The explosive growth of the Internet has meant that thousands of people are today experiencing the joys of being online for the first time. With growth there always comes pain. Be it your growing pains as a child or the growth and development of this part of our culture called the Internet.
Firstly we need to quickly explain what the Internet is and where it came from. The Internet is the offspring of a military project called Arpanet. Arpanet was designed to provide reliable communication during global nuclear war. A vast network of interconnected computers was set up all over the world to allow the various branches of US and NATO forces to communicate with each other.
Nuclear war never came (thankfully) and the world was left with a massive network of computers all connected together with nothing to do. Colleges and universities started to use these computers for sharing research internationally. From there it grew and spread outside colleges to local homes and businesses. The World Wide Web was born and its father was a guy called Tim Berners Lee.
When you're connected to the Internet you're sharing a vast network with hundreds of millions of other users. This shared network provides resources that 15 years ago were never thought possible. Unfortunately when something is shared its open to abuse. On the Internet this abuse comes from hackers and virus creators. Their sole intent is to cause chaos and/or harm to your computer system and millions of other computer systems all over the world.
How do you combat this? You need an Internet security system. This might sound complicated but your Internet security system will be quite straigtforward being comprised of just 2 - 3 Internet security products. We'll look at each of these products in more detail now:
AntiVirus Software
The first and most critical element of your Internet security system is antivirus software. If you don't have up-to-date antivirus software on your PC you're asking for trouble. 300 new viruses appear each month and if you're not constantly protecting your system against this threat your computer will become infected with at least one virus - it's only a matter of time.
Antivirus software scans your PC for signatures of a virus. A virus signature is the unique part of that virus. It can be a a file name, how the virus behaves or the size of the virus file itself. Good antivirus software will find viruses that haven't yet infected your PC and eliminate the ones that have.
Antivirus software can only protect your computer from viruses trying to infect it via email, CD-Rom, floppy disk, Word documents or other types of computer files. Antivirus software alone will not keep your computer 100% safe. You also need to use firewall software.
Firewall Software
The use of firewall software by home computer users is a relatively new occurence. All Internet connections are a two way process. Data must be sent and received by your computer. This data is sent through something called ports. These are not physical things rather aspects of the way your computer communicates online.
Firewall software watches these ports to make sure that only safe communication is happening between your computer and other computers online. If it sees something dangerous happening it blocks that port on your computer to make sure your computer stays safe from the person who is trying to hack into your system.
An easier way to understand a firewall would be to picture your computer as an apartment complex. At the front door of this complex there is a security guard. Every person who enters the complex must pass this security guard. If the security guard recognizes the person entering as a resident he allows them to pass without saying anything. If, however, the person entering the complex is unknown to him then he will stop that person and ask for identification. If they have no business being at the apartment complex he escorts them from the building.
If you are not currently using firewall software your computer will get hacked into - that's a guarantee.
PopUP Blocker
You can get a good popup blocker at no cost. An easy way to do this is to install either the Google or Yahoo toolbar. Both of these come with popup blockers built in. Popups are not necessarily dangerous but are a nuisance and using either of these toolbars will make your life that bit easier.
A simple rule for practicing online security is: "If in doubt then don't". If you don't recognize the file, the email address, the website or if your gut feeling says "no" then don't click that button.
About the author:
This article was submitted courtesy of the Spyware & Malware Guide. This site is dedicated to spyware removal and just generally helping users keep their PCs spyware free.
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Sunday, February 17, 2008
Internet Scams 102 -- Hijackings and Spyware
My friend Janice is afraid to go on the Internet because of the terrible things that might happen to her. She views a simple trip to get e-mail the way she views going alone, late at night, to a dangerous part of town.
Please . . . it’s not that bad. Though, come to think of it, it’s ALMOST that bad: hijackers can now do things to people who already have antivirus and anti-spyware programs. To people who have carefully NOT clicked on scam e-mails. Some hijackers can disable your firewall, your antivirus software, and your spyware killers. Or they can prevent antivirus and spyware from being updated.
But there are solutions. Here’s what you do:
HIJACKINGS
You know you’ve been hijacked if your start page is different and if you keep getting things you didn’t intend to get -- frequently pornographic sites and popup ads. You change things back the way they were, but they won’t stay changed.
These nasties nabbed you through a security hole in Microsoft Windows. If you haven’t been caught and don’t want to be, http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked/prevent.php says,
“First and most simply, stop using Internet Explorer. If you use either Mozilla, Firefox or Opera, you are immune to virtually all browser hijackers.”
Actually, it’s not that simple. There are ways scammers can get around Firefox. Microsoft is also busy locking its barn doors, though I’m afraid the horse has already been stolen.
If you decide to stay with Internet Explorer, be sure to keep it up to date, especially with what they call “critical updates.”
PREVENTING ATTACKS
The most basic and most necessary protection, one you’ve probably installed already, is antivirus protection. The antivirus programs upgrade constantly to protect us from the latest viruses. Norton is the most common, and a good choice. If you prefer a simple, uncomplicated solution, go to the site that sells Norton, http://symantec.com/, and download all the antivirus protection you want.
If you’re a thorough person, however, one who wants to learn about all the options, go to http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/, and you will learn of problems and solutions you never dreamed existed.
WHAT YOU GET FOR NOTHING IS NOTHING -- OR WORSE
Unfortunately, an antivirus program alone is not enough these days. You need ANTI-SPYWARE.
Because the latest hijackers can disable anti-spyware -- AND keep you from downloading updates -- you want some that is really, really good. The techie who manages my website says, “Get something that can WARD OFF attacks, not just remove them after they’ve infected you. Once really vicious spyware is on your machine, it may be impossible for anyone but an expert to remove it.”
“But what about all the free anti-spyware?” you ask. If you go to http://www.apcug.net/Reports/Editorial/2004.htm, you’ll see under December 2004 an article “Beware of SCUMWARE Pretending to be Anti-Spyware” which tells one man’s experience. Sometimes what you get for nothing is nothing. Or worse than nothing.
When my computer ran slower and slower, some parts of my website disappeared, and question marks appeared all over my website homepage, I yelped for help. Should have yelped sooner, but better late than never. Asked my website manager what he uses. He uses Lavasoft’s PROFESSIONAL program of Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch. I bought it, and it found 17 pieces of spyware (Alexas and tracking cookies), plus a possible browser hijack attempt. (The techie said, “That’s nothing. They found 83 pieces of spyware on mine!” But then he’s a pro.) Ad-Aware removed all the problems except the question marks on my website home page, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html. These are probably due to the attempted hijack. I’m stuck with them. Fortunately they don’t show on any computer except mine.
If you want to lead a simple life, come here to http://lavasoft.com and download their PROFESSIONAL type of Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch.
If you prefer an in-depth investigation of anti-spyware,
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119572,00.asp can help you. They’ve tested most of the anti-spyware out there, though I must say that Ad-Aware’s pro version was not tested, only the pc version.
Just don’t wait until you’re in big trouble. Do something now!
IF YOU’VE BEEN HIJACKED
A good, basic article can be found by going to http://www.apcug.net/Reports/Editorial/2004.htm. Scroll down to September 2004 and download “Help! I’ve Been Hijacked . . .”
Another good article is, “How to Remove Adware and Spyware,” http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/removespyware.htm.
You might also read “Invasion of the Browser Snatchers” at
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,84464,tk,dn021402X,00.asp. The article will explain how to undo the damage -- although some hijack damage can’t be removed that easily.
MORE INFORMATION
Here are more good sources of spyware information:
http://www.scumware.com/ - a website about nothing else but.
http://www2.spywareinfo.com/category/news/ has fascinating current Internet security news flashes, which you will enjoy if you like to feel that civilization as we know it is under constant threat.
About the author:
Find the best recipe, food gift, and healthy dieting sites in Janette Blackwell’s Delightful Food Directory, http://delightfulfood.com/main.htmlOr enjoy her country cooking at Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html
Circulated by Article Emporium
Please . . . it’s not that bad. Though, come to think of it, it’s ALMOST that bad: hijackers can now do things to people who already have antivirus and anti-spyware programs. To people who have carefully NOT clicked on scam e-mails. Some hijackers can disable your firewall, your antivirus software, and your spyware killers. Or they can prevent antivirus and spyware from being updated.
But there are solutions. Here’s what you do:
HIJACKINGS
You know you’ve been hijacked if your start page is different and if you keep getting things you didn’t intend to get -- frequently pornographic sites and popup ads. You change things back the way they were, but they won’t stay changed.
These nasties nabbed you through a security hole in Microsoft Windows. If you haven’t been caught and don’t want to be, http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked/prevent.php says,
“First and most simply, stop using Internet Explorer. If you use either Mozilla, Firefox or Opera, you are immune to virtually all browser hijackers.”
Actually, it’s not that simple. There are ways scammers can get around Firefox. Microsoft is also busy locking its barn doors, though I’m afraid the horse has already been stolen.
If you decide to stay with Internet Explorer, be sure to keep it up to date, especially with what they call “critical updates.”
PREVENTING ATTACKS
The most basic and most necessary protection, one you’ve probably installed already, is antivirus protection. The antivirus programs upgrade constantly to protect us from the latest viruses. Norton is the most common, and a good choice. If you prefer a simple, uncomplicated solution, go to the site that sells Norton, http://symantec.com/, and download all the antivirus protection you want.
If you’re a thorough person, however, one who wants to learn about all the options, go to http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/, and you will learn of problems and solutions you never dreamed existed.
WHAT YOU GET FOR NOTHING IS NOTHING -- OR WORSE
Unfortunately, an antivirus program alone is not enough these days. You need ANTI-SPYWARE.
Because the latest hijackers can disable anti-spyware -- AND keep you from downloading updates -- you want some that is really, really good. The techie who manages my website says, “Get something that can WARD OFF attacks, not just remove them after they’ve infected you. Once really vicious spyware is on your machine, it may be impossible for anyone but an expert to remove it.”
“But what about all the free anti-spyware?” you ask. If you go to http://www.apcug.net/Reports/Editorial/2004.htm, you’ll see under December 2004 an article “Beware of SCUMWARE Pretending to be Anti-Spyware” which tells one man’s experience. Sometimes what you get for nothing is nothing. Or worse than nothing.
When my computer ran slower and slower, some parts of my website disappeared, and question marks appeared all over my website homepage, I yelped for help. Should have yelped sooner, but better late than never. Asked my website manager what he uses. He uses Lavasoft’s PROFESSIONAL program of Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch. I bought it, and it found 17 pieces of spyware (Alexas and tracking cookies), plus a possible browser hijack attempt. (The techie said, “That’s nothing. They found 83 pieces of spyware on mine!” But then he’s a pro.) Ad-Aware removed all the problems except the question marks on my website home page, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html. These are probably due to the attempted hijack. I’m stuck with them. Fortunately they don’t show on any computer except mine.
If you want to lead a simple life, come here to http://lavasoft.com and download their PROFESSIONAL type of Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch.
If you prefer an in-depth investigation of anti-spyware,
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119572,00.asp can help you. They’ve tested most of the anti-spyware out there, though I must say that Ad-Aware’s pro version was not tested, only the pc version.
Just don’t wait until you’re in big trouble. Do something now!
IF YOU’VE BEEN HIJACKED
A good, basic article can be found by going to http://www.apcug.net/Reports/Editorial/2004.htm. Scroll down to September 2004 and download “Help! I’ve Been Hijacked . . .”
Another good article is, “How to Remove Adware and Spyware,” http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/removespyware.htm.
You might also read “Invasion of the Browser Snatchers” at
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,84464,tk,dn021402X,00.asp. The article will explain how to undo the damage -- although some hijack damage can’t be removed that easily.
MORE INFORMATION
Here are more good sources of spyware information:
http://www.scumware.com/ - a website about nothing else but.
http://www2.spywareinfo.com/category/news/ has fascinating current Internet security news flashes, which you will enjoy if you like to feel that civilization as we know it is under constant threat.
About the author:
Find the best recipe, food gift, and healthy dieting sites in Janette Blackwell’s Delightful Food Directory, http://delightfulfood.com/main.htmlOr enjoy her country cooking at Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html
Circulated by Article Emporium
Internet Scams 101 -- Attacking You Through Your E-mail
The Internet is filled with scams, and eventually they wind up in your e-mail box. The ingenuity of these people is astonishing. Their goal is usually to get you to click on an e-mail attachment, so they can infect your computer with a virus, a tracking cookie, and/or a trojan horse.
• COMPUTER VIRUSES strike fear into all our hearts. When a particularly vicious virus comes out, announcements are made on television and in newspapers. For a good discussion of computer viruses, go to http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm.
• A COOKIE can be perfectly aboveboard and even helpful. For example, when you visit Amazon.com, you get a cookie which enables their computer to recognize you when you return and to remember the sort of thing you’re interested in. TRACKING COOKIES, on the other hand, record the places you go online and what links you click on, telling advertisers what type of ads should be aimed at you. It’s true, they won’t transmit a virus, but who wants an Internet bloodhound baying on their trail? Good anti-spyware will remove tracking cookies.
• A TROJAN HORSE pretends to be something it is not, such as an e-mail from a friend or something you’ve ordered. The text of the e-mail may say, “Here is the information you wanted.” Or, “Keep this as a secret between you and me.” Or, “You’ve just won our grand prize!” Anything to make you click on that attachment. Once you do, the trojan horse takes over your computer. It can do any malicious thing it wants, from erasing files to changing your desktop. It then propagates by sending itself to other people in your address book.
A good friend just had his Internet address list stolen, and I’ve been getting messages supposedly from him ever since. They all want me to click on an attachment to the e-mail. I e-mailed asking him if he’d sent that message. He had not.
Even if you’re smart enough not to click on a trojan horse attachment yourself, one of the friends on your address list may do so, your address will then be stolen, and off you go into the underworld.
Once scammers get your e-mail address, they may use it to send malicious e-mails to thousands of people in your name. I usually discover this when I get “I’m out of the office” automatic responder messages from people I never heard of. It’s frustrating, but I know it isn’t my fault.
• Anti-scam rule 1: Never click on an attachment from a good friend unless you are positive the friend sent it. It takes only a minute to click on “Reply” and ask the friend, “Did you really send this?”
• Anti-scam rule 2: Never double-click on an e-mail attachment that contains an executable, such as an EXE, COM or VBS suffix. Once you click on it, an executable can do any sort of damage it wants. (Enough people now know this to make the scammer say, “This attachment is virus-free.” If you believe that, I’ve got a nice bridge I’d like to sell you.)
• Anti-scam rule 3: Your computer CANNOT be infected by an e-mail attachment unless you click on the attachment. If you simply delete the suspicious message without clicking on a link or the attachment, you’re okay.
REAL CHUTZPAH
It’s so awful it’s funny, but after the scammers have used your stolen address to scam thousands, they have one more scam up their sleeves. This is the message they sent me:
“Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of spam during this week. Obviously, your computer was compromised and now contains a trojan proxy server. Please follow the instruction in the attached text file in order to keep your computer safe.
Sincerely yours,
The foodandfiction.com team.”
My first thought was, “How nice. These people are sympathetic to my problem and want to help me.” And then I thought, “Wait a minute! This message is supposedly from the foodandfiction.com team. Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com, is me, myself, and I, and I never sent that message.” Of course, if my e-mail address had been, say, AOL, the message would have been signed, “the AOL.com team.” I might have thought the dear folks at AOL were trying to help me, and I’d have clicked on that attachment. Which was of course from the scammer, not AOL, and would have infected me.
• Anti-scam rule 4: Having your address stolen does NOT infect you with a virus or trojan horse. If you don’t open suspicious attachments, you are all right -- though you may want to warn your friends that they’ll be getting attachments pretending to be from you, which attachments will infect them if they open them.
Coming next: an article on hijackings and spyware.
