How to protect yourself from infections during epidemics. Treatment of infectious diseases

Most respiratory viral infections are airborne and contact. Try to limit your stay in crowded places - if the weather and distance to your destination permit, do not use public transport, temporarily refrain from attending cultural events, go grocery shopping not in a crowded store, but in a small store near your home.

If this is not possible, do not touch the handrails in transport with your bare hands, wash your hands as often as possible and carry disinfectant wipes with you or to use them to treat your hands after touching money, door handles, taps in public toilets at work. Do not touch your face with unwashed hands and do not interact unless absolutely necessary with coughing or sneezing colleagues. After returning from the street, rinse your nose with saline solutions to wash away pathogens from the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract.

Disposable masks and gauze bandages will not help protect against infection - wearing them only makes sense if you yourself are sick and want to protect others from infection. Masks should be changed every four hours - disposable ones should be thrown away immediately, gauze bandages should be ironed on both sides with a hot iron.

To avoid hypothermia, dress appropriately for the weather. Low room temperature is not as dangerous as drafts and sudden temperature changes. Be sure to ventilate the room you are in during the day, and do wet cleaning as often as possible. If possible, do this before the start of the epidemic period.

Physical activity and a nutritious diet rich in vitamins help strengthen the immune system. Taking multivitamins and immunostimulating drugs will not have an effect if you move little, spend most of your time in a stuffy room where there are several other people besides you, eat semi-finished foods and do not include fresh fruits, vegetables, lactic acid products in the menu, and sleep little.

How to protect yourself from intestinal infections?

The main intestinal infections are fecal-oral and contact. Do not drink unboiled water, wash your hands as often as possible, wash fruits and vegetables with hot water. You should not buy food from street stalls.

When cleaning your apartment, use disinfectants regularly, but not constantly, especially if someone in the family has already become infected. Particular attention should be paid to objects that are often touched by hands - door and window handles, faucets and kitchen switches. Keep the lid closed and try to keep toothbrushes and towels as far away from it as possible if you have a shared bathroom - when the water is drained, tiny splashes enter the air, settling on surrounding objects.

The list of unprecedented mass hacker attacks is impressive. Paralysis at the UK Department of Health. Telecommunications companies in Spain were affected, as well as computers of the Russian Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

And that’s not all, because tens of thousands of other private and government computers in almost a hundred countries were also attacked. About the ransomware virus Vsevolod Shlykov.

The ransomware virus "WannaCrypt", or "Wcry", began spreading yesterday afternoon. The program locks the computer: it encrypts files and requires payment in cryptocurrency - bitcoins - in order to decrypt them. The ransom amount is the same - $300, after three days the amount should increase to $600. Tens of thousands of computers in more than a hundred countries became victims. The attack was not targeted; even in government agencies, local users were primarily affected.

“When we say that the Ministry of Health suffered, it was, naturally, not the ministry’s base that suffered, but the local computers through which all this comes from time to time. And at the moment there’s really nothing so scary,” explains German Klimenko, director of the Liveinternet company.

The attacks are exclusively on the Windows operating system, and those who have not yet upgraded to the seventh, or higher, version of the system are in the greatest danger, such as the UK Department of Health

“We asked that these institutions switch from Windows XP; the Minister of Health himself noted the need for this. People don't always comply with such requests as quickly as we would like, but I hope conclusions will be drawn. True, we are already correcting the situation and I think the situation will soon be under control,” said British Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

Due to the fact that millions of users around the world are still using sixteen-year-old software instead of upgrading to Windows 10 for free, Microsoft was forced to update the operating system, which it has not supported for several years . However, everyone can protect themselves from the virus.

“The simplest protection measure is to switch your network, your connection to Wi-Fi in the Windows settings, to a public network - in the public network the protocol through which the virus gets to the computer is disabled,” explains computer security specialist Oleg Khvalov .

The danger of the smb protocol, which the virus uses, became known a month ago from the data of the US National Security Agency published by the hackers of the group “The Shadow Brokers”. In general, to protect against a virus, it is enough to have a licensed version of the operating system and an updated antivirus on it.

Microsoft closed the dangerous part of Windows back in March. If you, like, for example, employees of the Russian Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, did not pay attention to the security of your own computer, we advise you to listen to the advice of Oleg Khvalov:

“If a virus gets on your computer, then here... either pay and get a key, or say goodbye to the data if there is no backup copy.”

Despite the fact that the distribution of the virus is currently suspended, and a number of companies report a quick solution to the problem, according to the expert, practice shows that deciphering such a virus can take a long time. Assessing the losses of Russian law enforcement agencies, Spanish telecommunications and British healthcare institutions could take weeks.

The times of harmless viruses and SMS banners blocking access to the desktop are far behind us.

