Internet Security Software: Free Downloads To Secure Your PC
The internet is considered as the information superhighway where you can gather the information you need for school and work. In fact, the internet is so useful that people have begun to use it for businesses.
The internet can even be a great way to entertain yourself with downloadable movies, comics and music. Another benefit the internet gives is that you can do your shopping for your clothes and groceries right in the comforts of your own home. You no longer need to go out to the supermarket or to the mall to buy the things you need. All you need to do is log in to an online shopping website and purchase the items you need.
Unfortunately, useful as the internet may be, it also has its dangers. Since more and more people are purchasing goods and services in the internet, it also paved the way for new kinds of criminals. These criminals will try and get your financial and personal information and use it to steal money from you without you knowing about it until it’s too late.
These people develop programs or softwares that can invade your personal computer silently and will start gathering information for the developer. With these programs, they will have access to your files and know every key you type in your keyboard and every click of your mouse. Sometimes, these programs simply destroy the files inside your computer.
Here are the different programs cyber criminals use to destroy your files, or obtain your personal information:
• Spyware
• Adware
• Viruses
• Spam emails
In order to protect yourself and your PC from the different malicious software circulating the internet, you have to purchase a kind of internet security software. However, since there is a lot of security software available in the internet, you will be confused on which one you should purchase.
This is why there are trial periods for softwares in order for you to determine which software is better. Trial or demo versions of the different internet security software are free and can be downloaded instantly from the company’s website. You can download it for free, install it in your computer, and test it if it would be worth your time and money to purchase the full version of the software.
However, these demo versions can only protect your personal computer at a limited time only. After the trial period expires, the software will be locked and you will need to purchase the full version of the software in order to use it again.
Some trial versions have full capabilities while others have only limited capabilities. These free software versions can also be very useful. You can try and use these versions until you find the internet security software you want. Think of it as a temporary fix until you find the right software.
So, if you are looking for a way to protect your computer from malicious software at least temporarily, you can try out the free versions of internet security software until you find the software that is right for your computer. You have to find the software that offer full capabilities against the growing threat in the internet today. It should be able to fight off viruses, spyware, adware, spam emails, and hackers.
With the right kind of software, you will be sure that you can surf the internet without worrying about the different malicious software circulating the internet today.
Showing posts with label malware. Show all posts
Showing posts with label malware. Show all posts
Friday, July 4, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse….Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?
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 hasn’t 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 Trojans 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 Trojans 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 computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.
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 hasn’t 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 Trojans 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 Trojans 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 computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Is "Malware" Malicious
According to Wikipedea "Malware" is: "software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent."
In today's technology tip we have some definitions of the names you might have heard for various kinds of malware.
computer viruses - a computer program that can copy itself onto a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user (complete wikipedia definition). Viruses could be introduced to your computer from a disk, flash drive, CD.
computer worms - Similar to a computer virus but a worm can "Self replicate" itself to other computers throughout a computer network without any user involvement (complete wikipedia definition).
trojan horse - Just like the mythological Trojan Horse, these programs appear to be useful free downloads but when you download them to your computer you also download other unwanted and malicious programs onto your computer (complete wikipedia definition). Trojans could thus be used to install all kinds of malware onto your computer.
spyware - Malware that is downloaded to your computer with the purpose of tracking or recording the user's activities without the user's consent (complete wikipedia definition). Such malicious software could be used to log keystrokes to get passwords, or just track internet search histories to target pop-up advertisements.
adware - Some free downloads from the internet will ask the user for consent to install spyware software on the users computer as part of the download agreement (complete wikipedia definition). Such software is usually refered to as adware instead of spyware since the user has given consent to be tracked in exchange for some free software.
web cookies - These are usually harmless bits of text that are downloaded automatically whenever you open a website. (complete wikipedia definition) The cookie is used to track your visits to a specific website. The cerators of websites use cookies to gather data about who and how often their website is being accessed.
How to clean malware off your computer?
For starters, here's a popular free download for finding spyware on your computer: Ad-Aware from Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
They have a free version that you can try.
Then there's the anti-virus software you can buy. Here's a review of the Top Antivirus Software from PC World:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,124475/article.html
You might want to consider protecting your personal computer with these products. If you already have some antivirus software you might want to check it's expiration date.
In today's technology tip we have some definitions of the names you might have heard for various kinds of malware.
computer viruses - a computer program that can copy itself onto a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user (complete wikipedia definition). Viruses could be introduced to your computer from a disk, flash drive, CD.
computer worms - Similar to a computer virus but a worm can "Self replicate" itself to other computers throughout a computer network without any user involvement (complete wikipedia definition).
trojan horse - Just like the mythological Trojan Horse, these programs appear to be useful free downloads but when you download them to your computer you also download other unwanted and malicious programs onto your computer (complete wikipedia definition). Trojans could thus be used to install all kinds of malware onto your computer.
spyware - Malware that is downloaded to your computer with the purpose of tracking or recording the user's activities without the user's consent (complete wikipedia definition). Such malicious software could be used to log keystrokes to get passwords, or just track internet search histories to target pop-up advertisements.
adware - Some free downloads from the internet will ask the user for consent to install spyware software on the users computer as part of the download agreement (complete wikipedia definition). Such software is usually refered to as adware instead of spyware since the user has given consent to be tracked in exchange for some free software.
web cookies - These are usually harmless bits of text that are downloaded automatically whenever you open a website. (complete wikipedia definition) The cookie is used to track your visits to a specific website. The cerators of websites use cookies to gather data about who and how often their website is being accessed.
How to clean malware off your computer?
For starters, here's a popular free download for finding spyware on your computer: Ad-Aware from Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
They have a free version that you can try.
Then there's the anti-virus software you can buy. Here's a review of the Top Antivirus Software from PC World:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,124475/article.html
You might want to consider protecting your personal computer with these products. If you already have some antivirus software you might want to check it's expiration date.
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