About the author:
Find the best recipe, food gift, and healthy dieting sites on Janette Blackwell’s Delightful Food Directory, http://delightfulfood.com/main.htmlOr enjoy her country cooking at Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html
Circulated by Article Emporium
• COMPUTER VIRUSES strike fear into all our hearts. When a particularly vicious virus comes out, announcements are made on television and in newspapers. For a good discussion of computer viruses, go to http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm.
• A COOKIE can be perfectly aboveboard and even helpful. For example, when you visit Amazon.com, you get a cookie which enables their computer to recognize you when you return and to remember the sort of thing you’re interested in. TRACKING COOKIES, on the other hand, record the places you go online and what links you click on, telling advertisers what type of ads should be aimed at you. It’s true, they won’t transmit a virus, but who wants an Internet bloodhound baying on their trail? Good anti-spyware will remove tracking cookies.
• A TROJAN HORSE pretends to be something it is not, such as an e-mail from a friend or something you’ve ordered. The text of the e-mail may say, “Here is the information you wanted.” Or, “Keep this as a secret between you and me.” Or, “You’ve just won our grand prize!” Anything to make you click on that attachment. Once you do, the trojan horse takes over your computer. It can do any malicious thing it wants, from erasing files to changing your desktop. It then propagates by sending itself to other people in your address book.
A good friend just had his Internet address list stolen, and I’ve been getting messages supposedly from him ever since. They all want me to click on an attachment to the e-mail. I e-mailed asking him if he’d sent that message. He had not.
Even if you’re smart enough not to click on a trojan horse attachment yourself, one of the friends on your address list may do so, your address will then be stolen, and off you go into the underworld.
Once scammers get your e-mail address, they may use it to send malicious e-mails to thousands of people in your name. I usually discover this when I get “I’m out of the office” automatic responder messages from people I never heard of. It’s frustrating, but I know it isn’t my fault.
• Anti-scam rule 1: Never click on an attachment from a good friend unless you are positive the friend sent it. It takes only a minute to click on “Reply” and ask the friend, “Did you really send this?”
• Anti-scam rule 2: Never double-click on an e-mail attachment that contains an executable, such as an EXE, COM or VBS suffix. Once you click on it, an executable can do any sort of damage it wants. (Enough people now know this to make the scammer say, “This attachment is virus-free.” If you believe that, I’ve got a nice bridge I’d like to sell you.)
• Anti-scam rule 3: Your computer CANNOT be infected by an e-mail attachment unless you click on the attachment. If you simply delete the suspicious message without clicking on a link or the attachment, you’re okay.
REAL CHUTZPAH
It’s so awful it’s funny, but after the scammers have used your stolen address to scam thousands, they have one more scam up their sleeves. This is the message they sent me:
“Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of spam during this week. Obviously, your computer was compromised and now contains a trojan proxy server. Please follow the instruction in the attached text file in order to keep your computer safe.
Sincerely yours,
The foodandfiction.com team.”
My first thought was, “How nice. These people are sympathetic to my problem and want to help me.” And then I thought, “Wait a minute! This message is supposedly from the foodandfiction.com team. Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com, is me, myself, and I, and I never sent that message.” Of course, if my e-mail address had been, say, AOL, the message would have been signed, “the AOL.com team.” I might have thought the dear folks at AOL were trying to help me, and I’d have clicked on that attachment. Which was of course from the scammer, not AOL, and would have infected me.
• Anti-scam rule 4: Having your address stolen does NOT infect you with a virus or trojan horse. If you don’t open suspicious attachments, you are all right -- though you may want to warn your friends that they’ll be getting attachments pretending to be from you, which attachments will infect them if they open them.
Coming next: an article on hijackings and spyware.
About the author:
Find the best recipe, food gift, and healthy dieting sites on Janette Blackwell’s Delightful Food Directory, http://delightfulfood.com/main.htmlOr enjoy her country cooking at Food and Fiction, http://foodandfiction.com/Entrance.html
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Identity Theft - Is The Internet A Major Factor?
Identity theft – also known as ID theft, identity fraud and ID fraud – describes a type of fraud where a criminal adopts someone else’s identity in order to profit illegally. It is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in many developed countries.
In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500ach year and, according to Which Magazine, 25f the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.
In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being $52.6 billion.
With figures like this, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of concern regarding computer and internet security. After all, the internet is basically a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some of the information exchanged may be more than intended is never far from many internet user’s minds.
It’s easy to imagine criminal masterminds worldwide using the internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their devilishly cunning schemes. However, as revealed in the report, the facts of the matter are a little more down to earth and the internet, far from making you more at risk to identity theft, can help to significantly cut your losses if you do fall victim this form of fraud.
According to the Better Business Bureau’s research the main methods by which criminals gain access to information used for identity theft fraud are as below:
Lost or stolen wallet, chequebook or credit card. 28.8Ú
Accessed as part of a transaction. 12.9
Accessed by friend, acquaintance or relative. 11.4Ú
Don't know, refused, no answer. 11.1Ú
Information accessed by corrupt employee. 8.7Ú
Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0Ú
Obtained some other way. 7.4Ú
Computer spyware. 5.2Ú
Information stolen from garbage. 2.6Ú
Computer viruses and/or hackers. 2.2Ú
Emails sent by criminals posing as legitimate business. 1.7Ú
* 12.9 ue to transactions – 10.4ffline transactions, 2.5nline transactions.
In total, when the instances where information was accessed during transactions are subdivided into online and offline transactions, only 11.6f the information used to carry out identity theft fraud was obtained from computers.
Of this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking – the risk of which can be greatly reduced by installing the appropriate protection software and ensuring that this is kept up to date.
Not only did the survey reveal that the internet was not a major source of illegally obtained personal information, but it was also found that those fraud victims who checked their financial records using the internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses which were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts. This very significant reduction was attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud due to “real time” monitoring.
Of course, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t exercise caution when using the internet or take care to protect the personal information which you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and spyware protection, and keep this continually updated the internet can should be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to avoiding identity fraud.
About the author:
Hamish Hayward - Don't become a victim of ID theft. Get the facts. http://www.id-theft-info.com
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In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500ach year and, according to Which Magazine, 25f the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.
In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being $52.6 billion.
With figures like this, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of concern regarding computer and internet security. After all, the internet is basically a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some of the information exchanged may be more than intended is never far from many internet user’s minds.
It’s easy to imagine criminal masterminds worldwide using the internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their devilishly cunning schemes. However, as revealed in the report, the facts of the matter are a little more down to earth and the internet, far from making you more at risk to identity theft, can help to significantly cut your losses if you do fall victim this form of fraud.
According to the Better Business Bureau’s research the main methods by which criminals gain access to information used for identity theft fraud are as below:
Lost or stolen wallet, chequebook or credit card. 28.8Ú
Accessed as part of a transaction. 12.9
Accessed by friend, acquaintance or relative. 11.4Ú
Don't know, refused, no answer. 11.1Ú
Information accessed by corrupt employee. 8.7Ú
Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0Ú
Obtained some other way. 7.4Ú
Computer spyware. 5.2Ú
Information stolen from garbage. 2.6Ú
Computer viruses and/or hackers. 2.2Ú
Emails sent by criminals posing as legitimate business. 1.7Ú
* 12.9 ue to transactions – 10.4ffline transactions, 2.5nline transactions.
In total, when the instances where information was accessed during transactions are subdivided into online and offline transactions, only 11.6f the information used to carry out identity theft fraud was obtained from computers.
Of this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking – the risk of which can be greatly reduced by installing the appropriate protection software and ensuring that this is kept up to date.
Not only did the survey reveal that the internet was not a major source of illegally obtained personal information, but it was also found that those fraud victims who checked their financial records using the internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses which were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts. This very significant reduction was attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud due to “real time” monitoring.
Of course, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t exercise caution when using the internet or take care to protect the personal information which you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and spyware protection, and keep this continually updated the internet can should be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to avoiding identity fraud.
About the author:
Hamish Hayward - Don't become a victim of ID theft. Get the facts. http://www.id-theft-info.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
Identity Theft - Don't blame The Internet
Identity theft – also known as ID theft, identity fraud and ID fraud – describes a type of fraud where a criminal adopts someone else’s identity in order to profit illegally. It is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in many developed countries.
In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500% each year and, according to Which Magazine, 25% of the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.
In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being estimated at $52.6 billion.
With figures like this, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of concern regarding computer and internet security. After all, the internet is basically a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some of the information exchanged may be more than intended is never far from many internet user’s minds.
It’s easy to imagine criminal masterminds worldwide using the internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their devilishly cunning schemes. However, as revealed in the report, the facts of the matter are a little more down to earth and the internet, far from making you more at risk to identity theft, can help to significantly cut your losses if you do fall victim this form of fraud.
According to the Better Business Bureau’s research the main methods by which criminals gain access to information used for identity theft fraud are as below:
Lost or stolen wallet, chequebook or credit card. 28.8%
Accessed as part of a transaction. 12.9%*
Accessed by friend, acquaintance or relative. 11.4%
Don't know, refused, no answer. 11.1%
Information accessed by corrupt employee. 8.7%
Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0%
Obtained some other way. 7.4%
Computer spyware. 5.2%
Information stolen from garbage. 2.6%
Computer viruses and/or hackers. 2.2%
Emails sent by criminals posing as legitimate business. 1.7%
* 12.9% due to transactions – 10.4% offline transactions, 2.5% online transactions.
In total, when the instances where information was accessed during transactions are subdivided into online and offline transactions, only 11.6% of the information used to carry out identity theft fraud was obtained from computers.
Of this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking – the risk of which can be greatly reduced by installing the appropriate protection software and ensuring that this is kept up to date.
Not only did the survey reveal that the internet was not a major source of illegally obtained personal information, but it was also found that those fraud victims who checked their financial records using the internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses which were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts. This very significant reduction was attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud due to “real time” monitoring.
Of course, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t exercise caution when using the internet or take care to protect the personal information which you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and spyware protection, and keep this continually updated the internet can should be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to avoiding identity fraud.
About the author:
Hamish Hayward
Don't become a victim of identity theft. Get the facts.
http://www.id-theft-info.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500% each year and, according to Which Magazine, 25% of the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.
In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being estimated at $52.6 billion.
With figures like this, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of concern regarding computer and internet security. After all, the internet is basically a mechanism for exchanging information and the possibility that some of the information exchanged may be more than intended is never far from many internet user’s minds.
It’s easy to imagine criminal masterminds worldwide using the internet to hack into computers in order to gain access to information with which to advance their devilishly cunning schemes. However, as revealed in the report, the facts of the matter are a little more down to earth and the internet, far from making you more at risk to identity theft, can help to significantly cut your losses if you do fall victim this form of fraud.
According to the Better Business Bureau’s research the main methods by which criminals gain access to information used for identity theft fraud are as below:
Lost or stolen wallet, chequebook or credit card. 28.8%
Accessed as part of a transaction. 12.9%*
Accessed by friend, acquaintance or relative. 11.4%
Don't know, refused, no answer. 11.1%
Information accessed by corrupt employee. 8.7%
Stolen paper mail or fraudulent change of address. 8.0%
Obtained some other way. 7.4%
Computer spyware. 5.2%
Information stolen from garbage. 2.6%
Computer viruses and/or hackers. 2.2%
Emails sent by criminals posing as legitimate business. 1.7%
* 12.9% due to transactions – 10.4% offline transactions, 2.5% online transactions.
In total, when the instances where information was accessed during transactions are subdivided into online and offline transactions, only 11.6% of the information used to carry out identity theft fraud was obtained from computers.
Of this more than half was obtained by the use of spyware, viruses or hacking – the risk of which can be greatly reduced by installing the appropriate protection software and ensuring that this is kept up to date.
Not only did the survey reveal that the internet was not a major source of illegally obtained personal information, but it was also found that those fraud victims who checked their financial records using the internet, ATM machines or other electronic methods suffered financial losses which were, on average, 8 times lower than those of victims who used traditional paper statements to monitor their accounts. This very significant reduction was attributed to the rapid discovery of the fraud due to “real time” monitoring.
Of course, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t exercise caution when using the internet or take care to protect the personal information which you may have stored on your PC. However, as long as you install suitable virus, firewall and spyware protection, and keep this continually updated the internet can should be more of a help than a hindrance when it comes to avoiding identity fraud.
About the author:
Hamish Hayward
Don't become a victim of identity theft. Get the facts.
http://www.id-theft-info.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
How To Use Spyware Elimination Software
Spyware elimination software is designed to detect and
eliminate spyware. A large number of spyware elimination
software products are available. Some of them are available
as freeware and some as shareware. Shareware can be used
for a specified period, usually 30 days.
One must evaluate and compare the features of different
spyware elimination software products before selecting one.
Some of the features of an effective spyware elimination
software product are:
* It should give a list of detected spyware, to enable
users to allow them to decide, about which ones they want
to delete.
* Auto update ensures that the software automatically
downloads the latest spyware definition file.
* Auto scheduling means that the system is scanned for
spyware at defined intervals automatically.
* The "undo" facility allows the user to remedy accidental
deletion of useful files.
* The product should provide real-time protection. It
should prevent installation of spyware, instead of just
deleting it when it is detected.
* The software should be effective in detecting and
deleting, the different types of spyware.
* The product should be easy to download, install, navigate
and use.
* Product support ensures that there is someone you can
call or e-mail, whenever you have a problem.
* The right spyware elimination software will ensure your
privacy and keep your computer free of advertisements.
Some of the most popular spyware elimination software
products are: Spyware Eliminator, Spyware Doctor, MS
AntiSpyware, McAfee, Pest Patrol, Spy Sweeper, Counterspy,
Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy etc.
The most popular personal firewalls include McAfee
Firewall, Norman Firewall, Windows Firewall, Surf Secret,
Sygate Firewall, Zone Alarm, Outpost Pro, and Norton
Firewall etc.
Spyware Eliminator
Spyware Eliminator is one of the most popular spyware
elimination software products. It also provides you with
anti-virus and anti-Spam capability and prevents malicious
software from entering your PC.
It gives users specific threat recommendations and its
consumer ware facility identifies legitimate ad ware
companies and their software. The user then has the option
to delete this software or to keep it. Spyware Eliminator
is particularly effective in dealing with cleverly
concealed, self re-generating spyware and adware.
===========================================================
Click to find a daily updated blog of articles and news
about spyware ! Get advice and information about how to
protect your computer from attack, and disinfect it.. Click
http://www.spyware-101.com/
About the author:
Philippa Smith runs a home business in los angeles. The
constant attacks on here computer caused her to learn all
about spyware & viruses, and how to deal with them.
Circulated by Article Emporium
eliminate spyware. A large number of spyware elimination
software products are available. Some of them are available
as freeware and some as shareware. Shareware can be used
for a specified period, usually 30 days.
One must evaluate and compare the features of different
spyware elimination software products before selecting one.
Some of the features of an effective spyware elimination
software product are:
* It should give a list of detected spyware, to enable
users to allow them to decide, about which ones they want
to delete.
* Auto update ensures that the software automatically
downloads the latest spyware definition file.
* Auto scheduling means that the system is scanned for
spyware at defined intervals automatically.
* The "undo" facility allows the user to remedy accidental
deletion of useful files.
* The product should provide real-time protection. It
should prevent installation of spyware, instead of just
deleting it when it is detected.
* The software should be effective in detecting and
deleting, the different types of spyware.
* The product should be easy to download, install, navigate
and use.
* Product support ensures that there is someone you can
call or e-mail, whenever you have a problem.
* The right spyware elimination software will ensure your
privacy and keep your computer free of advertisements.
Some of the most popular spyware elimination software
products are: Spyware Eliminator, Spyware Doctor, MS
AntiSpyware, McAfee, Pest Patrol, Spy Sweeper, Counterspy,
Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy etc.
