Software Articles

If you’ve recently purchased a computer, then the store where you found your computer may also have anti-virus or spam removal options options available for you to buy, or the software may already be downloaded onto your computer. But what is spyware exactly, and why do you you need it? Here are some benefits to having this system on your computer, as well as how you can keep it updated.

Spyware is placed on a computer to monitor the activity on that computer. The activity report is transmitted through the internet, and allows you to see if others have been trying to download certain documents or programs from your computer, or to detect whether or not your computer has a virus.

If you are trying to go to a site that may cause problems on your computer, or a website that the spyware does not recognize, then you will be asked if you are sure that you want to enter the site, and you will also receive notification of the risk of entering. If you are searching for a certain site or subject on the internet, then this will also be monitored by spyware. Many company offices have this system installed on the computers that are used for professional use, so that online games, non-work related photos, and inappropriate websites can not be viewed at work.

The company that has issued the software for the computer will get the results of the information the spyware has tracked. Then, the information may be sold to other companies for marketing purposes. For instance, if you are a sports fan, and are visiting a lot of sports-related websites often, then the spyware on your computer will send this information to your computer’s manufacturer, and you may start to receive pop-up adds promoting sporting goods stores that you can order from online.

In order to eliminate this, you may have to get a pop-up blocker installed on your computer, so that you won’t have to deal with pop-up ads anymore, and to protect your privacy when you’re on the computer. The programs for anti-virus installation can be found at a number of electronic stores in your area, so check out places like Radio Shack, Circuit City, and Best Buy to find programs that will help to protect your computer.

If you are unsure about certain computer terms, or need to know more about spyware before making further computer purchases, then you can visit sites like www.spyware.info, or www.microsoft.com to get up to date information on how to prevent companies and individuals from viewing private information stored on your computer.

The threats posed by spam are always evolving, and phishing is one of the most recent scams the spammers have come up with. Your most important protection against phishing is vigilance and a healthy skepticism. You can, however, supplement this with Anti-phishing software programs

Anti-phishing Software
Anti-phishing software works by detecting phishing content that may be contained in an email. It is genrallly used in conjunction with your email service as a toolbar. This tool bar will display the real name of any website you visit, and expose any spoofed websites that phishers may attempt to use.

This software is offers a second line of defense to for blocking phishing attacks and sites that might have foiled and bypassed by your browser’s built-in protection. Here are a few of them:

Earthlink Toolbar Scamblocker
Offers a check towards a phishing blacklist of sites
Checks the owner and location of the web site
Prevention against phishing and pop ups

Earthlink offers a free browser toolbar that includes ScamBlocker, an application that protects you against phishing scams and phishing pop ups. It will, for example, warn you when you attempt to connect to a website that is on Earthlink’s balcklist of fraudulent sites. It will analie each web page hat you visit and display a security rating of the webpage on its toolbar.

Netcraft Anti-phishing Toolbar
When a one recipient of a phishing email reports it, the relevant URL is blocked for the rest of the Netcraft community members.

Spam Protection
It will display for you the website’s hosting location, which will help expose fraudulent urls. Say, for example, you are on the bankofamerica.com website, the hosting location is unlikely to be in Poland.
The toolbar will also detect any web addresses that contain letters or characters that are only used in the URL to deceive.

Smitfraud is one of those super annoying spyware applications. While it does not tend to do a whole lot of harm to the computer it does make working on your system that much harder. Check out this Remove Smitfaud site for more info on the actual removal process.

Smitfraud has many different variants and it will infect your system differently depending on what variant you have. In most cases your desktop will of changed to an image that you did not select. This can be something simple or a pornographic image. We have even seen a few say tons of curse words and taunt people with statements like “You have been hacked Mother !@#$%^”.

As well as your desktop taken over most people who are infected with Smitfraud find their home page has been hanged, they get constant re-directs and a fake security product that gives out bogus scan alerts. Check out this Remove Smitfraud site for more information on that particular variant.

While Smitfraud and Smitfraud C do not destroy files on your computer it is often a sign that you have other spyware and viruses installed. You should take immediate action and get these variants removed. Waiting will only worsen the problem and deepen the infection.

We are not here to recommend any particular product in this article. We do recommend you do your research and or visit the sites mentioned above as they have guides and recommended software to use. One thing we would like to point out for all those that are not tech savvy, is to consider hiring a pro to remove this threat for you. There are many local shops that can remove this threat for you for around 150 dollars. If you would like to save a little green you can also consider this Remote Computer Repair company. These guys remove all spyware and viruses for 89 bucks and it’s a U.S. based company. They remote into your computer and can get you up and going in no time. It’s by far one of the better companies out there for remote computer repair.

