Helping Your Computer Survive the Zombie Apocalypse. Presentation to UCHUG - 11/06/13 G. Skalka

Transcription

1 Helping Your Computer Survive the Zombie Apocalypse Presentation to UCHUG - 11/06/13 G. Skalka

2 What Happens When the Zombie Apocalypse Comes? Evil forces are out to get you You don t know who can be trusted You are safest when behind a barricade You are at greater risk when you go out You, your loved ones and everything you have are at risk You need to take precautions to stay safe It is much like it is with your computer today

3 Zombies Can t be reasoned with or bargained with Are relentless - keep coming and coming Will always seem to be in endless supply, no matter how many you defeat Only know one thing - how to take advantage of you Can really ruin your day if you let your guard down Will find and exploit your weaknesses

4 What do Zombies Want? Your brain To consume you To take or control your stuff Your identity and soul

5 How Do You Protect Yourself? Make sure you have the right defenses Don t trust anyone - be suspicious Don t leave yourself vulnerable Don t go to the wrong places Be aware of your surroundings Have the weapons you need for protection and know how to use them

6 How Do You Protect Your Computer? Make sure you have the right defenses Firewall, antivirus, router, software updates Don t trust anyone - be suspicious Spam, malware, phishing attacks, counterfeit software Don t leave yourself vulnerable Protect physical hardware; practice good security Don t go to the wrong places Bad sites can infect with malware and viruses Be aware of your surroundings Learn to recognize bad sites & risky situations Have the weapons you need for protection and know how to use them Security & backup software, encryption, passwords

7 Computer Theft Don t leave PCs, tablets or smart phones in risky situations Keep watch over them in coffee shops Don t leave them unsecured Protect the hardware Locks, alarms, tracking Protect the data Enable all security options Segregation, encryption Have a backup (alternative) computer

8 Anti-Theft Measures Locks Targus Defcon Alarms Belkin Tracking ESET Smart Security 6 Anti-Theft ( Protects computers running ESET Smart Security LoJack for Laptops ( Protects laptops for $80 / year Protects select Samsung Galaxy smartphones for $2.50 / month

9 Eset Anti-Theft Activate through Eset Smart Security Report laptop stolen on website Eset activates monitoring If the laptop connects to the Internet Captures webcam photos and screen shots Provides device location (using information from networks it connects to) Blocks access to your user account Send a message to the screen

10 Other Theft Protection Tips Encrypt your data files to protect them Carry sensitive data on an external USB hard drive or Flash drive with hardware encryption Keep computers out of sight or in your view Keep separate back-ups Don t let down your guard!

11 Zombie Viruses and Malware Protect yourself from infections from the Internet Update OS and programs to reduce risk of infections Install antivirus, update signatures and run regularly Install and use anti-malware software Install and use a software firewall Use a router and set for strong security Be smart when on the Internet

12 Back Up Protection Making regular and complete back-ups is the best protection from data loss due to theft, malware, or even computer failure Use methods appropriate to the data Image back-ups for total restoration from theft or drive failure Back up data more often than programs Copy data to USB drives Store some back-ups off-site to protect against theft or disaster loss

13 Passwords Strong passwords are the best defense against loss of data and ID theft Use strong passwords appropriate to the account being protected The strongest are as long as possible (at least 12 characters), a mix of character types and TOTALLY RANDOM Don t reuse passwords Even seemingly unimportant accounts should be well protected by strong passwords Consider the consequences of a zombie taking over your account, impersonating you or getting payment info

14 Zombie Computers Computers that have been taken over and are controlled by crackers, or malicious hackers Used to spread spam (to make more zombies) Used for distributed denial of service attacks Used to steal your identity, passwords & account info Used for click fraud

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16 How Can You Tell? Often you can t tell if your computer is a zombie It may be slower Your ISP may cancel your service You might be charged with criminal activity You might get complaints about spam from others Your outbox might be full of messages you didn t write

17 Becoming a Zombie Computer Hackers trick victims to get control malware onto their computers Programs disguised as something else (like photo to video file) Peer-to-peer networks Decoy buttons on pop-ups s Web sites

18 Spam Distribution by Zombies Hackers use zombie computers to distribute spam to other victim computers Send advertising Send viruses and malware Send phishing messages Goal: to make money

19 Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Hackers use zombie computers to sabotage a specific web site or server Zombies are ordered to connect Site gets overloaded Zombies can use uncorrupted computers to mask source of attack

20 Preventing and Curing Zombie Computers Preventing Zombie Computers Follow good computer security practices Antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-malware Install a router and firewall Use strong passwords Be careful and suspicious on the Internet and when dealing with Curing Zombie Computers Disinfect with antivirus and antimalware software Erase everything and reinstall from clean back-ups

21 If all else fails, join the zombies!