The most popular personal firewalls include McAfee
Firewall, Norman Firewall, Windows Firewall, Surf Secret,
Sygate Firewall, Zone Alarm, Outpost Pro, and Norton
Firewall etc.
Spyware Eliminator
Spyware Eliminator is one of the most popular spyware
elimination software products. It also provides you with
anti-virus and anti-Spam capability and prevents malicious
software from entering your PC.
It gives users specific threat recommendations and its
consumer ware facility identifies legitimate ad ware
companies and their software. The user then has the option
to delete this software or to keep it. Spyware Eliminator
is particularly effective in dealing with cleverly
concealed, self re-generating spyware and adware.
===========================================================
Click to find a daily updated blog of articles and news
about spyware ! Get advice and information about how to
protect your computer from attack, and disinfect it.. Click
http://www.spyware-101.com/
About the author:
Philippa Smith runs a home business in los angeles. The
constant attacks on here computer caused her to learn all
about spyware & viruses, and how to deal with them.
Circulated by Article Emporium
How to thwart the Barbarian Spyware!
Today,on most internet user's computers, we have the
ability to employ software, along with our
intelligence, to prevent viruses and spyware.
To put this article into proper perspective, we'll use
Medieval defense tactics.
This is accomplished by 3 methods. First, a firewall...
'The Castle Moat' so to speak. A firewall can't see
inside your computer beforehand though, so if any viruses
or spyware were present before the firewall was installed
then its of no use. Of course, its extremely good at preventing new
attacks.
Second, a anti-virus program.... 'The Castle Drawbridge!
They will not provide much help with spyware, but good
virus protection is as desirable as one of Avaris's
dreams! One drawback can be the updates, of course.If
you've just updated Wednesday night and a virus hits the
next day, then you may not be protected till next
Wednesday night, and by then it may be too late. If you're
smart, you will have signed up for email alerts with
the provider, or even better, you'll have a anti-virus
program that has a real time update feature. I get the
tingles when I see that little pop-up saying a update
is available and click here. Its downloaded ,installed,
and updated in about 20 seconds! A new virus or Trojan or
God forbid, a new keylogger can hit the internet and spread
in a matter of days, and I'm sure this must make the definition
writers lives a living hell. I have great admiration for
them as they could have been wealthy doctors, but they have
chosen to help us... the end users. (moment of silence here)
Last, we have anti-spyware programs,'The Flaming oil'! (my favorite).
Their update features are like the anti-virus programs,
so you have to be as vigilant with this method of defense
too as you would be with the others. I've heard there are
people out there that don't even know when their
updates run, or even if its configured to do so! I
refuse to believe this sordid rumor!
So you've got your defenses set up, you're looking good.
But the best defense is a good offense, attack!
That's what some organizations do. They prowl the net
looking for websites that harbor drive-by downloads,
URL Re-Directing and such. When they find them, they
shut them down, or report them so effective protection
can be manufactured. These people have my sincere
thanks for what they do. With identity theft on the
rise and Websense reporting that the average computer
has 28 items of Spyware on it, we need all the help we
can get. Oh sure, you're saying not my computer !
Well, lets discuss those little boxes that you click
"I Agree" to when you download something. Do you read
the entire statement? This is one way spyware has
become so rampant, because so many downloads have extra
software included in them. These can be harmful to
your computers well being. KeyLoggers, popups, adware, malware...
Need I go on?
So my idea is that we need these shining knights from the
castle to journey forth on a quest. They will be
little robots or spiders like the search engines use.
They will be given absolute power over harmful
programs they find. They will be like Gort in the
movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
Dell recently reported that 12% of their calls were
for spyware damage, Microsoft says half of their
reports of system crashes are caused by spyware. These
calls cost these companies millions of dollars in
revenue, which they then pass the costs of onto us,
the consumers.
Who knows, if viruses and spyware ever get controlled,
the average computer may only cost a dollar!
About the author:
About the Author: Doug Woodall has a web site at http://www.spywarebiz.com
There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware.
His Website is recognized by Learning Fountain and ISafe
Doug's Articles have earned him Trusted Author Status at ImpactArticles.com
He is a member of the IWA (International Webmasters Association)
Article edited for proper content by Wendy McCallum
Permission to copy ok as long as about author info remains with article.
Copyright 2005 SpywareBiz
Circulated by Article Emporium
ability to employ software, along with our
intelligence, to prevent viruses and spyware.
To put this article into proper perspective, we'll use
Medieval defense tactics.
This is accomplished by 3 methods. First, a firewall...
'The Castle Moat' so to speak. A firewall can't see
inside your computer beforehand though, so if any viruses
or spyware were present before the firewall was installed
then its of no use. Of course, its extremely good at preventing new
attacks.
Second, a anti-virus program.... 'The Castle Drawbridge!
They will not provide much help with spyware, but good
virus protection is as desirable as one of Avaris's
dreams! One drawback can be the updates, of course.If
you've just updated Wednesday night and a virus hits the
next day, then you may not be protected till next
Wednesday night, and by then it may be too late. If you're
smart, you will have signed up for email alerts with
the provider, or even better, you'll have a anti-virus
program that has a real time update feature. I get the
tingles when I see that little pop-up saying a update
is available and click here. Its downloaded ,installed,
and updated in about 20 seconds! A new virus or Trojan or
God forbid, a new keylogger can hit the internet and spread
in a matter of days, and I'm sure this must make the definition
writers lives a living hell. I have great admiration for
them as they could have been wealthy doctors, but they have
chosen to help us... the end users. (moment of silence here)
Last, we have anti-spyware programs,'The Flaming oil'! (my favorite).
Their update features are like the anti-virus programs,
so you have to be as vigilant with this method of defense
too as you would be with the others. I've heard there are
people out there that don't even know when their
updates run, or even if its configured to do so! I
refuse to believe this sordid rumor!
So you've got your defenses set up, you're looking good.
But the best defense is a good offense, attack!
That's what some organizations do. They prowl the net
looking for websites that harbor drive-by downloads,
URL Re-Directing and such. When they find them, they
shut them down, or report them so effective protection
can be manufactured. These people have my sincere
thanks for what they do. With identity theft on the
rise and Websense reporting that the average computer
has 28 items of Spyware on it, we need all the help we
can get. Oh sure, you're saying not my computer !
Well, lets discuss those little boxes that you click
"I Agree" to when you download something. Do you read
the entire statement? This is one way spyware has
become so rampant, because so many downloads have extra
software included in them. These can be harmful to
your computers well being. KeyLoggers, popups, adware, malware...
Need I go on?
So my idea is that we need these shining knights from the
castle to journey forth on a quest. They will be
little robots or spiders like the search engines use.
They will be given absolute power over harmful
programs they find. They will be like Gort in the
movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
Dell recently reported that 12% of their calls were
for spyware damage, Microsoft says half of their
reports of system crashes are caused by spyware. These
calls cost these companies millions of dollars in
revenue, which they then pass the costs of onto us,
the consumers.
Who knows, if viruses and spyware ever get controlled,
the average computer may only cost a dollar!
About the author:
About the Author: Doug Woodall has a web site at http://www.spywarebiz.com
There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware.
His Website is recognized by Learning Fountain and ISafe
Doug's Articles have earned him Trusted Author Status at ImpactArticles.com
He is a member of the IWA (International Webmasters Association)
Article edited for proper content by Wendy McCallum
Permission to copy ok as long as about author info remains with article.
Copyright 2005 SpywareBiz
Circulated by Article Emporium
How To Stop Spyware From Robbing You
Booting up the computer in the morning seems to be taking
longer and longer. The pauses between asking for a web page
and it loading increase. Suddenly, even keystrokes aren't
registering on the screen as quickly as normal. Is your PC
on the verge of a breakdown or has some version of spyware
made a nest for itself on your machine?
The average user doesn't contemplate that the numerous
websites, free offers, giveaways or games they surf in a
day will damage their computer. And, nor does this average
surfer believe they could be downloading potentially
hazardous software that is going to cause their computer to
go on the blink, eternally.
The Internet is teeming with fantastic websites,
information, tools and interactive activities. Some of
these cost real money and some don't. It's easy to take a
freebie and feel like you got the better deal, but when a
lot of freebies come packaged with spyware to infect your
machine, the free price tag isn't really worth it in the
long run.
Spyware is an umbrella term covering malware, adware,
viruses and worms. Virtually any type of software (benign
or malicious) will track, record and send your activities
(online and off) back to its source. Similarly, in the
beginning, adware was designed with the idea of preventing
end users from being besieged by unwanted advertisements.
However, those more interested in harvesting your personal
data, whether it is credit card numbers or other personal
information, have unfortunately warped the idea.
Prevention is the best remedy for all of these ills. Good
anti-virus software, effective firewalls and reputable
anti-spyware tools can save you time, money and a lot of
headaches later. Most users don't think it can happen to
them, yet the best viruses and worms are so insidious, you
don't even realize it is happening at first.
Benign programs that just want to know the type of items
for which you like to shop, can interfere with your
Internet connection, overwork your CPU and even tie up
valuable RAM. While it may not 'mean' harm, it will become
a nuisance when left unchecked.
With the numerous anti-spyware tools available on the
Internet and in your software stores, it doesn't make sense
to stick your head in the sand. Ignoring problems on your
computer doesn't make them go away. Because spyware can
come in so many forms and be potentially fatal, it doesn't
make good sense to allow it the opportunity to inflict
damage before doing something about it.
Comparison-shop the various available anti-spyware tools.
There are many sites that cover current information on the
anti-spyware upgrades and latest problems. Educate
yourself to your options so that you can invest in the type
of software that will work for you.
===========================================================
Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest
discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest
removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily
updated blog of spyware news and articles. Click
http://www.spyware-revealed.com/
About the author:
Tom Jenson has worked in software development for 20 years.
He's seen spyware develop from an occasional problem, to a
daily, hourly threat to all pc's. He made it a mission to
research these threats, and work out how best to combat
them. Now this series of article helps others protect
their computers too.
Circulated by Article Emporium
longer and longer. The pauses between asking for a web page
and it loading increase. Suddenly, even keystrokes aren't
registering on the screen as quickly as normal. Is your PC
on the verge of a breakdown or has some version of spyware
made a nest for itself on your machine?
The average user doesn't contemplate that the numerous
websites, free offers, giveaways or games they surf in a
day will damage their computer. And, nor does this average
surfer believe they could be downloading potentially
hazardous software that is going to cause their computer to
go on the blink, eternally.
The Internet is teeming with fantastic websites,
information, tools and interactive activities. Some of
these cost real money and some don't. It's easy to take a
freebie and feel like you got the better deal, but when a
lot of freebies come packaged with spyware to infect your
machine, the free price tag isn't really worth it in the
long run.
Spyware is an umbrella term covering malware, adware,
viruses and worms. Virtually any type of software (benign
or malicious) will track, record and send your activities
(online and off) back to its source. Similarly, in the
beginning, adware was designed with the idea of preventing
end users from being besieged by unwanted advertisements.
However, those more interested in harvesting your personal
data, whether it is credit card numbers or other personal
information, have unfortunately warped the idea.
Prevention is the best remedy for all of these ills. Good
anti-virus software, effective firewalls and reputable
anti-spyware tools can save you time, money and a lot of
headaches later. Most users don't think it can happen to
them, yet the best viruses and worms are so insidious, you
don't even realize it is happening at first.
Benign programs that just want to know the type of items
for which you like to shop, can interfere with your
Internet connection, overwork your CPU and even tie up
valuable RAM. While it may not 'mean' harm, it will become
a nuisance when left unchecked.
With the numerous anti-spyware tools available on the
Internet and in your software stores, it doesn't make sense
to stick your head in the sand. Ignoring problems on your
computer doesn't make them go away. Because spyware can
come in so many forms and be potentially fatal, it doesn't
make good sense to allow it the opportunity to inflict
damage before doing something about it.
Comparison-shop the various available anti-spyware tools.
There are many sites that cover current information on the
anti-spyware upgrades and latest problems. Educate
yourself to your options so that you can invest in the type
of software that will work for you.
===========================================================
Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest
discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest
removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily
updated blog of spyware news and articles. Click
http://www.spyware-revealed.com/
About the author:
Tom Jenson has worked in software development for 20 years.
He's seen spyware develop from an occasional problem, to a
daily, hourly threat to all pc's. He made it a mission to
research these threats, and work out how best to combat
them. Now this series of article helps others protect
their computers too.
Circulated by Article Emporium
How To Remove Winfixer 2005 Plus Unwanted Spyware And Adware
Spyware and adware is advertising supported software that allows its publishers to snoop on a computer user's internet activity.
It is designed to obtain information about computer users and their surfing behavior usually without their knowledge or consent. Spyware is potentially more harmful than Adware because it can record your keystrokes, history, passwords, credit card number and other confidential and private information. Besides spyware and adware, computers can also be infected with my other internet parasites such as Winfixer 2005, viruses, trojans, dialers, etc.
Spyware and adware are installed quite easily on most computers. Many spyware programs often enter computers hidden in programs such as freeware, shareware or demos. Some programs like Winfixer 2005 will often load on boot up, take up your computer memory, cause a computer to display system errors, spawn multiple pop-up windows and even shut down itself.
Why is it important to detect and remove spyware, adware and other internet parasites?
- Loss of privacy
- Reduced and slow PC performance
- Annoying pop-ups that do not go away.
- A computer's homepage can be changed.
- In severe cases, a person's sensitive and confidential information can be recorded and then subsequently misused...exposing that person to identity theft, unauthorized use of their bank account or credit card and many other problems.
How to protect against spyware:
- Download and install a spyware remover. Every week you should check for updates to install for the scanner.
This will help protect you against the latest threats.
- Use a firewall and an Anti-virus program. Many people have a direct connection the Internet and do not setup and run a firewall. This can potentially be very dangerous. Firewalls should be running to protect against many potential problems including hackers and spyware.
- Be careful about installing freeware software and downloading music online. Some spyware programs display messages asking for your permission to install the application. Read their agreements carefully as well.
- Be careful as to what sites you visit...sometimes spyware and adware can be installed on a computer simply by visiting a website.
- Use The Mozilla Firefox browser as it is less vulnerable to spyware and adware than Internet Explorer.
About the author:
Edward is the owner of http://www.theadwareremover.comwhere you can download the highest rated spyware remover for 2004. This superior anti-spyware and adware software has been downloaded over 35 million times by people in over 100 countries. It really works!
Circulated by Article Emporium
It is designed to obtain information about computer users and their surfing behavior usually without their knowledge or consent. Spyware is potentially more harmful than Adware because it can record your keystrokes, history, passwords, credit card number and other confidential and private information. Besides spyware and adware, computers can also be infected with my other internet parasites such as Winfixer 2005, viruses, trojans, dialers, etc.
Spyware and adware are installed quite easily on most computers. Many spyware programs often enter computers hidden in programs such as freeware, shareware or demos. Some programs like Winfixer 2005 will often load on boot up, take up your computer memory, cause a computer to display system errors, spawn multiple pop-up windows and even shut down itself.
Why is it important to detect and remove spyware, adware and other internet parasites?
- Loss of privacy
- Reduced and slow PC performance
- Annoying pop-ups that do not go away.
- A computer's homepage can be changed.
- In severe cases, a person's sensitive and confidential information can be recorded and then subsequently misused...exposing that person to identity theft, unauthorized use of their bank account or credit card and many other problems.
How to protect against spyware:
- Download and install a spyware remover. Every week you should check for updates to install for the scanner.
This will help protect you against the latest threats.
- Use a firewall and an Anti-virus program. Many people have a direct connection the Internet and do not setup and run a firewall. This can potentially be very dangerous. Firewalls should be running to protect against many potential problems including hackers and spyware.
- Be careful about installing freeware software and downloading music online. Some spyware programs display messages asking for your permission to install the application. Read their agreements carefully as well.
