Do you know what are the most riskiest domains in the web ?

McAfee, a security agency, released its annual, “Mapping the Mal Web” report naming the riskiest domains in the web worldwide. Disturbingly, most of the riskiest domains come from Asia-Pacific region.

The following are the top 10 riskiest domains in the web:

1. Cameroon (.cm) – Cameroon from Africa got in the top list for 2009 overthrowing Hong Kong (.hk) as the web’s riskiest domain for 2008. With a risk rating of 1.1%, Hong Kong dropped to the 34th place this year. It is a small African country bordering Nigeria. It’s the first time that Cameroon entered the list getting the top spot with the risk rate of 36.7%. Most of the time, users mistype .com to .cm making it as the common typo for domains. Because of this, many cyber criminals decides to come up with fake typo-squatting sites redirecting users to download malicious downloads, spyware, adware and others.

2. Commercial (.com) – .com is considered as the most common domain, also getting more and more dangerous as of 2009. It has been in the ninth place in 2008 and grabbing the second most dangerous domain for 2009. It is also the most risky generic top level domain (TLD).

3. China (.cn) – The third spot belongs to China with the risk rating of 23.4% while having a 11.8% risk rate in 2008. McAfee’s report shows that websites registered with the .cn are more related spam sites.

4. Samoa (.ws) – Samoa is in fourth place with a 17.8% risk percentage compared to its security risk of 3.8% the other year. It has been reported that Samoan-registered domains are known risky for its activities like phishing and malicious downloading. Together with China, Samoa stayed in the top 5 riskiest domains since 2008.

5. Information (.info) – With 15.8% risk rate for 2009 and 11.7% for 2008, .info is considered as the most spammy domain because its sites generates a lot of junk mail. Its activity is largely spam related.

6. Philippines (.ph) – Philippines marked the sixth spot with the overall risk level of 13.1% as compared to its 2008’s risk rate of 7.7%. Its registered sites are getting more into spam and phishing than the malicious downloads.

7. Network (.net) – The seventh riskiest domain is the Network (.net) having the risk rate of 5.8% compared to its higher security risk in 2008.

8. Former Soviet Union (.su) – Former Soviet Union joined the top list for the first time, with the 5.2% security risk. Reports noted that its domains are mainly used linking phishing and malicious download activity.

9. Russia (.ru) – Russia is in the ninth place getting a risk rate of 4.6%. In 2008, it has a security risk of 6%. Domains from Russia are distributed for phishing, spam and malicious downloads.

10. Singapore (.sg) – Next to the Philippines belonging to the Asia-Pacific country, Singapore had the tenth place with the overall risk of 4.6%, compared to 0.3% last year. .sg domains were distributed evenly for spam and download activity.

The riskiest domain for malicious downloads comes from Romania (.ro). 21% of its domains are offering viruses, spyware and adware. The Government (.gov) domain is the safest domain for having 0% risk. Japan (.jp) domains got a rating of 0.1% proving to be the safest country domain in the web.

The “Mapping the Mal Web” report just shows how smart the cyber criminals are they quickly change their strategies to attract more victims without being caught. Attackers prefer to target places where it will be cheap and convenient for them to register their sites.

How Can Techie Now Help?

McAfee has named the world’s riskiest domains. With the cyber criminals roaming the web, any domain from any country can be affected by these phishing, spam and malicious downloads. It just proved that it’s really not that safe when it comes to browsing the web. The right thing to do is to make sure that you have a security software ready in your computer for protection. If you are looking for services that can protect your computer, you can trust Techie Now with that. Contact us now for any PC support services like virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration and general repair.

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Internet security is very important when it comes to the computers and network in your home or office. Most of the time, viruses spread easily over a network connection. As soon as one computer in your office gets infected with a virus, it can spread to the other computers. This may result in data and time loss.

You must take it seriously when choosing and installing antivirus software in the office for your computer and company’s protection. Antivirus software provides numerous benefits. As soon as you install and use it, you will get immediate protection. It will prevent the infection going into your network. It is also capable of quarantining virus of an infected computer preventing it to sneak and spread to other computers.

Antivirus software not only prevents virus infection to computers but also protects the company from compliance violations, data loss, identity theft, lost productivity and network downtime. It should give a wide-ranging security in protecting all types of endpoints in your system. If it fails to do that, your entire network is in danger.

In addition, your antivirus should be updated constantly to protect your office network from new viruses that will arrive in the future. You are now living in a modern world where virus writers grows as fast as they could bring harm to everyone personal and business life. Remember that a weak Internet security is dangerous. It just proves one thing, that the antivirus that you are using provides ineffective and weak protection. You wouldn’t want to risk your company because it could bring down your entire system and left you with nothing.

