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[T776]The Trojan Horse Virus

by John Savage, Joh

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasnt been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their free, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious ones can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

1 Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.
2 Ensure that your operating system is always up to date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.
3 Install reliable anti virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti virus program that you choose can also scan e mails and files downloaded through the internet.
4 Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computers security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.

There is of course a lot more information out there on this subject. Your local bookstore and library will have some useful articles on this, and I have seen a number of helpful Blogs on this as well.

High Position Ltd has once again come under the spotlight due to their continuing success in organic search positioning; this time the bid to purchase the company has come from a leading Scandinavian company who specialise in complete IT solutions including marketing and hosting platforms. The bid has been turned down by the High Position management team, managing director Steve Dart released the following short statement: ?High Position Ltd are flattered by the attention we are receiving from major players in the market, we feel that our ongoing success in search positioning and the rapid acquisition of corporate clients has made us the envy of SEM agencies worldwide, we expect to receive further interest from the industry as we progress our comprehensive corporate client base?.

The market speculation about consolidation in the search industry is gaining momentum especially after the recent acquisitions of two other leading SEM agencies, this particular bid is of interest as it shows once again that the growing UK search marketing industry is a lucrative and enviable market. The ?quoted? Scandinavian company is looking to capture a share of this market and would be following the recognised strategy of other large organisations that are now targeting this industry sector.

Of course this consolidation will be driven by the larger companies looking mainly to strengthen their overall suite of marketing services or by adding value to an existing service where it is performing poorly, what is interesting here is that there is a desire for companies to want to move into the UK market using the acquisition of an SEM company as a ?Trojan Horse? for the UK market. There is evidence that existing Media companies servicing US markets are looking to use the digital path to get offline advertising services into the UK market, similarly hosting companies, networking and general IT companies are all eyeing up this market space so they can target the rapidly growing UK market from within.

Additionally an established European ?quoted? company has much to gain in PR by announcing its introduction to a growing and valuable UK market, an appreciable rise in share price will often accompany an announcement of a serious step into this space and if the purchase is for a well known and established purveyor of digital marketing services then it is likely to push added value rapidly for their shareholders and this is definitely a driver at present.

The interesting twist on this is that whilst traditional UK advertising agencies are slow to step into the UK SEM market the overseas companies hungry for a share are not, some of these will acquirers will undoubtedly be IT based but some will be general advertising companies. It is likely that by the time UK advertising leaders truly switch on to the fact that they currently cannot provide a complete digital experience for their clients the cherries in the industry will be owned by their overseas competitors and will lament the missed opportunities they had to step in first.

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Both John Savage & Emmab are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John Savage has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Online Business and Marketing. john savage has a helpful Blog on the subject of . John Savage's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.

Emmab has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Security, Site promotion and Search Engine Marketing. Emma Baker consultant at http://www.highposition.net. Emmab's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.