January 2007
You are currently browsing the articles from Safe Computer written in the month of January 2007.
Adware removal is actually one of the most important aspects of keeping your computer running safely,securely and free from all outside intrusions. There are many people who think that adware and spyware does not indeed cause a great deal to worry about, this could not be further from the truth. The plain fact is that anything that infiltrates the inner workings of your computer must without fail be treated with the upmost distrust and caution.
Adware or spyware by its very nature will mainly be placed on a computer for reasons that are clearly financial. Nine times out of ten this is for tracking purposes in order to give the big companies as much consumer data as possible. They use it in order to gain information regarding your consumer activities and in what ways you carry out your online activities. At the other end of the scale there are those darker entities that have a far more sinister purpose and it is these folk that we truly need to be protected from and keep as far away from our personal computers as possible.
If you wondered just how these nasty adware parasites manage to infiltrate the inner sanctum or your computer then you may be surprised to learn that you yourself were probably the one that invited them in the first place. These hidden programs that are the plague of the internet community actually hide themselves in what most of us think to be some very innocent software’s. From instant messengers to free software downloads you can be assured that you are downloading a little more than you first intended to invite.
One of the biggest sources of unwanted scumware are the numerous music download sites that are springing up all over the internet. Does anyone actually wonder why these folk are so kind and so willing to give away such a vast amount of free music programs and software’s? Data is worth money and there are plenty of corporations in existence who are more than willing to purchase your data and dig to the inner most soul of your activities.
No matter if you suspect that you have been infected or not it is absolutely vital the regular system scanning is carried out. The cool thing is you do not even have to pay for such scans. Download a scan for free and if you are in the clear you will not have paid anything at all for the service. If however you are infected then you can rest assured that paying a small amount for computer cleansing by far outweighs the risks of having your computer carry a spy who is both watching,recording and submitting your private information for the bad guys to use.
As has been pointed out computer adware / spyware can have some extremely nasty purposes. Don’t ignore the possible implications and ensure that you at least get a scan. For those of you who are extremely security conscious why not go all the way and purchase a full blown adware software protector, this way you will never need worry again.
Be safe, Not sorry.
About the Author
Monty Cordello contributes adware spyware articles to the famous adware spyware little known secrets website http://adwarefound.com
Written by mellow on January 31st, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
Adware or Spyware as it is also known by is a malicious program or should I say programs that infect your computer with adware. As currently there are thousands of variations of adware / spyware waiting to attack your PC.
Some of these adware programs are harmless and are really only a minor annoyance and can be cleaned from your system easily with nearly all adware remover programs. However some more infectious adware programs can be potentially damaging to your system, your life and your bank account.
Symantec states that currently 85% of all internet users have some form of adware / spyware on there PC today. And the most frightening fact of all was that in this study those computers had a least 24 instances of adware spyware hiding on their computer system and causing problems not only for the user but the system its self.
Invest in a Adware Removal Tool Today!
How can I tell if Adware or Spyware has been installed on my computer.Firstly by installing a Adawre Spyware Removal Tool but if you havn’t here are some things to look out for. Are you constantly receiving annoying pop-up windows from sites you have never visited.
Is your home page constantly changing from what you have set it to. If so your browser has been hijacked by adware.
Is your operating system slow to load and you notice it getting slower each week this is adware. Again you will no whether it is adware or not especially if you haven’t installed any software that could be slowing your system down.
Do you have any strange software loading at start-up this is another trait of adware / spyware programs.
Internet explorer hang when trying to open it chances are you have adware spyware affecting your browser.
Are you constantly receiving error messages and registry errors on your home PC this is another symptom of adware spyware.
If you are an internet user you need to understand the growing concern that adware poses to your rights and freedoms. Don’t get caught napping on the internet make sure your computer is equipped with a adware removal tool,
Basically adware is a parasite that is just waiting to infect your computer and in some cases even your friends computers.
