PROTECTION FROM VIRUS, MALWARE & SPYWARE

Contact Us

MALAYSIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MULTIMEDIA COMMISSIONOff Persiaran Multimedia,

63000 Cyberjaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA.

Regional Offices

Tel : +603 8688 8000Fax : +603 8688 1000E-mail : ccd@cmc.gov.myWebsite : www.skmm.gov.my

Northern Regional OfficeTingkat 1, Bangunan Tabung Haji

Jalan Bagan Luar12000 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang

Tel : +604 323 8228Fax : +604 323 9448

Eastern Regional OfficeB8004 Tingkat 1, Sri Kuantan Square

Jalan Telok Sisek25000 Kuantan, Pahang

Tel : +609 512 1100Fax : +609 515 7566

Central Regional OfficeAras 17, Wisma SunwayMas

No.1 Jalan Tengku Ampuan ZabedahC9/C Seksyen 9

40100 Shah Alam, SelangorTel : +603 551 87701Fax : +603 551 87710

Southern Regional OfficeSuite 7A, Aras 7Menara Ansar, Jalan Trus80000 Johor Bahru, JohorTel : +607 226 6700Fax : +607 227 8700

Sabah Regional Office6-10-10, Tingkat 10, No.6, Menara MAALorong Api-Api 1, Api-Api Centre88000 Kota Kinabalu, SabahTel : +608 827 0550Fax : +608 825 3205

Sarawak Regional OfficeTingkat 5 (North), Wisma STA26, Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim93450, Kuching, SarawakTel : +608 233 1900Fax : +608 233 1901

MCMC is charged with overseeing the new regulatory framework for the converging industries of telecommunications, broadcasting and on-line activities, in accordance with the national policy objectives set out in the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA), as well as postal services and digital certifications.

Towards a globally competitive, efficient and increasingly self-regulating communications and multimedia industry generating growth to meet the economic and social needs of Malaysia.

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

Vision

We are committed to :

• Promoting access to communications and multimedia services;• Ensuring consumers enjoy choice and a satisfactory level of services at affordable prices;

• Providing transparent regulatory processes to facilitate fair competition and efficiency in the industry;• Ensuring best use of spectrum and number resources; and

• Consulting regularly with consumers and service providers and facilitating industry collaboration.

Mission

All users should install professional, business-grade software on their computers. These software update more frequently throughout the day (thereby providing timely protection against fast emerging vulnerabilities), protect against a wider range of threats (such as rootkits), and enable additional protective features (such as custom scans).

Anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware programmes require regular signature and database updates. Without these critical updates, the software is unable to protect computers from the latest threats. Computer users must keep their software up to date. All users must take measures to prevent licence expiration, thereby ensure that their software stay current and continue providing protection against the most recent threats.

Another easy and very important step is to update your computer operating system. Some malware uses holes in the operating system and browsers to install themselves without you knowing it. There are many viruses which exploit operating systems in similar ways, so it is important to either enable Automatic Update or regularly visit the relevant website for important updates to your operating system.

Install qualityanti-virus, anti-malware& anti-spyware

Most free anti-spyware programmes do not provide real-time, or active, protection from adware, trojan, and other spyware infections. While many free programmes can detect spyware threats once they’ve infected a system, a typical professional (or fully paid and licensed) anti-spyware programmes are required to prevent infections and fully remove those infections already present.

Install real-timeanti-spyware

protection

Keep protectivesoftware applications current

Users are encouraged to install a firewall in their computers. A firewall is a set of related programmes, located at a network gateway server or router that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks.

Use a firewall

Users should never click on email attachments without at least first scanning them for viruses using a business-grade protective software application. As for clicking on links, users should access websites by opening a browser and manually navigating to the websites in question.

Don’t simply clickon email linksor attachments

Disable auto-run

Updating yourcomputer

operating system

Many viruses work by attaching themselves to a drive and automatically installing themselves on any other media connected to the system. As such, disabling the auto-run facility will disallow any automatic connection to any network drives, external hard disks, or even thumb drives that could result in the propagation of viruses.

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

Detect Protect&

PROTECTING YOUR COMPUTER

By following some simple security safety measures, many vulnerabilities may be prevented, thereby saving time, money, and allowing for uninterrupted access to your computer, documents, and network resources.

TYPES OF MALWARE

Adware is a type of programme that places advertisements on your screen. These may be in the form of pop-ups, pop-unders, advertisements embedded in other programmes, advertisements placed on top of advertisements in websites, or any other way the advertisers can think of showing you an advertisement.

The pop-ups generally will not be stopped by pop-up stoppers, and often are not dependent on having your Internet browser open. They may show up when you are playing a game, writing a document or listening to music. Should you be surfing, the advertisements will often be related to the web page you are viewing.

Programme classified as spyware send information about you and your computer to somebody else. Some spyware simply relays the addresses of websites you visit or terms you search for, to a server somewhere. Others may send back information you type into forms in your Internet browser or the names of files you download. Others search your hard drive and report back what programmes you have installed, contents of your email client address book (usually to be sold to spammers), or any other information in your computer – things such as your name, browser history, login names and passwords, credit card numbers, and your phone number and address.