- Be careful as to what sites you visit...sometimes spyware and adware can be installed on a computer simply by visiting a website.
- Use The Mozilla Firefox browser as it is less vulnerable to spyware and adware than Internet Explorer.
About the author:
Edward is the owner of http://www.theadwareremover.comwhere you can download the highest rated spyware remover for 2004. This superior anti-spyware and adware software has been downloaded over 35 million times by people in over 100 countries. It really works!
Circulated by Article Emporium
How to reduce Computer problems?
How can I prevent Computer problems? This is a question that people have asked me many times. The entire process of reducing Computer problems can be bundled under the banner of Computer Preventive Maintenance.
It is not rocket science and you don’t have to be an IT professional to keep your PC in a good shape. Any computer user can follow guidelines I have mentioned below and can reduce their PC problems dramatically.
Use this article as a computer maintenance tutorial.
So what you should do as part of preventive maintenance?
1. Use a good anti virus program. This is the most important piece of work in preventive maintenance. Installing the anti virus program is not good enough. You should do following as well.
- Set-up the program to download and install updates automatically.
- Schedule periodic full system scans.
- Check the virus definitions date regularly and see whether it is up to date.
2. Set-up your PC to Download and install “Windows Updates” automatically.
Windows updates include Operating System patches for bugs and PC security related issues. These patches can reduce many unknown computer problems.
3. Install anti Spyware program to detect Spyware tools.
4. Install a Personal Firewall. Most of the anti virus programs are bundled with a Personal Firewalls these days. Personal firewall is a barrier between your PC and the outside world. This can prevent your PC from hackers and Spyware tools.
5. Do not download and install unknown software from Internet. This is the biggest mistake most of the PC users are doing. Some of this software can damage the Windows registry, which cause lot of errors.
6. Uninstall unnecessary programs installed in your PC.
7. Be very careful when you download music from the Internet. Always stick to one trustworthy web site.
8. Perform Scandisk periodically to check the Hard Drive.
9. Delete temporary Internet files.
Readers can find detailed information FREE on above at www.preventiveguru.com
Most of above tasks can be done while you are reading this article. So what are you waiting for? Start now.
About the author:
This article was prepared by the Webmaster of www.preventiveguru.comwho has over 10 years of experience in computer support and maintenance. Anybody can use this article for commercial or non-commercial purposes as long as the content of the article is not amended and keep a hyperlink to www.preventiveguru.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
It is not rocket science and you don’t have to be an IT professional to keep your PC in a good shape. Any computer user can follow guidelines I have mentioned below and can reduce their PC problems dramatically.
Use this article as a computer maintenance tutorial.
So what you should do as part of preventive maintenance?
1. Use a good anti virus program. This is the most important piece of work in preventive maintenance. Installing the anti virus program is not good enough. You should do following as well.
- Set-up the program to download and install updates automatically.
- Schedule periodic full system scans.
- Check the virus definitions date regularly and see whether it is up to date.
2. Set-up your PC to Download and install “Windows Updates” automatically.
Windows updates include Operating System patches for bugs and PC security related issues. These patches can reduce many unknown computer problems.
3. Install anti Spyware program to detect Spyware tools.
4. Install a Personal Firewall. Most of the anti virus programs are bundled with a Personal Firewalls these days. Personal firewall is a barrier between your PC and the outside world. This can prevent your PC from hackers and Spyware tools.
5. Do not download and install unknown software from Internet. This is the biggest mistake most of the PC users are doing. Some of this software can damage the Windows registry, which cause lot of errors.
6. Uninstall unnecessary programs installed in your PC.
7. Be very careful when you download music from the Internet. Always stick to one trustworthy web site.
8. Perform Scandisk periodically to check the Hard Drive.
9. Delete temporary Internet files.
Readers can find detailed information FREE on above at www.preventiveguru.com
Most of above tasks can be done while you are reading this article. So what are you waiting for? Start now.
About the author:
This article was prepared by the Webmaster of www.preventiveguru.comwho has over 10 years of experience in computer support and maintenance. Anybody can use this article for commercial or non-commercial purposes as long as the content of the article is not amended and keep a hyperlink to www.preventiveguru.com
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How to protect yourself from online attack
It's a jungle out there on the net, but by using these few simple tricks and traps, anybody can protect themselves from the virtual beasts that lurk there, waiting to attack the unwary.
Online security is not just for big corporations. It's true that they stand to lose more, in terms of value, than you or I, but they have sufficient reserves to be able to weather the storm, whereas the average small business or man on the street is in a much more precarious position.
Using your credit or debit card online is no longer as dangerous as it once was, but
there are other ways in which use of your computer can be made difficult, even impossible. Viruses are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many different ways in which your computer can be preyed on whilst you are online, and even after you have disconnected. Apart from worms, viruses, trojans, data miners, and keystroke loggers, there is spyware, adware and who knows what else out there. All of them trying to take advantage of you and/or your computer.
These products have many purposes. Very few of them are purely vindictive or disruptive.
For example, many viruses which install themselves onto a computer do it no harm at all. Instead, they use the email program running on the computer to send out spam, starting with everyone in the computer's address book. And although everybody I know deletes spam immediately, presumably there must be some sales, or this type of virus would be of no value to the author.
It is important to be as secure as you can, because in extreme cases, your very identity
can be stolen, and used in ways that will disadvantage you for a long time to come. And though this may be quite rare, there are many viruses or trojans which disrupt the data you have on your computer, in some cases causing so much damage that you have to reformat the disk and start again - which is fine if you have kept backups (as we have all been taught to do), but how many of us really do back our data up? We know we should do this, but when was the last time you made a complete copy of all your data?
This sort of attack tends to be at the amateur end of the scale. But if you have
children who surf the net, or you correspond with someone who has kids who surf, you are
at risk. The areas where they surf are some of the most likely sources of this type of
virus. But any of us can fall victim just by a single moment of inattention when checking
through our emails.
So how can you protect yourself from all these different threats?
- Get yourself a firewall. Sysoft offer a free personal firewall that is very good, and makes your computer invisible to many types of attack - the best defence possible.
- If you haven't got one already, install a virus-checker, such as AVG, which is available for free download and set it to start up whenever you turn on your computer.
- Schedule a daily or weekly update for your virus checker at a time when you are usually
online, but not using the computer for anything requiring 100% of its resources.
- Get a copy of Ad-Aware, available for free download, and run it once a week.
- Download and install a free copy of Spyware Blaster This will load up when you start up your computer and sit in the background, preventing access to your private data by thousands of different types of spyware. Do make sure it is regularly updated, though, or you may fall foul of a new attacker.
- Run Spybot Search and Destroy once a week to check for anything missed by your other
lines of defence.
- Even though you may have installed all these pieces of software, keep them up to date and use them religiously, it is still vital to take care with incoming emails. If you get an email which is very short and doesn't 'sound' like the person it is supposed to be from, with an attachment, DO NOT open it. Delete it straight away. If there is any doubt, still delete it, but you could email your friend and just check with them that they didn't send you anything. It is far better to be safe, and cause a tiny bit of inconvenience, than to end up trashing your hard disk.
- When making a payment online, make sure the connection is secure. Secure sites start with https:// instead of the usual http://. On IE, a yellow lock symbol will appear in the bottom right hand corner of the screen in the status bar.
- Don't make payments on public computers, such as at internet cafes, libraries and so on. You don't know how secure these are, they are very likely to be infected by keystroke recording viruses.
- In addition, if logging onto an Instant Messenger such as Yahoo or MSN on a public computer, make sure the box to remember the password is UNCHECKED, or someone could steal your identity and send offensive material to your buddies (this happened to a friend of mine).
- Finally, if it is practical, change your password regularly. However, do not fall into the trap of changing it so frequently that you cannot remember it and have to write it down or put it in a data file. That would be a lot less secure than keeping to the same password you've always had.
(To make it easy for you, I have collected links to all the above-mentioned security programs http://www.informationzone.biz/security.html
Using these tools, you can protect yourself from almost any malicious program, and if you do pick up a virus or piece of spyware, for example, you will catch it quickly, before it can do irrecoverable damage.
About the author:
About the Author:
Frann Leach, Ramsgate, Kent, UK
http://www.informationzone.biz/
Frann lives in Ramsgate, Kent, UK with her computer and her cat, Muffin. She has her own referral marketing business and is always on the lookout to recruit go-getters like herself.
Find out more at: http://www.this1works.biz
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Online security is not just for big corporations. It's true that they stand to lose more, in terms of value, than you or I, but they have sufficient reserves to be able to weather the storm, whereas the average small business or man on the street is in a much more precarious position.
Using your credit or debit card online is no longer as dangerous as it once was, but
there are other ways in which use of your computer can be made difficult, even impossible. Viruses are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many different ways in which your computer can be preyed on whilst you are online, and even after you have disconnected. Apart from worms, viruses, trojans, data miners, and keystroke loggers, there is spyware, adware and who knows what else out there. All of them trying to take advantage of you and/or your computer.
These products have many purposes. Very few of them are purely vindictive or disruptive.
For example, many viruses which install themselves onto a computer do it no harm at all. Instead, they use the email program running on the computer to send out spam, starting with everyone in the computer's address book. And although everybody I know deletes spam immediately, presumably there must be some sales, or this type of virus would be of no value to the author.
It is important to be as secure as you can, because in extreme cases, your very identity
can be stolen, and used in ways that will disadvantage you for a long time to come. And though this may be quite rare, there are many viruses or trojans which disrupt the data you have on your computer, in some cases causing so much damage that you have to reformat the disk and start again - which is fine if you have kept backups (as we have all been taught to do), but how many of us really do back our data up? We know we should do this, but when was the last time you made a complete copy of all your data?
This sort of attack tends to be at the amateur end of the scale. But if you have
children who surf the net, or you correspond with someone who has kids who surf, you are
at risk. The areas where they surf are some of the most likely sources of this type of
virus. But any of us can fall victim just by a single moment of inattention when checking
through our emails.
So how can you protect yourself from all these different threats?
- Get yourself a firewall. Sysoft offer a free personal firewall that is very good, and makes your computer invisible to many types of attack - the best defence possible.
- If you haven't got one already, install a virus-checker, such as AVG, which is available for free download and set it to start up whenever you turn on your computer.
- Schedule a daily or weekly update for your virus checker at a time when you are usually
online, but not using the computer for anything requiring 100% of its resources.
- Get a copy of Ad-Aware, available for free download, and run it once a week.
- Download and install a free copy of Spyware Blaster This will load up when you start up your computer and sit in the background, preventing access to your private data by thousands of different types of spyware. Do make sure it is regularly updated, though, or you may fall foul of a new attacker.
- Run Spybot Search and Destroy once a week to check for anything missed by your other
lines of defence.
- Even though you may have installed all these pieces of software, keep them up to date and use them religiously, it is still vital to take care with incoming emails. If you get an email which is very short and doesn't 'sound' like the person it is supposed to be from, with an attachment, DO NOT open it. Delete it straight away. If there is any doubt, still delete it, but you could email your friend and just check with them that they didn't send you anything. It is far better to be safe, and cause a tiny bit of inconvenience, than to end up trashing your hard disk.
- When making a payment online, make sure the connection is secure. Secure sites start with https:// instead of the usual http://. On IE, a yellow lock symbol will appear in the bottom right hand corner of the screen in the status bar.
- Don't make payments on public computers, such as at internet cafes, libraries and so on. You don't know how secure these are, they are very likely to be infected by keystroke recording viruses.
- In addition, if logging onto an Instant Messenger such as Yahoo or MSN on a public computer, make sure the box to remember the password is UNCHECKED, or someone could steal your identity and send offensive material to your buddies (this happened to a friend of mine).
- Finally, if it is practical, change your password regularly. However, do not fall into the trap of changing it so frequently that you cannot remember it and have to write it down or put it in a data file. That would be a lot less secure than keeping to the same password you've always had.
(To make it easy for you, I have collected links to all the above-mentioned security programs http://www.informationzone.biz/security.html
Using these tools, you can protect yourself from almost any malicious program, and if you do pick up a virus or piece of spyware, for example, you will catch it quickly, before it can do irrecoverable damage.
About the author:
About the Author:
Frann Leach, Ramsgate, Kent, UK
http://www.informationzone.biz/
Frann lives in Ramsgate, Kent, UK with her computer and her cat, Muffin. She has her own referral marketing business and is always on the lookout to recruit go-getters like herself.
Find out more at: http://www.this1works.biz
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How to Prevent Online Identity Theft
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
=====================================
Identity theft rates one of the fastest growing crimes in mAmerica today and the Internet can make it even easier for some criminals to take your good name and drag it through the mud.
Identity theft involves criminals stealing your personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers and other information, usually to buy things on credit or to empty out your bank accounts.
Through your financial liability with your credit cards may be limited to $50 to $500, it can take years for you to clean up the mess online identity thieves leave behind.
As with any crime, an ounce of prevention may just cause the would-be identity thieves to leave you alone and move on to an easier target.
The following tips can help you avoid having your identity stolen.
1. Never give out your social security number, online or otherwise. No company you buy things from needs your social security number.
If you do business on the web, obtain a a Federal Tax ID number to use instead of your social security number.
Once criminals have your social security number, along with your birth date and address, they have virtually everything they need to start wreaking havoc in your life.
2. Use a good anti-virus program. One of the ways criminals get your credit card numbers, passwords and other sensitive information is through "Trojan horse" viruses that log your keystrokes and transmit information to the evil doers.
The "Bad Trans" virus that has caused so much havoc is just such a virus.
3. Always use a "secure" server when transmitting credit card information over the web and know something about the company before handing over your information.
You can feel pretty confident that you are using a secure server if a little lock displays in the status bar on the bottom of your web browser.
4. A popular new way to pay for goods and services online is to "use your checking account just like a credit card".
Be extremely cautious about paying this way through the web. By giving a company your checking account numbers you give away much of the information necessary to empty your bank account!
5. Never give out information such as your birthday, marital status, education level or other personal information.
This additional information makes it extremely easy for criminals to make themselves appear legitimate when they pose as you. Websites should ultimately only require you to provide your name, email and billing information for a purchase.
You should avoid any site requiring more information than that.
These criminals prey on people's ignorance and you can usually defeat them simply by making it too hard for them to get your information.
If you do find yourself a victim, immediately contact police and get legal help. Do not wait because you feel embarrassed or "stupid" over what happened.
Waiting only lets the trail grow cold and limits how much law enforcement can do to help you.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
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http://www.thenetreporter.com
=====================================
Identity theft rates one of the fastest growing crimes in mAmerica today and the Internet can make it even easier for some criminals to take your good name and drag it through the mud.
Identity theft involves criminals stealing your personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers and other information, usually to buy things on credit or to empty out your bank accounts.
Through your financial liability with your credit cards may be limited to $50 to $500, it can take years for you to clean up the mess online identity thieves leave behind.
As with any crime, an ounce of prevention may just cause the would-be identity thieves to leave you alone and move on to an easier target.
The following tips can help you avoid having your identity stolen.
1. Never give out your social security number, online or otherwise. No company you buy things from needs your social security number.
If you do business on the web, obtain a a Federal Tax ID number to use instead of your social security number.
Once criminals have your social security number, along with your birth date and address, they have virtually everything they need to start wreaking havoc in your life.
2. Use a good anti-virus program. One of the ways criminals get your credit card numbers, passwords and other sensitive information is through "Trojan horse" viruses that log your keystrokes and transmit information to the evil doers.
The "Bad Trans" virus that has caused so much havoc is just such a virus.
3. Always use a "secure" server when transmitting credit card information over the web and know something about the company before handing over your information.
You can feel pretty confident that you are using a secure server if a little lock displays in the status bar on the bottom of your web browser.
