Beware Of Spyware
|
One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started to worknoticeably slower than it used to. You decide to run de-fragmentation of your hard drive and add more virtual memory to the system. No luck! May be, it's probably some viruses, you reckon turning on your virus scanning software. Even after running the anti-virus program you notice that the problem won't resolve. Not understanding what's happening frustrated you pick up the phone. It's time to call your tech-support. Sounds familiar? You are not alone! Each day, thousands of users are facing similar problems caused by malicious software called Spyware. According to Dell technical support, nowadays 12 percent of their support calls involve problems related to some kinds of Spyware. Microsoft reports that fifty percent of all computer crushes are caused by Spyware, viruses and Trojans.
What is a Spyware?
Spyware ? also named Malware or Adware ? are malicious software programs, which most of the time get installed on your computer without your knowledge. These programs are capable of doing many outrageous, sinister things to your computer such as changing computer settings, tracking your online behavior, monitoring andcontrolling your computer, recording your keystrokes, displaying unwanted advertisement and reporting needed information back to the person behind it.
The main types of Spyware are:
Key loggers: This type of Spyware copies everything you type to a file and send it to the hacker. The more sophisticated type, which is used for identity theft, copies the information you provide when you are connected to a secure website.
Browser hijacker: It modifies browser settings without your permission. This Spyware is capable of changing your start page, search page, search tool bar and redirect your url to specific pages.
Email redirector: Surreptitiously copies all your incoming and outgoing emails and sends to the hacker.
Dialers: This spyware install themselves to your dial-up settingsand dials numbers without your knowledge, often to out of countrynumbers.
Collectware: The purpose of this Spyware is to track your surfinghabit and transmitting the statistical data to the hacker. This information later gets sold to advertisement companies.
Adware: This Spyware downloads all sorts of banner advertisementsevery time you take some action such as typing a word on your search tool.
Why my antivirus program does not block a Spyware?
Although, Spyware uses same tactics like "Trojan" virus, technically it is not a virus. A virus is a program written to create trouble or possibly harm your computer system. Viruses arecapable of replicate, evolve and cause severe damages to your computer files, registry or even hardware. Spyware, on the other hand, does not harm your computer intentionally. Any nuisance like system slow down is the collateral damage, which occurs while the Spyware serves its mission of monitoring your activities and making unwanted changes to your user experience.
People rarely read the fine prints of the user agreements while downloading a file, a program, a game or other free stuffs from the Internet. Unethical sites use this to their advantage and add tiny Spyware with the file you are downloading.
The anti-virus programs can not be sure, whether this program is installed deliberately by you or it's a malicious Spyware. This makes identifying and blocking a Spyware difficult for an Anti-virus program. However, things are started to change! Major anti-virus companies are planning to integrate anti-spyware programs to their existing products very soon.
How did I get infected with a Spyware?
There are numerous ways how you might end up with having a Spyware on your system.
- When you download and install programs, games, smilies, pictures, screensavers from dubious sites, there is a big chance that you might install a sneaky Spyware along the way.
- Some websites and pop-up windows try to download and install Spyware while you are there. According a recent analysis of sex-based websites, up to 80 percent of these sites are now being used to upload Spyware, worms and Trojans to unsuspecting visitors.
- Some add-ons to you browser that is supposed to enhance your browser experience may secretively install Spyware.
- The most cynical method of infecting you with Spyware is when you receive a sudden pop-up ad, which claims that your computer is contaminated and you have to run certain program to cure your system. If you are credulous enough to run this program, it just installs a Spyware instead of eliminating any.
How to fight back?
If you carefully follow the instructions outlined below, your chancesof getting infected with Spyware are pretty slim.
Update your WindowsAllow your version of Windows to update it automatically. Ensure thatyou have all the latest security patches installed.
Use Firefox as your default browserSince Internet Explorer is the main target for many Spyware, you willbe better of with Mozilla Firefox. Moreover, it is a better browser than IE in many aspects.
Be extremely careful with your downloadsTry not to download anything from a unknown site. If you still feel like getting a shareware or freeware program check it out on one of these online Spyware database. Spychecker (http://www.spychecker.com/)is one such service, and Camtech 2000's Spy Chaser(http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpyChaser.html)is a nifty downloadable database of nearly1000 spyware-infested programs.
Use an Anti-Spyware applicationDownload and install one of the following anti-spyware programs: Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/),Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html)and Microsoft AntiSpyware. Although, Microsoft's Anti-Spyware
(http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)is still at beta stage, I am using it and very happy with its performance.
Get a FirewallIf you are using Windows XP with Service Pack 2, you are probably fine! In other cases, if your computer is connected to the Internet directly you should get a firewall and install it. Zone alarm
(http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp) is a great firewall you can download for free.
A recently conducted survey of the Top Network Security threats in 2005 reveals that two-thirds of IT managers and administrators believe that Spyware will be the number one threat to network security. So don't take any chance! Make sure that you are protected!
Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business.You can contact him at mailto:nowshade[at]rusbiz.comhttp://ezine.rusbiz.com
|
|
|
Software Companies: Generate New Revenue Streams And Decrease Costs With Custom E-learning Content
It's no secret that software companies operate in a very competitive space where rivalry is increasingly fierce and where profit margins can be razor thin. New, smaller software companies are sprouting up each month and the leading software companies continually make strong advancements forward leveraging massive cash flow reserves. This cycle makes it difficult for the mid-sized software company to compete because (a) they don't typically have the cash flow necessary to take giant leaps forward in the industry and (b) because they need to continually move forward to stay ahead...(related: Software)
Online Powerpoint Presentation ? Convert Powerpoint To Flash
Although we don't know whether Microsoft ever envisioned such a big market about PowerPoint on its first release. Today this software is impacting profoundly on education and corporation's activities in the way that nobody could ignore. With a wealth of visual and audio effects people rely on it to express their ideas, plans more intuitively with more effective communication outcomes.One of most wildly PowerPoint application exists in education. With the booming of Internet, traditional education approaches have been eclipsing by various new emerging ways. And in spite of heavy promotion of supposedly new television educational approaches in recent years, from my point of view, the real innovation and revolution is taking place somewhere els...(related: Software)
Did You Ever Want To Completely Erase Everything On Your Computer?
Did you ever want to erase everything on your computer? This is a program I found that does that fo...(related: Software)
Hubris - Definition: Microsofts Passport
Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their 16-bit Windows 3.1 operating system couldn't handle the 32-bit Internet world. With the introduction of Windows 95, ...(related: Software)
Microsoft Great Plains: Annual Enhancement Program ? How To Be Re-enrolled
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate market ERP and as being relatively complex and difficult to do self-support in-house, Microsoft Business Solutions requires you first to have so-called VAR of record, or your M...(related: Software)
How To Make Attractive And Effective Powerpoint Presentations
Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic and business presentations are made. This article outlines few tips on making more effective and attractive PowerPoint presentations.THE TEXT
- Keep the wording clear and simple. Use active, visual language. Cut unnecessary words ? a good rule of thumb is to cut paragraphs down to sentences, sentences into phrases, and phrases into key words.
- Limit the number of words and lines per slide. Try the Rule of Five - five words per line, five lines per slide. If too much text appears on one slide, us...(related: Software)
Microsoft Great Plains As Erp And Microsoft Crm As Crm
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for your company then you need to know some technical details about Great Plains version upgrade and what is going on behind the scenes, which options do you have in case of Dexterity, VBA, SQL customization, additional complexity comes with migration from ctree/Pervasive to MS SQL/MSDE.What is upgrade in the language of technology? Upgrade has server and client sides.
- Server side - upgrade converts tables from old format to...(related: Software)
Antivirus Software ? Get The Bugs Before They Get You!
You turn on your computer, and it doesn't look quite right. Maybe your icons have changed, or the background picture is wrong. Some options are disabled. Even worse, you may not be able to boot your computer up at all. Guess what ? it's probably got a virus.In today's online world, protecting your computer from all the nasty things online is vital. Viruses can cause obvious issues, as described above, but they can also run silently in the background, propagating themselves acros...(related: Software)
Interactive Mapping Brings Information To Life
What is Interactive Mapping?Interactive mapping is a visual display medium which allows graphing, mapping, and even conversion to PDF of any type of information. This technology is used by national government agencies, airlines, chambers of commerce, ski resorts, and count...(related: Software)
Great Plains Dexterity: Customizations & Source Code Programming
Great Plains Software Dynamics, Dynamics C/S+, eEnterprise were written on GPS proprietary programming language and development environment ? Great Plains Dexterity. When Microsoft bought Great Plains Software, Dynamics was renamed into Microsoft Great Plains, but Dexterity is still the architectural base, there were trends to move MS Great Plains to .Net and reprogram it in C#, but in our opinion Microsoft is probing its own technologies and places them into competition with each other. Microsoft Business Portal is probably the direction, wh...(related: Software)
C++ Tutorials: 3, Program Flow (if, Else, While, For)
Program Flow is what you think it is. How the program will flow. As you know the compiler will just go down the code. Program flow is what you use to make it run a certain thing a few times, do something based on a variable, etc... There are some basic comands to program flow. The first two are loops: While and For. When you want something to loop for an amount of times based on a variable, use while. If you...(related: Software)
Netstat - Linux Command To Display Networking Information
In linux, one of great commands for finding out information about your network connections is "netstat". It provides you interface information, statistics, connections, and a lot of other really great information about your computer.There are many intricate commands that you can use with this program, and I won't be discussing all of them. If you would like a full review of the program, check your man or info files for more information. Below I will discuss the basic and most commonly used commands with netstat.netstat -i (interface)This command will give you an overview of networking on your PC. It will give you your local loopback (lo) and any ...(related: Software)
site-map - Copyright © 2008 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved. | Software