http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=6847415
The problem isin't so much the users accounts getting hacked as the malware that is being proliferated as a result of hackers impersonating friends. Malware infections are a serious security threat. If malware infects your computer and then starts transmitting your personal data to some remote web site you could be dealing with bigger problems than dealing with an annoying virus on your computer.
Your best defence is a good offence. Keep your computer and antivirus up to date. But if you do get infected what do you do? In my experience trying to cleanse an infestation can be a long, difficult and not so rewardinig experience.
I know it can be difficult to consider but formatting your hard drive and re-installing your OS will definitely eradicate all malware infestations AND everything else on your PC. Before formatting your hard drive, burn any data you intend to keep to CD or DVD and scan the CDs for viruses before copying any data to an uninfected PC. If the CD comes up clean then it will be safe to copy your data to the uninfected PC. If not you got more work to do to sanitize that data. We use this method to copy data off infected systems because it is the least likely to transfer viruses. Once you have have your OS, software, Virus Scan software, Firewall and anything else you use installed and updated you can restore your data files and you'll be back in business malware free.
Being Proactive instead of Reactive will always save you from many hours or days of frustration. Don't wait until your computer gets infected to do something about it. Create a disaster recovery plan for yourself so when it happens to you, you are ready. When I build my machines, as soon as I have all my software installed and before the machine is deployed I use imaging software like ghost to create a clean baseline image of it so if I come up against malware I can save hours not haveing to reinstall gigs of software. I also have a small backup system running to keep my data safe. In my case I would only need to do the following steps:
- Re-image the PC
- install updates
- restore data
Nobody can escape the possibility of getting a PC infected with malware. In fact I suffered a virus infection few months back. I pulled out my baseline image and had my computer fully back up and running virus free only a couple hours later.