How Can Techie Now Help?

If you need assistance with virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, software installation and configuration, and other PC general services, contact us. Techie Now is one PC support provider that you can trust with your computer. With Techie Now, you can be sure that your PC is protected.

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Most people who say “I’ve got a slow computer” can get really frustrated with it. Well, who could blame them? With the fast paced world of today, everything needs to be done fast. There are now fast foods, fast ways to get money (ATM machines), and now, fast access to information: the internet. But eventually, after several years of frequently using your computer, it will slow down.

Saving documents, accessing your files and running programs will become a painful time consuming experience. And soon, if you do not do any precautions, your computer will stop operating. Aside from frustrating you, these problems will also need you to spend money in order to fix them. But fortunately, there are some things you can do on your own so that the computer’s performance can be sped up.

1. Remove Viruses and Spyware. Computers which are running slow can sometimes be because of a spyware or virus. Because of this, it is important to have a reliable anti virus software program. In addition, you must make sure that such programs are regularly updated so that your PC is protected from the new versions of these troublemakers.
2. Clean your Registry. If your registry files get corrupted, you will experience a slow start up and shutdown of your computer. In order to fix this problem, you will need to use a registry cleaner.
3. Defragment the PC. From time to time, make sure that you have defragmented your hard drive. This will repair malfunctions to the performance of your computer.
4. Free the Space of Your Main Drive. Remove the files and programs which you do not need on your C drive. This is because this drive stores every program which is important to the operation of your computer. You can choose to transfer games and the other software programs into the other drive.
5. Remove the Computer’s Temporary Files. Every time the computer is being used, it keeps storing temporary files in the hard drive. And once the hard drive gets too crowded, the quickness of your computer will be affected. This action can be done using the program called Disk Cleanup which you can quickly access in your Start menu.

By following the above mentioned tips, you will no longer cry out “I’ve got a slow computer.”

How Can Techie Now Help?

Many people enjoy using their computers but after using them for several years, they slow down for some reasons. Of course, we prefer using a fast computer. If you want your slow computer to be fixed, contact Techie Now. Techie Now provides PC support services at your convenience: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. Techie Now will do it quick and safe, and your PC will work like it’s brand new.

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Security researchers stated that attackers have hacked the computer network of the Swiss foreign ministry which led to the network’s shutdown for many days. A professional virus attack was launched enabling the attackers to hijack network and collect unspecified data. The scope of the attack is still unknown and the officials have not revealed what data did the hackers targeted.

According to reports, the attack was really planned enough that the attackers involved were able to get away with it without being detected. Microsoft and specialists from the ministry discovered the attack on October 22, 2009. Allvoices reported that the network was shut down after the hack has been discovered last October 27, 2009. The specialists tried to find where and how the attack started, and if there are any data that has been stolen. The staff have been prohibited to use the Internet for security purpose.

Unfortunately, the Swiss Interior Ministry and Finance Ministry also experienced some problems on their systems on the same month. It is not clear if the same incidences are related to the latest attack. Reports imply that maybe a spyware from a foreign country was spying the Swiss systems. Security specialists warn that the virus authors are starting a secret rebel technique to make a massive virus outbreaks happen hoping to be successful in compromising a significant network prior to any response from the anti-virus agencies.

On the contrary, the Swiss external affairs ministry isn’t the only entity that has been victimized by a virus attack. In 2007, hackers has successfully attracted employees at the foreign ministry and at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to be part of a phishing scheme where there are around 500 workers who received e-mails that contains a link on a photo contest. Employees who clicked the link to vote for the said photo contest have been infected with a Trojan virus. Too bad, the government’s security software was not able to recognize the threat. The said attack was traced to come from Africa. United States had also accused China for using secretly-copied data to hack into the Commerce Department computers. Chinese were also accused for hacking computers that belongs to the computers of the Dalai Lama. In February 2009, a computer virus struck UK and French defense computers. A virus was also discovered hitting German military networks. To prevent the virus from spreading, several websites of German armed forces were disconnected from the country’s military network.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Hackers have been increasing nowadays attacking many organization and government websites in various nations. Anyone can be a victim of these online attacks especially if your computer is not protected. Contact Techie Now for your computer’s protection. Techie Now offers PC support services: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. With Techie Now, your PC is safe and protected.

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Worm attack

The Internet is very useful to our everyday lives. However, we must know how to protect our PC from any online attacks. Viruses are one of the threats for PC users nowadays. Some send worms in chat message displaying a link to a web site which is also infected with a Trojan horse. Worms spread through programs exposing new vulnerabilities, then report them back to the hackers. The hackers will create the malware that will exploit the vulnerability before the people can download a fix.

