Prevention is the best way to survive the scourge of zombie attacks on your computer. To prevent zombie attacks on your beloved computer, you need to first become aware of the methodology of their attacks.
You see zombie attacks use the Internet to compromise the data on your computer. So, you need to be aware of some of the less known zombie attack strategies given below and to take appropriate action against them before they can wage a successful attack.
One of the usual attacks that lures unsuspecting computer users in their trap is what is known as the know your customer (KYC) phishing strategy. You receive an e-mail message on your computer's POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail account that purports to come from the bank in which you have an Internet accessed bank account.
Mind you what happens when you click the link which takes you to your bank's Internet access account page is that you see a user name and password field in which you are asked to enter the relevant details. When you do that and click the submit button, you get a message stating network problem and that sorry you cannot connect to your account at this time.
Later, when you get the monthly account statement from your bank, you find that a considerable amount (usually every single cent) has been withdrawn in your name from your account. Since you did not undertake the said transactions, you may complain to the bank but to no avail. This is because, by then no trace is left of the trail used by illegal hackers who have duped you of your hard earned money.
The best thing to avoid this from happening is not to respond to any such KYC scheme used by unethical hackers. Your bank already knows all the relevant details pertaining to your account. They never need to ask you to disclose confidential details such as your Internet banking user ID and password details from you.
Another thing that you need to prevent such e-mail messages from reaching your e-mail account is not to use any POP mail account on your computer. Instead, you will do better to use secure Web-based e-mail accounts such as Gmail or Hotmail. These are very well protected from phishing attacks and spam or even spyware for that matter.
Another good way to reduce the chances of a successful zombie attack on your computer is to use a good firewall to prevent access of hackers to the sensitive data on your computer. The Comodo firewall is considered a good one. Moreover, it is free to download and use for home and educational purposes.
Lastly, you need to install a good anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-adware software on your computer. Use Avast or Norton antivirus, Spyware Doctor, ThreatFire, and Spybot-Search and Destroy, and NoAdware and you are well protected from almost all the zombie attacks.
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