This adware parasite can potentially steal your identity by following your internet movements, obtaining your passwords, accessing your bank details and anything you type on your computer commonly known as a keylogger.
Remember if your child users your computer these pop-ups or browser hijackers could be sending any kind of undesirable information to your children. Protect your children with an adware spyware removal tool.
Even though some adware is harmless and even some webmasters install programs that track there movements such as alexa, don’t you think it is your right to decide who knows your business and not have it stolen from you by some malicious anti spyware adware program.
These adware spyware programs search the internet looking for unprotected computers–just like yours or mine — to call home and steal your information. Once they’ve found a spot to hide, they go right to work doing all kinds of malicious things to your system–from attacking you with pop-ups, hijacking your web browser, to installing more adware spyware parasites, or finding and distributing your personal information.
Make sure you are protected from this growing threat with a good adware removal tool. Best of all you can download most of these adware removal tools for free. What is 5 minutes of your time worth when your personal details could be compromised right now.
About the Author
Ron is the webmaster and owner of http://www.detectingadwarespyware.com and felt the need to make every internet user aware of the growing adware and spyware threat on the internetnet today. Ron has some very simple and easy solutions to detect and remove spyware from your computer.
Written by mellow on January 31st, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
As with the computer virus, spyware can be broken down into a number of different categories. Most users are familiar with the term ?adware? which refers to software which serves annoying ads. There are however a number of other spyware variants you should be aware of.
To begin with it is important to have a clear definition of spyware. This will also help us understand why the term is commonly used to encompass a number of different variants. Spyware is a program, usually installed without your knowledge, which records what you do on your computer and then shares it with its creator.
The information which the spyware program collects can vary from the websites you visit to log-in and passwords for your online banking site. The sharing of your personal information with a third party is why spyware in its purest form is labelled as a malicious threat and clearly is a major privacy issue.
Adware is the second mostly commonly used term. Adware is designed to display adverts relevant you, commonly based on your surfing habits, to generate Pay-Per-Click advertising revenue or sales through affiliate links. Adware is commonly bundled with free software by developers instead of charging a price.
The malicious nature of adware can vary enormously. At one of the scale, adverts are displayed in a non-intrusive manner in a window within the free program you have downloaded. When the program is not running, ads are not displayed. At the other end of the scale, a user could find their desktop overwhelmed as the adware program spews out multiple pop up ads in a very aggressive manner. Whilst it may be possible to believe the former is not transmitting personal data to a third party, it is difficult to expect the later not to.
The adware issue is further complicated by marketing companies who do not like their software being labelled ?spyware.? These marketing companies generate millions of dollars of income often via recognised brand name clients. So to avoid legal issue security companies refer to this software as PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
Browser hijackers are another aggressive form of spyware. They attack important browser settings like your default homepage which your browser loads when you start the program. Hackers direct you to sites which generate revenue for them like the Russian website ?Cool Web Search?. Browser hijackers can also insert sites into your bookmarks. They also can cause your browser to crash and stop working completely and are typically difficult to remove.
Key Loggers capture all your key strokes into a DLL file which the creator retrieves. Software key loggers are often bundled with a Trojan Virus which gives the creator access to your computer.
Here are some tips and strategies to fight the different types of spyware.
– Keep Windows XP and ALL your web browsers (including Internet Explorer and FireFox) up to date with the latest patches.
– Install a reputable anti-spyware program like Webroot Spy Sweeper or PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
– Install a reputable anti-virus program like Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee VirusScan. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
– Install a firewall which manages both inbound and outbound connections. Top personal firewall software picks include Zone Labs?s Zone Alarm and Norton Personal Firewall. Alternatively purchase a router with a hardware firewall.
– Avoid downloading free software programs including screensavers and weather toolbars.
– Avoid know high spyware risk area on the internet including illegal music sharing sites, Peer-to-Peer programs, free game download sites and adult sites.
Written by mellow on January 30th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
As with the computer virus, spyware can be broken down into a number of different categories. Most users are familiar with the term “adware” which refers to software which serves annoying ads. There are however a number of other spyware variants you should be aware of.
