What Are Computer Virus's,
Spyware, Adware & Malware?
Once
you have been on the
Internet for any length of time, you've probably ran across the topic
of virus's, spyware, adware, or malware. This is software that has been
installed on your computer, many times without your permission, or
accidentally by clicking on a popup ad, etc. The problem with these
programs is that they slow your computer down, make changes to your
desktop, home page & search page, they can also load programs
into your
taskbar tray and otherwise get in the way and become very annoying. In
the worst cases, they will even transmit information from your computer
to servers on the Internet.
So
the question becomes, if your
computer is infected with these problematic programs, how do you get
rid of them? In most cases, you can run a free removal program to
remove these infections, in more serious cases, you may have to
download a specialized removal program to free yourself of these
problems or ask a specialist like us to get rid of it
for you.
Computer viruses are
small software programs that are designed to
spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer
operation. A virus might corrupt or delete data on your
computer, use your e-mail
program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything
on your hard disk. Viruses are most easily spread by
attachments in e-mail messages or
instant messaging messages. That is why it is essential that you never
open e-mail attachments unless you know who it's from and you are
expecting it. Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny
images, greeting cards, or audio and video files. Viruses also
spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be
hidden in illicit software or other files or programs you might
download. To help avoid viruses, it's essential that you keep
your computer current with the latest
updates and antivirus tools, stay informed about recent
threats, and that you follow a few
basic rules when you surf the Internet, download files, and
open attachments.
Once a virus is on your computer, its
type or the method it used to
get there is not as important as removing it and preventing further
infection.
Adware
is software
integrated into or bundled with a program. It is usually seen by the
programmer as a way to recover programming development costs, and in
some cases it may allow the program to be provided to the user free of
charge or at a reduced price. The advertising income may allow or
motivate the programmer to continue to write, maintain and upgrade the
software product.
Some
adware is also shareware,
and so the word may be used as term of distinction to differentiate
between types of shareware software. What differentiates adware from
other shareware is that it is primarily advertising-supported. Users
may also be given the option to pay for a "registered" or "licensed"
copy to do away with the advertisements.
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Spyware is computer
software that collects personal information about users without their
informed consent. The term, coined in 1995 but not widely used for
another five years, is often used interchangeably with adware and
malware (software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer).
Personal
information is secretly
recorded with a variety of techniques, including logging keystrokes,
recording Internet web browsing history, and scanning documents on the
computer's hard disk. Purposes range from overtly criminal (theft of
passwords and financial details) to the merely annoying (recording
Internet search history for targeted advertising, while consuming
computer resources). Spyware may collect different types of
information. Some variants attempt to track the websites a user visits
and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious
variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a
user enters them into a web form or other applications.
For
a malicious program to
accomplish its goals, it must be able to do so without being shut down
by the user or administrator of the computer it's running on.
Concealment can also help get the malware installed in the first place.
By disguising a malicious program as something innocuous or desirable,
users may be tempted to install it without knowing what it does. This
is the technique of the Trojan horse or trojan.
Broadly
speaking, a Trojan horse
is any program that invites the user to run it, but conceals a harmful
or malicious payload. The payload may take effect immediately and can
lead to many undesirable effects, such as deleting all the user's
files, or more commonly it may install further harmful software into
the user's system to serve the creator's longer-term goals. Trojan
horses known as droppers are used to start off a worm outbreak, by
injecting the worm into users' local networks.
One
of the most common ways that
spyware is distributed is as a Trojan horse, bundled with a piece of
desirable software that the user downloads off the Web or a
peer-to-peer file-trading network. When the user installs the software,
the spyware is installed alongside. Spyware authors who attempt to act
legally may include an end-user license agreement which states the
behavior of the spyware in loose terms, but with the knowledge that
users are unlikely to read or understand it.
So what harm can this kind
of Malware actually do?
Click
here
to read how a German gang infected more than 100,000 computers with a
Trojan horse that forced computers to dial a premium rate porn number
and netted them 12 million Euros.
Click
here
for a list of software that we recommend to protect against these
threats. Click
here for tips on how to prevent getting a computer virus
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