virus’s tend to be malicious and seek to wreck your PC

• Honestly I think Spyware and Viruses are converging into one beast

(7)

How do they get in?

• You let them in

• They sucker you into doing something that lets them get installed (Phishing Scam).

(8)

AntiVirus Program

If you had an AntiVirus program already, why didn’t it/won't it stop it?

• Literally tens of thousands of spyware apps with new mutations every day

• Your application would need to be up to date and designed to watch accordingly • Since you click on the ‘OK to Install’ how

(9)

(10)

Signs of Spyware

• Pop-Ups

• Fake Antivirus warning messages • Default Web Page changed

• You surf to one URL, and get another

• New Toolbars have appeared in Browser • New Applications are installed on PC

• Fast one day, and slow the next

• All sorts of unexplained abnormal behavior

(11)

Why do they do it?

• Fun

• Financial Gain

– Imagine the revenue from the Fake Antivirus – Even if 1% fall for it

• 100,000 PCs infected

• 1,000 Owners pay fee of $40

(12)

What can I do about it?

• Settings • Software

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

Install AntiMalware/Antivirus Program

• All in One programs like Norton 360

might be OK for home, but not great for business

– “Too Restrictive” and likely to mess up things that need work in your office Network

– Tend to slow a PC down a lot

• Look for something that is limited to Antivirus and Antimalware

(17)

(18)

AntiMalware/Antivirus Program

Recommendations: • No Clear Standout

• Free – Microsoft Security Essentials

• Paid – Most any of the large companies are OK

– I tend to use Symantec Endpoint Protection – Should cost about $35 per PC

(19)

Safe Surfing

This is by far the most important thing • Surf Responsibly – understand the risks

and avoid the traps • Avoid Phishing scams

• Use Business PCs ONLY for business use

– Facebook and other personal sites are rife with Spyware links

• Close PopUps or suspicious pages with the X or Alt F4, never click in the ad

(20)

The Myth that Mac’s are Perfect

• There are probably 100 PCs for each Mac, so hackers spend their time where the

return will be greatest

• Mac’s have a good OS that helps prevent this

• If you run Windows on your Mac, you have all the same issues as if it was a Dell

(21)

Defend at your Firewall

At your home or office, you will have a device called a Firewall/Router that links you to the Internet.

Office Network Firewall

(22)

Firewall Monitoring

Watches all the Traffic flowing through it: • Scans for Viruses

• Blocks executable attachments • Filters out SPAM

• Blocks Websites by Category

– No “Social Networking” websites

• Checks the URL you are requesting isn’t known to be ‘bad’ from a community

(23)

Smart Firewall

• Not a DIY Project to Implement • I’ve had good success with the

Watchguard XTM-25 Firewall

– About $450 with a 1 yr Subscription – $150 per year for the Subscriptons

(24)

What to do if Infected?

• Act quickly

– Maybe even power down until help arrives

• Use Cleanup Tools

– None are perfect – each gets about 90% – A few Free suggestions:

• MalwareBytes

• ComboFix (nuclear weapon approach)

• Have a professional Help

(25)

Will it ever be the same?

• Most of the time the truth is ‘No’

– It can be healed, but since they can have tweaked anything they want, nearly

impossible to restore it all

• The PC Hardware isn’t wrecked, but the Windows Software and your Applications may be.

– These can be reloaded from Scratch and all will be well again, but this takes time ($$)

(26)

Will it ever be the same?

• If a cleanup/reload could cost $600, should I just replace the PC?

– Consider that even a new PC needs all your apps installed and configured

– Maybe replace if the PC was already on its last legs

(27)

Plan Ahead

Consider making an Imaged based backup of each PC once per month. If something

screws up the PC, you can quickly restore the entire PC back to the exact way it was.

• Acronis Workstation costs about $85 per PC • A portable USB hard drive costs about $100 • A backup will take about an hour and can

(28)

MME’s Blog

(29)

AAO Technology Blog

(30)

Thank You!

steve@mmeconsulting.com

Presentation Online at

www.mmeconsulting.com/presentations