Do you know what malware can do to your PC? Malware exposes your PC to online attacks. It also gives hackers direct access to your PC. It enables the hacker to get your personal information or control your PC remotely and be used in a criminal activity. Viruses are commonly found through peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. Spyware, Trojan horses, viruses and worms are being integrated into free downloads. Many users don’t know the danger of using the “browse host” feature of the P2P applications. It is very risky to use because it allows others to directly connect to your computer and browse through file shares.

Through using P2P, hackers can access your logins, user IDs and passwords, personal information such as letters, chat logs, cookies, and emails and other private and accessible folders on your PC. When it comes to email and instant messages, viruses in P2P files can steal your information, give it to cybercriminals to forge your identities and commit fraud.

You must protect your PC, follow these rules:

1. Protect your computer with updated security software. You need a security software that will protect your PC from hackers. Your computer should have an anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, anti-spam and firewall to fight online attacks. It should scan any files including disks, email attachments, files downloaded from the web, and documents generated by word processing and spreadsheet programs.
2. Use a secure Internet service provider (ISP). It should have anti-spam and anti-phishing procedures.
3. Always update your Windows automatically or to prevent your PC from any known vulnerabilities. You can install patches from other software manufacturers. A fully patched computer behind a firewall can prevent lessen the risk of being infected with a Trojan and spyware installation.
4. Be careful when opening attachments. Set your anti-virus software to scan all your email and instant message attachments automatically. Don’t open unwanted emails, or attachments even from people you know.
5. Be cautious when using P2P file sharing. Some Trojans are just hiding within the programs and waiting for users to be downloaded. Also be careful in downloading files through email and instant messaging like files with the extensions .bat, .bin, .dll, .cmd, .exe, .lnk, .scr, .com and .vbs.
6. Use security protections for your cell phone, PDA, and Wi-Fi devices. Viruses and Trojans can be attached through email/IM, downloaded from the Internet, or are uploaded along with other data from a desktop. In time, cell phone viruses and mobile phishing attacks will be popular especially now that more people are accessing multimedia services and Internet content using their phones. It is advisable if you always use a PIN code on your cell phone. Don’t ever install or download mobile software from unknown source.
7. Set your instant messaging application correctly. Don’t set your instant messaging to open automatically as your computer opens.
8. Watch out for spam-based phishing schemes. Never click on links in emails or IM.
9. Always back up your files. So if ever you become a victim of a virus attack, you can recover all your important files.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Virus and worms are easily spread over the Internet. With all these threats, you have to protect your PC to prevent online attacks. As soon you become their victim, it will risk your personal and business life. If you need help with anti-virus software installation or virus removal, Techie Now is the best PC support provider that can help you. We do it fast, safe, better and with lower prices than others do. Contact Techie Now and get your PC protected.

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Symantec Security Response has discovered a scam trying to victimize people who want to get into the Google Wave community promising an application that generates Google Wave invites. Scammers convinced the victims that they can earn money by selling the invites to others. According to Symantec, unfortunately the said application is a piece of malware.

What is Google Wave? Google Wave is a new personal communication and collaboration tool developed by Google. It a web-based service designed to merge e-mail, instant messaging, wikis, and social networking. Many people are looking for invites specially those for those who missed the initial sign up for this application. Because of the gaining popularity of the Google Wave, scammers use it as bait for unaware victims.

Scammers automatically post entries on forums, email or Twitter feeds including an item in the code box with a fake file, detected as the Backdoor.Tidserv malware. The attached file is a Trojan allowing the attacker to access and control your infected system and potentially steal personal data from your computer. The malware will be distributed if another user download and install it. Many people are being victimized because scammers promise them a Google Wave invite and extra cash if they are able to sell more just to make the users run the software. They are being attracted to Google Wave because of its current popularity.

Symantec advises the PC users to:

• be careful with whatever you click
• prevent clicking links from unknown source
• never download application from unknown sources
• use an updated security software to prevent your PC from downloading malware

How Can Techie Now Help?

Since Google Wave is very popular now, it is being used as bait for online attacks increasing the chance of the attackers to harm your PC successfully. If your antivirus is updated, you will be protected from the Google Wave malware attack. If want to keep your PC clean and protected, Techie Now is here to help you. Our PC support services include virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. Contact Techie Now and we will protect you and your PC against scammers and malware.

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Most banks nowadays provide online banking services. With the increasing number of cybercriminals, you have to be very areful when doing money matters over the web. One of the evidences was the discovery of the URLZone virus.

