If there still are few unprotected computers left, I haven't seen any. Every emerging threat causes means of defense to appear. Anti-viruses and firewalls were the first. Now most computers have also an anti-spy program installed. More and more often experts say that some computers need autonomous anti-keylogging protection as well.
Or do they? Isn't a separate anti-keylogger on a PC a little too much? Can a user do without it--why so much attention to a particular type of what is usually called spyware? Well, the threat is extremely serious, that's why.
Information is not a liquid, but, unfortunately, it tends to leak quite the same way. First something trickles out, then?Whole businesses may be washed away in no time; and the damage which data leak cause to state and government institutions can be terrifying. Data leakage is in a way comparable with a break of a dam, with one clear-cut distinction that makes all the difference. There is also another factor- information value. A tiny drop of information, if lost, is likely to cause irretrievable damage.
Money losses due to online fraud are only the tip of an iceberg. There may be irremediable mischief that can never be repaid. It happens when confidential information people have to consign to authorities is stolen. Information having to do with people's health, work, education, families, can be pinched, not out of simple curiosity, of course. Addresses and phone numbers, school and university records, tests results, police records, health records, insurances, tax records, voters lists and so long and so forth--all these contain bits of information that if made public can probably do harm to people mentioned there.
How simple and cheap it is now to get hold of spy software! Scores of various spy programs are available online, and many of them are free. Just imagine that they are within a mouse click from anyone - and do thank God if it is only some suspicious spouse.
Of course, there are means of defense. Loads of programs are specially created to counteract spy software, and they are also available online. Why data stealing is flourishing then? The problem is that the "means of defense" are, as it often happens, half a step behind "means of offense". Signature bases which all the anti-spy software depend on, are made up using clips of spy programs' codes; if a base doesn't contain the "autograph" of some spy program or virus, users are helpless against it. And what if the spy software is brand-new? What if it is tailor-made for one particular computer or network (not yours, if you are lucky enough) to be used only once? What if a respectable program for monitoring is used for spy purposes?
So, even if your PC does have some anti-monitoring or anti-spy software with a signature base, your PC may be being scanned right now anyway.
One useful tip: When reading an article where some term (for example, "spyware") is used often, make sure the author and you mean the same. There is quite a mess in definitions when it comes to types of software. Not surprisingly for those who still remember English lessons at school, every noun ending with "ware" is a mixture of objects having something in common--usually used for similar purposes. So it tends to be when "ware" is short for "software". Sometimes it's pretty tricky to define exactly what software it includes.
If software collects information without users' knowledge and transmits it, such a program is usually automatically labeled "spyware" no matter how valuable this information is. Well, let's use common sense. If spyware is a mixture of different software products based on different principles, it's unlikely that there can be one solution that could work against all of them. Absolute protection is a pie in the sky.
What kind of spyware is the most dangerous? Not just annoying, like most adware, but really dangerous? There is particular kind of software specially created for stealing information. One of the most effective ways of stealing information from a PC is capturing keystrokes. It would not be out of place to know the enemy better. Well, here they are:
Keylogging Programs (keyloggers, key loggers, keystroke loggers, key recorders, key trappers, key capture programs, etc.) belong to the group of tools that monitor PC activity. A small, fairly simple program (a programmer can write a plain one in a couple of days) captures everything the user is doing ? keystrokes, mouse clicks, files opened and closed, sites visited. A little more sophisticated programs of this kind also capture text from windows and make screenshots (record everything displayed on the screen) ? so the information is captured even if the user doesn't type anything, just opens the views the file.
Software products of this type were initially designed solely for recording keystroke information including the system keys, to the special log file to be analyzed by the person who installed this program. Log files can be sent within the network to the shared place, to the ftp server in the Internet, by e-mail etc. These new software products have many additional functions - they intercept information from windows, capture mouse clicks, make snapshots of the screen and active windows, record all received and sent emails, monitor file activity, monitor system register, monitor the printer queue, intercept sound from the microphone and video pictures from the web-camera connected to the computer, etc.
Keyloggers can be included into freeware, shareware, and even into commercial programs. Trojan programs, viruses and Internet worms pretty often contain keyloggers, too. That is why it is so important to apply special anti-keylogging protection.
Who needs separate anti-keylogging protection? We can easily deduce the answer:
Everybody whose data are really valuable and who will suffer great losses if they are stolen.
Everybody who deals with other people's confidential information.
Everybody whose work requires keeping information in secrecy.
And anybody else, who simply doesn't like the idea of his or her information (even if it isn't a top secret) leaking anywhere.
Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at the Raytown Corporation, LLC -- an independent software developing company. visit its website at: http://www.anti-keyloggers.com
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Solomon, Navision, Axapta, Microsoft CRM... Read More
First we had the original Google search that evolved into... Read More
What is Software?Software is a set of instruction written to... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is becoming more and more popular and... Read More
Every organization which creates collaborative documents, whether they are budgets,... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Navision serves both European and American megamarkets.... Read More
If you company is small or mid-size special products or... Read More
Having from five to ten and more favorite screensavers is... Read More
As we could imagine, if you are reading this article... Read More
Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their... Read More
.NET platform does not support multiple inheritance. Do not confuse... Read More
Remember back in the days where screensavers were the coolest... Read More
In this small article we will be looking at the... Read More
Logistics automation is often considered as barcoding extension to Sales... Read More
What is Interactive Mapping?Interactive mapping is a visual display medium... Read More
Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Windows XP... Read More
Viruses and spyware usually show up on your computer one... Read More
The objective for Zandi Digital is to make available clever... Read More
Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More
You might think you don't need a firewall... Read More
For a windows user like me, just can watch with... Read More
Our opinion is based on our Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More
TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More
I provide, here clear explanations and a count of function... Read More
Spyware is like the new technological nuclear weapon on the... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is emerging as very attractive vendor for... Read More
Following tips help you to learn a software in lesser... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Great Plains is designed to meet... Read More
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way for a site... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is scaled down Great... Read More
Here is some free software tools to help you build... Read More
ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. Multi-module ERP... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains might be considered as ERP platform to... Read More
Fundraising software lets you connect with donors in a way... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains has substantial mid-market share in the USA... Read More
Small can be beautiful! Working with Knoppix for the past... Read More
Learning how to program software seems like a daunting task... Read More
When my daughter was getting into AOL instant messaging (AIM)... Read More
Which Type of Shop Can Rely On A Home Built... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
What is Tripwire?Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS)... Read More
2005 ? Back to the Future.What does the future hold?... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains serves the wide spectrum of horizontal markets.... Read More
In today's business world it's all but impossible to escape... Read More
Need software to record your voice, streaming audio or musical... Read More
Most computer users use spreadsheets software such as Microsoft Excel... Read More
.Net Framework is a platform or development environment to seamlessly... Read More
This article is the fourth of a series of articles... Read More
Are you a database professional? Do you work with a... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of horizontals and retail... Read More
The most important benefit of XML is its simplicity. Though... Read More
When you visit department stores and see that majority of... Read More
Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More
MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More
Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic... Read More
If you have Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise (version 6.0 or earlier)... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains and MS CRM (client relation... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision, Axapta,... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, designed back in 1990th as database transferable... Read More
Document Management or Enterprise Information Management is perhaps one of... Read More
Vince Lombardi once said that, "The achievements of an organization... Read More
While I was in college, if you would have asked... Read More
As you probably know, when Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software... Read More
Microsoft Word is one of the most popular office applications... Read More
Executive SummaryAn effective plan for entering, cleaning and updating the... Read More
Software |