On Monday, October 6, the United States Justice Department announced that they have now shut down a cyber crime ring which infected up to one million computers with a particularly dangerous virus. Called GameOverZeus, the virus was sent out via spam emails, and helped hackers to steal over 100 million dollars from its victims.
The virus worked by giving criminals your bank account routing numbers and passwords. Even though the ring of criminals behind the virus is shut down now, the Zeus virus is still infecting computers. Since it could potentially cause you serious problems, follow these steps to be sure you’re rid of the Zeus virus:
Get some anti-virus software. Yes, there are actually some people out there who still don’t have anti-virus software! There’s a program for just about every computer system and budget, so shop around and find one that works for you. Going online without anti-virus software is like leaving your wallet on a park bench and walking away!
Update your software regularly. Check in your computer’s system to see if there are any updates that need to be installed. It takes a few minutes out of your day, but updates are the software developers’ way of patching problems in your system. When you install updates it’s like adding a layer of protection to your computer.
Install an anti-malware tool. This will catch things your anti-virus program might miss. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team released this list of good malware programs, along with some advice on combating the Zeus virus.
Change your passwords. Once you’ve cleaned up your computer, it’s time to change your passwords. Whatever passwords the virus may have stolen from your system won’t work anymore, and will be useless to hackers.
Give us a call. If you need help making sure your computers are safe from viruses, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.
