Johnny Doe, meet the McGeeks.
What Exactly is Spyware?
Jul 20th
We’ve written a lot here about how to prevent or get rid of spyware, but it hadn’t dawned on us that some of you might appreciate a basic description of just what spyware is until one reader emailed us with that very question, so here it is, the ugly truth, in brief detail:
Spyware!
Basically, spyware is typically a small software program (or script) written with the single purpose of spying on your computer files and/or keyboard strokes in order to find and steal personal information, such as credit card numbers, login usernames and passwords, trade or business secrets, or any other sensitive information the spyware creator may want to get their hands on.
Most often, spyware gets delivered to you as a parasite attached to some other software or files, such as images, without your knowledge.
It can be hard to determine if a file or program you’ve downloaded from the Internet has spyware attached to it, and harder still to tell if you’ve been infected with spyware. That, mixed with how serious the security risk is to PC’s and workstations, is the main reason we talk about spyware so often here.
And while there is certain anti-spyware software which we endorse here, we really don’t care what software you use as much as we care about urging everyone to use some form of prevention and protection software in addition to a strong Firewall and Anti-Virus.
Image Source: sxc.hu user arinas74
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Computers and Viruses and Spyware, Oh My
May 19th
We write about the threats of viruses, spyware and malware a lot, but it’s still what we’re most often asked about so we are happy to continue trying to provide you with the best information we can find on the subjects.
The bottom line with these threats is that while a majority can be cleaned or removed from your system after infection, that doesn’t mean they didn’t do great harm before you found them, so the best thing to do is take every step possible to prevent them from getting on your PC in the first place.
This means having a good Firewall and AntiVirus setup on your machine, and allowing them to update your protections daily. This usually runs in the background and won’t interfere with what you’re doing on the computer.
There are free options for both available, as well as affordable commercial titles too. We prefer one of the commercial products out there simply because they seem to update against the latest threats a little faster than the free options do, and the level of support you can expect when paying for software is usually higher.
Still, if you can’t afford a few dollars for one of the commercial firewall and antivirus products then at the very least use the free options… just get your PC protected.
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Internet Security In The Workplace
Mar 24th
Businesses struggle with securing their Information and Data against intentional and unintentional breaches on a daily basis. Everything from hackers to hardware failures pose a threat to digital files, but one area many businesses overlook or tend to not be cautious enough in is the Internet access of their employees.
- Information leaks
- Hackers
- Spyware and Malware
- Virus and Trojan infections
These are just a few of the potential risks when employees have Internet access, and they pose a threat to more than just the individual employee’s workstation. Once inside, hackers or programs can potentially gain access to your entire network, your databases, customer information, payroll information…almost everything you have in digital form.
For managers and owners in workplaces where employees have Internet access it’s vital to ensure that you have taken every possible measure to secure your network and every workstation against intrusions. Don’t rely on your employees to be safe while online, because without the proper tools and security in place there is no such thing as safe Internet activity.
And for anyone who works in an office that provides Internet access, it would not be out of line to inquire with your supervisor about whether they’ve taken the appropriate steps to secure their office hardware from intrusions. Remember, you’re not just protecting the business, but also your own personal information and the data of your customers too.
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Removing The Vundo Trojan From Your PC
Mar 23rd
We’ve received a few messages recently from people who unfortunately found their PC’s infected with the Vundo Trojan. Some have called it a virus, but it’s really a trojan horse which most often causes popups and other dubious and unwanted advertising to appear on your screen.
This trojan horse has also been used by some malicious people to do things like launch Denial of Service attacks on networks from the infected machines, so this is more severe than a simple annoying issue of advertising, it opens your machine up to all kinds of risky behavior.
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Vundo Removal- How did this virus ruin my computer?
