WEEKLY REPORTS Solutions, Prevention & Remedies Top 10 Threats

For those who choose the faster, Internet approach to banking as opposed to waiting in long lines on payday, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently made a few suggestions to increase your security against computer threats.

Threats like malicious key loggers are used by hackers to track and record the passwords you enter, sometimes giving them access to your online banking accounts. The FFIEC issued a report stating that simply providing one step of authentication -- a single password -- is not safe enough. The council suggests at least a second layer of protection to deter would-be hackers.

Ideas range from a second, preset question to fingerprint scanning. One suggestion is for banks to assign you a USB token or key that would plug into a computer, unlocking your financial information.

Since online banking is meant to be a faster, sensible approach to managing your finances, the most practical suggestion may be to do more of the same thing they already do -- ask you for secondary information like your mother's maiden name or the name of your first pet.

More Information About the FFIEC?s Study
• The FFIEC

• FFIEC report (.PDF file)

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* Reading: Solutions, Prevention & Remedies
Additional summary information related to a specific type of solution or prevention that you should be considering. Depending upon the week, this section may have:
• Recent Windows security releases from Microsoft
• Recent updates to widely used anti-spyware programs
• Recent updates to widely used anti-virus programs
• Recent updates to other security programs & devices (ex: Firewalls, routers)
• Recent updates to various applications in wide use

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Read: Top Threats
These are viruses that are currently on the watch lists of major anti-virus software companies.

Name
What the threat is called. We use the name given each virus by Panda Software. Sometimes other anti-virus companies give the same threat a different name. Usually they use similar names.

Type
There are different characteristics associated with different types of threats.
• Virus - has the ability to replicate or infect computers or other programs
• Trojan Horse (or Trojan) - appear to be harmless programs when you get them. They unleash their payload when you double-click, open, or execute them.
• Phishing - a Web site or e-maill message posing as another company - usually one you know to fool you into giving the sender personal information.
• Worm - self replicates onto additional disks, computers or networks
• Spyware - installs on your system to collect information about your activity, preferences or interests
• Hoax - false messages sent by e-maill to mislead the recipient
• Backdoors - opens a security hole that allows outsiders to take control of your computer
• Dialer - uses your telephone to dial an outside number - sometimes a number that costs you money when dialed

Affects
Not all viruses affect all types of systems. Some, for example may affect only Windows 98 and 95, but not Windows XP or NT. Others affect all Windows systems, but not Macintosh. In this column, we show you the consumer systems that the threat is known to affect. We don't always include the servers that operate in your company's backroom.

Alert level
The level of awareness that anti-virus vendors suggest you need to have for each threat listed.
For each threat listed, we'll post a corresponding link here, so you can get more information to help you recognize, diagnose, prevent, and repair the problem.