Regardless of what method you end up choosing you need to take action today if you are infected. If for any reason you do not have protection you should get it soon as well. Remember no free client out there offers live upfront protection. They only kick in after you get infected. Only you can take the next step and get protected.

If you’re fed up with your slow computer and ready to adware and spyware, there are some critical things you need to know before you jump in. Just follow these five steps to block adware thoroughly and effectively.

An important factor if you want to block adware is making sure that you stay away sites that provide porn and free games. The reason why this is critical is because 87-92% of all adware is found on these types of sites.

If you don’t stay away from these kinds of sites, then you run the chance of devious adware finding a way to your computer.

Another critical consideration to block adware is to avoid free software whenever possible. It’s critical that you download software from a reputable site; because a lot of free software is only “free” if you also agree to view related advertisements.

If you make sure that you are getting software from a site that tests for adware, then you’ll be OK. You don’t have to a computer freak in order to block adware. A lot of adware comes with really freaky names like PSW.Win32.LdPinch.abm and W32/Aplore@MM.

Many people that I talk to say that they get intimated listening to others talk about computers and that you have to have a degree in order to block adware and other pests. All you need to do is have the right tools, and make sure that you keep them updated and use them frequently.

Many computer users complicate their efforts to block adware and spyware by wasting a lot of time in Yahoo or other search engines researching. This usually takes them on a wild goose chase that leads to a bunch of dead ends. Let the software tool available on the market take care of all the hard work for you.

There are true “nerds” out there researching the threats out there. Don’t duplicate their efforts. Just install the right tool and let it take care of you. You can leverage computer experts even more by using a tool that will block adware for you on auto-pilot.

Make sure to put all of your time to block adware and spyware with a software tool that has a real-time monitor. This is the most critical thing that you can do. Your life is too busy to add something else onto your to-do list.

So if you really want to block adware, follow these tips and you will have years of hassle-free web surfing to come.

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their free , attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.

Trojan Horse - Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?
When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.

Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet. More on Computer Security.

If you want to know more about the threats and dangers pose by spyware, I strongly suggest that you keep reading. There are some real risks that you need to know about, like how spyware can violate your online privacy, and even steal your personal details for use in crime. You can lose a lot of money if the wrong people get their hands on your credit card details!

Spyware is more of a problem than most people think. In 2005, 62% of all computers were infected with Spyware - by now, it is more. This means that you are quite likely to be already infected, even if you think that you are safe.

Spyware is software that is installed on your computer without your knowledge. It is designed to secretly monitor your actions, record what you do, and to copy the information that yo type or save on your computer. When you are connected to the Internet, it makes a secret connection to a server and sends this information back home to the designer. This person can now use this information for his own purposes - which are usually criminal.

The spyware also is often used to display advertising to you. It does this by first analysing your behaviour - what sites you visit, what links you click on, what you buy, your demographics, interests, etc. When it has a good idea of what you will buy, it will start displaying ads to you. Usually this advertising is quite blatant, in the form of flashing pop-ups that appear every minute or so. Sometimes it is more subtle, such as banner ads that appear on websites that do not normally have banner ads.

Whatever form this advertising takes, it is intrusive and can be very annoying, or even disturbing.

The bigger threat is in the form of personal information which can be stolen. It is very easy for a computer program to search through all the files of your computer looking for a certain pattern - such as a credit card number. When it finds this information, it can send it to the remote server. Add this to the address and other details it is able to extract, and the spyware designer will rapidly be able to gather enough information to steal money from you, or to open up a bank account in your name.

This account then will be used to commit fraud, and you will usually be left to blame as the person responsible. This can be extremely damaging to you, and difficult to prove.

We have looked at how spyware can pose a serious threat to you. We’ve seen how it is used to spy on you, bombard you with unwanted adverts and even to steal your money or identity. I’m sure you’ll agree - this is a serious threat, and one you would be happy to avoid. Unfortunately, there is a better than even chance that your computer is already infected.

What you need to do now is get software to spyware detect. Trying to perform a scan for spyware and adware yourself is nearly impossible, as the spyware is designed to avoid detection. Luckily, the anti-spyware programs are designed to do this automatically. If you are worried about price, there are even free spyware detector programs that you can use.