Is Spyware Watching You?

Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from a friend who told me he'd been the victim of a "spyware" attack that left him shaking at his loss of privacy.

I listened to his horror story with a sympathetic ear, but I felt secure since I carry anti-virus software and a firewall (both by Norton).

At his suggestion - and to my surprise - I ran a program called "Spy Sweeper" and found a veritable minefield of dangerous and harmful programs lurking on my computer.

"Spyware" is software that gets onto your computer and literally "spies" on your activities.

The spying can range from relatively harmless use of cookies tracking you across multiple websites... to extremely dangerous "keystroke loggers" which record passwords, credit cards, and other personal data. That data then gets relayed to the person who put the software on your computer.

Three primary types of spyware exist to complicate your online life, including:

1. "cookies"
2. "adware"
3. malicious programs like "keystroke loggers"

Cookies represent mostly a danger of lost privacy.

In theory, someone could use a "cookie" to track you across multiple sites, combine that data with several databases, and figure out a lot more information about you than would make you comfortable.

"Adware" tracks more than just your movement across sites, it spies on your installed software and computer habits to then serve up advertising, modify websites before you see them, and generally do things without your knowledge with the intention of trying to get you to buy things.

"Keystroke loggers" and other malicious programs exist for one purpose: to cause personal mayhem and financial damage.

Spyware gets on your computer in one of several different ways.

First, it rides along with software you download from the 'Net and install on your system.

Second, they come as email attachments (much like viruses) and automatically install themselves on your computer when you open the email message.

Third, hackers find an open port on your computer and use the "back door" to install basically anything they want.

And fourth, the more malicious types, like keystroke loggers, can even get installed by someone with direct physical access to your computer such as an employer, suspicious spouse, business competitor, or someone who wants to know exactly what you're doing.

Now, suppose you carry an up-to-date anti-virus program and a firewall - shouldn't that represent potent protection?

In a word: NO!

I can personally attest that even the most up-to-date anti- virus programs and firewalls will not (repeat, WILL NOT) catch all the spyware that can infest your computer.

You need a program that specifically scans your system for the tens-of-thousands of existing spyware programs along with the new ones appearing daily.

Check out "Spy Sweeper" from webroot.com - this is the program I used to discover the spyware on my computer.

One thing I noticed, however, is that this program is a memory hog, so once I scanned, I turned it off and then use it 2-3 times a week... not the best strategy, but I want to give you the "whole" picture.

I also got the following recommendations from numerous subscribers about 2 programs to specifically help identify and remove spyware from your system (PC):

1. "Ad Aware" from lavasoft.de
2. "Spybot Search & Destroy" from safer-networking.org

The overwhelmingly recommended firewall suggested by readers was Zone Alarm Pro from Zone Labs => http://www.ebookfire.com/zonealarm.html

The bottom line seems pretty simple (but lengthy) if you want to protect yourself against this growing threat.

~ Keep your anti-virus program current
~ Install a firewall
~ Carefully screen software before installing it
~ Scan for specifically for spyware weekly
~ Stay current on this growing threat.

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com

About the Author:

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (http://www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of several best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> Turn Words Into Traffic

---

Breaking Into Your PC: News...

You'd better learn news from media, not from emails, security... Read More

Criminals are Fishing For Your Identity

What is Phishing? In a typical Phishing attack, a criminal... Read More

Its War I Tell You!

There are ways to insure security though. You can get... Read More

Phishing, Fraudulent, and Malicious Websites

Whether we like it or not, we are all living... Read More

Secrets On Security: A Gentle Introduction To Cryptography

Let us take the example of scrambling an egg. First,... Read More

Technology and Techniques Used in Industrial Espionage

Industrial Espionage. These methodologies are being used on a daily... Read More

All About Computer Viruses

Your computer is as slow as molasses. Your mouse freezes... Read More

Be Alert! Others Can Catch Your Money Easily!

So called phishers try to catch the information about the... Read More

HackAttack

P C. owners are constantly at risk from attacks by... Read More

Cybercriminals Trick: Targeted Trojan-Containing Emails

Threats we ordinary Web users face online leave us no... Read More

Top Ten Spyware and Adware Threats Identified

On December 8, 2004 Webroot, an award winning anti-spyware solution... Read More

Web Conferencing Readers - So What Do We Do with the PAYPAL SPAMMER

From: "Paypal Security" Subject: New Security Requirements Date: Tue, 26... Read More

Check Out That Privacy Policy

Before you enter your name, address or any other data... Read More

How Did This Happen to Me? Top 10 Ways to Get Spyware or Viruses on Your Computer

If you use the internet, you have probably been infected... Read More

Password Security and Safety

There is nothing more important that password security in world... Read More

Lottery Scam, What It is and how to Avoid It?

Internet scams and frauds are on the rise! The quantity... Read More

A Personal Experience with Identity Theft

Some months ago, before there was much publicity regarding phishing... Read More

How To Clean the Spies In Your Computer?

Manual Spy Bot Removal > BookedSpaceBookedSpace is an Internet Explorer... Read More

Protection for Your PC - Painless and Free!

Viruses, Bugs, Worms, Dataminers, Spybots, and Trojan horses. The Internet... Read More

DOS Attacks: Instigation and Mitigation

During the release of a new software product specialized to... Read More

Dialing Up a Scam: Avoiding the Auto-Dialer Virus

For many, the daily walk to the mailbox evokes mixed... Read More

Identity Theft - Dont Blame The Internet

Identity theft ? also known as ID theft, identity fraud... Read More

An Open Letter From a So-called Stupid

Someone recently told me, "You would have to be a... Read More

Adware and Spyware: The Problems and Their Solutions

The Threat10 years ago you could probably have run no... Read More

Free Spyware Removal - Its Not As Easy As It Sounds

Nobody wants to pay to remove spyware. At the very... Read More

Traditional Antivirus Programs Useless Against New Unidentified Viruses!

Every now and then you can read about a new... Read More

Phishing - Identity Theft & Credit Card Fraud

What is Phishing? Phishing is a relatively newly coined term... Read More

Personal Firewalls for Home Users

What is a Firewall?The term "firewall" illustrates a system that... Read More

The 5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet

Spyware, viruses and worms... oh my!If you are connected to... Read More

The Importance of Protecting Your PC from Viruses and Spam

Today the internet is a mine field of malicious code... Read More

Message Board Security Problems

Security leaks can be a big problem for any site... Read More

Clown Internet Scam - An Internet Scam is Currently Targeting Clowns and Other Entertainers

I am the victim of an internet scam. It is... Read More

What is Spyware?

The most frustrating part of having Spyware on your computer... Read More