What is Spyware?
Spyware monitors your surfing habits and sends the data off to some remote server in cyberland. Your computer can get infected with spyware easily by visiting a web page or installing a software program. Kazza is a classic example of a free software download riddled with spyware. More info here: http://compactURL.com/sdft
Spyware Detection Alert
Every week I do a full system scan with Norton Internet Security Professional.
This version of Norton is the top of the range when it comes to detecting all manner of viruses including Trojan horses, spyware, scumware, joke programs and other programs which can cause harm or pose a security risk.
It is an excellent program and I believe my computer would be dead and buried if it was not for Norton.
My most recent scan detected a Trojan Horse called Download.Trojan. This little meanie will attempt to go to the originators site and download more Trojans, worms, viruses and execute them. Scary stuff but Norton nipped it in the bud before any problems were created.
Also, every day Norton detects threats contained within my incoming emails. It immediately removes the threats by either fixing the infected files or deleting infected emails. This can be a reason I can be accused of not answering emails. Bad luck I say to that.
Ever since I have been running Norton, I have not been scanning with Ad-Aware. I recently discovered that Anti-Virus programs, as good as they are, sometimes fail to detect all threats from a computer. So I did a full scan with Ad-Aware and was surprised to discover even more spyware on my system. So now I will also be scanning once a week with Ad-Aware.
Free Spyware Removal Software
Ad-Aware is so good and yet it is free. It is available from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/
There is more good free spyware detection programs available here: http://www.spybot.info/en/index.
Find out what Scumware is here: http://www.scumware.com
Symantec has an Online Virus Encyclopedia which after a little browse, should be enough motivation for anyone to get some kind of anti-virus and security program installed on their computer. Find the entire A-Z known viruses encyclopedia here: http://compactURL.com/qhdf
Conclusion
Do a full system scan at least every week. Download the latest Anti-Virus definitions as soon as they become available. Use more than one program to ensure all threats are detected and removed immediately. Always enable your anti-virus and security program to scan all incoming and outgoing emails.
If you do not have the very best anti-virus protection, do not complain if your emails get no response. I allow my anti-virus program to delete all infected emails along with any attachments.
Copyright 2004 Ed Zivkovic
The author, Ed Zivkovic owns his own website which contains articles with all sorts of tips for work at home webmasters. Here is the site: http://www.ezau.com
Latest News:
Spyware: Telecom firms may face stiff fines
The Union law ministry has suggested a penalty on telecom service providers (licensees) equivalent to 100 per cent of their contract value if any equipment bought and installed by them is found to have any spyware or malware.
Android Spyware: Millions Downloaded Thievish Wallpaper App (Updated)
Mobile security firm Lookout announced today at the Black Hat security conference that millions of Android users had downloaded a wallpaper app that sends user information to a unknown site in China, reported VentureBeat . Concerns about app access to private information were raised last month, but this may be the first instance of Android malware in the wild. Android's enterprise-readiness has ...
Android dev rejects rogue app claims, still highlights risks
Mobile app developer Jackeey Wu defended himself against claims of producing Android spyware apps today while also underscoring some of the risks of Google's mobile OS. He noted that some of the permissions his Wallpapers allegedly requested, such as for the web browser history and SMS message records, aren't in the actual app. As requesting private information automatically flags the app in ...