4. A popular new way to pay for goods and services online is to "use your checking account just like a credit card".
Be extremely cautious about paying this way through the web. By giving a company your checking account numbers you give away much of the information necessary to empty your bank account!
5. Never give out information such as your birthday, marital status, education level or other personal information.
This additional information makes it extremely easy for criminals to make themselves appear legitimate when they pose as you. Websites should ultimately only require you to provide your name, email and billing information for a purchase.
You should avoid any site requiring more information than that.
These criminals prey on people's ignorance and you can usually defeat them simply by making it too hard for them to get your information.
If you do find yourself a victim, immediately contact police and get legal help. Do not wait because you feel embarrassed or "stupid" over what happened.
Waiting only lets the trail grow cold and limits how much law enforcement can do to help you.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
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How to Increase Your Computer Speed Fast
I'm sure you've come across tons of articles and even suggestions from some of your friends on how to get your computer to work faster. Its really not that hard to increase your internet speed. I'm going to make it real simple for you and you don't need to be a computer geek to make this work. The first thing you need to remember is to never, and I mean absolutely never download programs especially free software without reading the fine print. Most free computer software will bombard your computer with spyware which will eventually bring your internet speed to a screeching halt! If your computer is already infected with spyware you can download the leading spyware remover called ad-aware which will scan your computer and remove spyware and tracking cookies from your computer.
Another way of making your computer and internet connection faster is by clicking on start, then run and typing in msconfig. Go to start tab and remove any program except your antivirus software and any other program which you must have start when windows starts. This tip will increase your computer start up time dramatically!
Step number 3, and I do this almost on a daily basis is to clean up your internet cache. Go to your control panel which you can access from your start button and click on internet options. Go to temporary internet files and clear your history. I would recommend that you also set internet history to a maximum of 2 days. Next step is to delete your temporary internet files including offline content. Last step is to delete cookies. Be careful though because deleting your cookies will also delete useful information from your computer. You can read a how to on cookies here www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm.
These steps are the basics you can take which will speed up your internet connection immediately. I would also recommend doing a virus check on your computer on a weekly basis. If you don't have antivirus software, get it! You'll be happy you did. Just one virus can wreak havoc on your computer! Make sure you test your internet speed whether its broadband or dial-up, before and after you take these simple steps so you can compare if these steps you've taken have worked. Taking these basic steps will make you a happy surfer and will restore your faith in the World wide web!
About the author:
Gio Mangano is the owner of http://www.bandwidtht1.comwhich offers Instant quotes on T1 Line and business DSL. Gio Mangano also publishes a blog on computer tips and tricks and improving your internet speed at http://bandwidthspeedtest.blogspot.com
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Another way of making your computer and internet connection faster is by clicking on start, then run and typing in msconfig. Go to start tab and remove any program except your antivirus software and any other program which you must have start when windows starts. This tip will increase your computer start up time dramatically!
Step number 3, and I do this almost on a daily basis is to clean up your internet cache. Go to your control panel which you can access from your start button and click on internet options. Go to temporary internet files and clear your history. I would recommend that you also set internet history to a maximum of 2 days. Next step is to delete your temporary internet files including offline content. Last step is to delete cookies. Be careful though because deleting your cookies will also delete useful information from your computer. You can read a how to on cookies here www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm.
These steps are the basics you can take which will speed up your internet connection immediately. I would also recommend doing a virus check on your computer on a weekly basis. If you don't have antivirus software, get it! You'll be happy you did. Just one virus can wreak havoc on your computer! Make sure you test your internet speed whether its broadband or dial-up, before and after you take these simple steps so you can compare if these steps you've taken have worked. Taking these basic steps will make you a happy surfer and will restore your faith in the World wide web!
About the author:
Gio Mangano is the owner of http://www.bandwidtht1.comwhich offers Instant quotes on T1 Line and business DSL. Gio Mangano also publishes a blog on computer tips and tricks and improving your internet speed at http://bandwidthspeedtest.blogspot.com
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How to Find What You Want with Google
Most people who search on the internet have a favorite search engine. In fact, the majority of internet users choose Google.
Do you fall into this category? If so, are you taking advantage of everything Google offers?
If an internet search means you go to www.google.com and simply type 2 or 3 words into the search box, hoping to find what you're looking for, you aren't even scratching the surface.
How Can You Get Better Results?
Google is the number one search engine for good reason - their results are generally the most accurate. Even so, there are ways to pinpoint what you're looking for even more effectively.
You have two options when it comes to fine-tuning your searches - you can use the Google Advanced Search screen or you can use "modifiers" in the main Google search.
Option 1: Google Advanced Search
When you go to www.google.com, there is a little "Advanced Search" link to the right of the main search box. If you click on that, you'll get the much more detailed Google search, where you can make very specific requests.
The first four sections, highlighted in blue, are some of the most important. Here you can specify any of the following:
1. All of the words - this will give you results with all of your search words, but not in any particular order. They can also be anywhere on the page.
2. The exact phrase - this will give you results with exactly the phrase you enter. The phrase must appear on the page exactly the way you enter it.
3. At least one of the words - this will show results with any one or more of your search words on the page.
4. Without the words - this will give you results that don't include your search terms at all.
These four sections can be used independently or combined to work together.
For example, you could search for the exact phrase 'free virus software' without the words 'trial' or 'tryout' if you're looking for free virus software but don't want trial versions that will expire after a short time.
As another example, you could use option #3 (at least one of the words) if you're looking for something but don't know exactly how to spell it. Put a few possible spellings in and it will find pages with any one or more of those spellings.
The rest of the sections on the Advanced Search page are pretty self-explanatory. One that I will point out is the Domain option. You can specify a website and either search for something only on that site, or anywhere but that site.
If you've found an interesting website that doesn't have a search function of its own, you can use this to limit Google to searching that site for whatever you're looking for. In fact, the Google search is often better even if the site does have its own search function.
You can also use it to find other references to something you might have read on a particular website. If you search for it and exclude the site you saw it on, you'll find other references to it that you can cross-check.
Option 2: Using Modifiers
Modifiers will let you use all the advanced features without having to go to the Advanced Search page every time. These modifiers can just be entered in the standard Google search box to get the same results as the advanced options.
There are quite a few different modifiers that can be used, but some of the most useful are as follows:
Putting "" around a phrase will search for the exact phrase. Searching for free antivirus software will show you pages with those three words anywhere on the page. Searching for "free antivirus software" shows you pages that contain that exact phrase.
Putting a - before a word is the same as the advanced option "without the words." So, to use the example used earlier, searching for "free virus software" -trial -tryout will show pages with that exact phrase, not including the other two words.
Using site: followed by the domain name of the website you want to search will only return results from that particular website. For example, searching for "virus protection" site:computer-help-squad.com will only return results from the www.computer-help-squad.com website.
Again, these can be combined so -site: will return results from any site except the one you specify.
How to Figure Out the Modifiers
The easiest way to see how to use modifiers in your searches is to try some searches with the Advanced Search page and see how Google formats them.
Using our example again, if you enter 'free antivirus software' in the "with the exact phrase" box and the words 'trial' and 'tryout' in the "without the words" box, the search that Google runs looks like this:
"free virus software" -trial -tryout
If you play around a bit with the advanced searches, you'll see how Google formats them for you. Next time, you can just enter them yourself in the standard search box instead of going to the Advanced Search page.
Once you get the hang of these options in Google, you'll find that your searches get even more accurate because you can filter out the stuff you don't want.
About the author:
John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand advice at the Computer Help Squad website. Sign up for our newsletter and receive your free report "5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet" at http://www.computer-help-squad.com/5steps
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Do you fall into this category? If so, are you taking advantage of everything Google offers?
If an internet search means you go to www.google.com and simply type 2 or 3 words into the search box, hoping to find what you're looking for, you aren't even scratching the surface.
How Can You Get Better Results?
Google is the number one search engine for good reason - their results are generally the most accurate. Even so, there are ways to pinpoint what you're looking for even more effectively.
You have two options when it comes to fine-tuning your searches - you can use the Google Advanced Search screen or you can use "modifiers" in the main Google search.
Option 1: Google Advanced Search
When you go to www.google.com, there is a little "Advanced Search" link to the right of the main search box. If you click on that, you'll get the much more detailed Google search, where you can make very specific requests.
The first four sections, highlighted in blue, are some of the most important. Here you can specify any of the following:
1. All of the words - this will give you results with all of your search words, but not in any particular order. They can also be anywhere on the page.
2. The exact phrase - this will give you results with exactly the phrase you enter. The phrase must appear on the page exactly the way you enter it.
3. At least one of the words - this will show results with any one or more of your search words on the page.
4. Without the words - this will give you results that don't include your search terms at all.
These four sections can be used independently or combined to work together.
For example, you could search for the exact phrase 'free virus software' without the words 'trial' or 'tryout' if you're looking for free virus software but don't want trial versions that will expire after a short time.
As another example, you could use option #3 (at least one of the words) if you're looking for something but don't know exactly how to spell it. Put a few possible spellings in and it will find pages with any one or more of those spellings.
The rest of the sections on the Advanced Search page are pretty self-explanatory. One that I will point out is the Domain option. You can specify a website and either search for something only on that site, or anywhere but that site.
If you've found an interesting website that doesn't have a search function of its own, you can use this to limit Google to searching that site for whatever you're looking for. In fact, the Google search is often better even if the site does have its own search function.
You can also use it to find other references to something you might have read on a particular website. If you search for it and exclude the site you saw it on, you'll find other references to it that you can cross-check.
Option 2: Using Modifiers
Modifiers will let you use all the advanced features without having to go to the Advanced Search page every time. These modifiers can just be entered in the standard Google search box to get the same results as the advanced options.
There are quite a few different modifiers that can be used, but some of the most useful are as follows:
Putting "" around a phrase will search for the exact phrase. Searching for free antivirus software will show you pages with those three words anywhere on the page. Searching for "free antivirus software" shows you pages that contain that exact phrase.
Putting a - before a word is the same as the advanced option "without the words." So, to use the example used earlier, searching for "free virus software" -trial -tryout will show pages with that exact phrase, not including the other two words.
Using site: followed by the domain name of the website you want to search will only return results from that particular website. For example, searching for "virus protection" site:computer-help-squad.com will only return results from the www.computer-help-squad.com website.
Again, these can be combined so -site: will return results from any site except the one you specify.
How to Figure Out the Modifiers
The easiest way to see how to use modifiers in your searches is to try some searches with the Advanced Search page and see how Google formats them.
Using our example again, if you enter 'free antivirus software' in the "with the exact phrase" box and the words 'trial' and 'tryout' in the "without the words" box, the search that Google runs looks like this:
"free virus software" -trial -tryout
If you play around a bit with the advanced searches, you'll see how Google formats them for you. Next time, you can just enter them yourself in the standard search box instead of going to the Advanced Search page.
Once you get the hang of these options in Google, you'll find that your searches get even more accurate because you can filter out the stuff you don't want.
About the author:
John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand advice at the Computer Help Squad website. Sign up for our newsletter and receive your free report "5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet" at http://www.computer-help-squad.com/5steps
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How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off Online
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
=====================================
Online security is one of the top catch phrases these days, but hardly anybody knows what it means and worse, most home computer users think security only applies to corporations and online businesses.
Most people think online security means simply protecting your credit card data from fraud and theft, but it actually goes way beyond that.
The potential for mayhem and just plain disruption of your life doesn't just mean credit card fraud - it can mean having your identity stolen, your life disrupted and spending hours cleaning up after an online 'vandalism' attack.
You must protect yourself from everyone from the teenage computer hacker to the organized crime syndicate using computer worms and keystroke logging viruses.
The great news is that a number of simple techniques should protect you against the vast majority of threats, since the evil doers will simply move on to easier pastures.
Update your anti-virus files
The widespread 'Bad Trans' worm logged keystrokes and transmitted potentially sensitive data such as credit card and social security numbers to the 'bad guys'.
Though this virus contained a high level of criminal intent, it was easily blocked by anyone with up-to-date anti-virus files.
If you don't have anti-virus software with current virus definitions installed, you leave the door wide open for security problems.
Install a 'Firewall'
A firewall helps prevent unauthorized access to your computer by 'hackers'.
It closes off the entry points (called open 'ports') carried by virtually every computer connected to the Internet.
A common misconception is that firewalls are only for people with cable or other high-speed connections.
Even if you use a dial up connection to get online, a firewall can help you detect and prevent people from logging on to your computer, stealing files or even using your computer to break into others!
You can take a free test of your computer's security by logging on to http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/ and clicking 'Find out today if you are safe'. The results may surprise you.
Use secure sites
Only give sensitive data such as credit cards, social security numbers and important passwords over a secure connection.
This means the little yellow lock appears in the lower part of your browser and nobody but the website you are connected to should be able to read the data you send.
Change passwords often
An easy way for you to protect your sensitive data and email is to change your passwords on a monthly basis, or even more often depending on how frequently you use computers away from home.
If you log on to your email at the library, in 'cyber cafes' or any other remote computer then the possibility exists that computer could have a key-stroking virus present.
This means everything you type into the computer (passwords, birthdays, social security numbers, credit cards) could be logged and used by someone else.
** Change your passwords at lease once a month.
Though not fool-proof, these security tips should help reduce your vulnerability and keep you safer online.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
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=====================================
Online security is one of the top catch phrases these days, but hardly anybody knows what it means and worse, most home computer users think security only applies to corporations and online businesses.
Most people think online security means simply protecting your credit card data from fraud and theft, but it actually goes way beyond that.
The potential for mayhem and just plain disruption of your life doesn't just mean credit card fraud - it can mean having your identity stolen, your life disrupted and spending hours cleaning up after an online 'vandalism' attack.
You must protect yourself from everyone from the teenage computer hacker to the organized crime syndicate using computer worms and keystroke logging viruses.
The great news is that a number of simple techniques should protect you against the vast majority of threats, since the evil doers will simply move on to easier pastures.
Update your anti-virus files
The widespread 'Bad Trans' worm logged keystrokes and transmitted potentially sensitive data such as credit card and social security numbers to the 'bad guys'.
Though this virus contained a high level of criminal intent, it was easily blocked by anyone with up-to-date anti-virus files.
If you don't have anti-virus software with current virus definitions installed, you leave the door wide open for security problems.
Install a 'Firewall'
A firewall helps prevent unauthorized access to your computer by 'hackers'.
It closes off the entry points (called open 'ports') carried by virtually every computer connected to the Internet.
A common misconception is that firewalls are only for people with cable or other high-speed connections.
Even if you use a dial up connection to get online, a firewall can help you detect and prevent people from logging on to your computer, stealing files or even using your computer to break into others!
You can take a free test of your computer's security by logging on to http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/ and clicking 'Find out today if you are safe'. The results may surprise you.
Use secure sites
Only give sensitive data such as credit cards, social security numbers and important passwords over a secure connection.
This means the little yellow lock appears in the lower part of your browser and nobody but the website you are connected to should be able to read the data you send.
Change passwords often
An easy way for you to protect your sensitive data and email is to change your passwords on a monthly basis, or even more often depending on how frequently you use computers away from home.
If you log on to your email at the library, in 'cyber cafes' or any other remote computer then the possibility exists that computer could have a key-stroking virus present.
This means everything you type into the computer (passwords, birthdays, social security numbers, credit cards) could be logged and used by someone else.
** Change your passwords at lease once a month.
Though not fool-proof, these security tips should help reduce your vulnerability and keep you safer online.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
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How companies are fighting spyware together.
To increase consumer’s internet security and provide an all around security kit Microsoft partnered up with OPSWAT Inc. to develop and integration of the two companies software. Their goal of working together is to provide security solutions for both Microsoft and OPSWAT customers so they are protected against a wide span of malicious software.