URL Zone is a new type of banking Trojan horse that steals your login credentials and steals your money from your account at the same time. It is said to be controlled by servers in Ukraine discovered by the help of the researchers of a security firm, Finjan. It targets Firefox, Opera and last three versions of Internet Explorer – IE6, IE7 and IE8. It displays your fake balance while you are logged in. It steals the exact amount money from your account during the time when you are logged in.

At present, the said virus is only affecting computers in Germany. Generally, URLZone infects your PC when you open an e-mail and click a link or visit an infected site. Once the virus infected your PC, URLZone waits for you to transact banking online. While you are doing your bank transactions online, the virus is also present in the background with the bank server and you not knowing that it’s already stealing your money. It sound impossible but it’s really happening.

URLZone virus cleans its tracks on your account by displaying a fake balance in your computer. Of course, it wouldn’t show the amount of your stolen money. You will be able to distinguish the discrepancy in your balance if you use an uninfected PC, use an ATM or your transaction is denied because of insufficient funds.

For your own security, you should always update and run your antivirus, spyware and firewall protection automatically. In this way, virus and other malware will not sneak to your PC, infect it and steal the money that you have been saving all your life. Use the latest version of your web browser. It’s not safe to use out-of-date web browser because it is often riddled with holes that worms can get through. You must update your operating systems critical security patches automatically. It is one of the best protections against any type of security threat. Bank account users like you should not click on unsolicited web links in e-mails that you receive. You should also check your bank statements frequently.

How Can Techie Now Help?

With URLZone virus being discovered, it warns people to be careful when doing bank transactions online. For the first time, a virus hijacks a user’s browser session, steals money while doing online banking, and clean its tracks by displaying fake information to you. Beware! If you are concerned that your computer may already be infected with a virus, seek a PC support to help you. Techie Now can help you with that! Techie Now offers better services including virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration and general repair for your PC needs. With Techie Now, your PC, money and identity are safe.

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Computers are widely used by people nowadays. With everyone being hooked up with Internet, computers are of big help for having fun, gaining knowledge and earning a living. Everyone is just eager to have their own computers and enjoy the benefits of these high tech equipments. Having a computer is not that easy especially when it comes to maintenance. Computer owners have to deal with malware. Do you know what a malware is?

Not techie people are not familiar with this malware thing. Some people are just concerned in how and where they’re going to use their computers. For a start, a Malware is software made for penetrating a computer without the informed consent of the owner. It is also called malicious software. It is one of the causes of annoyance of computer professionals. In other words, Malware is a program or file that is harmful to the user.

Ever heard of “computer” viruses? They are also types of malware. Also include worms, Trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. Viruses and worms are the best-known types of malware. Any computer is always at risk of becoming infected with them. Some malware are made to do serious damage to the computer causing harm or data loss. Some are not harmless but annoying.

Malware is not faulty software.  The difference lies in the intent. Malware is written with an ilegitimate purpose. They can be accessed through the Internet, by World Wide Web or be sent in e-mail or instant messages. As a computer user, you must follow the below steps to reduce the risk of getting infected:

1. Be careful in opening e-mail messages or IM attachments. Make sure that they come from a trusted source.
2. Scan e-mail attachments before opening them.
3. Don’t read unwanted messages.
4. Don’t click links given by strange people.
5. Terminate your IM session if someone is sending you suspicious files, links or messages.
6. Scan all your files before transferring it to your computer.
7. Use a updated malware software removal for your computer security.

How will you know if your computer is infected with a malware?

Most times you can tell that a computer is infected with a Malware as it malfunctions and slows down. It also displays repeated error messages. You always experience having problems in shutting down and restarting the computer. A lot of pop-up ads always appear when you are and not surfing the web. However, sometimes you ay not notice anything as the malware cleverly hides itself while it performs ilegimate actions as such steal or sype on your information.

As soon as you know that your computer has acquired a malware, you must not do shopping, banking and other online activities that required getting personal information from you because you might be victimized by thieves online. It is advisable that you have active and current security software – anti-virus, firewall or spyware software – installed to protect your computer.

Always monitor your computer. Take immediate action if you find something unusual happening in your computer. Malware can be a big problem but it can be prevented if you want to. Prevention is still better than cure. Don’t let Malware be a threat to your system. Protect your computer now!

How Can Techie Now Help?

Your computer is not safe from being infected with the increasing malware over the Internet. They are everywhere! So you better protect your PC now with a good antivirus. If you need help choosing antivirus or if you think your antivirus is not effective then come to www.TechieNow.com. Techie Now is the PC support provider you can trust in for your computer security. We can assist you in any PC support services that you need. With us, you can be sure that your PC is protected 24/7.

