Information has now been released that a hacker used malware techniques to steal thousands of Facebook accounts in February, then selling them in bulk on the black market. Verisign’s iDefense director announced that the act is one of many that are taking place across the US. Individuals steal log-in data for Facebook accounts by using malware techniques that track computer keystrokes, and phishing techniques that make Facebook users think they are logging in on an actual Facebook website that is a convincing fake.

World Domination via Facebook Malware

The crime is only the first step in a master plan of social network domination. The stolen Facebook accounts can be used to send fraudulent messages to the user’s friends, spread harmful links, and view sensitive information such as birthdates and home addresses which can be used toward identity theft. Thus, if you are linked to any of the thousands of accounts that were stolen, you may be at risk.

To battle malware attacks on your laptop computer or desktop computer, you should have an updated version of a good anti-virus and anti-spyware program. Anti-spyware software is not necessarily invincible, so if you end up in the market for a computer repair company, call A+ Mobile PC Doctors, the experts in Boston computer repair, at 1-617-723-1986. Our insured technicians offer onsite computer repair and remote desktop PC repair services, virus removal, spyware removal, and more — see our website for a full list of computer repair services.

A HP Pavillion latop currently in our Boston computer repair shop in Back Bay this morning with serious issues. We quickly discovered that the PC was showing symptoms of infectious malware ranging from Trojan Horses and adware to even more malicious worms and spyware.  The intent of most of this malware (malicious software) is to steal your identity, credit card(s), or just simply to wreak havoc on your operating system and programs (software layer), or sometimes physically attack your system components (hardware layer).

What ultimately happens is that many viruses can attack you machine making it either go to a blue screen, or make it almost impossible to do anything on your computer because it is too slow or constantly freezing up.  Then the only choice is to find a local computer repair company to assist you, or junk the PC and buy new.

We have around a 95% success rate when we manually remove malware from any PC, regardless of the operating system. This means you don’t have backup your existing data (quarantine it and clean it to ensure you are not carrying any of the infected files when you put them back on your drive later on) to “wipe” or reformat the drive, then reinstall everything from the operating system, drives, Windows updates, your security software (AVG, Norton, etc.), MS Office (if you use MS Worxd, Excel, PPT, Outlook, etc.), and specialty software you might use (e.g. Quickbooks, Photoshop, peripheral device software, etc.), your printer(s), VPN’s etc. and then ultimately your files that you backed-up and cleaned from the old infected drive. Whew!

Pop ups galore and unmountable boot volumes can sometimes mean a full reformat and reinstallation of Windows, especially when the unit comes with Windows Vista or Windows 7. This is not the end of the world.

At the customer’s request we can create drive duplicates so that you do not lose any files once your hard drive is reformatted. Using several powerful deep scanning utilities, we ensure that no infections are carried over when your files are restored. Once again, this is only in the case that a reformat / Windows reinstall is absolutely necessary.

Experiencing such an event can remind you of how important backing up data can be. We have several solutions to help you to backup your data to make the recovery process run smoother in the future. With External drives and programs that automatically backup your drives periodically, we can help you to not lose any of your information. also, having the appropriate antivirus software can prevent the loss from occurring in the first place.

As a computer repair and Boston computer repair company, we do a lot of viurs removal and are constantly testing different anti-virus, anti-spyware (anti-malware) and computer security software. Some of the products that we demo on a regular basis are AVG, Symantec (Norton), Panda, Kasperski, Zone-Alarm, Computer Associates and McAfee.  We are aware that none of these are infallable, however, we have found that AVG’s paid version of their Anti-Virus software and the paid version of the AVG Internet Security 8.5 are the best the market has to offer.

On the flip-side we have noticed that on about 95% or more of all malware related issues, the PC is running some version of McAfee. We cannot endorse this product, and frankly are shocked that it is so widely used in today’s market, and endorsed by such large companies as Dell, AOL, Comcast, Verizon, Cox Communication, etc.

Hackers have turned to Twitter to spread malicious websites over the Internet, which could put your computer at risk for getting a virus.

Because Tweets are limited to 140 characters, many Twitter users convert their links to a shorter URL with the use of websites such as http://url4t.com/. This turns even the most universally recognized URL, Google.com, into the unrecognizable short link http://url4t.com/_5C. Hackers have taken advantage of this feature by creating Twitter accounts solely for the purpose of marketing malicious websites.

Before you click on a link within a Tweet, make sure you know that the account is legitimate. Better yet, avoid clicking short links from Twitter accounts that you do not follow. Also, use precaution when clicking on links within ReTweets — hackers often search for legitimate tweets and then ReTweet them with a different, malicious URL. For more tips regarding Twitter security, you can follow Spam at http://twitter.com/spam.

Naturally, the best underlying defense against computer viruses is installing (and frequently updating) a security system on your computer. Not all computer security software is created equal, so consider getting advice from someone you know about which to purchase. After years of virus removal experience, A+ Mobile PC Doctors has found that AVG Internet Security 9.0 outperforms all other brands of Internet security systems. If you find that your laptop has indeed contracted a virus, don’t hesitate to contact A+ Mobile PC Doctors, an experienced Boston computer repair company. Outside of Massachusetts, we are also offer national computer repair services for commercial and residential clients.

Get the latest Windows updates
How? Keep the Windows update activated. You can enable this feature by following the steps given below:
1. Click the Start button.
2. Click the Control Panel option.
3. Double-click the Automatic Updates icon.
4. Decide how frequently you want to install updates on your system and select the appropriate option. If you are not sure which option to select, select a day and time of the week and go for weekly updates.
5. Click the OK button.

Windows Updates help safeguard your system against various threats.

Install and use anti-virus and Firewall software
Computer viruses and malicious programs are omnipresent if your system is connected to the World Wide Web. It is important to take necessary precautions to ward off these malicious elements from harming your system. Install good anti-virus software on your system. Also, make sure, there is a firewall to detect and stop harmful programs from entering your system.

It is important to note that despite all precautionary measures, computers will have problems. So, whether it is simple computer repair, data recovery, or virus removal, you will need the help of an expert to help you. Keep a PC doctor on your speed dial. Go for a service that can come at your doorstep instead of you taking pains to carry your system along.