How did my computer get infected?

This is a blog post for those of "us" out there who have a teenager (or even an adult) that we know who's laptop or desktop computer seems to be prone to getting virus' over and over. The part that seems to amaze these people is that in reality its their fault that their machines become infected with crud.

As a "computer nerd" I get asked a LOT to fix peoples computers, try and removed virus' etc. and so I have seen a lot of machines over the years.


How in the world did my machine get infected:
There are a lot of ways to get your computer infected, most require the user to actually install the infecting software onto your computer. Here is a small list of the best ways to screw up your computer.

• LIMEWIRE - ok, without a doubt this is the fastest, easiest, and most assured way to totally destroy your computer. If you have a Teen, i can almost 100% guarantee you that this program is loaded on some computer somewhere. This is basically a program that allows you to.. STEAL! yes, STEAL. You open the program up, type in the title of a movie, and boom there is dozens of files to click and download and you can sit and watch this great masterpiece on your computer. The main use for the average teen is music, downloading hundreds of illegal songs from all over the net. If you have been living under a rock and have not heard a single new report of the RIAA tracking down people who "get" their music this way, they are suing people left and right (AND WINNING).
• Any 'BitTorrent' Software - This includes uTorrent, BitTorrent, and tons more. BitTorrent is about the same as LIMEWIRE (as it uses bit torrent as well), but its different as you have to goto certain web sites (thepiratebay) to find people who are offering free movies, programs, and more, and all you need to do is click a link, and it downloads.
• Any TOOLBAR or ADDIN for Explorer - Just about every "free" program these days comes with some AMAZING "TOOLBAR" that you HAVE to install in order to use the software. These are ALL Spyware/malware/adware. These programs offer you something for free, but all you have to do is load a TOOLBAR. This toolbar can track EVERY SINGLE KEYSTROKE you make and transfer it to the author of the software. So imagine this.. you use your computer to access your bank account, and you login with your private info, it captures all your keystrokes, and sends that info to the person who created the sw. They now have the ability to login in AS YOU and take all your money. Ahh, isnt free software great?
  
• SEARCH S/W - let me make this really clear, you do not, nor should you EVER load anything that calls itself a "search tool" or "search ASSISTANT". The only Toolbar/Search SW you MIGHT want to install is the google toolbar, and if you have to have it, get it from http://toolbar.google.com and NO WHERE ELSE. But in this day and age of new browsers with built in search, this is not needed anymore.
  

I have tried (without any success) to teach my niece's that you cannot even load Limewire onto your computer without it causing issues. I will reload the whole machine, get everything perfect, load the latest A/V & anti-malware, have the machine protected perfectly, and within 1-2 months I'm getting calls about the machine being "slow" or "popups" coming in. When i look at the computer, low-and-behold, there it is.. Limewire, and at least 2-3 Toolbars, and 2-3 Search programs. When I ask about how these things got installed i get "i have no idea". On looking further into things i see that they have loaded some "REALLY COOL" smiley-face add-in for their email, or who knows, and it had a "search assistant" as part of it. Well when you OK the install of the virus, YOU are the Virus.

So, how do you protect your computer from this kind of thing. Lets see..

• EDUCATION: Every teen/adult that uses a computer should know about the above items, and guess what.. now you do.
  
• EDUCATION: I know you know that if you download that music without paying for it, its called Stealing, but do you really KNOW it? Would you walk into walmart and take a cd? Would you take a Movie from FYE? But downloading that movie is fine, RIGHT?
• EDUCATION: Learning how to protect yourself from these threats by knowing what a virus program "looks like" (ie: ANY Search Assistant/Toolbar). Knowing that when you install that really cool free app that only requires you to add the free (fill in the blank) to your system, you are installing the virus that could potentially cause you to lose your personal info, bank account info or more.
• EDUCATION: You as a parent have to be 100% involved in your childs computer usage. You should KNOW what s/w they have installed, or what they are downloading. Yes, they will hate it, but TUFF CRUD. Until they are 18 YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE LEGALLY for anything they download, ANYTHING. So YOU will be the one who the RIAA comes after for your childs 3000 Rap songs they "got" from Limewire.
  

Yes i know we are all busy, but i have learned (the hard way) that you cannot trust a teenager to do the "right thing" all the time. And if you lock down their Internet access (there are TONS of ways to do this), and lock down what they can/cant install on their own pc, you will find that these situations are less and less. Yes, i know its a pain for your kid to come to you when they want to load some great new sw to their pc, but you are responsible, and you need to be the final say so.

You also should limit your child's Internet access. If you know they get into things they shouldn't when you are not watching (between the time they get home from school and you get home from work), then lock them out of the Internet till you get home. I think every home should have blocking software on their router that stops their children from accessing certain types of info. For their own protection.

I could go on and on over things you need to block, things that should NEVER be on your child's machine (can you say web-cam?), and more, but ill save that for another post.

Keep in mind, I'm taking from my own experiences here, and I'm only trying to help you protect yourself, and child from the things out there that can really hurt them.