Beware of Spyware

Now, what is this spyware? In technical terms, spyware is a computer software that people put into your computer with the purpose of to intercept or take control over your interaction with your computer.

Spyware is rapidly becoming the curse of the country. It was estimated that thousands of Malaysians are infected each day!

The software that is installed in your computer without your knowledge will secretly monitors your behavior (the way you use your computer). It can log (make a record) on your activities, such as, where you surf, what email you use, where you send your email. Scarry, right?

Spyware can also interfere your control of your computer by installing additional software, redirecting your web browser's activities or even diverting advertising revenue to a third party.

How to combat this spyware things?

Luckily, small industries came to a rescue by producing anti-spyware software. You should get one to. Install and run your anti-spyware program so that you can have a sleep with a clear mind that your computer is safe and sound.

A study in 2005 showed that 61% of surveyed user's computers had some form of spyware. As many as 92% of the surveyed users with spyware inside their computer reported that they did not know of its presence. By 2006, spyware has become one of the preeminent security threat to computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. The Webroot Software, makers of Spy Sweeper estimated that nine out of ten computers connected to the internet are infected.

Adware

Adware refers to any software which displays advertisement with or without the users consent. This software are are advertising-supported software and not a spyware. They did not spying, but they just advertise. Spyware and adware exploits infected computers for commercial gains.

Unlike viruses or worms, spyware and adware did not usually self-replicate. It also did not wipe out your whole system.

What should you do?

Choose an anti-spyware program. However, choosing anti-spyware to get rid of the problems is fraught with its own difficulties as there are over 300 products available in the market (or online markets). Examples of anti-spyware programs are Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Professional, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (beta), PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.2, Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4, Spy Cleaner 8.4, Steganos AntiSpyware Generation 7, Sunbelt CounterSpy, Trend Micro AntiSpyware 3, and Webroot Spy Sweeper 4.

Computer Virus

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.

The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware. These malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware, and other malicious and unwanted software, including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but has a hidden agenda. Worms and Trojans, like viruses, may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when they are executed. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious.

Most personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, Instant Messaging, and file sharing systems to spread.

Preventive measures

Many users install anti-virus software that can detect and eliminate known viruses after the computer downloads or runs the executable. There are two common methods that an anti-virus software application uses to detect viruses. The first, and by far the most common method of virus detection is using a list of virus signature definitions. This works by examining the content of the computer's memory (its RAM, and boot sectors) and the files stored on fixed or removable drives (hard drives, floppy drives), and comparing those files against a database of known virus "signatures". The disadvantage of this detection method is that users are only protected from viruses that pre-date their last virus definition update. The second method is to use a heuristic algorithm to find viruses based on common behaviors. This method has the ability to detect viruses that anti-virus security firms have yet to create a signature for.

Some anti-virus programs are able to scan opened files in addition to sent and received e-mails 'on the fly' in a similar manner. This practice is known as "on-access scanning." Anti-virus software does not change the underlying capability of host software to transmit viruses. Users must update their software regularly to patch security holes. Anti-virus software also needs to be regularly updated in order to prevent the latest threats.

One may also minimise the damage done by viruses by making regular backups of data (and the operating systems) on different media, that are either kept unconnected to the system (most of the time), read-only or not accessible for other reasons, such as using different file systems. This way, if data is lost through a virus, one can start again using the backup (which should preferably be recent). If a backup session on optical media like CD and DVD is closed, it becomes read-only and can no longer be affected by a virus (so long as a virus or infected file was not copied onto the CD/DVD). Likewise, an operating system on a bootable CD can be used to start the computer if the installed operating systems become unusable. Backups on removable media must be carefully inspected before restoration. The Gammima virus, for example, propagates via removable flash drives.