By working together OPSWAT will develop an Endpoint Security kit for Microsoft’s Network Access Protection. The outcome will allow the two companies mutual customers to integrate the security capabilities of OPSWAT’s software with those of Windows. This will allow consumers to choose their security components while still have a single security solution.
Officials from OPSWAT have said that their Endpoint security kit provides a uniform interface for consumers, which is a relief from innumerable choices of other firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs which can become hard to manage. The Endpoint Security system includes a comprehensive set.
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.htmas well as spyware scanner, http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/spyware_scanner.htm
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By working together OPSWAT will develop an Endpoint Security kit for Microsoft’s Network Access Protection. The outcome will allow the two companies mutual customers to integrate the security capabilities of OPSWAT’s software with those of Windows. This will allow consumers to choose their security components while still have a single security solution.
Officials from OPSWAT have said that their Endpoint security kit provides a uniform interface for consumers, which is a relief from innumerable choices of other firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware programs which can become hard to manage. The Endpoint Security system includes a comprehensive set.
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.htmas well as spyware scanner, http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/spyware_scanner.htm
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How a computer virus works!
Computer viruses are mysterious and grab our attention. On the one hand, viruses show us how vulnerable we are. A properly engineered virus can have an amazing effect on the worldwide Internet. On the other hand, they show how sophisticated and interconnected human beings have become.
For example, the thing making big news right now is the Mydoom worm, which experts estimate infected approximately a quarter-million computers in a single day (Times Online). Back in March 1999, the Melissa virus was so powerful that it forced Microsoft and a number of other very large companies to completely turn off their e-mail systems until the virus could be contained. The ILOVEYOU virus in 2000 had a similarly devastating effect. That's pretty impressive when you consider that the Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses are incredibly simple.
In this article, we will discuss viruses -- both "traditional" viruses and the newer e-mail viruses -- so that you can learn how they work and also understand how to protect yourself. Viruses in general are on the wane, but occasionally a person finds a new way to create one, and that's when they make the news.
About the author:
http://www.a1-sypware-4u.info/
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For example, the thing making big news right now is the Mydoom worm, which experts estimate infected approximately a quarter-million computers in a single day (Times Online). Back in March 1999, the Melissa virus was so powerful that it forced Microsoft and a number of other very large companies to completely turn off their e-mail systems until the virus could be contained. The ILOVEYOU virus in 2000 had a similarly devastating effect. That's pretty impressive when you consider that the Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses are incredibly simple.
In this article, we will discuss viruses -- both "traditional" viruses and the newer e-mail viruses -- so that you can learn how they work and also understand how to protect yourself. Viruses in general are on the wane, but occasionally a person finds a new way to create one, and that's when they make the news.
About the author:
http://www.a1-sypware-4u.info/
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Help Keep the Computers on Earth Clean and Healthy
“Aaaaaahhhhhh! I’ve been invaded by a virus!” Getting a virus means getting sick and no one in their right mind wants to be ill. Well, now that computers have become our close friends, it’s a shock to learn that foreign bodies too can invade them with malicious intent. No, your computer doesn’t get a runny nose or diarrhea. This is a sickness that stops your friend from functioning properly, sick in bed, incapacitated.
Well in Nature viruses occur from a power outside of our control. But, with computers it’s different, humans, mean or ignorant humans are creating these viruses. Why? Usually these are disgruntled people who want to wreak some havoc on others or companies that they feel have done wrong to them. In any case we have to be in the know and prepared to deal with these debilitating scourges.
There are many ways to approach the protection of your computer. First of all there’s the step of awareness. Be aware of how viruses are transmitted. You can catch them from a disc but in most cases it is through your email system. Check your email carefully. Be very wary of anything that has an attachment. Check whom it’s from and look at the title of the mail, is it something you were expecting? Even if it’s from someone you know, be careful as their computer could be infected and the virus being transmitted without their knowledge.
Next, read the cover message, you can’t catch the disease without actually opening the message. Look at the name of the attachment; remember viruses are written to entice you. Beware of free offers and generally anything from people you don’t know, as well as messages that sound irrelevant to your contact’s usual style. Delete them straight away. Delete, delete, delete. This will ensure you of a lower risk of infection. You can even send the message back to the sender without opening it to make sure it is valid.
Now for the heavy protection: Virus scanning and virus protection software, and rescue discs are all readily available and easily utilized. Some are free, and others are obtained for a very small charge. Most software manufacturers offer subscriptions for updating services, which automatically download protection to the latest viruses.
There are two main types of virus scanning software: one searches through your entire computer files looking for recognizable viral signatures, the other scans your incoming and outgoing emails. Alerts will show you when a file needs to be erased or repaired. If you do receive a virus that none of the software can repair you can send a copy of it to a company like Symantec who will be happy to develop a cure for it.
The main message here is not to get too worried about your good friend Mrs. PC getting ill or sick. The humans are on top of the case and they seem much better adapted at fixing their technology than they are at beating the viruses that attack our physical bodies. If only we could cure human virus and illness as easily as we solve the problem of computer sickness.
About the author:
Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is an analyst hoping to show fellow humans how far the computer age has come in terms of its strengths and weaknesses.
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Well in Nature viruses occur from a power outside of our control. But, with computers it’s different, humans, mean or ignorant humans are creating these viruses. Why? Usually these are disgruntled people who want to wreak some havoc on others or companies that they feel have done wrong to them. In any case we have to be in the know and prepared to deal with these debilitating scourges.
There are many ways to approach the protection of your computer. First of all there’s the step of awareness. Be aware of how viruses are transmitted. You can catch them from a disc but in most cases it is through your email system. Check your email carefully. Be very wary of anything that has an attachment. Check whom it’s from and look at the title of the mail, is it something you were expecting? Even if it’s from someone you know, be careful as their computer could be infected and the virus being transmitted without their knowledge.
Next, read the cover message, you can’t catch the disease without actually opening the message. Look at the name of the attachment; remember viruses are written to entice you. Beware of free offers and generally anything from people you don’t know, as well as messages that sound irrelevant to your contact’s usual style. Delete them straight away. Delete, delete, delete. This will ensure you of a lower risk of infection. You can even send the message back to the sender without opening it to make sure it is valid.
Now for the heavy protection: Virus scanning and virus protection software, and rescue discs are all readily available and easily utilized. Some are free, and others are obtained for a very small charge. Most software manufacturers offer subscriptions for updating services, which automatically download protection to the latest viruses.
There are two main types of virus scanning software: one searches through your entire computer files looking for recognizable viral signatures, the other scans your incoming and outgoing emails. Alerts will show you when a file needs to be erased or repaired. If you do receive a virus that none of the software can repair you can send a copy of it to a company like Symantec who will be happy to develop a cure for it.
The main message here is not to get too worried about your good friend Mrs. PC getting ill or sick. The humans are on top of the case and they seem much better adapted at fixing their technology than they are at beating the viruses that attack our physical bodies. If only we could cure human virus and illness as easily as we solve the problem of computer sickness.
About the author:
Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is an analyst hoping to show fellow humans how far the computer age has come in terms of its strengths and weaknesses.
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Hackers And Hoaxes
By Trina L.C. Schiller
Everyone who has an ISP, understands, or at least knows about how hackers use viruses, Trojans and other web nasties, to infect and mess up your computer. No headline news there. (Unfortunately, we still don't understand why they do it, or at least I don't.) But hackers don't have to write malicious code or hijack your browser to do some serious damage to your system. Oh no... A well written email with no attachments, can do the trick. They only have to start a rumor.
Hackers can easily manipulate you into trashing your own computer. All they have to do is begin a hoax.
What do I mean by that? Let me explain.
Have you ever gotten emails from people you know that say something like: Scan your hard drive for such and such a file! If you find it delete it immediately! Pass this on. Warn everyone you know!
These emails are originally generated by a hacker and spread throughout the Internet to get you to delete files you need, thus creating havoc for your system. They are hoaxes.
Hoaxes work incredibly well for getting average people to cause their own computers to malfunction. the hacker doesn't have to spend any time creating malicious code and a method of distribution, all they have to do is play on the human tendency for hysteria; send out a warning that something evil is spreading, and if you find it on your computer, get rid of it!
Recently I was tracking a thread on a forum, where the moderator warned everyone about a file that he found on his system that was a keylogger. (A keylogger is a malicious program designed to track your every move through monitoring your keystrokes.) He warned everyone to search for a file, ans2000.ini and, "delete the booger."
I scan my system every day, with several different virus/ spyware programs, and I never picked up this file with any of them, so I decided to do a Windows Explorer search for it. Sure enough, I found it on my hard drive. Oh My God!
Before hitting the delete key though, I looked it up on the web. I Googled the specific file and found quite a bit of information on it. The file ans2000.ini is used in the keylogger program known as ProBot SE. However, it is also used in many other legitimate programs as well. Ok, so now what do I do?
Well, I contacted my go-to guy, Jim Gray, owner of Quikonnex, and asked him what his thoughts were. He told me to open the ini file, in Notepad, and read it. Sure enough, this file did have an association to another program on my system. It is part of ActivEbook Compiler. It was right there in print, at the top of the file.
Now had I just freaked out when I found the file, and deleted the booger, I would've trashed my ebook compiler, making it useless to me. Two points for the hacker who started the hoax!
Hoaxes are just as dangerous as live viruses, because they inspire you to destroy your own programs. I am sure they are a particular kick for the one starting the hoax, as they are getting you to do bad things to your own system. Fear is a powerful motivator, and hoaxes, by design, are created to cause panic and fear in the less experienced Internet traveler.
So, before going and deleting files from your hard drive, go check them out. Do a search for them and read the information you find. Don't just go deleting things without learning about them first, or you just may end up cutting your own throat. And, NEVER forward these types of warning emails to others until you know for a fact that the information is correct, or you're likely to have your friends and family after you for misinforming them.
Resources for validating virus/ hoax information:
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.vmyths.com/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/
Copyright © 2005
The Trii-Zine Ezine
www.ezines1.com
About the author:
Trina L.C. Schiller is a professional network marketer, the publisher of the Internet marketing ezine, "Trii-Zine" and owner of http://www.tlcpromotions.net, as well as a founding publisher at http://www.quikonnex.com, and President of http://www.AdsOnQ.com, the Internet's first syndicated advertising agency.
She has also authored the following ebooks:
"Your Beginner's Guide To Syndication" http://www.ads-on-q.com/booksales.html
RSS, Blogs and Syndication... The Facts vs The guruese" http://www.ads-on-q.com/RSS.html
Keywords: hackers, hoax, hoaxes, ans2000.ini, ProBot SE, ActivEbook
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Everyone who has an ISP, understands, or at least knows about how hackers use viruses, Trojans and other web nasties, to infect and mess up your computer. No headline news there. (Unfortunately, we still don't understand why they do it, or at least I don't.) But hackers don't have to write malicious code or hijack your browser to do some serious damage to your system. Oh no... A well written email with no attachments, can do the trick. They only have to start a rumor.
Hackers can easily manipulate you into trashing your own computer. All they have to do is begin a hoax.
What do I mean by that? Let me explain.
Have you ever gotten emails from people you know that say something like: Scan your hard drive for such and such a file! If you find it delete it immediately! Pass this on. Warn everyone you know!
These emails are originally generated by a hacker and spread throughout the Internet to get you to delete files you need, thus creating havoc for your system. They are hoaxes.
Hoaxes work incredibly well for getting average people to cause their own computers to malfunction. the hacker doesn't have to spend any time creating malicious code and a method of distribution, all they have to do is play on the human tendency for hysteria; send out a warning that something evil is spreading, and if you find it on your computer, get rid of it!
Recently I was tracking a thread on a forum, where the moderator warned everyone about a file that he found on his system that was a keylogger. (A keylogger is a malicious program designed to track your every move through monitoring your keystrokes.) He warned everyone to search for a file, ans2000.ini and, "delete the booger."
I scan my system every day, with several different virus/ spyware programs, and I never picked up this file with any of them, so I decided to do a Windows Explorer search for it. Sure enough, I found it on my hard drive. Oh My God!
Before hitting the delete key though, I looked it up on the web. I Googled the specific file and found quite a bit of information on it. The file ans2000.ini is used in the keylogger program known as ProBot SE. However, it is also used in many other legitimate programs as well. Ok, so now what do I do?
Well, I contacted my go-to guy, Jim Gray, owner of Quikonnex, and asked him what his thoughts were. He told me to open the ini file, in Notepad, and read it. Sure enough, this file did have an association to another program on my system. It is part of ActivEbook Compiler. It was right there in print, at the top of the file.
Now had I just freaked out when I found the file, and deleted the booger, I would've trashed my ebook compiler, making it useless to me. Two points for the hacker who started the hoax!
Hoaxes are just as dangerous as live viruses, because they inspire you to destroy your own programs. I am sure they are a particular kick for the one starting the hoax, as they are getting you to do bad things to your own system. Fear is a powerful motivator, and hoaxes, by design, are created to cause panic and fear in the less experienced Internet traveler.
So, before going and deleting files from your hard drive, go check them out. Do a search for them and read the information you find. Don't just go deleting things without learning about them first, or you just may end up cutting your own throat. And, NEVER forward these types of warning emails to others until you know for a fact that the information is correct, or you're likely to have your friends and family after you for misinforming them.
Resources for validating virus/ hoax information:
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.vmyths.com/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/
Copyright © 2005
The Trii-Zine Ezine
www.ezines1.com
About the author:
Trina L.C. Schiller is a professional network marketer, the publisher of the Internet marketing ezine, "Trii-Zine" and owner of http://www.tlcpromotions.net, as well as a founding publisher at http://www.quikonnex.com, and President of http://www.AdsOnQ.com, the Internet's first syndicated advertising agency.
She has also authored the following ebooks:
"Your Beginner's Guide To Syndication" http://www.ads-on-q.com/booksales.html
RSS, Blogs and Syndication... The Facts vs The guruese" http://www.ads-on-q.com/RSS.html
Keywords: hackers, hoax, hoaxes, ans2000.ini, ProBot SE, ActivEbook
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Eliminate computer viruses forever!
PAL Emergency Response
ATTENTION!!! New Virus Epidemic! I-Worm.Mydoom.a and GaoBot.DQ have now infected more than a million computers since they were first detected, causing losses of more than 38,500 million dollars.
Does your computer seem to be running slower than usual? If you've using the Internet over the past month, your computer may be infected with a computer Virus that your current Anti-virus software may have failed to detect and remove.
Some of this computer viruses disable many Antivirus programs so that they remain undetected! PAL Emergency Response is an Anti-virus program that works separate from any other program on your PC and will remove all the latest computer threats.
Completely wipes out all the latest viruses from your PC
Automatic updates saves you time
Works together with most other antiviral programs for extra protection!
Improves your system performance by removing previously undetected Viruses.
All versions of Windows supported
Award Winning Technology
As seen in magazines such as PC Format and Personal Computer World Regular
Price $39.95
Only $19.99 Download Now!
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Protects your computer automatically Allows you to completely wipe viruses from your PC beyond recovery Compatible with all other Virus program for added extra security! Runs safely in background protecting you from viruses, worms, hackers and anyone invading your privacy
Updates itself automatically
Scanner finds out the latest virus threats
Disables any computer Worms and Hacking tools from entering your computer
Your PC might appear clean... but it could still be full of 'Virus threats' that most antivirus programs fail to detect and it might very well be a Serious threat to your pricacy as many viruses now record everything you type on your PC and broadcast it to the internet. This may include credit card numbers, passwords and sensitive information. Most Anti-virus programs fail to detect all viruses and users need an independent virus scanner in order to detect all viruses in your PC.
Regular Price $39.95 Only $19.99 Download Now! 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Is PAL Emergency Response easy to use?
Just set and forget! Single click features cleans your PC immediately. Emergency Response runs conveniently in the background automatically removing the latest Virus threats.
PAL Emergency Response is Perfect for both Novice and Advanced Users.