The trend of the last two years demonstrates increasingly tough steps by attackers to extort money from both corporate and private users. At refusal to pay the ransom(in the amount of 15,000 to 65,000 rubles), user data in some cases cannot be restored.

Outbreaks of one or another variant of the virus cover computers around the world within a few days. Developers of anti-virus programs sometimes do not have time, and sometimes are simply not able to match the algorithm to the malware. Therefore, the main task of the user is to maximize the independent protection of a PC or laptop from a possible attack by fraudsters.

Instructions given is universal against all types of malware and all versions of the Windows operating system (7, 8, 10).

The rules must be applied as a whole. Compliance with individual items does not guarantee the safety of the system and private files from attacks by intruders.

Instructions for protecting your PC and laptop from computer viruses

All of the above measures do not require the user to have special skills or pay any funds. If you have any difficulties completing them, you can always contact

Viruses appeared on our planet long before the appearance of the first man. They are in an intermediate link between living and inanimate nature. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and carry genetic material with devices for self-copying. There are many strains that are pathogenic to humans, and their ability to spread rapidly through the air can lead to infection of entire countries and even continents. That is why every person should know the basic tricks in preventing major viral diseases.

How does a viral respiratory disease become infected?

The causative agent of a viral infection is most often a sick person or carrier. Viruses are most often released into the environment through exhaled air. Then they migrate and are inhaled by their prey. These viruses are called respiratory viruses. After entering the human body, viruses settle on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract. If the immune system works well, they are destroyed in the area of ​​the lymphoid tonsil system of the pharynx. Otherwise, viruses travel unhindered down the respiratory tract.

Having settled on the mucous membrane and not having received sufficient resistance from the immune system, viruses penetrate the cells and begin to multiply. In the process of self-copying, they damage healthy cells. Having accumulated a sufficient number of viral units, they can spread throughout the body.

Sanitation of the nasal passages against viral respiratory diseases

The mucous membrane of the nasal passages has the ability to trap various foreign agents, including viruses. But if there are a very large number of them, over time they can get further. To prevent this from happening, you need to rinse your nasal passages. There are 3 main substances for this manipulation:

• Hydrogen peroxide. It is enough to drop up to 10 drops of peroxide into the nose. It has the ability to destroy viral cells by oxidizing them with free oxygen. This releases oxygen and water.
• Saline solution. Sea salt from the pharmacy is best. You can use regular table salt. To prepare the solution, use a tablespoon of salt per glass of warm water. The saline solution has the ability to attract harmful microorganisms and wash them out.
• Soap solution. To prepare it, you need to stir a small piece of soap in warm water. It is best to use regular laundry soap. The soap solution has an alkaline environment, which destroys not only viruses, but also bacteria. This method should not be prioritized, given that soap dries the mucous membrane.

Oxolinic ointment against viral respiratory diseases

This ointment is very famous and many people use it. But few people know how it works and how to apply it correctly. Before going outside, apply a little ointment to the tip of your little finger. Next, lubricate the nasal passages so that the area is covered 0.5–1 cm deep. After this, further smear the ointment, pressing the wings of the nose. Oxalin has a double antiviral effect. It itself destroys viruses and also stimulates the production of interferon, which is people’s natural defense against viral infections.

Onions against viral respiratory diseases

Onions are considered a cure for infectious diseases for a reason. It contains phytoncides. These are special substances that can destroy viruses and bacteria. To fill the whole room with phytoncides, grate a small onion and place it in the room. Don't rub too much so that the onion doesn't irritate your eyes.

Well, don’t forget about taking various vitamins, walking in the fresh air and positive emotions. Only an integrated approach to your health will help protect you from almost any infection.

In 2017, Russia experienced a real boom in cryptocurrencies. The increased rate and its analogues attracted the attention of scammers and hackers to the topic, who began to mine virtual coins in a dishonest way: mining viruses appeared on the Internet, turning infected computers into a network of mining farms. One by one, the result is a giant mining farm with enormous productivity, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars monthly.

The deception scheme is simple and reliable: hackers launch viruses onto the Internet that spread through email attachments or sites that source downloaded content. Virtual “black miners” take over the power of the infected computer: virtual coins are poured into the hackers, and electricity bills are poured into the victim.

Fortunately, miner viruses do not corrupt files on your computer or steal data. Their task is to use the computing power of the system for their needs. But this is still bad, especially if the network of an entire enterprise is infected.

How can you catch a miner virus?

1. Through file launch

You can catch a virus by opening an attachment in an incomprehensible letter from an unfamiliar sender. It doesn't matter if it looks like an image, document, table or archive. If you receive a letter with a title like “Company Employee Salaries,” you should not assume that you have received some interesting, secret information. It is enticing (clickbait) headlines that help viruses penetrate the computers of naive users.

Are you trying to download a hacked version of a paid program? It is highly likely that hackers attached a miner virus to it.

