One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started working.
noticeably slower than before. you decide to run
Defragmenting your hard drive and adding more virtual memory
to the system No luck! It may be, it’s probably some virus, you
Consider turning on your virus scanning software. even after
running the antivirus program realizes that the problem is not
solve. Not understanding what is happening, frustrated, you choose
pick up the phone. It’s time to call your tech support. sounds
familiar? You are not alone! Every day thousands of users are
similar problems caused by malware called
spyware. According to Dell technical support, today 12
percent of their support calls involve issues related to some
types of spyware Microsoft reports that fifty percent of all
Computer crush are caused by spyware, viruses and trojans.
What is spyware?
Spyware, also called Malware or Adware, is malicious software
programs, which are most often installed on your computer
without your knowledge. These programs are capable of doing many
scandalous and sinister things to your computer, such as changing
computer configuration, tracking your online behavior, monitoring and
control your computer, record your keystrokes, display
unwanted publicity and report the necessary information back to
the person behind him.
The main types of spyware are:
Keyloggers: This type of spyware copies everything you type into
a file and send it to the hacker. The most sophisticated type
used for identity theft, copy the information that
provides when you are connected to a secure website.
Browser hijacker: modifies browser settings without your
permission. This spyware is capable of changing your home page,
search page, search toolbar and redirect your URL to a specific address
pages
Email Forwarder – Surreptitiously copies all your incoming emails and
outgoing emails and sends to the hacker.
Dialers – This spyware installs only in your dial-up setup
and dials numbers without your knowledge, often out of the country
numbers.
Collectware: The purpose of this Spyware is to track your browsing
habit and transmit the statistical data to the hacker. This
the information is then sold to advertising companies.
Adware: This spyware downloads all kinds of advertisements
every time you perform some action, such as typing a word on your
research tool.
Why doesn’t my antivirus program block Spyware?
Although spyware uses the same tactics as the “Trojan” virus,
technically not a virus. A virus is a program written to
create problems or possibly damage your computer system. viruses are
capable of replicating, evolving and causing serious damage to its
computer files, registry or even hardware. Spyware, on the other
hand, it does not intentionally harm your computer. any discomfort
as system slowdown is collateral damage, which occurs
while Spyware fulfills its mission of monitoring your
activities and make unwanted changes to your user experience.
People rarely read the fine print in user agreements while
download a file, program, game or other free products from
The Internet. Unethical sites use this to their advantage and
add a little spyware with the file you are downloading.
Antivirus programs cannot be sure if this program is
deliberately installed by you or is malicious spyware. This
makes it difficult to identify and block spyware for a
Antivirus program. However, things have started to change! Important
Antivirus companies plan to integrate anti-spyware programs
programs to your existing products very soon.
How did I get infected with spyware?
There are numerous ways how you could end up having a
Spyware on your system.
– When you download and install programs, games, smileys, images, screen savers from dubious sites, there is a high chance that you may install sneaky spyware along the way.
– Some websites and pop-ups try to download and install spyware while you’re there. According to a recent analysis of sex-related websites, up to 80 percent of these sites are now used to load spyware, worms, and Trojan horses onto unsuspecting visitors.
– Some browser plug-ins that are supposed to improve your browsing experience can secretly install Spyware.
– The most cynical method of getting infected with Spyware is when you receive a sudden pop-up advertisement, which claims that your computer is contaminated and that you have to run a certain program to cure your system. If you are gullible enough to run this program, it simply installs spyware instead of removing it.
How to counterattack?
If you carefully follow the instructions below, your chances
of becoming infected with spyware are quite rare.
Update your Windows
Allow your version of Windows to update automatically. make sure that
it has all the latest security patches installed.
Use Firefox as your default browser
Since Internet Explorer is the main target of many spyware,
Be better with Mozilla Firefox. Plus, it’s a better browser.
than IE in many respects.
Be very careful with your downloads
Try not to download anything from an unknown site. if you still feel
like getting a shareware or freeware program, check it out at one of
this online spyware database. Spychecker (http://www.spychecker.com/)
is one such service, and Spy Chaser by Camtech 2000
(http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpyChaser.html)
is a nifty downloadable database of almost
1000 spyware infested programs.
Use an Anti-Spyware application
Download 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 Anti-Spyware
(http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)
it’s still in beta stage, i’m using it and very happy
with his performance.
get a firewall
If you are using Windows XP with Service Pack 2, you are probably
good! In other cases, if your computer is connected to the Internet
you should directly get a firewall and install it. alarm area
(http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp) is a
Great firewall that you can download for free.
A recent survey on the top threats to network security in
2005 reveals that two-thirds of IT managers and administrators
believes that spyware will be the number one threat to the network
security. So don’t be lucky! Make sure you are protected!