Novice Users. Just set Emergency Response and forget it. Upon loading the program you simply check boxes for which the program will scan for added protection.
System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows™ 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
2 MB hard disk space
32 MB of memory
About the author:
Jonathan Crews is a successful affiliate marketer.
Download Now
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ATTENTION!!! New Virus Epidemic! I-Worm.Mydoom.a and GaoBot.DQ have now infected more than a million computers since they were first detected, causing losses of more than 38,500 million dollars.
Does your computer seem to be running slower than usual? If you've using the Internet over the past month, your computer may be infected with a computer Virus that your current Anti-virus software may have failed to detect and remove.
Some of this computer viruses disable many Antivirus programs so that they remain undetected! PAL Emergency Response is an Anti-virus program that works separate from any other program on your PC and will remove all the latest computer threats.
Completely wipes out all the latest viruses from your PC
Automatic updates saves you time
Works together with most other antiviral programs for extra protection!
Improves your system performance by removing previously undetected Viruses.
All versions of Windows supported
Award Winning Technology
As seen in magazines such as PC Format and Personal Computer World Regular
Price $39.95
Only $19.99 Download Now!
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Protects your computer automatically Allows you to completely wipe viruses from your PC beyond recovery Compatible with all other Virus program for added extra security! Runs safely in background protecting you from viruses, worms, hackers and anyone invading your privacy
Updates itself automatically
Scanner finds out the latest virus threats
Disables any computer Worms and Hacking tools from entering your computer
Your PC might appear clean... but it could still be full of 'Virus threats' that most antivirus programs fail to detect and it might very well be a Serious threat to your pricacy as many viruses now record everything you type on your PC and broadcast it to the internet. This may include credit card numbers, passwords and sensitive information. Most Anti-virus programs fail to detect all viruses and users need an independent virus scanner in order to detect all viruses in your PC.
Regular Price $39.95 Only $19.99 Download Now! 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Is PAL Emergency Response easy to use?
Just set and forget! Single click features cleans your PC immediately. Emergency Response runs conveniently in the background automatically removing the latest Virus threats.
PAL Emergency Response is Perfect for both Novice and Advanced Users.
Novice Users. Just set Emergency Response and forget it. Upon loading the program you simply check boxes for which the program will scan for added protection.
System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows™ 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
2 MB hard disk space
32 MB of memory
About the author:
Jonathan Crews is a successful affiliate marketer.
Download Now
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Do You Know These Facts About Spyware ?
Imagine something that follows you home and sets itself up
in your house. It eats your food, enjoys your drinks, reads
everything you bring home or purchase. It runs up your
phone bills and no matter where you go, it can follow you
and takes notes on everything you do.
Generically labeled spyware, your stealth visitor is a
program or set of programs designed to track your Internet
activity. And, while it hasn't gone as far as above, it can
and will make your life uncomfortable.
The most benign form of spyware simply takes note of what
types of websites you visit and communicates the
information to its source. For advertisers, this adware
form of spyware allowed them to only send advertisements
you were likely to be interested in.
The theory being that it saved wasting anyone's time on
products you wouldn't likely care about or want to buy. Of
course, that was the theory. The practice has become one of
abuse, with so many packaged adware or spyware programs
downloaded, you may never know who is watching.
While there are different viruses that act spyware and
render malicious damage to your PC, bandwidth and sometimes
your modem, spyware may take the same format and render
similar damage.
Most spyware is installed after downloading some type of
free program or attachment from someone you don't know.
Sophisticated processes can hide in .dll files and be
incredibly difficult to remove even for spyware zapper
programs.
The initial idea behind spyware or adware may not have been
so bad. However, they will take up lots of valuable CPU and
RAM space on your machine, clogging your Internet
bandwidth, which can create noticeable delays when you are
doing normal day-to-day activities. It can slow down reboot
processes because of adding unwanted programs to your start
up menu.
Those downfalls are just what happens with the programs not
designed to hijack your browser, point it at porn sites,
download pornographic material, steal your address books,
stored credit card information or create a waypoint for
hacking into other's machines.
Spyware is a very real villain in the cyber world. The
majority of computer and Internet users do not believe
these types of programs affect them, yet more often than
not; they have hopefully been protected by firewalls and
anti-virus software that combat them.
Avoiding irresponsible net behavior, such as downloading
programs or files from an unknown sender, the taking of
free offers of packaged software, including games,
giveaways, software and utilities may prove detrimental to
the life and function of your machine. Many of these
packaged programs carry hidden within their walls spyware
of some type.
So whether it is designed to discover which web merchants
you visit most often or what credit card information you
have stored on your machine, spyware is a very real threat
in a world where the Internet is seemingly as important to
everyday activity as a pair of shoes. The best advice is to
be aware, in addition to installing anti-virus software
with firewall.
===========================================================
Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest
discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest
removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily
updated blog of spyware news and articles. Click
http://www.spyware-revealed.com/
About the author:
Tom Jenson has worked in software development for 20 years.
He's seen spyware develop from an occasional problem, to a
daily, hourly threat to all pc's. He made it a mission to
research these threats, and work out how best to combat
them. Now this series of article helps others protect
their computers too.
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in your house. It eats your food, enjoys your drinks, reads
everything you bring home or purchase. It runs up your
phone bills and no matter where you go, it can follow you
and takes notes on everything you do.
Generically labeled spyware, your stealth visitor is a
program or set of programs designed to track your Internet
activity. And, while it hasn't gone as far as above, it can
and will make your life uncomfortable.
The most benign form of spyware simply takes note of what
types of websites you visit and communicates the
information to its source. For advertisers, this adware
form of spyware allowed them to only send advertisements
you were likely to be interested in.
The theory being that it saved wasting anyone's time on
products you wouldn't likely care about or want to buy. Of
course, that was the theory. The practice has become one of
abuse, with so many packaged adware or spyware programs
downloaded, you may never know who is watching.
While there are different viruses that act spyware and
render malicious damage to your PC, bandwidth and sometimes
your modem, spyware may take the same format and render
similar damage.
Most spyware is installed after downloading some type of
free program or attachment from someone you don't know.
Sophisticated processes can hide in .dll files and be
incredibly difficult to remove even for spyware zapper
programs.
The initial idea behind spyware or adware may not have been
so bad. However, they will take up lots of valuable CPU and
RAM space on your machine, clogging your Internet
bandwidth, which can create noticeable delays when you are
doing normal day-to-day activities. It can slow down reboot
processes because of adding unwanted programs to your start
up menu.
Those downfalls are just what happens with the programs not
designed to hijack your browser, point it at porn sites,
download pornographic material, steal your address books,
stored credit card information or create a waypoint for
hacking into other's machines.
Spyware is a very real villain in the cyber world. The
majority of computer and Internet users do not believe
these types of programs affect them, yet more often than
not; they have hopefully been protected by firewalls and
anti-virus software that combat them.
Avoiding irresponsible net behavior, such as downloading
programs or files from an unknown sender, the taking of
free offers of packaged software, including games,
giveaways, software and utilities may prove detrimental to
the life and function of your machine. Many of these
packaged programs carry hidden within their walls spyware
of some type.
So whether it is designed to discover which web merchants
you visit most often or what credit card information you
have stored on your machine, spyware is a very real threat
in a world where the Internet is seemingly as important to
everyday activity as a pair of shoes. The best advice is to
be aware, in addition to installing anti-virus software
with firewall.
===========================================================
Discover all you ever wanted to know about spyware. Latest
discovery methods, latest incoculation treatments, latest
removal techniques. Click for useful info and daily
updated blog of spyware news and articles. Click
http://www.spyware-revealed.com/
About the author:
Tom Jenson has worked in software development for 20 years.
He's seen spyware develop from an occasional problem, to a
daily, hourly threat to all pc's. He made it a mission to
research these threats, and work out how best to combat
them. Now this series of article helps others protect
their computers too.
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Do The Media Spread Computer Viruses?
Summary: Could the mass media hype about computer viruses actually make the problem worse?
If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I'm not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I'm talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.
What the mainstream media often don't tell you--at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles-- is that many of these "viruses" are not viruses at all.
What Computer Viruses Really Are
The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware.
So, what's the difference between computer viruses and the other types of malware? The difference is that computer viruses are just about the only ones that regularly shut down computers and cause other obvious damage. The most common of the other kinds of malware--worms, Trojans, and spyware--are usually only detectable with a special scan.
The Real Danger of Computer Viruses
If the other types of malware are so unobtrusive that they can only be detected with a special scan, then what's to worry about? For starters, these programs are called malicious for a reason: they are designed to cause some kind of damage, if not to your computer, then to someone else's.
Worms are most famously used to damage, destroy, or disrupt other computer networks than the one on which the host computer is located. For instance, worms have been used by website owners to shut down rival websites by sending overwhelming numbers of requests to the computer that hosts that website. Worms have also been used to send out viruses to other computers, often without infecting the host machine--after all, what would it benefit the worm to shut down its host computer?
Trojans, in turn, are often used to insert worms and other malware on your computer, even if the Trojan itself does no damage.
But even if you don't care what happens to anyone else, you should still be concerned about one kind of malware: spyware, a kind of malware that, true to its name, collects data from your computer and sends it back to a remote host.
Most spyware is only interested in monitoring your internet usage so it can tell other programs, called adware, what advertising to popup on your computer. However, there are criminal spyware programs that steal financial data, or perform a thorough identity theft. Don't think you have personal or financial data on your computer? Some spyware programs contain a keylogger, which is a program that copies whatever you type, usually in order to snatch passwords. Even if you keep no financial information on your computer, if you ever buy anything over the web, the keylogger would allow its owner to buy stuff using the same information you typed in to buy stuff yourself.
Why Blame the Media?
Given the danger of all these different types of malware, isn't it a good thing that the mass media are becoming hysterical about it? And can't they be forgiven the sloppy reporting of calling Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware "viruses"?
No, no, no.
This is a classic case of bad reporting doing more damage than no reporting at all. In this case, the damage bad reporting has done is to promote a common myth that goes something like this: "The only malicious software is a virus. Viruses damage your computer. Therefore, if my computer is working OK, my computer has no malicious software. I only need to scan my computer for problems when there is a sign of problems."
Thanks to this myth, many people complacently let their antivirus software go months out of date, not wanting to be bothered with scheduling an automatic update. Just as bad, many people don't have any extra software to combat the other types of malware that may not be covered by antivirus software.
In fact, it's not uncommon for people who have found malware on their computers after a scan to say, "but I never had malware on my computer before!" But how would they have known if they had never scanned!
Until the biggest mainstream media--and especially television--start educating the public about the need to have their computers automatically scanned at least daily, the world will continue to have major, drawn-out problems with malware that could have been wiped out as soon as soon as the anti-malware software makers discovered it.
And until that day, the mainstream media will have many more opportunities to run hysterical stories about "viruses," thereby forcing them to sell more newspapers and broadcast to even larger audiences of people who suck at the information trough yet somehow never become full.
About the author:
Joel Walsh writes on all types of malware for spyware-refuge.com: http://www.spyware-refuge.com?adware spyware program [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "adware spyware program" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
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If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I'm not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I'm talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.
What the mainstream media often don't tell you--at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles-- is that many of these "viruses" are not viruses at all.
What Computer Viruses Really Are
The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly affecting computers today. The most common of these are worms, Trojans, and spyware.
So, what's the difference between computer viruses and the other types of malware? The difference is that computer viruses are just about the only ones that regularly shut down computers and cause other obvious damage. The most common of the other kinds of malware--worms, Trojans, and spyware--are usually only detectable with a special scan.
The Real Danger of Computer Viruses
If the other types of malware are so unobtrusive that they can only be detected with a special scan, then what's to worry about? For starters, these programs are called malicious for a reason: they are designed to cause some kind of damage, if not to your computer, then to someone else's.
Worms are most famously used to damage, destroy, or disrupt other computer networks than the one on which the host computer is located. For instance, worms have been used by website owners to shut down rival websites by sending overwhelming numbers of requests to the computer that hosts that website. Worms have also been used to send out viruses to other computers, often without infecting the host machine--after all, what would it benefit the worm to shut down its host computer?
Trojans, in turn, are often used to insert worms and other malware on your computer, even if the Trojan itself does no damage.
But even if you don't care what happens to anyone else, you should still be concerned about one kind of malware: spyware, a kind of malware that, true to its name, collects data from your computer and sends it back to a remote host.
Most spyware is only interested in monitoring your internet usage so it can tell other programs, called adware, what advertising to popup on your computer. However, there are criminal spyware programs that steal financial data, or perform a thorough identity theft. Don't think you have personal or financial data on your computer? Some spyware programs contain a keylogger, which is a program that copies whatever you type, usually in order to snatch passwords. Even if you keep no financial information on your computer, if you ever buy anything over the web, the keylogger would allow its owner to buy stuff using the same information you typed in to buy stuff yourself.
Why Blame the Media?
Given the danger of all these different types of malware, isn't it a good thing that the mass media are becoming hysterical about it? And can't they be forgiven the sloppy reporting of calling Trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware "viruses"?
No, no, no.
This is a classic case of bad reporting doing more damage than no reporting at all. In this case, the damage bad reporting has done is to promote a common myth that goes something like this: "The only malicious software is a virus. Viruses damage your computer. Therefore, if my computer is working OK, my computer has no malicious software. I only need to scan my computer for problems when there is a sign of problems."
Thanks to this myth, many people complacently let their antivirus software go months out of date, not wanting to be bothered with scheduling an automatic update. Just as bad, many people don't have any extra software to combat the other types of malware that may not be covered by antivirus software.
In fact, it's not uncommon for people who have found malware on their computers after a scan to say, "but I never had malware on my computer before!" But how would they have known if they had never scanned!
Until the biggest mainstream media--and especially television--start educating the public about the need to have their computers automatically scanned at least daily, the world will continue to have major, drawn-out problems with malware that could have been wiped out as soon as soon as the anti-malware software makers discovered it.
And until that day, the mainstream media will have many more opportunities to run hysterical stories about "viruses," thereby forcing them to sell more newspapers and broadcast to even larger audiences of people who suck at the information trough yet somehow never become full.
About the author:
Joel Walsh writes on all types of malware for spyware-refuge.com: http://www.spyware-refuge.com?adware spyware program [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "adware spyware program" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
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Does Your PC Have Worms?
Worms aren't just for dogs anymore. Find out how to inoculate your computer against these nasty parasites.
What Are Worms?
Worms are descended from viruses and are even nastier. Just as ever stronger doses of pesticide breed ever more resilient locusts, better and better anti-spyware software bred ever more devious viruses.
Finally, some virus designers stopped having their creations infect and take over files the way real viruses infect and take over cells. Instead, they created programs that could stand on their own and cause plenty of trouble without the help of any other software applications. Just worms are independent organisms that can infect a host directly, so do computer worms infect computers directly.
What Do Worms Do?
Worm designers are often even more sinister than virus designers, since worm designers are not just vandals. Worm designers often use their creations to achieve specific goals:
• Backdoor creation. Worms often try to set up another kind of malware, a backdoor. A backdoor is a hidden opening in your network connection that lets the worm send data out and take data in. Practically speaking, the data it's sending out are often spam emails, and the data it takes in are instructions on spam emails to send.
• Denial of service attack. Some worm designers really are vandals rather than profit-hungry con artists sending spam. But their vandalism can be more targeted. They use worms to send out numerous requests to remote computers, such as web servers, in order to overwhelm them and therefore shut them down. This is called a denial of service attack.
• Spyware, Trojan, adware, and virus installation. Worms are often used simply to unleash other forms of malware on a computer that might otherwise block them.
• Information theft and fraud.Worms can multitask in order to set up spyware that gathers sensitive information--often financial information--and then set up backdoors, Trojans, viruses, or dialers to disseminate the stolen data.
