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Spyware is
software with malicious intent - by design; it does something
bad to your computer. Usually, it gets installed without your
knowledge. It sometimes takes advantage of the fact that most
people click "I Agree" to software licenses without reading
them.
Adware is
a variety that spies on you with the specific intent of making
ads appear on your screen (those darned pop-ups!), or driving
you to advertiser web sites. There are other names for it -
malware, junkware, etc. It is all Malicious!
Spyware infects
millions of computers with the purpose of stealing your
personal information, enabling identity theft, hijacking your
computer, tracking your online activity, and selling information
about you to anyone willing to pay for it.
Why is spyware bad?
Spyware does all sorts of things, ranging from being merely
annoying to being criminal and malicious. It may do any and all
of the following:
·
Use up your computer's system resources, memory, & Internet
bandwidth, making your computer and/or Internet connection slow
·
Delete, modify, or disable files, folders, programs, and
essential Windows components and services.
·
Use worms, trojans, and "back doors" to open your computer to
further invasions and these programs may also install software
to enable your PC to be a "Host" or commonly known now as a "bot".
Bots are everyday normal PC's that send, collect and analyze
information all over the world.
·
Use your computer to send spam - yes, really! It's estimated
that 80% of the world's spam is sent by "zombie" home computers
infected with "spam trojans" which were installed by spyware or
worms.
·
Conflict with other programs, causing your computer to crash or
freeze up
·
Hide the presence of other parasites, and protect them when you
try to remove them
·
Install "keyloggers" which record your keystrokes, that is, they
record everything you type
·
Steal your passwords, credit card information, & other personal
data to be used for identity theft
·
Monitor your web surfing habits and record the web pages you
visit
·
Relay any of this collected data back to its makers & sell it to
other companies or bad guys
·
Collect your e-mail address & make you the target of spam (junk
e-mail)
·
Pester you with pop-up ads, even if you have pop-ups disabled in
your web browser
·
Hijack your web browser and change your home page, add
favorites/bookmarks, or redirect you to other sites without your
permission (more on browser hijacking later)
Spyware's ability to do all of these things is a real security
threat to your PC's at home and your PCs at work. It can lead to
data loss, damage to legitimate software, slow network
performance, reduced productivity and worst of all, identity
theft.
How spyware gets on computers
·
It may hide inside of another program's installer: Many free
programs, especially file/music sharing programs like Kazaa, but
also screensavers, games, etc. install some form of spyware.
They may or may not tell you that they're doing this; if they do
tell you, they will do so in the license agreement. They of
course count on the fact that no one actually reads those
license agreements! You should read to the end of all EULAs (End
User Licensing Agreements).
·
It may be installed by a "drive-by download": installed behind
your back when you visit a web site or click a link, especially
advertising links or those that say you won something. In these
cases, you don't even have to do anything other than visit a web
site or click a link!
·
An e-mail or web site may make you think that you need to
download something: For example, an e-mail may say that someone
sent you an electronic greeting card but that you need to
download a special viewer to see it, or a web site may say that
you need to download a special "media player" to view their
site.
·
It may pretend to be something essential, helpful, or desirable:
Spyware may masquerade as some type of security warning, a "free
virus scan," or even a spyware removal program to get you to
click on it.
·
A web site may keep pestering you to download something until
you say yes: Normally, your web browser should ask you for
permission if a web site you visit tries to install anything.
Unfortunately, when you say No, your "No" is only good until you
go to the next web page, where you'll be asked again. After
being asked several times, some people will just give in and say
yes. (Don't!)
How to keep spyware from getting on your computers
·
Don't download free programs, games, screen savers, etc.,
especially file/music sharing software. If you have kids, don't
let them install anything on your computer without your
knowledge (& be sure that what you do let them install is safe).
·
Don't click on ads, offers, security warnings (more on fake
security warnings below), or "you won!" alerts on web pages,
especially those that appear in pop-up windows.
·
At home you can use a more secure web browser like Firefox.
Although please note that some Internet Software and games will
not work on Firefox.
·
Before installing any software (other than big name-brand stuff
like Microsoft Office, Quicken, or WordPerfect), search online
to see if it is considered spyware. Several trustworthy
anti-spyware web sites will be listed in the final lesson.
·
Beware - of closing a pop-up window by clicking the Right hand
corner Red X. Some programs this is part of the image and if you
click on it, you are enabling the Spyware to start downloading.
How do you tell - You can try hovering your mouse over the red X
and see if the Red X lightens or darkens or the mouse changes,
if so it is usually safe to Click on the Red X.
·
What to do if you cant safely close out the window. There are
two things to try: 1. Go down to your Task bar and right click
on the advertisement if you can tell which one it is and hit
"Close". 2. Hit Control-Alt-Delete Keys at the same time. This
will bring up a box, Click on Task Manager, Go to the
Applications Tab on the top, See if you can locate the spelling
of the Web page that is being displayed, highlight it and then
Click End Task. Now close your Task manager window by clicking
the Red X .
Fake spyware removal programs
Here's one of the most devious scams of all: There are companies
that produce spyware removal programs and contain spyware
themselves. Many of these have very valid-sounding anti-spyware
names like Spy Deleter, SpyKiller, SpyHunter, and Spy Wiper, and
many come from companies that look legitimate. They try to
confuse people by using names that are very similar to
legitimate spyware removal products; for example, SpywareBlaster
is a legitimate spyware product, while SpyBlast is a fake.!
Browser hijacking
Has this ever happened to you or someone you know? One day,
Internet Explorer suddenly has a new start page, or when you
click on "Search," it takes you to some page you've never seen
before. Mysterious Internet shortcuts, Favorites, or toolbar
buttons may appear. Even worse, when you go into your Internet
Options to try to change it back to the way it was, it won't let
you, or if you *can* change it, the next time you restart your
computer it's all messed up again. If any of this sounds
familiar, then you've been the victim of "browser hijacking."
Browser hijacking is when a malicious spyware program or web
site changes your browser settings without your permission, and
often makes it so that you can't change it back.
Why would anyone want to hijack your browser? To force you to
visit their web sites so that they can earn higher advertising
revenues (on the web, advertisers pay based on how many people
visit a site or click an ad).
Click here
to view our current specials and coupons!
Need
Help Removing your Spyware?
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*Source
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