To begin with it is important to have a clear definition of spyware. This will also help us understand why the term is commonly used to encompass a number of different variants. Spyware is a program, usually installed without your knowledge, which records what you do on your computer and then shares it with its creator.
The information which the spyware program collects can vary from the websites you visit to log-in and passwords for your online banking site. The sharing of your personal information with a third party is why spyware in its purest form is labelled as a malicious threat and clearly is a major privacy issue.
Adware is the second mostly commonly used term. Adware is designed to display adverts relevant you, commonly based on your surfing habits, to generate Pay-Per-Click advertising revenue or sales through affiliate links. Adware is commonly bundled with free software by developers instead of charging a price.
The malicious nature of adware can vary enormously. At one of the scale, adverts are displayed in a non-intrusive manner in a window within the free program you have downloaded. When the program is not running, ads are not displayed. At the other end of the scale, a user could find their desktop overwhelmed as the adware program spews out multiple pop up ads in a very aggressive manner. Whilst it may be possible to believe the former is not transmitting personal data to a third party, it is difficult to expect the later not to.
The adware issue is further complicated by marketing companies who do not like their software being labelled “spyware.” These marketing companies generate millions of dollars of income often via recognised brand name clients. So to avoid legal issue security companies refer to this software as PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
Browser hijackers are another aggressive form of spyware. They attack important browser settings like your default homepage which your browser loads when you start the program. Hackers direct you to sites which generate revenue for them like the Russian website “Cool Web Search”. Browser hijackers can also insert sites into your bookmarks. They also can cause your browser to crash and stop working completely and are typically difficult to remove.
Key Loggers capture all your key strokes into a DLL file which the creator retrieves. Software key loggers are often bundled with a Trojan Virus which gives the creator access to your computer.
Here are some tips and strategies to fight the different types of spyware.
– Keep Windows XP and ALL your web browsers (including Internet Explorer and FireFox) up to date with the latest patches.
– Install a reputable anti-spyware program like Webroot Spy Sweeper or PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
– Install a reputable anti-virus program like Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee VirusScan. Run frequent scans and keep the definitions up to date.
– Install a firewall which manages both inbound and outbound connections. Top personal firewall software picks include Zone Labs’s Zone Alarm and Norton Personal Firewall. Alternatively purchase a router with a hardware firewall.
– Avoid downloading free software programs including screensavers and weather toolbars.
– Avoid know high spyware risk area on the internet including illegal music sharing sites, Peer-to-Peer programs, free game download sites and adult sites.
About the Author
Richard Rogers runs a number of computer-related sites offering Spyware Remover and Anti Virus Software help.
Written by mellow on January 29th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
1. Keep your browsers security settings at High.- this can be found by going to tools to internet options to security
2. Use an anti virus program at all times. – For a freebie try AVG at www.grisoft.com
3. Use a different credit card for online shopping.- I have found this invaluable as I have a low limit on my “internet” credit card, also remember that you are guarnateed in many cases by your credit cards theft protection against any loss.
4. Install and keep active a firewall or use a router. – many people have a wireless router and if you do have a wireless router be sure to set wep or wpa security on it.
5. Make sure your system is up-to-date with all patches and updates. – Go to start to all programs to Windows Update to make sure that everything is up to date
6. Check the addons that you use with Google to be sure they are not spyware.- you may need a pro or a piece of third party software to do this.
7. Never click yes when your browser asks you if you want to install or open some content coming from an organization you don’t know or don’t trust. – Often this is how you get a piece of spyware on your computer, when you go to a page and it wants to install something that is not Flash or something else you do not recognise say no, all that will happen is you may lose some functionality on the site.
8. Install an anti-spy ware program to enlarge the protection. – I have added a few links at the end of this article for some protection. I always believe the paid programs offer a bit more protection than anything free.
9. Never install a browser help or search bar accepting the times it comes from a reliable source.- I personally use the Google toolbar and see no reason to add anything else.
