Why didn't my antivirus software work?

If you feel that you have a virus and your antivirus software  is not picking it up you may be asking yourself “Why Didn’t My Antivirus Software Work?”. The answer can sometimes be complicated but here are a few tips on fixing your antivirus software.

Why Didn’t My Antivirus Software Work?

Many times the problem is that your antivirus software needs to be updated. New viruses are hitting the internet everyday. Keeping your antivirus software up to date will insure that you are fighting each and every new virus out their. If you are not updating your antivirus software it will not know which codes and document types to search for to find viruses or how to get rid of them.

How Do I Update My Antivirus Software?

Many times your antivirus software will update itself. If it is not updating or you are not sure it is updating you should check the preference settings on your software. Often times you can also find out how to update the software by visiting a help or FAQ tab.

I Have Updated My Antivirus But I Still Think I Have A Virus. What Should I Do?

You may want to think about getting a new antivirus program. If you are using a free program it may not be being updated frequently enough to keep up with all the new viruses. This often happens with free programs. There are many subscription based antivirus programs out on the market that offer many updates to their systems. When it comes to antivirus software usually the more you pay the better service you will receive and service means updates which protect your computer from new viruses.

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National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), conducted every October since 2004, is a public awareness campaign to encourage everyone to protect their computers and critical cyber infrastructure.

What are you doing for National Cyber Security Awareness Month?

The success of National Cyber Security Awareness Month rests on all of us doing what we can do to engage those around us to be safe and secure online. There are opportunities for everyone, from home users and small businesses to major corporations and government entities, to get involved.

Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt answers your questions about National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the "Stop.Think.Connect" initiative to encourage safety online, and ways to protect yourself online. October 20, 2010.

Hear President Obama talk about Cyber Security Awareness Month (Oct, 2009)

President Obama explains how the growth of digital networks has increased the need to invest in online security, as well as steps individuals can take to protect themselves from online threats. October 14, 2009.

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Safe Computing

Introduction to Safe Computing

Home computers are a popular target for intruders. This is due to the fact that home computers usually use less complex protection and take less work and risk to penetrate than the systems within a secure enterprise network. This is not to say that in the past, hackers haven’t also provided equal headaches for the security administrators in big enterprises, exploiting every possible opportunity to sneak in. The attackers look for credit card numbers, bank account information, and anything else they can find from your home computer. But it’s not just the money-related information they’re after. Intruders also want the compromised computer’s resources, to attack other computers on the Internet. In fact, the more computers an intruder uses, the harder it is for law enforcement to figure out where the attack is really coming from.

Not many of the home computer users are aware of the security issues that can arise out of unsafe computing practices, unless they experience an attack on their computers. When combined with high-speed Internet connections that are always turned on, intruders can quickly find and then attack home computers. While intruders also attack home computers connected to the Internet through dial-up connections, high-speed connections modems and DSL modems) becomes a favored target. As we have discussed earlier, attackers use various methods such as attaching a virus in an email, to enter or access the home computers. They also take advantage of vulnerabilities in the computer’s programs code to gain access.

What follows are some tips to help provide a more secure computing experience.

• Install and Use an Anti-Virus Program
• Update Operating System and Install patches
• Handle Emails with Care
• Install a Firewall
• Beware of Social Engineering Attacks
• Use (strong) Passwords

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How to choose secure passwords??

Passwords are your protection against fraud and loss of confidential information, but few people choose passwords that are truly secure.

Make your password as long as possible

The longer a password is, the harder it is to guess or to find by trying all possible combinations (i.e., a brute force attack). Passwords of 14 characters or more are vastly more difficult to crack.

Use different types of characters

Include numbers, punctuation marks, symbols, and uppercase and lowercase letters.

Don’t use words that are in dictionaries

Don’t use words, names or place names that are usually found in dictionaries. Hackers

can use a dictionary attack (i.e., trying all the words in the dictionary automatically) to

crack these passwords.

Don’t use personal information

Others are likely to know information such as your birthday, the name of your partner or child, or your phone number, and they might guess that you have used them as a password.

Don’t use your username

Don’t use a password that is the same as your username or account number.

Use passwords that are difficult to identify as you type them in

Make sure that you don’t use repeated characters or keys close together on the keyboard.

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What is a Potentially Unwanted Program/Application (PUP)?

Potentially unwanted applications are programs that are not malicious but may be unsuitable for use in a business environment.

Some applications are non-malicious and possibly useful in the right context, but are not suitable for company networks. Examples are adware, dialers, non-malicious spyware, tools for administering PCs remotely and hacking tools. Certain anti-virus and endpoint security programs can detect such applications on users’ computers and report them. The administrator can then either authorize the applications for use or remove them from the computers.

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myLot Account

myLot User Profile

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