Zombie Defense Council

Zombie Defense Council

Protecting humans and computers from zombie invasion

What is a zombie?

Undead:

A zombie is a dead body that has been reanimated by unnatural forces (such as magic). A zombie has no soul or individual will. Most zombies attempt to attack the living. Inferi are zombies.

Computer:

A zombie computer has been compromised by a hacker, rootkit, virus, trojan, or other malware. Zombie computers do not spread their infection from computer to computer. Zombie computers, like undead zombies, take directions from a remote source.

Zombie computers are used to:

Send massive amounts of spam
Commit click fraud (falsifying clicks on web pages that use pay-per-click web advertising)
Host compromised websites (including phishing websites)
Conduct distributed denial of service attacks (flooding a targeted website with traffic to crash the website and prevent legitimate users from accessing it)
Give a hacker complete access to and control over the computer, including access to all information typed into the computer by a user.

How can you tell if it is a zombie?

Undead:

Zombies are typically pale.
Zombies have a vacant gaze.
Zombies frequently have torn or ragged clothing.
Zombies may have visibly decaying flesh.
Zombies may have bite marks or other significant wounds.
Zombies have staggering movements and are frequently slow-moving.

Computer:

Your computer takes longer to start up.
Your computer runs slower than normal.
Your computer stops responding or locks up often.
Your computer crashes and needs to be restarted frequently.
Applications on your computer don't work correctly (especially web browsers and e-mail).
You see unusual error messages.

What to do if you encounter a zombie?

Undead:

RUN AWAY from the zombie as fast as you can!
It is not recommended that you hide in dark or deserted locations.
Avoid graveyards and shopping malls.

Computer:

Scan for viruses with the McAfee anti-virus software provided by Saint Mary's College (http://www.saintmarys.edu/virus).
Scan for malware with Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for download, http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet/resnetfaq/antimalware.html for instructions).
Saint Mary's Students: Contact the ResNet Office for assistance - 102 Haggar College Center, 574-284-5319, http://www.saintmarys.edu/resnet.
Saint Mary's Faculty and Staff: Contact the Helpdesk for assistance - 123 Haggar College Center, 574-284-4715, http://www.saintmarys.edu/it/helpdesk/.

How can you prevent becoming a zombie:

Undead:

Do not get bitten by a zombie.
A zombie computer cannot infect a person.

Computer:

Install all operating system updates promptly. To configure your computer to automatically download and install security and software updates, visit the ResNet FAQ pages below:
Always have up-to-date virus protection software. Saint Mary's College provides McAfee VirusScan to all faculty, staff, and students for their College-owned and personally-owned computers. Instructions for downloading and installing the software is available at http://www.saintmarys.edu/virus.
Do not fall for phishing scams. No legitimate institution will request personal information (passwords, birthdate, Social Security number, bank account information, credit card information) over e-mail. If you question a request, contact the institution directly using contact information you have from a legitimate mailing or recent communication.
Don't click on any link if you are not 100% certain where it will take you.
Don't click on advertising banners, especially within Facebook.
If a message (e-mail, IM) isn't personalized, don't click on the links or open the attachments.
Turn on the firewall included with your computer's operating system.
If a free copy of software/music/video sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Stay away from Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs - you don't always get what you intended to download. Pirated materials frequently include malware.
Keep Adobe Flash updated on your computer. The only source you should use for Adobe Flash updates is www.adobe.com - do not trust other sites that offer updates.
Back up your data on a regular basis, in case your computer is compromised by zombies, other malware, or experiences hard drive failure. To configure your computer to automatically back up your data, visit the ResNet FAQ pages below:

Last Modified January 27, 2010