Gameover Zeus

Wobblysteve

New to the forum, so if this has been mentioned previously - apologies

Modifying your hosts file is also a great way of keeping "nasties" out of your systems.....have used both personally and at work for many years (25years IT professional and counting!!)

I have no affiliation to the site below but would highly recommend a visit...because it works!!

Google "hosts file" - and goto the winhelp2002 website (newbie - so can't post links!)

Also mentioned on that site is switching off the DNS client - which for home users is also a good idea.....

kwikbreaks

BBC News yesterday said 15,000 UK machines infected (so < one in a thousand) and that ISPs would be contacting those that were detected as infected (presumably by traffic patterns). They mentioned that the getsafeonline site had been overwhelmed with traffic several times yesterday and that the authorities estimated it would take a couple of weeks for those running the botnet to recover and get going again.

I suppose the best course ofaction is to wait a few days and have a read of what it says on getsafeonline. IMO so long as you have been sensible with emails and don't indulge in downloading warez or unknown free software then the chances of your machine being infected are negligible.

Annie1960

Lumstorm wrote: »

I think the main thing is to not worry the media love to built up a buzz about these viruses. These kind of scam have been around for ages and will continue to be around after.

Remember the Y2K bug?

As long as your are sensible and don't download links or images in emails, run as a limited user and keep software up to date I don't think there's much to worry about.

What does 'run as a limited user' mean?

penon

Annie1960 wrote: »

What does 'run as a limited user' mean?

When setting up a PC you create an Adminstrator account which has the rights to modify system files, install new programs etc....

Its best practice to then setup a second account that is a "limited user" or "standard user" that isn't able to do the above actions without it being approved with an admin password. This adds an additional layer of security as it requires you to authorise changes instead of them being actioned automatically.

henm2

This in practice only affects Windows systems (as always). Best security is to set up a dual boot of Windows and Linux Mint 17 cinnamon edition and only use the linux side for for your banking and shopping and email etc.
Guide to dual boot http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/dual-boot-windows-7-ubuntu.html
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/dual-boot-windows-8-ubuntu.html

RumRat

Like most viruses, Joe Public finds out when the media want a bit of sensationalism and when it's been around for a while.
Anyway, everyone can now rest easy.....Microsoft and FBI neutralize threat.
To be honest, some of the security suggestions on here are way OTT. Common sense is the only sure guard. Everything else just cut's down the amount of times you need to exercise it.;)

archieboy

After hearing about this new threat on the news I ran my free Malwarebytes programme this morning. I did a 'full' scan but only on C drive, not D and E. I have no idea what the different ones are!

It detected one object which was, Rogue.FakeAV. Is this serious? I used the Malware programme to delete is. Is there anything else I should do?

I use Microsoft Securities Essentials for protection and run Malware probably not as often as I should, maybe once a month. Is that enough for protection? Thanks for any advice to a Grandmother who knows very little about computers.

RumRat

5 things to keep you safe.
1. Make sure your windows is up to date.
2. Make sure your AV is up to date and has the latest definitions.
3. Don't open email attachments unless you are certain they are safe. Don't assume attachments from people you know are safe. You are rarely called 'Dear Customer' in a genuine email.
4. Back up your important files and pics etc.
5. Some advocate covering your webcam with a bit of tape in case it's hijacked and someone uses it to take video/pics of you.
Mine is just disconnected unless I want to use it.

Finally - Don't spend your life worrying about it.

molerat

Call me cynical but a "major threat" appearing and being pushed by the media just after M$ cease support for an operating system ?

RumRat

Well if it was XP specific you may have been right, however, it wasn't.