Spyware often works in conjunction with toolbars. It may also use a programme that is always running in the background to collect data, or it may integrate itself into your Internet browser, allowing it to run undetected whenever your Internet browser is open. Hijackers take control of various parts of your web browser, including your home page, search pages, and search bar. They may also redirect you to certain websites should you mistype an address or prevent you from going to a website they would rather you not go to, such as websites that combat malware. Some will even redirect you to their own search engine when you attempt a search.

A computer virus is a man-made programme or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. Viruses can also replicate themselves. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and by-passing security systems.

Many people get contaminated computer programmes by trading programmes with other people. Others get contaminated computer programmes through the use of modems, which allow computers to connect over telephone lines to the Internet.

When a virus enters your computer, it hides in your computer's memory and starts to duplicate itself like a disease. When you save your data, you also save the virus. Slowly but surely, the virus can disrupt your data and cause major system problems. The virus can't affect the computer's ROM (Read Only Memory), but it can affect RAM (Random Access Memory) and your computer disks.

Once the virus is on your disk or hard drive, it will return to the computer when you use the programme again. If you switch from one programme to another without shutting down the machine, the virus will attach itself to the new programme. In this way, it can slowly infect all your programmes before you know that it exists.

COMPUTER SECURITY

Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorised use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorised users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.

Computer Security

We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programmes. Although you may not consider your communications "top secret," you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored in your computer (such as financial statements).

Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so that they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.

Having control of your computer will enable them to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.

Malware is a type of software that can disrupt computer operations (damage data), gather sensitive information or gain access to private system (stealing your identity, key logging etc.). Malware programs are usually poorly programmed and can cause your computer to become unbearably slow and unstable in addition to all the other havoc they wreak.

Malware can infect a user from almost everywhere such as via websites, fake antivirus software, email, files, video/mp3, portable hard disk and USB storage. Unfortunately, getting infected with malware is usually much easier than getting rid of it, and once you get malware on your computer it tends to multiply.

Many of them will reinstall themselves even after you think you have removed them, or hide themselves deep within your operating system, making them very difficult to clean. This malware can appear in the form of scripts, code, active content and other software.

Malware

How to protect your computer

One of the biggest threats to computer users on the Internet today is malware. It can hijack your browser, redirect your search attempts, serve up nasty pop-up ads, track what websites you visit, and generally mess things up.

This should be mandatory, if you do not have any anti-virus software installed, you are courting trouble.

Make sure your anti-virus programe is set to update automatically so that you do not have to rely on your memory to do it. This also goes for all the software in your computer.

This is a more common way to transfer viruses than you might think. A lot of virus programmes will auto launch right when the USB stick or other storage device is put into the computer, so you don’t even have to open or download any of the files to be infected.

Protect your computer by locking it or shutting down when you leave. An attacker can gain access to the network, change your password, change files, or even send an e-mail as you. An attacker who has compromised your computer can use it to attack other computers on the network, too. Don’t leave your computer unattended.

Avoid clicking on an unknown or unfamiliar advertisements, if you can.

P2P software is quite useful for sharing content, but if you’re not technically savvy, you might end up downloading a song that has a keystroke logger attached to it that will send anything you type to some other computer over the Internet. It’s almost impossible to tell that this is occurring unless your anti-virus or anti-spyware programme picks it up in their scans.

Create a password for all user accounts and make sure it is complex (it should have numbers, upper case characters, lower case characters, and symbols). This makes it more challenging for a hacker to get into your computer.

If you’re not sure what a piece of software does, then don’t install it. Sometimes programmes will ask you to install other programmes during the installation of the first application. Be careful because it may be spyware.

You are most likely going to get some virus or spyware if you browse disreputable websites such as porn sites on your computer. If in doubt, simply avoid!

If you’re not in the mood to scan every day, at least run a scan once a week. Sset up a schedule for your computer in your anti-virus software to run a scan late at night or whenever you don’t use your computer.

If you receive emails from someone you don’t know it’s best not to open the email, just delete it. Never download or open attachments unless you are sure it’s from someone you know or give the person a call quickly and ask them if you’re not sure. Most large companies that you create online accounts with will not send you attachments unless you specifically ask for them through their website.

Make sure your operating system’s firewall is turned on. A firewall prevents hackers from gaining access to your computer by limiting the number of ports that are open to the public. Also, when buying a wireless router, make sure it has a built-in firewall. Most wireless routers are set to no security when you install them. Be sure to log into the router and at least set the basic security that requires a password, otherwise anyone can connect to your home network and access everything.

Having a software and hardware firewall is better than just having one or the other.

Use Anti-Virus Software

Update AllSoftware

Avoid Peer-to-peer

(P2p) File SharingSoftware

Do Not Click OnAdvertisements

Be Careful WhatYou Attach To

Your Computer

Secure YourWirelessNetwork

Use A StrongPassword For Login

Use A Reputable Or Trusted Software

Run Virus ScansRegularly

Delete UnknownEmails

Turn On Or Install A Firewall

Avoid DisreputableWebsites

Malware!