How do I block trojans and the man sending them to me?

[JMH]

Repeatedly getting trojans or any form of malware simply shouldn't happen, regardless of where they're coming from.
To resolve this we need to drop back to basic security priciples.

In this video excerpt from a recent Ask Leo! webinar I discuss the steps you can take to stay safe.

http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_block_trojans_and_the_man_sending_them_to_me.html

 

[AceInfinity]

It's mostly from having an insufficient firewall from visiting dangerous sites, or downloading things that are potentially malicious (usually from untrusted sites, but not in all cases). I use my HOSTS file to protect against some sites. I find it nice to block popups content.

 

[Corrine]

These days, it is more than needing a firewall, up-to-date antivirus software, Windows Updates and practicing safe surfing. It is also critical to keep third-party software updated, most particularly, the latest favorite targets by malware writers, Oracle Java, Adobe Reader/Acrobat and Flashplayer.

 

[AceInfinity]

They still need a way to access your computer however, which is where the firewall comes in, although as you say... This is why it's dangerous to run Java applications online from untrusted sources, or any other flash content.

 

[satrow]

I think firewalls are of limited use when your browser has triggered the request to load a page.

After experiencing an exploit 2 weeks ago when testing IE with the Java plugins disabled and then watching as 2x Java-related processes started up in the background, I don't recommend using IE on a Windows PC with Java installed.

Other browsers (Chrome- and Mozilla-based) visiting the same site/page did not exhibit the same behaviour with Java disabled.

.jlnb? was one of the 2x file types I suspected of being accessed by some backdoor (read: IE>Windows file association?) method, I can't check for the other one now, no Java here since then!


Andy.