The Keylogger Threat Is Real
Spyware and adware programs, currently rampaging all over the web, are perhaps the biggest single threat to the ordinary computer user’s security. Far more common than the oft-talked about and feared computer virus, almost anyone and everyone who surfs the net has been infected at some point with spyware and adware programs.
Why is that a problem? After all, they usually run in the background, and can at least on the surface seem to be fairly non-intrusive.
Well, that’s the point, really. They run in the background because in almost all cases the creator of the program doesn’t want you to know that it is there. And why is that?
Well, these programs are not called spyware and adware for nothing. Spyware spies on you (duh!) and adware is designed to plant unwanted advertising on your machine.
Between them, the net effect of these programs can be absolutely devastating. Your computer slows down to an impossibly slow rate - but that’s very probably the least of your problems. Your internet browser gets “hijacked” (taking you to all sorts of sites that you did not want to visit) and there’s dozens of those stunningly annoying pop-ups, well, popping up!
Again, inconvenient and annoying, but not the end of the world.
Far more dangerous is the fact that spyware programs are basically created to steal information from your computer. For example, information such as your secret passwords can be copied, and used to access your most sensitive or confidential data.
When it comes to detecting spyware, and the ridding your machine of it, you will generally need a specialized software program to do the job, of which there are both free and paid for versions available.
The general consensus of opinion seems to be that the best anti-spyware “strategy” is to use both free software (such as the excellent Spybot S&D) and a paid program such as NoAdware or SpyWare Doctor. And, unlike anti-virus software, it is usually no problem to be running both free and paid for anti-spyware on the same machine.
Interestingly most paid programs claim that, amongst the other “malware” they will remove is perhaps the most dangerous type of all, the key-logger. This, as the name suggests, will take note of every key you press n your machine, and send this information to someone else. Imagine the financial havoc this could cause if this was your credit card details, for example, or a security password for your company network.
According to recent tests on many of the commercial anti-spyware program available, there is both good and bad news on the key-logger front. The bad news is that many of the anti-spyware programs do not seem to be that effective at detecting and removing commercial key loggers.
The good news is that, in most cases, in order for someone to put a key logger on your machine, they need actual physical access to it.
But, note, I said most - that does not equal all, so you cannot be 100% confident of being entirely safe from key-loggers. And there is absolutely no doubt that, as the spyware designers become more sophisticated and capable, key-loggers are going to become a very serious problem for all computer users.
Let’s just hope that, as far as key-loggers are concerned, the designers of the anti-spyware programs are as on the ball as the malware creators themselves.
Stephen (Steve) Cowan is an entrepreneur, businessman and trainer who lives in Malaysia, having spent the last 20 years living and working throughout Asia. You can read more of Steve’s spyware and adware site at http://webbiz99.com/spyware_&_adware.
Tags: adware, anti spyware, keylgger, keyloggers, mlware, spywae & adware, spyware, spyware and adware9 Warning Signs You Might Be Infected With Spyware AndOr Adware
FACT: Chances are your machine is hosting spyware. There are currently over 78,000 Spyware and Adware programs on the Internet that can affect your PC.
Here are 9 warning signs you should be aware of, if any of them pertain to you then your PC is most likely infected:
If you start you Internet browser and the homepage that pops up is not the one that has been set by you. You then change it back to what you want and then it goes back to something you didn’t set again. This is one of the more common features and ways to tell that you have been taken over by some sort of spyware and that you should rid your system of it immediately.
If you get pop-ups that have been personalized with your name on them or you begin to receive pop up ads while you are not even connected to the Internet or don’t have a browser open. This is one of the more annoying ways that your system will let you know that you have something other than normal operating in your system.
You start receiving very expensive phone bills that have you placing many calls to 900 numbers that you never heard and ones that have hefty per-minute rates. Spyware takes over your phone line due to the connection that you have in conjunction with that phone service, whether dial-up or broadband.
You enter a searchable item into your required Internet toolbar or address bar and then all of sudden an unapproved searching system handles your search. More infamous items are infected with stuff such as Mysearch Bar and other spyware type search engines that only take you to their approved sites.
Another sure fire way to know that you have spyware operating on your system is that you have view your favorites list and you have favorite sites in their that you did not put in yourself and have found that other sites you put there are no longer found. You delete these items but they always show up again in your favorites.
Your system begins to run slower than normal. If you are a updated Windows OS user you pull up your task manager system information screen and see that your system is running at 100%, then you are infected with spyware because your system always needs a little free space in order to process information, which is why your system slows down when you have spyware on it.
At a time when you are not doing anything online, the send or receive lights on your dial-up or broadband modem blink just as wildly and lively as when you are online downloading a file or surfing the Internet. Also, your network icon on your screen will be flashing rapidly showing you that you are working on receiving and sending information from your system at a very rapid rate. This is the job of spyware here to send and receive information to your system without telling you.
A search toolbar or other browser toolbar appears even though you didn’t request it or install it. Your attempts to remove it fail, or it comes back after removal. Parts of spyware registry files hide themselves in your system under aliases and unless you find all of them and remove them, then they will never leave your system, causing them to show up over and over again.
And the final sign is: Everything appears to be running normal but the most deceptive and devious spyware leaves no tracking information for you to find it anyway. This is the sure way to get you to check your system on a routine and regular basis so that you are sure you have no signs of an infection.
When not on his soapbox, Andrew Wroblewski is doing battle with the thousands of spyware programs that can affect you via his ant-spyware and spyware removal website: http://spyware.pcwash.com where you can get a free spyware scan of your computer system.
Tags: ad ware, adware, keyloggers, malware, spy ware, spyware, trojan horses, worms
