by David Hakala
Computer security firm Symantec Corp. recently reported that it identified two-and-a-half times more malicious software programs in 2008 than in the previous year: more than 1.6 million different examples of malware that is trying to invade your computer. The most common functions performed by malware are:
1. Remote access software
2. Programs that export user data
3. Keystroke loggers
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by David Hakala
Spyware is software secretly installed on one’s computer that monitors its activity and reports back to a remote listener. But spyware can do more than monitor. It can quietly download and install other malicious software. It can sniff through your email and personal financial software for sensitive information such as Social Security Numbers and passwords to bank accounts, and transmit that to bad guys. It can alter computer settings to redirect Web browsers to the wrong sites or slow down your Internet connection. Spyware is not something you want on your computer.
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by David Hakala
Microsoft Windows Defender is an anti-spyware program included in Windows XP and Vista. Do you need it, and does it do its job well?
First, note that Windows Defender is only an anti-spyware program. Spyware intercepts or takes partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent. For example, spyware may log all of your keystrokes – including financial site passwords – and send them to an unknown party. That’s bad, but spyware is hardly the only kind of threat. You will still need anti-virus software, most of which also scans for spyware.
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by David Hakala
As you surf the Web, you may be startled by a window that pops up with a message like one of these:
warning spyware threat has been detected on your pc
spyware threat has been detected on your pc
Sometimes the window jiggles nervously in a way calculated to make you anxious. Always, there is a button to click for a “free spyware scan.”
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by Tina Gasperson
If you get into trouble with some spyware, or you install a program or a piece of hardware that just doesn’t play nice with your computer, what can you do? You may have heard that using System Restore is a good way to “reset” your PC back to an earlier time, before the problems started happening. But what is System Restore, and how do you use it?
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by Tina Gasperson
These days, it is completely unadvisable to go online without a currently updated antivirus application running on your Windows-based desktop system. An unprotected computer is vulnerable to all manner of viruses, spyware, and Trojan horse programs that can take over your system without your permission. These unwelcome bits of software enter your computer when you download and run infected applications or visit Web sites that inject the malicious code through your browser. A good antivirus program will run in the background as you browse, protecting you from immediate dangers, and will also scan your entire system on a regular basis, using information from the latest known threats. Your antivirus software can save you hundreds of dollars in repair costs, and reduce the stress associated with losing important files and information stored on your hard drive. So what can you do to insure that your system is protected by a good antivirus program?
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by David Hakala
When your computer becomes infected with “something,” you quickly learn that there are myriad applications that may identify and eliminate the threat – or may not. No single anti-malware application cures every ill, just as no one antibiotic is a panacea against all diseases.
Malware comes in as many species as biological bacteria and virii. Some varieties specialize in exploiting vulnerabilities in browsers, others in instant-messaging apps, still others in operating systems, and so on. Malware authors are constantly improving their wares in a never-ending arms race against authors of anti-malware apps. There is no One and Final defense against malware.
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