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Spywhat? The lowdown on several threats to your system
By Mike Bianchini - Bardissi Enterprises Network Technician
There is a war
going on with your computer, every second of
everyday whether you know it or not. There
are programs running in the background
gathering information about you and your
family or business. The programs know how
you use the internet. What sites you visit.
What city you live in and many more areas of
your existence than you care to know about.
You may be aware
of spyware, adware and malware, and the fact
that your computer does have them. But you
may not know what they really are and why
they slow your system down or cause your
system to sometimes seize up. So, let’s get
down to business and talk about the nastys
that are taking over your computer and
driving you crazy
SPYWARE:
Spyware is any
software that covertly gathers user
information through the user's Internet
connection without his or her knowledge and
informed consent, usually for advertising
purposes.
There are a
number of ways spyware can get on your
system. A common trick is to covertly
install the software during the installation
of other software you want such as a music
or video file sharing program. Shared
programs are a common source of infecting
your computer with spyware. If you have
kids, then this is truly a reality as they
are the major seekers of music and video
programs on the internet. Other sources of
spyware are Keystroke Logging which
is a diagnostic used in
software development that captures the
user's keystrokes thereby identifying the
user’s movement on their computer. There are
spyware programs that attach to your
computer and record your web browsing
history, or scan documents on your
computer's hard drive.
You can be sure that as time goes on, there
will be many other ways created for spyware
to infiltrate your computer system. So, it
is important to remember that whenever you
are installing something on your computer,
make sure you carefully read all
disclosures, including the license agreement
and privacy statement. Sometimes the
inclusion of unwanted software in a given
software installation is documented, but it
may appear at the end of a license agreement
or privacy statement. There are other kinds
of spyware that make changes to your
computer and can be annoying, causing your
computer to run slow, to freeze up or
completely shut down.
Unfortunately,
at the present time, there is no way to keep
spyware out of your system which is why you
must make sure you have the strongest and
most up – to – date anti virus software
available.
The following is
a list of software programs that distribute
spyware and should be avoided at all cost:
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BearShare
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BonziBuddy
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DopeWars
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ErrorGuard
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Grokster
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Kazaa
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Morpheus
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RadLight
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WeatherBug
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EDonkey2000
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Drive Cleaner
ADWARE:
Adware is
software that displays advertisements on
your computer. These are ads that
inexplicably pop up on your display screen,
even if you're not browsing the Internet.
Some companies
provide "free" software in exchange for
advertising on your display. It's how they
make their money. Programmers use this
software as a means of recovering
programming development costs. Concerns
do loom about adware because it often takes
the form of spyware, in which information
about the user's activity is tracked,
reported, and often re-sold without the
knowledge or consent of the user.
The following are well known adware programs
that should be avoided:
-
123 Messenger
-
180 Solutions
-
Bonzi Buddy
-
BlockChecker
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ClipGenie
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Comet Cursor
-
Cydoor
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Direct Revenue
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Ebates Moneymaker
-
Gator
-
Opera (Internet suite)
prior to 20 September 2005
-
PornDigger!
-
WinFixer
-
Hotbar
-
ErrorSafe
-
Smiley Central
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StumbleUpon
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WeatherBug
-
WhenU
MALWARE:
Malware, which
is also referred to as Malicious Spyware is
designed to infiltrate and damage your
computers internal workings without your
informed consent. This software embodies a
host of hostile, intrusive and annoying
program codes all aimed at disrupting your
computers normal functions.
Malicious
Spyware or Malware’s creation is based on
the programmer’s perceived intent rather
than particular features. As part of its
makeup, it includes computer
viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware,
adware, and other malicious and unwanted
software.
When dealing with Malware, do not mistakenly
think of it as defective software which may
contain a bug. Instead, it should be viewed
as an intentional program whose sole
function and purpose is to disable the
normal operation of your computer system and
destroy information.
How can I
protect myself from these threats?
There are
several ways:
-
Keep your
anti-virus program up to date by
updating your virus definitions.
-
Use programs
that detect and remove spyware and
adware. Ad-aware is one of the best free
adware/spyware removers out there.
-
When
installing software make sure you know
what you are installing. Some software
will install unwanted programs.
-
Use Firefox
as your browser. Firefox can greatly
help reduce pop-ups and spyware. Be
aware of what you download and what
sites you download from.
Finally, it is
important to remember that although your
computer system may be functioning correctly
at the present time, it is still being
attacked constantly, by multiple unseen
threats and at some point, will begin to
melt down and become nonfunctional. For this
reason, make sure you have the best and
strongest antivirus software in place to
carry out an automatic, preset daily
diagnostic check on your system. This should
and will catch any potential threats and
quarantine them thereby keeping your system
healthy and problem free.
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