Computer Virus infects Drone Plane Command Center in US

A Predator drone spyplane-bomber. A computer virus has infected computers used by pilots who fly US drones remotely from Creech air force base in Nevada. Illustration: Rex Features

A computer virus that captures the strokes on a keyboard has infected networks used by pilots who control US air force drones flown on the front line, according to a report.
Wired magazine reported that the spyware has resisted efforts to remove it from computers in the cockpits at Creech air force base in Nevada, where pilots remotely fly Predator and Reaper drones in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The story said there were no confirmed reports that classified data had been stolen and that the virus did not stop pilots from flying missions. Network security specialists were uncertain whether the virus was part of a directed attack or accidentally infected the networks, the story said.

The air force said in a statement that it did not discuss threats to its computer networks because it could help hackers refine their tactics.

"We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back," Wired quoted a source as saying. "We think it's benign. But we just don't know."

Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/09/virus-infects-drone-plane-command

For our latest anti-spyware and anti-virus software tips for PCs, please visit zroundtable.com.

PC Care: Anti-virus, Anti-malware

Is your pc running slowly?  It may be time to clean up your pc.  On our website, http://zroundtable.com/, we have posted a page for PC Care that has our latest tips for software (most can be downloaded for free at download.com), including:

• Anti-virus
• Anti-malware (such as spyware, adware)
• Registry cleaners

We list our favorite programs, such as a new entry on our list: Microsoft Security Essentials -- which has proven to be a good anti-virus program.  Below is an excerpt.  

Please let us know your favorite pc cleanup programs.  

Anti-Virus - these are currently our favorite free antivirus programs:

• Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) - with version 2, Microsoft has made MSE2 the leader in free antivirus programs.  We still like Avast as well, and we are testing both programs.
• Avast - a very good anti-virus program; we particularly like the boot scan, which has caught programs that load 
• AVG comes in at third-place but is still a good antivirus program.

Anti-Malware (cleans spyware, adware & tracking cookies from your pc)

• WinPatrol - a good program to prevent unwanted programs from jumping into your start-up programs, etc.
• Advanced System Care - this is a good general all-purpose cleaner.  Includes anti-malware, file clean-up, registry cleaner, defrag.  
• SuperAntiSpyware - our favorite cleaner, although it is over-exuberant cleaning cookies.  You may elect to allow known "good" cookies to remain on your system. 
• SpyBot Search & Destroy - a good malware cleaner as well.

Fall PC Clean-Up

Fall Cleanup... for your pc. Here is an updated list of our favorite cleaning utilities/programs.

Anti-Spyware

• We like to run several programs to help clean spyware off of your computer. Different programs find different malware. You can find these programs free at www.download.com . Currently, our favorites include:
• SuperAntiSpyware
• Spybot Search & Destroy
• Malwarebytes
• Ad-Aware
• Separately, Spywareblaster is a good program to run in the background to help prevent spyware from entering your pc.

Registry

• Cleaning up the registry can help reduce errors and speed up your pc.
• Check out: Advanced SystemCare, CCleaner, Glary Utilities

Defrag Your Hard-Drive

• You should defragment your hard-drive from time to time. You don't want your pc unnecessarily jumping around the hard-drive grabbing data. Remember to run your defrag:
• Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools> Disk Defragmenter
• If you use Advanced SystemCare (above), the Defrag will be done automatically.

Anti-Virus

• Also, make sure your anti-virus program is updated. And, run a scan if you don't have it scanning regularly.
• We like Avast; AVG is also good.

New King in Town (Free Anti-Virus)

AVG has been our favorite for quite some time -- and it is STILL one of the best anti-virus programs out there. However, AVAST is currently our favorite anti-virus program, because we believe it finds more viruses than its other free competitors.

One of our PCs was sluggish -- and AVAST found what other programs could not...

Years ago, Avast seemed to run too many things int he background -- and was confusing for some users -- but today, many of those problems seem to be fixed. Check it out:

AVAST -- at www.download.com

PC Cleanup, updated May 2010

Spring Cleanup... for your pc. Here are updated programs.

Anti-Spyware

• We like to run several programs to help clean spyware off of your computer. Different programs find different malware. You can find these programs free at www.download.com . Currently, our favorites include:
• SuperAntiSpyware
• Ad-Aware
• Malwarebytes
• Separately, Spywareblaster is a good program to run in the background to help prevent spyware from entering your pc.

Registry

• Cleaning up the registry can help reduce errors and speed up your pc.
• Check out: Advanced SystemCare, CCleaner

Defrag Your Hard-Drive

• You should defragment your hard-drive from time to time. You don't want your pc unnecessarily jumping around the hard-drive grabbing data. Remember to run your defrag:
• Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools> Disk Defragmenter

Anti-Virus

• Also, make sure your anti-virus program is updated. And, run a scan if you don't have it scanning regularly.
• We like AVG Anti-Virus Free.

PC Cleanup

The kids are now back to school -- but they were home all summer... AND, who knows what websites they have been playing on. If you haven't done so recently -- it's time to clean your pc.

Anti-Spyware

• We like to run several programs to help clean spyware off of your computer. Different programs find different malware. You can find these programs free at www.download.com . Currently, our favorites include:
• Malwarebytes
• SuperAntiSpyware
• Ad-Aware
• Separately, Spywareblaster is a good program to run in the background to help prevent spyware from entering your pc.

Registry

• Cleaning up the registry can help reduce errors and speed up your pc.
• Check out: CCleaner

Defrag Your Hard-Drive

• You should defragment your hard-drive from time to time. You don't want your pc unnecessarily jumping around the hard-drive grabbing data. Remember to run your defrag:
• Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools> Disk Defragmenter

Anti-Virus

• Also, make sure your anti-virus program is updated. And, run a scan if you don't have it scanning regularly.
• We like AVG Anti-Virus Free.

Registry & PC cleanup

Sometimes, even when you run anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, your pc can seem sluggish -- or seems to have an increasing number of errors or problems. We've used CCleaner with good results. It will clean your registry as well as clean up temporary and other nonsense files on your pc. Try it out!

http://www.ccleaner.com/