According to Wikipedia, “A zero-day (or zero-hour or day zero) attack or threat is a computer threat that tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities unknown to others or undisclosed to the software developer. Zero-day exploits (actual code that can use a security hole to carry out an attack) are used or shared by attackers before the software developer knows the vulnerability exists.”
When a security vulnerability is first discovered, it is usually by hackers and malware developers. The bad guys then write and distribute malware to exploit the vulnerability. Once a security fix is developed and distributed you are at safe….right? Wrong, until you update and install it on your computer, you are at risk
This is why I view all malware as Zero Day attacks. Unless I’ve installed the latest updates it doesn’t matter what program I use. The effectiveness of my software is determined as much by my diligence as it is by developers. Until I update my security software, all attacks and threats are zero day attacks for me.
For several years I’ve written articles on trojans, hijackers, and all forms of security threats. The main theme has been “HOW TO REMOVE” these threats once infected. The majority of those infected do have an antivirus installed but either the user hasn’t updated or their particular program hasn’t written protection yet.
Because of this I’ve always advocated the use of more than one security program for detection and removal. This only increases your chances of successfully removing any and all threats. Please don’t take this as meaning you should run more than one real time antivirus. That is the worst thing you can do. Multiple programs, will give false positives and slow your system to a crawl. I’m talking multiple detect and removal.
Methods Of Defense
Prevention is a must. For years now I’ve used no real time protection and have even suggested that for others. I’ve always been able to get away with it but things are different now. Malware is much more sophisticated than in years past. Today I use realtime protection.
My antivirus is constantly on the lookout for new threats and is fast to implement prevention, detection and removal. All top notch antivirus developers want to be the best but I can only choose one to be the cornerstone of my protection. Only one can be the front line. It must be real time and it must be the best.
Horn Tooting
The PC Pitstop development team has always been at the front of innovative software development. Our latest product, PC Matic has been a huge success, combining cloud computing and the first one click, FIX ALL, to be the most effective tool in the industry. One click gives you faster Internet, registry tweaks, cleaning, system optimizations, defragmentation and drive optimization, driver updates, and malware detection and removal. Dave, Rob, Keith, Mark, Rob, Andy, Sandy, Larry, are the people you never hear about, but they are the cornerstone of PC Pitstop. They are the developers that produce our software, “the coders”. Believe me when I say “the coders” have been very busy lately.
Cliff Hanger
So what is it that’s good enough to finally get me using an antivirus? What has an extremely small foot print but is strong enough to be the real time protection I’ve always wanted? It’s been running on my system for weeks but until it stopped an attack this morning, I forgot it was there.
Stay tuned and find out what I’ve been using.