10. Don’t click on email attachments that are executable files even if they look as if sent from known persons. – The best way to transmit a virus is for a virus writer to get someones computer to sned the virus to all of their friends, no one knows they are sending it and the recievers often trust the attachments.
About the Author
You can read more articles about spyware and viruses at my spyware cleaner website or read a review about a great spyware eliminiator.
Written by mellow on January 29th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
Have you asked yourself any of these questions lately?
1. Why is my brand new computer slowing down to a crawl? 2. Why is it taking so long to load a basic word processor? 3. Why do I have so many popups? Where are they coming from? 4. Why do I keep being sent to places I did not ask to go? 5. Where are these embarassing popups coming from? I never visit sites like that!
I did. I was ignorant. I was slow and it cost me a brand new computer. Here is my story.
A couple of years ago, we bought a new eMachine for my wife. She had just enrolled in school and needed something better for her school work. Prior to that, we had an older HP machine. I believe it was a pentium II. It worked pretty well, though a little slow. I wanted us to get another HP, but she wanted an eMachine. Her cousin had one and she thought it was good. I did not like eMachines a lot and did not think highly of them. She was bent on having one so we bought one.
With the arrival of the new computer, the HP was quickly abandoned. I was pretty much the only one that used it. Not because of my disdain for eMachine, but becasue the HP was more in a central location. Our three boys loved the new machine and spent quite some time on it. I was eventually won over to the eMachine and I must confess, it turned out to perform excellently well. It was good on speed and the resolution was great.
Several months down the road, I noticed how the new computer was slowing down. I knew in my mind it was the eMachine. They were no good. And then I thought it was the dial up connection. But I soon realized that it was also slow when I was offline. It was taking long to open up applications and even longer to load webpages. I also noticed there were strange windows openning up at the most awkward times. Some of the pages were to sites I would not ordinarily visit. May be the boys are going to places that we don’t know about. As a concerned parent, I asked them and they promptly denied. I was still not sure they did’nt. They were teenagers.
As time passed, it became more difficult to do anything on the eMachine. We gradually migrated back to the HP and there was no immediate need to find out what was wrong with it.
Finally, it was time to act. I was ready to find out what the problem was. I started asking questions and doing querries on google. I was encouraged to get a good popup blockers. I did and it did not do much. That computer was far gone and corrupted. I had waited too long. I was not sure what was going on and did not know where to ask. The warrantee on the computer had also expired.
One afternoon, I turned the computer on to take another look and was greeted by a blank screen. The monitor had also quit I said to myself. Now I knew almost for sure it was the eMachine. They were really no good. My wife disagreed. But to be sure, I hooked the monitor up to the HP and it came alive. So it was’nt eMachine after all. I was a little embarrassed.
I reconnected the monitor and rebooted and was again faced by a blank screen. The following week, I took the cpu to a repair and they told me the computer was dameged beyond repair. I retrived it and took it to a sencond repairman and it never came back.
You know, lightening they say does not strike the same spot twice. But spyware is different. It can strike the same spot many times. Early 2005, I bought another computer, having out grown the HP. Months latter, I noticed the same exact symptons that ruined the eMachine. The slow down, the multiple popups, redirects to undesirable websites, they were all there. This time I did not wait. That afternoon I was frantic. I began searching for a quick answer. It was not until late that night that I found a product that worked for me. And once I found the right solution, spyware was no longer an issue to me.
Malware can make your online experience a nightmare if you are not forward thinking about internet security. The good news is that there are plenty of products out there that can cure that effectively.
This article is brought to you by http://www.allspywarefree.com
About the Author
Austin Akalanze is an Educator, a Freelance writer and webmaster at http://www.allspywarefree.com He has been published on several article directories across the net.