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Free antivirus... which one?

Protecting your PC can be challenging and expensive. Some people spend a lot of money every year buying antivirus software, antispyware products and personal firewalls. Nowadays, you should give a lot of importance to the virus protection of your PC to prevent people from stealing your personal information and identity, and secure your PC. But, what if you don’t have money to pay for your computer security? There’s no need to worry. You don’t need to spend money when you can get high quality antivirus softwares for free. Why not take advantage of it?

The best 3 free antivirus softwares

• Avast Home Edition Free Antivirus – It is said to be the best FREE antivirus protection available in the market. It is for non-commercial and home use only. According to AV-Test.org, it is excellent when it comes to virus and spyware detection. It has a simple, customizable and functional user interface with complete features. It has a strong self-protection and automatic updates which also includes anti-spyware and anti-rootkit protection. Since it’s made as simple as possible, it’s very easy to operate. It is tried and tested in Windows security which supports more Windows versions than any other anti-Malware products.

• AVG Antivirus Free Edition – If you are after an award winning protection that will satisfy your basic security needs, this free antivirus is suitable for you. AVG has been providing the right to have computers secured for no charge. Many users claimed that AVG gives their PC protection from viruses, spyware and others. You will not get or spread viruses. Also give credits to the consistent high-speed PC performance, fast scanning and automatic updates. You will not be bothered if you download or exchange files online. Your PC will definitely be safe from harmful sites.

• Microsoft Security Essentials – A new free antivirus, and our favourite, from Microsoft which protects your PC from viruses, spyware and other malicious software. It is easy to install and use. You can use your PC and do other things while the automatic update is happening. It comes in small package with low resource usage and clean interface. All your files are being scanned to prevent a malicious file from harming your PC. This user-friendly software is created for consumers which assure your PC Malware protection.

These free antivirus softwares are different in many ways. Avast also has light resources and high rate of false positives. Like Avast, Avira has light resources but outstanding detection rate of Malware but the updates is having problems or very slow. AVG Free Antivirus has grown in size and resource usage but slow scan speed. It has also Microsoft Security Essentials has a good detection rate, light resources but slow scan speed and long amount of time to quarantine Malware.

Fortunately, some of the best antivirus software also comes with their free versions that can be used in your PC at home. Some of these softwares are as good as the quality of any antivirus that you purchase online. For now, try using these free antivirus softwares and see for yourself what software suits and works the best for your PC.

How Techie Now Can Help?

Securing your PC is not as easy as you know. You have to protect your PC from viruses and other Malwares. If you don’t have enough money to buy expensive antivirus softwares, you can use some free antivirus available in the web for your computer protection. And if you can’t do that on your own, Techie Now is willing to assist you. Contact us now, we will wipe away those Malwares dragging your PC down. With Techie Now’s virus removal services, protecting and repairing your PC is as easy as 1-2-3.

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Zombie PCs and bot nets

Internet service providers can play a crucial role in detection and removal of spyware. However, so far they have not step up to take further responsibilities in the battle against botnets. This may be about to change as Comcast announced a dedicated customer security assurance team.

So, what’s the danger?

There are many malign consequences of having malware in your computer. One of them is that if your computer is infected by spyware, it can be used by hackers as a proxy (aka zombie computer). Botnets are groups of these zombie PCs (more details in Wikipedia). They can be used for many purposes but mostly to send spam emails but they could also perform much more destructive actions such as stealing your personal data.

What can the ISP do?

ISPs are uniquely positioned to identify these Botnets. ISPs can look at spikes in network traffic from particular PCs. They can also check which IP addresses are involved in that network traffic. In that way they can differentiate between somebody just using all their bandwidth to download movies from a computer sending many emails to many different addresses. Comcast approach is to show a pop ups in PCs with these symptoms and direct them to their Constant Guard site for remedial actions.

How Techie Now can help?

Comcast is providing a great service and we recommend you take advantage of it if you can. However, there are still good reasons to come to Techie Now for further help:

• Do you have time to be checking for malware, viruses, etc, yourself? – if you don’t then we’re glad to save your time.
• Maybe you’re not part of Comcast – we’re happy to help you regardless of who is your Internet provider
• Comcast provides their users with an antivirus. However, antivirus are not always that effective. There are some of them which need an expert to manually remove them.
• Maybe you’ve tried everything and you still have a slow PC or viruses… come to us, not only we like those challenges, we’re successful at them and have incredible prices!

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