December 7th, 2006
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This month’s article is one of the things I still find comes up as a frequent question, “what’s the difference between Viruses and Spyware”? I will try and clarify that here.
One of the biggest slowdowns of a PC is caused by viruses, adware or spyware as it’s often called. Before you can benefit from any other optimisation tips or improvements you really need a system relatively free from those pests.
A virus is a piece of malicious software code written to cause some kind of damage to a computer system or network or even the Internet itself. Viruses spread, similar to their biological namesake, from one machine to another and can spread havoc wherever they go. They are most commonly spread by sharing files with others or through email attachments where they can be set up to send themselves to all the addresses in your email address book.
Adware is usually downloaded and installed along with some other program without your knowledge and unlike a virus doesn’t spread by itself. Very often you click “OK” without reading the terms and conditions and by doing so you agree to have the files installed. An example is you see a “free” program on offer that you think might be useful and download it without thinking. Even some anti-spyware programs install adware and the website earns money from the ads that are clicked on.
The catch is that the extra files introduced are used to determine things like your surfing habits nd the data is used to serve up popup ads or redirect your browser to a page other than the one you wanted.
Some of the programs can be used to install keyloggers which can send back information about passwords and bank details etc. Adware is not a security problem it is more an annoyance especially when you have ten different programs trying show ads. The amount of computer resources it uses up slows your system to a crawl.
Spyware is more malicious and evil intentioned and is designed to steal something from you. It can be downloaded by visiting the wrong types of websites or along with other files the same way as adware. Spyware can often be hard to remove as it can continually recreate itself and hide somewhere on your hard drive.
Programs such as trojans can be used to allow access to hackers at a later date. From the story of the Trojan horse where the Greeks hid inside the wooden horse left as a peace offering and were wheeled in to the fort by the Trojans themselves. Then at night the Greeks crept out of the horse and opened the gates and let the enemy in. Trojans and adware unlike viruses don’t spread themselves.
It is wise to run more than one spyware checker as no one system gets rid of them all. You can never be certain you have every one removed because new ones may not have been discovered and the Spyware program doesn’t recognise it yet. I use the two free ones “Spybot” and “Adaware” and I also use CounterSpy which comes from a reputable company that specialises in removing spyware.
Sometimes people say to me “doesn’t my anti-virus software remove spyware”? Well the answer is,
most don’t and even if it does I always find a specialist product works best. Beware also of bogus spyware scanners available on-line which actually install their own spyware once they have removed their competitors.
Sometimes you run a free scan and it finds all sorts of nasties but you will have to sign up and pay
to remove them. I have even seen it that they find things that don’t exist or try to frighten people into believing they have lots of spyware when all they have are advertising cookies.
Cookies are small text files that websites leave on your system so that when you return they can customise the page that loads or they can count you as a returning visitor. They are harmless and most of them are useful. They can be easily removed by deleting them in your browser settings.
So you need to be running a suitable and up to date antivirus program and one or more Spyware checkers.
More tips can be gotten from my website
About the Author: Dave Fraser tries to make your computing experience a bit less stressful and help you speed up your computer at http://www.pcsandthings.com
Written by mellow on December 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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Fighting viruses and getting rid of them is big business right now. The first step is knowing just what the enemy is.
THE ENEMY – Hackers and Crackers
Computer geeks say that there is a difference between hackers and crackers. Crackers do damage to systems they break into while hackers just want to see how everything works. We’ll use the more common term of hacker. Originally the term hacker was someone who made furniture with the use of an axe.
A virus is “malware” for your computer. This is a term that covers all kinds of software that is malicious. The most common types of malware are Trojans, worms, and viruses.
VIRUSES
Viruses are often hidden inside of other programs, for example installation programs that arrive to you through email attachments. When you run this host program the virus is executed. When the virus is in your computer memory it will be able to do a lot of damage such as infecting other computer programs.
Once the infection phase of the virus is complete the next stage begins: the destructive phase. Viruses will wait for a certain trigger, such as a date or the number of times that the virus has been copied, before the payload is delivered. The payload can be as simple as messages all the way to the deletion of files to the destruction of your operating system.
When viruses were first created they were often distributed on a floppy disk. As the Internet has grown, email and file downloads are the best way for viruses to be passed. Email can have attachments that can contain any type of computer file. Executable files can be loaded with viruses and therefore you shouldn’t run them unless you’re sure that they are virus free.
WORMS
Worms are much like viruses because they are self-copying. They can reproduce across multiple networks without human aid, such as through the sending of emails. Worms, however, don’t need an executable program in order to be passed along.
A worm can affect a computer network more than it can infect computers that are on that network. Because they self-copy they can overload the resources on a network. This can cause slow downs in the speed of data transfers by using a large amount of bandwidth…more bandwidth than is needed for normal network traffic. Any network that routes traffic on the Internet is simply known as software and hardware that is specialized. Both software and hardware can be bothered by malware.
A worm can be created to carry payloads by using an installation program through the backdoor. A backdoor is an access point into the computer that is hidden. The worm uses the backdoor and ignores the usual procedure for login. Backdoors are often used by spammers so that they can send junk email.
TROJAN HORSES
A Trojan horse is another kind of malware. A Trojan horse is a computer program that acts as though it will do one thing when it will actually do something different. This term comes from the story of Troy, a city which was deceived by the Greeks to get into the inner city undetected. A Trojan horse can’t replicate itself the way viruses and worms can.
A Trojan horse can be hidden in software that is otherwise useful. When a Trojan horse starts it can do such things as corrupt files, install backdoors, erase data, and keep track of keystrokes. This information will enable hackers to steal your personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers.
COMBATING MALWARE
In this series we will talk about what you can do to fight malware. Until then it’s important to just be passive and not expect that your computer problems will be taken care of by someone else. Combating viruses needs the involvement of users, webmasters, and software vendors.
About the Author
Paul Wilcox writes about internet privacy and security issues for the Internet Security Squad website. Get more helpful information and advice at http://www.internetsecuritysquad.com
Written by mellow on December 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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Instead of spending time frustrated at your computer and its malfunctions follow a few steps towards solving problems and improving computer productivity, which will also minimize your stress and frustration. Start by installing an anti-virus program if you do not already have one.
A computer virus can result in loss of important information and damage to your system. To avoid this install and use an anti-virus tool that will remove malicious viruses and repair damages made. Keep the program updated with automatic updates and run it regularly for optimum security. Without the latest virus information the program cannot fully protect your computer and information.
Next, you should find an effective spyware tool to remove all possible spyware infection from your computer system. Spyware piggybacks its way onto your computer through freeware and shareware downloads. It then monitors and records your usage information along with other private information such as passwords and credit card numbers. The spyware sends the information to advertising companies or sells it to individual intruders. Spyware is an invasion of privacy and it harms computer productivity by taking up memory and running constantly which will slow other computer functions. Once spyware is removed from your computer you will notice faster computer work.
Most new operating systems have an automatic update option you can and should enable. By programming computer updates to take place automatically you are helping prevent malicious occurrences such as worms and viruses.
About the Author
Mitch Johnson is a successful freelance author that writes regularly for http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/ , a site that focuses exclusively on spyware removal software, as well as tips on how to prevent spyware from popping up on your computer. This site articles on has spyware guard, http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/spyware_guard.htm as well as spyware scanner, http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/spyware_scanner.htm
Written by mellow on December 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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