Written by mellow on January 28th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
Rapid growth of modern informational Internet-technologies begets the development of the hardware-software and network infrastructure. However, it also causes a number of negative aspects that influence improvement of the IT-industry. A wide range of negative, so to say ‘begotten by the Internet’, factors can be pointed out in the computer industry. They include: hackers, viruses, Trojans, SPAM, etc. Lately, another step in the software development – Spyware – appeared in the publicity. This article describes what Spyware is and how it can be fought.
What is Spyware? Spyware represents ordinary embedded software modules that track and gather different information about your activity during your work on PC, redirect you to various companies’ sites during your surfing the Internet, open advertising banners of every sort and kind, and perform a lot of other unapproved spy activity.
Where can Spyware be “picked up”? It is not that hard to “pick up” a Spyware. The most assured way of becoming infected is visiting warez sites or adult web-resources. Be sure that your PC is infected if you had visited the sites mentioned above using not up-to-date Internet Explorer and without any antivirus and firewall installed. Why are we so sure about it? The thing is that developers of Spyware-programs do their best to place the infection on as much computers in the network as possible, so any new breach in the browser is a splendid opportunity for them. Also, it often happens that Spyware-modules are bundled with different software. A perfect example of that are P2P-clients and a great number of suspicious programs from unknown developers.
How can Spyware be detected? As a rule, the task of detecting Spyware is many-sided and has a couple of solutions: 1. Installation of Firewall (for example Outpost Firewall Pro, Norton Personal Firewall, Kerio Personal Firewall, etc.) that will immediately inform you about suspicious network activity of any program. 2. Installation of IDS (Intrusion Detection System) software that provides you with real protection in real time by immediately recognizing and stopping attempted, unwanted or malicious behavior by other programs. A perfect example of such software is Arovax Shield (http://www.arovaxshield.com) – a brand new and effective spyware detector and remover. 3. Installation of specialized software for Spyware removing. You can use Arovax Antispyware (http://www.arovaxantispyware.com), SpyBot-Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware, MS AntiSpyware, etc. 4. Using special antivirus programs. In most cases, they can be found on the web-sites of major modern antivirus software.
How to remove the found Spyware? It is best to use proper software to ‘treat’ found Spyware programs. Such software cleans the registry correctly and removes all found spy modules. Consider the fact that some antivirus programs can only detect Spyware and in most cases are not able to ‘treat’ your PC from them. You can also try to remove Spyware manually. However, this variant is suitable for experienced users only. In this case you will need not only to remove Spyware executing modules (you might need to load OS in safe mode) but to edit the system registry in order to get rid of harmful programs links as well.
How to protect your PC from further infections? The receipt is simple: install all updates for your OS, install proper antispyware software, antivirus and Firewall, keep them always up-to-date and do not install suspicious programs from the Internet.
About the Author
Kira Foster is an expert on modern IT technologies and security software. She is also a Project Manager of Arovax Company which is one of the leaders in the field of software development and PC protection. MORE ARTICLES BY KIRA FOSTER – http://www.arovax.blogspot.com
Written by mellow on January 27th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
If you practice diligence and follow some basic rules then you will have a much better chance of preventing the ability of a malware application from infecting your computer. Most computer spyware today is installed without your knowledge when you visit a website or download an application that will place the application on your hard drive. So one way to prevent the installation by not visiting unscrupulous web sites when you surf the web.
There has been a strong increase in the number of computer malware / spyware out on the net the past few years. Many experts in the field expect the number of infections to only increase as time goes along. Spyware are actually programs that are installed on your computer but you usually do not know of the installation and many times you did not even approve the installation. These programs can cause all types of problems for your computing experience, which range from annoying popups to someone actually stealing your personal data and impersonating your identity. You may also experience a reduction in performance of your system, since many times these programs will consume a lot of computing power as the program performs its tasks. Even though the number of computer spyware infections are increasing exponentially does not mean all is lost and you should just throw your hands up and turn off your computer forever.
Since most spyware is installed because of security holes in your browser always ensure you have the latest version of updates for your Operating System and Browser. You can also switch your Web Browser to something like FireFox which is targeted less than the more popular Browsers.