How Do Worms End Up on a PC?
Worms enter PCs just as viruses, spyware and other malware do: any way they can! Some favorite points of entry for worms:
• Websites can actually download software to your computer without you realizing it. This software includes not only worms, but also spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware. These malware programs find their way into websites either by the deliberate design of the site owner or because hackers have installed the software on the website's server.
• Peer-to-peer file-sharing networkscontain many nice-enough-looking files that are really worms. One of the sneakiest disguises is a filename that indicates the spyware is really a video of a beautiful actress.
• Email, the favored route of viruses, can still be exploited by Spyware. But since new email programs usually block the automatic opening of file attachments, this is less of a problem than it used to be.
• Any internet connection inevitably lets data flow both in and out, and so is vulnerable to attacks by worms.
How Do You Get Rid of Worms?
There's really only one good way to make sure your computer is rid of worms: scan it with multiple antivirus and anti-spyware programs using a full-system scan. Worms are tricky, so anything less than a full-system scan might let them escape. Worse, with new worms coming out all the time, some antivirus and anti-spyware packages may not even know about a new worm until after its wreaking havoc on your machine. That's why you should try using more than one antivirus program and more than one anti-spyware program to increase your odds of successfully detecting the malware.
Don't have more than one anti-spyware and antivirus software? You'd better start downloading. After all, worms won't take excuses.
About the author:
Joel Walsh writes for http://www.spyware-refuge.comabout worm removal http://www.spyware-refuge.com?spyware anti virus [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "spyware anti virus" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
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What Are Worms?
Worms are descended from viruses and are even nastier. Just as ever stronger doses of pesticide breed ever more resilient locusts, better and better anti-spyware software bred ever more devious viruses.
Finally, some virus designers stopped having their creations infect and take over files the way real viruses infect and take over cells. Instead, they created programs that could stand on their own and cause plenty of trouble without the help of any other software applications. Just worms are independent organisms that can infect a host directly, so do computer worms infect computers directly.
What Do Worms Do?
Worm designers are often even more sinister than virus designers, since worm designers are not just vandals. Worm designers often use their creations to achieve specific goals:
• Backdoor creation. Worms often try to set up another kind of malware, a backdoor. A backdoor is a hidden opening in your network connection that lets the worm send data out and take data in. Practically speaking, the data it's sending out are often spam emails, and the data it takes in are instructions on spam emails to send.
• Denial of service attack. Some worm designers really are vandals rather than profit-hungry con artists sending spam. But their vandalism can be more targeted. They use worms to send out numerous requests to remote computers, such as web servers, in order to overwhelm them and therefore shut them down. This is called a denial of service attack.
• Spyware, Trojan, adware, and virus installation. Worms are often used simply to unleash other forms of malware on a computer that might otherwise block them.
• Information theft and fraud.Worms can multitask in order to set up spyware that gathers sensitive information--often financial information--and then set up backdoors, Trojans, viruses, or dialers to disseminate the stolen data.
How Do Worms End Up on a PC?
Worms enter PCs just as viruses, spyware and other malware do: any way they can! Some favorite points of entry for worms:
• Websites can actually download software to your computer without you realizing it. This software includes not only worms, but also spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware. These malware programs find their way into websites either by the deliberate design of the site owner or because hackers have installed the software on the website's server.
• Peer-to-peer file-sharing networkscontain many nice-enough-looking files that are really worms. One of the sneakiest disguises is a filename that indicates the spyware is really a video of a beautiful actress.
• Email, the favored route of viruses, can still be exploited by Spyware. But since new email programs usually block the automatic opening of file attachments, this is less of a problem than it used to be.
• Any internet connection inevitably lets data flow both in and out, and so is vulnerable to attacks by worms.
How Do You Get Rid of Worms?
There's really only one good way to make sure your computer is rid of worms: scan it with multiple antivirus and anti-spyware programs using a full-system scan. Worms are tricky, so anything less than a full-system scan might let them escape. Worse, with new worms coming out all the time, some antivirus and anti-spyware packages may not even know about a new worm until after its wreaking havoc on your machine. That's why you should try using more than one antivirus program and more than one anti-spyware program to increase your odds of successfully detecting the malware.
Don't have more than one anti-spyware and antivirus software? You'd better start downloading. After all, worms won't take excuses.
About the author:
Joel Walsh writes for http://www.spyware-refuge.comabout worm removal http://www.spyware-refuge.com?spyware anti virus [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "spyware anti virus" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]
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Does Microsoft Show Hackers How To Attack?
© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft's
Windows operating system, the software giant released a
patch this past Friday to plug the possibly devastating
"back door" which allows hackers to potentially seize
control of any pc running Windows.
The latest threat, "Download.Ject," infiltrates computers
after users surfing with Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" web
browser visit websites infected with the virus.
This newest security patch covers Windows XP, 2000, and
Windows Server 2003.
Several factors make this latest development more disturbing
than past discoveries of security problems with Internet
Explorer, currently the most dominant web browser on the
market.
First, it demonstrates very clearly that criminals
discovered they can use the power of viruses to very
profitably steal important bank, personal, and credit data
from people on a large scale.
Second, it took Microsoft what many would consider a very
long time to come up with a patch for this problem.
Before a fix appeared, Microsoft told everyone who uses
Internet Explorer to stick their finger in the dyke by
putting their web browser security settings on high,
rendering it impossible to view or use features on many
websites and web-based services.
Third, expect this to happen again as new holes open in the
future when Microsoft makes Windows more complicated, adds
layers of code, and generally makes the operating system
more complex.
This may sound like business as usual, however, I think
this story actually points to a much deeper problem, one for
which I'm not sure a simple solution exists.
Though free and reasonably reliable, many people do not
automatically update their Windows operating system through
the update service on Microsoft's website. (I won't even get
into how many people don't operate up-to-date anti-virus
protection.)
Whenever Microsoft publishes a security update, especially
for a highly publicized and obviously widespread security
breach, thousands of people will not immediately download
the update.
In fact, tens-of-thousands of users will not download these
security updates for days, weeks, even months (if ever).
So let me ask what seems like a very elementary question: By
publishing security updates that point out very obvious
flaws in their system, doesn't Microsoft also point the way
to exactly where the holes exist?
Let me put it another way.
Doesn't this rate the same as discovering that the local
bank vault won't lock and then announcing the details on the
front page of the paper along with the dates and times no
bank guard will be on duty?
After all, if tens-of-thousands of users won't immediately
get the Microsoft Security Patch, don't those patches show
hackers exactly which holes get plugged (and which,
logically, must already be open without the patch)?
It doesn't take a hacker with more than a basic set of
skills to recognize where and what holes got fixed and then
reverse-engineer how they can get into computers that don't
get updated.
Now, do I have a concrete, 100% bullet-proof answer to this
problem? Unfortunately, I don't have more than a common-
sense answer...
At this point, your best defense rates staying current on
the latest threats and how to defend against them.
Keep your anti-virus software current, your firewall up, and
your Windows software updated with the latest security
patches.
Though not a perfect solution, at least you'll have a
fighting chance to prevent, or at least minimize, any
possible threats.
For more information from Microsoft's website, go here
http://www.ebookfire.com/download-ject.html
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft's
Windows operating system, the software giant released a
patch this past Friday to plug the possibly devastating
"back door" which allows hackers to potentially seize
control of any pc running Windows.
The latest threat, "Download.Ject," infiltrates computers
after users surfing with Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" web
browser visit websites infected with the virus.
This newest security patch covers Windows XP, 2000, and
Windows Server 2003.
Several factors make this latest development more disturbing
than past discoveries of security problems with Internet
Explorer, currently the most dominant web browser on the
market.
First, it demonstrates very clearly that criminals
discovered they can use the power of viruses to very
profitably steal important bank, personal, and credit data
from people on a large scale.
Second, it took Microsoft what many would consider a very
long time to come up with a patch for this problem.
Before a fix appeared, Microsoft told everyone who uses
Internet Explorer to stick their finger in the dyke by
putting their web browser security settings on high,
rendering it impossible to view or use features on many
websites and web-based services.
Third, expect this to happen again as new holes open in the
future when Microsoft makes Windows more complicated, adds
layers of code, and generally makes the operating system
more complex.
This may sound like business as usual, however, I think
this story actually points to a much deeper problem, one for
which I'm not sure a simple solution exists.
Though free and reasonably reliable, many people do not
automatically update their Windows operating system through
the update service on Microsoft's website. (I won't even get
into how many people don't operate up-to-date anti-virus
protection.)
Whenever Microsoft publishes a security update, especially
for a highly publicized and obviously widespread security
breach, thousands of people will not immediately download
the update.
In fact, tens-of-thousands of users will not download these
security updates for days, weeks, even months (if ever).
So let me ask what seems like a very elementary question: By
publishing security updates that point out very obvious
flaws in their system, doesn't Microsoft also point the way
to exactly where the holes exist?
Let me put it another way.
Doesn't this rate the same as discovering that the local
bank vault won't lock and then announcing the details on the
front page of the paper along with the dates and times no
bank guard will be on duty?
After all, if tens-of-thousands of users won't immediately
get the Microsoft Security Patch, don't those patches show
hackers exactly which holes get plugged (and which,
logically, must already be open without the patch)?
It doesn't take a hacker with more than a basic set of
skills to recognize where and what holes got fixed and then
reverse-engineer how they can get into computers that don't
get updated.
Now, do I have a concrete, 100% bullet-proof answer to this
problem? Unfortunately, I don't have more than a common-
sense answer...
At this point, your best defense rates staying current on
the latest threats and how to defend against them.
Keep your anti-virus software current, your firewall up, and
your Windows software updated with the latest security
patches.
Though not a perfect solution, at least you'll have a
fighting chance to prevent, or at least minimize, any
possible threats.
For more information from Microsoft's website, go here
http://www.ebookfire.com/download-ject.html
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
Does it worth to backup emails from clients like Outlook Express?
How often do people loose their email data?
Is this important to backup your email client before loosing important emails?
Are you thinking it won’t happen to you?
Well, for those who use an email client and loosing their emails is one of the worst nightmares. Unfortunately this situation is quite probable.
There are several causes for this:
- Hard disk failure
- Viruses and Trojans
- Windows crashes
- Some time un-expected things
Hard Disk can fail from several reasons: logical problems like bad partitions, hardware problems caused by dropping them or something on them, or, sometimes they just stop functioning. You can use several data recovery tools like GetDataBack or Acronis, which might save your day. But you might not be able to get back any byte.
Viruses are increasing their numbers day by day. It’s hard to keep up even for the big players like Symantec or Kaspersky. They reduced the response time for a new virus, but if you are unlucky, the virus crashes your computer before you can apply the antivirus.
Well, we all know how reliable Windows is. There is no person that can say he never saw a “blue screen”. Because most of the email clients store email, account and settings data in My documents, Program files or in Windows registry. When you reinstall the operating system you loose them all. Even Microsoft CEO Bill Gates acknowledged that they counted 5 percent of total Windows based computers to crash twice every day. Here’s a small report: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/technology/25SOFT.html - September 1, 2005.
The best way to count those situations is to backup emails on a CD or another hard disk. People who know a little about Windows and computers can do it by hand. Outlook Express is still the most used email client.
If you want to backup Outlook Express by hand, you have to save registry keys and DBX files. Saving messages, signatures and the address book can be done within the email client, but for settings you have to search through Windows registry. It can be pretty difficult to do it for a beginner.
After a long search now I found a tool that can do this job automatically. Adolix Outlook Express Backup: http://www.adolix.com/outlook-express-backup/home.html You can use this software to backup Outlook Express, IncrediMail and some other email clients. It’s an email saver program that can backup and restore emails, addresses, folders, signatures and options.
What it cannot do is backing up Outlook Express and restoring to Pegasus Mail for instance. Synchronization can take place between different instances of the same email client.
It can be used to move emails from one computer to another. For instance if you own a laptop and a PC, you can transfer emails between them. Furthermore, you can backup Outlook Express from Windows98 and restore it to Windows XP.
Adolix Outlook Express Backup has a wizard mode for beginners, but the most experienced users can use Standard mode for more speed. It costs only $24.95 and I think worth for too much.
It’s pretty clear that anyone can loose emails. So backing up your email client is essential, but you have to decide whether to do it by hand or to purchase a tool like Adolix Outlook Express Backup.
About the author:
Mircea Ionescu writes for Adolix Software.
Adolix Software is a young company specialized in tools and utilities like Adolix Outlook Express Backup (http://www.adolix.com/outlook-express-backup/home.html ), Adolix PDF Converter or eCover Engineer.
Circulated by Article Emporium
Is this important to backup your email client before loosing important emails?
Are you thinking it won’t happen to you?
Well, for those who use an email client and loosing their emails is one of the worst nightmares. Unfortunately this situation is quite probable.
There are several causes for this:
- Hard disk failure
- Viruses and Trojans
- Windows crashes
- Some time un-expected things
Hard Disk can fail from several reasons: logical problems like bad partitions, hardware problems caused by dropping them or something on them, or, sometimes they just stop functioning. You can use several data recovery tools like GetDataBack or Acronis, which might save your day. But you might not be able to get back any byte.
Viruses are increasing their numbers day by day. It’s hard to keep up even for the big players like Symantec or Kaspersky. They reduced the response time for a new virus, but if you are unlucky, the virus crashes your computer before you can apply the antivirus.
Well, we all know how reliable Windows is. There is no person that can say he never saw a “blue screen”. Because most of the email clients store email, account and settings data in My documents, Program files or in Windows registry. When you reinstall the operating system you loose them all. Even Microsoft CEO Bill Gates acknowledged that they counted 5 percent of total Windows based computers to crash twice every day. Here’s a small report: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/25/technology/25SOFT.html - September 1, 2005.
The best way to count those situations is to backup emails on a CD or another hard disk. People who know a little about Windows and computers can do it by hand. Outlook Express is still the most used email client.
If you want to backup Outlook Express by hand, you have to save registry keys and DBX files. Saving messages, signatures and the address book can be done within the email client, but for settings you have to search through Windows registry. It can be pretty difficult to do it for a beginner.
After a long search now I found a tool that can do this job automatically. Adolix Outlook Express Backup: http://www.adolix.com/outlook-express-backup/home.html You can use this software to backup Outlook Express, IncrediMail and some other email clients. It’s an email saver program that can backup and restore emails, addresses, folders, signatures and options.
What it cannot do is backing up Outlook Express and restoring to Pegasus Mail for instance. Synchronization can take place between different instances of the same email client.
It can be used to move emails from one computer to another. For instance if you own a laptop and a PC, you can transfer emails between them. Furthermore, you can backup Outlook Express from Windows98 and restore it to Windows XP.
Adolix Outlook Express Backup has a wizard mode for beginners, but the most experienced users can use Standard mode for more speed. It costs only $24.95 and I think worth for too much.
It’s pretty clear that anyone can loose emails. So backing up your email client is essential, but you have to decide whether to do it by hand or to purchase a tool like Adolix Outlook Express Backup.
About the author:
Mircea Ionescu writes for Adolix Software.
Adolix Software is a young company specialized in tools and utilities like Adolix Outlook Express Backup (http://www.adolix.com/outlook-express-backup/home.html ), Adolix PDF Converter or eCover Engineer.
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Different Types of Computer Infection!
When you listen to the news, you hear about many different forms of electronic infection. The most common are:
Viruses - A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
E-mail viruses - An e-mail virus moves around in e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail address book.
Worms - A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.
Trojan horses - A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.
About the author:
http://www.a1-sypware-4u.info/
Circulated by Article Emporium
Viruses - A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
E-mail viruses - An e-mail virus moves around in e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail address book.
Worms - A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.
Trojan horses - A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.
About the author:
http://www.a1-sypware-4u.info/
Circulated by Article Emporium
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