subject: Top 7 Tips to Avoid Malware via Twitter [print this page] Top 7 Tips to Avoid Malware via Twitter Top 7 Tips to Avoid Malware via Twitter
As you probably know most malware infections occur when unsuspecting victims open e-mail attachments or visit attack sites which force feed viruses into your computer without you even knowing about it. In a minute we will look at ways you can minimise the likelihood of a malware attack, but first let's look at some more facts.
Most people have taken precautionary steps by installing anti-viral software and only opening e-mail attachments after they have been properly scanned for viruses. These simple steps are enough to protect your computer from the majority of potential infections that flood the Internet every day, but with the increasing popularity of social networking sites like Twitter, new threats to your computer's security have emerged.
Social networking sites like Twitter are usually built around networks of friends or business associates but as more and more people tweet and re-tweet your list of friends increases exponentially in a short space of time. Many people have their guard down when it comes to re-tweeting and clicking on links in their wall, and this has been capitalised on by malicious hackers who abuse the trust and spread their viral attacks without warning.
So, what can you do about this? Here are a few tips.
Regard all links as potentially unsafe. Just because it looks as though your friend has posted something to your wall does not make it legitimate. Make sure the context is appropriate and that it sounds like something a friend of yours would say. If you are in doubt contact them through another channel to check it out.
Don't rely on Twitter. Twitter states that it stands all content for malware; this does not mean that they can eliminate every suspicious event. The shortened or URLs used on twitter can be easily redirected to malicious sites and Twitter cannot protect you against this.
Keep your browser up-to-date. By using an up-to-date browser you are assured that the necessary security patches have been installed. These patches give you added protection on social bookmarking sites.
Install anti-spyware protection. Keeping your anti spyware software up-to-date maximises your protection so you should make sure that updates are installed automatically. Most software producers recommend this course of action and updates will occur at least every day.
Keep your software up-to-date. Reader software like Adobe and Adobe flash are commonly used to interpret data from various websites. Malware producers try to prompt users to download updates and in doing so unleash worms and Trojans that can potentially destroy your computer. Never download updates in this way. Always keep your product is up-to-date by downloading directly from the software producers sites.
Keep Windows up-to-date. As you probably know, Windows produces updates on a regular basis and most of these are to update the security of the operating system. Make sure your Windows updates are automatically updated.
Don't trust the social network e-mails. Never assume that an e-mail from Twitter or Facebook or any other social network site are safe. Hackers use sophisticated spoofing methods to mask their true intention and links contained in these e-mails are potentially lethal. Always go to the social network site itself to check whether the content of the e-mail is legitimate.
Although all this may seem to be a matter of common sense, if you have ever had to employ adata recovery service to bring your system back up to speed, you will appreciate that prevention is far better than cure.