2. Through a site visit

Thanks to the development of web technologies, you can become a victim of a miner without getting infected. For example, the CoinHive tool, which is a Java script, turns any device on which a website with an integrated CoinHive script is opened into a miner. Moreover, it can not only be a computer, but also a smartphone and any other mobile ARM devices with Internet access.

Most often, CoinHive is installed on sites where the user spends a lot of time, for example, on pirated online cinemas.

3. Through vulnerabilities in the system

Unfortunately, even careful users can catch a virus that penetrates through vulnerabilities in the operating system. Everything happens completely unnoticed.

For example, the famous DoublePulsar backdoor, due to which millions of computers around the world were infected with the WannaCry virus, gave birth to a whole family of mining viruses that penetrated Windows in the same way.

Operating system developers (primarily Microsoft and its Windows) systematically release patches when such vulnerabilities are discovered. Therefore, users who fundamentally do not install updates on their computer or do so late are at risk.

4. Via browser extension

Six months ago, the Internet was shocked by the story of the Archive Poster extension for the Chrome browser, created for convenient work with the Tumblr service. As users of the extension, which has become popular (more than 100 thousand downloads), noticed, the developers secretly built a miner into Archive Poster and thereby made money from their audience.

Moreover, Google was in no hurry to remove the harmful extension from its online store. So before installing a new browser extension, at least read the reviews - in case you have to pay for the free extension with the power of your computer.

Signs of a miner virus

High computer load

Modern computers are very good at managing power and preventing all of their processing power from being wasted. This is especially true for laptops: while viewing websites, videos, or idle, their fans are barely audible.

Remember how noisy the cooling system is under heavy load like gaming? If the computer begins to constantly hum and get warm, the system freezes and freezes, which means that someone is absorbing its resources. And most likely, this is a miner virus.

Loading during periods of inactivity

Prevention and treatment

Not all antiviruses successfully fight miners. The fact is that mining itself is not a process of damaging or encrypting files (as is the case with ransomware viruses, for example). If a specific miner is not in the antivirus database, then the virus will be recognized as a “gluttonous” but completely safe application.

If you do not want to become a passive miner of other people's cryptocurrencies, follow simple recommendations.

1. Think you're downloading

No matter how great the temptation is to download a pirated application, music, movies, only legal resources can guarantee safety. Along with a dubious file, some kind of Trojan will probably end up on your computer or smartphone.

The file extension of the downloaded file must match the type of content you want to download. A book, music, or movie cannot have an .EXE or .DMG extension.

If suspicions arise after downloading a file, it is better not to risk it, but check it with an antivirus. There are many free online scanners, for example:

To be sure, it is better to try 2-3 resources at once.

2. Don't open attachments from strange emails

If you receive a letter from an unknown recipient with an incomprehensible attachment, delete this letter without hesitation. Most of the attachments in phishing emails are .RTF, .XLS and .ZIP files, that is, text, tables and archives, respectively. Executable .EXE files are rare, since their sending is blocked by many email services and complex IT protection systems.

Even a harmless Word document or video can lead to your computer becoming infected with a miner.

There are no specific names of malicious files. They are constantly changing, but always retain attractive names like “my_photos.zip”, “tenders_2018.xls”, “salaries.doc” and the like.

3. Use a reliable antivirus

Well-known ones have learned to catch miners quite well. Moreover, even if a new modification of the miner virus was not added to the antivirus database, its operation can be blocked due to heuristic analysis. The descriptions of a number of antiviruses explicitly mention protection against mining viruses. However, do not forget that without daily database updates, the antivirus becomes useless. Are you using a hacked copy of your antivirus that can't update? Consider your computer unprotected.

4. Update the system

Regularly update your operating system, antivirus, browser and office applications. First of all, updates are released to fix bugs in applications and close security holes.

This is especially true for antiviruses: in addition to databases, filters for phishing sites, firewalls and other important components that protect the computer are updated.

Don't forget that you can only update applications through their own interface. If some site suddenly offers you to download an update for your antivirus, operating system or browser, then a virus or Trojan is guaranteed to be waiting for you there. Also, do not install updates received by mail.

5. Use blocker extensions in browsers

Browser extensions, such as No Coin or minerBlock for Chrome and Firefox, MinerBlock for Chrome, will block already known mining viruses that run directly in the browser. This is perhaps the easiest way to protect yourself from miners. The main thing is not to prevent extensions from updating their databases so that they remain relevant.

6. Do you have any doubts? Launch Task Manager

If you notice that your computer is starting to slow down and your laptop fans are not stopping, you can quickly check the active processes. On Windows, launch the “Task Manager” using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc, and on macOS, use the search to find the “System Monitor” utility.

Sort processes by CPU usage and see which one is consuming the most resources. If a certain process loads the CPU at 80–90%, then look for its name in search engines - maybe it’s a well-known miner. At the same time, check the system with an antivirus.