MALWARE Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| You just bought your first computer, Congratulations! Now it's time for
the Internet Service; you got it all connected and online when the next thing you realize
your computer is slowed to a near halt, your start-button is running away from your mouse
and it starts flashing obscenities on your screen. What do you do
now? Well, first you must know that any time you go online, your computer is susceptible to many types of malware. Different types of malware affect your computer in different ways, and to different degrees. The most common variants of malware fall under the categories of Virus, Worm, Trojan Horse, Spyware, Adware, and Browser Hijacker. You can help keep your computer malware-free by heeding a few precautions:
Now, we'll identify and distinguish what each category of malware does, and how you can protect your computer from it. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| A virus is a computer program file capable of attaching to disks or other
files and replicating itself repeatedly, typically without user knowledge or permission.
Some viruses attach to files so when the infected file executes, the virus also executes.
Other viruses sit in a computer's memory and infect files as the computer opens, modifies
or creates the files. Some viruses display symptoms, and some viruses damage files and
computer systems, but neither symptoms nor damage is essential in the definition of a
virus; a non-damaging virus is still a virus. We can protect our computers from viruses by running proper Antivirus protection. Some common Antivirus programs that I run into and have experience using are Symantec Antivirus (Norton), McAfee Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, and Computer Associates e-Trust EZ-Antivirus. I use and highly recommend AVG Antivirus. The reason's being that I've seen it work better then the other products, it catches more trojans, very simple to use and install, it seems to take less resources, and it will work on Windows 95 (with the DCOM95 update installed from Microsoft,) and best of all, it's free. There are more antivirus programs than this, and an unlisted product may be just as good or better than those listed. When you run an antivirus program, you must remember to update it on a scheduled basis (once a week) or set it to automatically update for you. All Antivirus software is nearly useless if it isn't updated. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| Worms are parasitic computer programs that replicate, but unlike viruses, do
not infect other computer program files. Worms can create copies on the same computer, or
can send the copies to other computers via a network. Worms are often spread via Email. We can protect our computers from worms by running proper Antivirus protection, which also adequately protects against worms. Some common Antivirus programs that I use are Symantec Antivirus (Norton), McAfee Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, and Computer Associates e-Trust EZ-Antivirus. There are more antivirus programs than that, and an unlisted product may be just as good or better than those listed, just make sure the product offered protects not just against viruses but worms as well. When you run an antivirus program, you must remember to update it on a scheduled basis (once a week) or set it to automatically update for you. Antivirus is nearly useless without doing this. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| A Trojan Horse is used to enter a victim's computer undetected, granting the
attacker unrestricted access to the data stored on that computer and causing great damage
to the victim. A Trojan can be a hidden program that runs on your computer without your
knowledge, or it can be 'wrapped' into a legitimate program - meaning that this program
may have hidden functions that you are not aware of. People who run P2P software
(peer-to-peer file sharing like Kazaa) often have trojans on their computer. Trojans
are a growing problem; it seems most of the infected computers that come in have
trojans. So how do you protect your computer from Trojans? A common misconception is that anti-virus software offers all the protection you need. The truth is anti-virus software offers only limited protection. Anti-virus software recognizes only a portion of all known Trojans and does not recognize unknown Trojans. AVG Antivirus has great trojan detection and removal, I've seen it work better then both Norton and McAfee (and it's free). Some advanced adware/spyware removal utilities will detect and remove trojans. Spy Cleaner Gold does remove some trojans. There is trojan specific removal procedures and utilities; I generally would do a Google search to find these utilities. There is no way to catch all trojans, especially since many of them are unknown. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hi-jacker |
| Spyware covertly gathers user information and activity without the
user’s knowledge. Spy software can record your keystrokes as you type them,
passwords, credit card numbers, sensitive information, where you surf, chat logs, and can
even take random screenshots of your activity. Basically, whatever you do on the computer
is completely viewable by the spy. You do not have to be connected to the Internet to be
spied upon. Spyware can be cleaned out and removed by Anti-spyware programs. The ones I use are Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Spyware Doctor, and Spy Cleaner Gold. Ad-Aware and Spybot are free programs. Beware when using programs other than those, I've seen and heard of spyware removers containing spyware worse than what it detects! Also, don't click on anything you see online that says you may have spyware on your computer. Generally that's just a link to a junk spyware remover that will end up with your computer in the shop. Anti-Spyware utilities need to be updated on a scheduled basis (weekly recommended) similar to Antivirus. The two free Anti-Spyware utilities listed above also must be manually scanned on a weekly basis. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| Adware can do a number of things from profile your online surfing and
spending habits to popping up annoying ad windows as you surf. In some cases, adware
is bundled with other software, slipped in the fine print of the user agreement or not
disclosed to the user at all. If you get "popups" frequently, it may be
a result of Adware. Generally adware and spyware are detected and removed by the same utilities. The ones I use are Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Spyware Doctor, and Spy Cleaner Gold. Beware when using programs other than those, I've seen and heard of adware removers containing adware worse than what it detects! Also, don't click on anything you see online that says you may have adware on your computer. Generally that's just a link to a junk adware remover that will end up with your computer in the shop. Anti-Adware utilities need to be updated on a scheduled basis (weekly recommended) similar to Anti-virus. The two free Anti-Adware utilities listed above also must be manually scanned on a weekly basis. |
Virus - Worm - Trojan Horse - Spyware - Adware - Browser Hijacker |
| Browser Hijackers are programs that change some settings in your browser. Most commonly, browser hijackers will: - Change your "search" page to pass all searches to a certain pay-per-search site - Change your default home page to the company page (most often pornographic sites) - Send a list of websites viewed to their company. In the
worst case scenario, a browser hijacker can make the Internet almost impossible to use,
popping up dozens of advertising windows and directing you helplessly to sites of its
choosing. |