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Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking and investing to shopping. As we do these things on a more regular basis, we open ourselves up to potential hackers, attackers and crackers. While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer as a platform from which to attack other unknowing targets. Below are a few easy, cost-effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.
1. Always make backups of important information and store in a safe place separate from your computer.
2. Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently. If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and running the update wizard. This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer. Also go to www.officeupdate.microsoft.com to locate possible patches for your Office programs.
3. Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
4. Review your browser and email settings for optimum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. At a minimum set your security setting for the “internet zone” to High, and your “trusted sites zone” to Medium Low.
5. Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates so that you receive the most current versions.
6. Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
7. Do not run programs from unknown origins. Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers because they contain funny or amusing stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojans horse waiting to infect a computer.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to “hide file extensions for known file types”. Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
9. Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off.
10. Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.
The Windows Registry has many sections that lets program run automatically by altering its key values. Spyware can make use of this Windows feature to besiege spyware removal effort. The software usually links from each registry location that permits execution. When the system runs, the spyware from time to time check the registry and when any of the links are missing, they will be restored automatically.
Many adware is spyware. It shows advertisements in relation to what it sees from spying on your system. Gator Software published by Claria Corporation and Bargain Buddy released by Exact Advertising are classic examples. Accessed websites often install Gator on visitor's computer in a furtive passion. It rewards the installing site and Claria by popping-out advertisements to the prospective client. The user on the hand gets numerous unsolicited pop-up advertisements.
The preponderance of spyware has made other legitimate software a suspect of proliferating this malicious program. Some users tagged the Alexa Toolbar, a plug-in designed for Internet Explorer distributed by a leading commercial website, as spyware. Several anti-spyware like Ad-aware also reports it as one. Most adware distributors are supported by multimillion dollar adware-generating income.
Software such as P2P or Peer-to-peer act as spyware. It comes bundled with a free advertising-supported application. Most users are willing to download this software. Developers of anti-spyware programs whose removal tools could unwittingly remove wanted software are having a hard time dealing with this problem.
A spyware is almost never alone on a computer. An infected system can be infected quickly by many other threats. Users usually complain of unwanted behavior and poor system performance. Spyware infestation can remarkably make unusual CPU activity, network traffic and significant disk usage, all of which can slow the system down.
Some infections render the spyware totally invisible. The victims helplessly presume that the issues are associated with the hardware, computer virus, or Windows installation related problems. Critically affected system may need to reinstall all programs just to return to previous functional condition. Some even buy a new computer to replace the existing system.
The CoolWebSearch, is a set of applications that attacks Internet Explorer flaws. It guides traffic to advertisements on websites. This software shows pop-up ads, manipulates results of search engine, and changes the infected system's host files to lead Domain Name System to search for their advertiser's websites.
The Internet Optimizer also called DyFuCa re-routes pages of Internet Explorer error to advertising. When users supply a wrong URL or go after a broken link, it displays a page of advertisement.
The Zango (once called 180 Solutions) transfers elaborated information to advertisers on the sites that users access. It can also modify HTTP requests for associate advertisements linked from a website, for the advertisements produce profit in favor of 180 Solutions company. This software displays popup that overrides a competitor's website.