by Jake Black
In the past few years there has been one virus on the internet that has destroyed countless computers and had their owners wondering how it all happened. The vundo.trojan virus has steadily infected computers all over the world at a great rate since its inception in 2005. Many experts state that over 50% of the computers connected to the computer without adequate antivirus protection were infected in 2008. The vundo Trojan is definitely a disaster for any computer, as it can literally destroy a computer in mere days, if not hours. I have personally had a lot of experience dealing with vundo over the years, and have staged many battles against the virus over the years and vundo has won a majority of the time. Vundo has taken over many names over the years of its existence and has hundreds of variations; virtuemonde, vundo, win32 vundo, MS Juan, virtumondo are just a few of the more popular stands infecting computers today. The one fact about vundo that is concerning is that the most popular spyware programs on the market cannot remove the virus. Programs like Norton or McAfee can detect the threat and tell you when your computer is infected, but have problems actually neutralizing the threat of the Trojan. The problem that most people have when they get the virus is they think that since the virus was detected it should be taken care of by one of these programs, which most of the time is incorrect. These programs are very good at many things, but do not cut it when it comes to the vundo virus, probably because the virus was designed to withstand these programs that control most of the market. Vundo spreads in a way that is hard to control, especially with the spread of p2p networks like limewire, kazza, and bittorrent. You can get vundo in many ways, including:
• P2P (peer to peer) programs such as limewire, kazzaa, and ares are common sources of the virus. Fake music, movie, or codec files are uploaded and when they are opened on your computer automatically install vundo without your knowledge.
• Direct downloads from bad websites. Many sites will funnel you through to a download of the virus without your knowledge, many of these sites are of the adult nature and create pop ups and trouble for your computer. Some sites will not let you exit unless you download a file onto your computer, and these are extremely dangerous and account for many vundo problems.
• Emails from spammers. Many people will open the wrong email and get the vundo virus. Anti-spyware can generally regulate and check your emails for problems before they are opened.
• Other ways of getting vundo exist, but they all come from the internet in some way.
The Dangers of letting vundo have free reign over your computer are monumental, as it can download horrible files like key loggers that download important files from your computer and can lead directly to identity theft. It is extremely important to remove the virus completely and quickly to prevent any loss of data and the working order of your computer. Visit www.vundo-removal.com for vundo removal tips and recommended anti-spyware programs.
Hi, I’m Jake Black and I have been an IT specialist for 20 years. I have an expertise in spyware and anti-virus programs and own a few websites dedicated to protection of computers from viruses. Please Visit www.vundo-removal.com for a detailed guide on how to remove the vundo virus and keep spyware off of your computer for good.
Almost Anyone Can Remove Spyware or a Virus – Save Money
Mar 13th
My friend has taken her Laptop to a local shop for security “clean ups” 5 times in the last year because she believed it had been compromised by either a virus or some form of spyware. Each clean up trip costing her $74.95
That’s almost $400 in one year to do what she probably could have done herself in just a few minutes with the right software helper, many of which can be purchased for under $100.
Here is some more information on how almost anybody can do their own security clean ups and save some money:
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Virus Help and Spyware Removal…how company’s profit off you!
by James Plewak
The truth about how to remove viruses and spyware.
Are you technologically challenged? Do you pay large electronic stores for “tune-ups” and virus removal? Unfortunately any company that charges you money to remove your viruses is taking advantage of your lack of knowledge. Removing viruses and cleaning out malware are the common problems faced with people today.
First of all, to remove malware you don’t need any sort of certification or programming expertise, all you need is a good virus removal program and a search engine. Here are the simple steps needed to remove a virus for people who really don’t know how things work.
1) Purchase effective software that doesn’t take up a lot of system resources. (Information on anti virus products and other software at bottom of page)
2) Install the software with its easy to follow step by step installation procedures.
3) Run the software’s entire system scans.
4) Follow the software’s virus removal steps…
Sounds just a little to simple…
That is basically what the people you pay 50$ to 100$ do to remove your viruses. Kind of frustrating isn’t it? However not ALL viruses are that simple to remove, that is where google comes into play. Simply google what the virus may be doing, from moving your cursor to closing your web browser, and there are guides posted by other people for removing the virus! My website will recommend to you the best products and helpful guides to remove viruses.
When you encounter a virus that your software is not able to remove, first you have to find out what kind of virus you are dealing with. Once you have done your research into google on your computer’s symtoms, you just have to bombard your system with anti malware software. When your computer gets a virus you basicly treat it as that bad cold you got before you had a big day at work.
You woke up in the morning, feeling awful, and took as many cold medications, remedy’s, tea’s and decongestants that you thought your body could handle. Similarly with a virus you just install some free and some very inexpensive products and run them all over the course of the day, any virus that is in your system, will be removed!
James D. Plewak offers computer tips, help and product recommendations to optimize speed, safety and security. Visit Virus help and removal for more information, helpful tips, post questions or find products. James will do is best assisting you with your computer and virus issues.
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