Also ensure you have a spyware protection and remover application installed. This is one of the most important items you can do to protect yourself from these infections and help to minimize the chance that you will be come infected with these types of applications
About the Author
Bruce Hopkins is an Information Technology Director over a large multi campus network and is a avid DotNetNuke Open Source Supporter. He manages several information sites on technology and Asp.Net Topics
Written by mellow on January 27th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
Spyware removal has become a tedious work. As the spyware threat has worsened, a number of techniques have emerged to counteract it. Among these are
? programs designed to remove or to block spyware
? educating the users in such a way that spyware removal no longer is needed
? user practices which reduce the chance of getting spyware on a system.
Spyware remains a costly problem even with all new technology used to combat them. If a large number of spyware programs have infected a Windows computer, the only way to save the computer may be to back up user data, and fully reinstalling the operating system.
Anti-spyware programs
One of the markets most popular anti-spyware programs, Adwarealert will help you find and ultimately rid your computer of unwanted spyware software.
Many programmers and some commercial firms have released products designed to remove or block spyware. Steve Gibson’s OptOut, , practially invented a growing category. Programs such as,
? Adwarealert
? Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE
? Patrick Kolla’s Spybot – Search & Destroy
rapidly gained popularity as effective tools to remove, and in some cases intercept, spyware programs.
Recently Microsoft bought the GIANT Anti-Spyware software, renaming it as Windows AntiSpyware beta and releasing it as a free download for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 users. The renamed software for now exists as a time-limited beta test product that will expire at the end of July 2006. Microsoft is continuously developing and updating this product.
Antispyware protection, removal and antivirus
Major anti-virus firms such as Symantec, McAfee and Sophos have come later to the table, adding anti-spyware features to their existing anti-virus products.
In the beginning, anti-virus firms did not want to add anti-spyware functions, citing lawsuits brought by spyware authors against the authors of web sites and programs which described their products as “spyware”.
However, recent versions of these major firm?s home and business anti-virus products do include anti-spyware functions. The spyware is treated differently from viruses though.
Symantec Anti-Virus, for instance, categorizes spyware programs as “extended threats” and now offers real-time protection from them (as it does for viruses). The drawback with these programs is that they are very complex and in many cases produce more hurdles to jump over then you as a user really need.
Like most anti-virus software, anti-spyware software requires a frequently-updated database of threats. As new spyware programs are released, anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, making “signatures” or “definitions” which allow the software to detect and remove the spyware.
If a spyware program is not blocked and manages to get itself installed, it may resist attempts to terminate or uninstall it. Some programs work together: when an anti-spyware scanner (or the user) terminates one running process, the other one starts up the killed program again, making it virtually impossible to clean the computer.
Some spyware will detect attempts to remove registry keys during the spyware removal and immediately add them again. Usually, booting the infected computer in safe mode allows an anti-spyware program a better chance of removing persistent spyware.
The most extreme way of cleaning is to move the hard drive to another computer, boot on the normal boot disk that computer has, and then clean the infected disk. You can also mount the infected disk over the local network and scan & clean it to remove as much spyware as possible.
It doesn?t matter what way you choose to clean your computer, but using a good spyware removal program will make your life much easier ?
About the Author:
Kenth “The Designer” Nasstrom writes about spyware, adware and other non wanted software. You should find out how to remove spyware and adware from your computer now and reduce the risks.
Written by mellow on January 26th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
CNN recently released a report that as many as 90% of all computers connected to the internet are infected with some type of spyware or adware.
Spyware tracks any and all private information you may enter on an internet form and can lead to identity theft and credit card theft.
Adware, while not as threatening, can switch your browser settings without your knowledge leading to unwanted ads and pop-ups.
The Community Doghouse (communitydoghouse.com ) has reviewed the top anti-spyware on the market today and recommends the best software for the money.
Check out The Community Doghouse and start protecting your information.
COMMUNITYDOGHOUSE.COM
About the Author
None
Written by mellow on January 25th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spyware.
