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.
Showing posts with label trojan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trojan. Show all posts
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Beware Internet Explorer Plug-Ins
Just what is Intelligent Explorer? For your safety, you really need to know
I recently hit, by mistake, what I thought was an Explorer upgrade option. It turned out to be a pop-up appearing legitimate but really was not. It uploaded a product called Intelligent Explorer on my machine. What a nightmare!
I did some research on the web and found messages like this one from a BullGuard Antivirus Forum,
"PLEASE HELP!!! I HAVE A SPYWARE, TROJAN AND HIJACKER ON MY COMPUTER. I HAVE RUN BULLGUARD, CWSHREDDER AND AD-AWARE. ALL HAVE PICKED UP THE VIRUSES AND SAID THAT THEY HAVE BEEN MOVED/REMOVED BUT WHEN I LOG ONTO THE INTERNET THAT DAMN INTELLIGENT EXPLORER TOOLBAR IS SHOWING"
Another message from spywareinfo Forum goes something like this:
"Hey I'm having issues with something called Internet explorer toolbar - Intelligent explorer. I can’t find a way to remove it from my comp and I really don’t want to reinstall windows. I've used spybot, ad-ware, and cw shredder but nothing seems to work."
It appears that Intelligent Explorer allows other software to be downloaded to your machine and this is where the problem occurs. What is even more remarkable is that by downloading Intelligent Explorer, their license grants them the right to install software add-ins on your computer at their will. Take a look at what the software license for Intelligent Explore says (go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it all):
"You grant to us the right, exercisable by us until you uninstall the Software or this agreement is otherwise terminated, to provide to you the Service of downloading and causing to be displayed advertising material on your computer, through ‘pop-up’ or other display while you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that installation of the Software may automatically modify toolbars and other settings of your browser. By installing the Software you agree to such modifications."
The company, IBC incorporated, is incorporated in Belize. I really can't believe this license!
One end user found highly objectionable pop-up advertisements generated by this software bundled with Intelligent Explorer in the form of extreme pornography.
I have yet to break this.
Intelligent Explorer is a plug-in, which can create a new home page, as well as start up and endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the view bar, but then starting up Internet Explorer will cause it to reappear. I asked some friends to help, and no one could tell me what to do.
This is what I did:
I bought a copy of a program called XoftSpy and it removed the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it was free, which it was to run, but then I had to buy it to actually fix anything. It cost me $40 and I am sure that there are freeware products out there as well, but that is what ended the nightmare for me. Other spyware products I have seen out there include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P.
Let the buyer beware!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
What Is Adware and What Can You Do to Prevent It from Affecting Your System?
Adware is used as a supplemental program in some cases. Adware can be used as a part of an internet program and used as a way of letting you use a service without paying for it: rather than using a program with limited features and rather than paying the full cost of the program, you can choose an ad-supported version. The adware used will track the sites you visit and ads that are related to your interests will be shown to you during your session.
Of course, that is an example of your consent to having adware installed on your system. Another possibility is that you install software and don't fully read the part of the user agreement that suggested that third-party software was included to see how the software was used on your computer.
This third-party software is typically adware. With it, the person who wrote the software can collect money from advertisers who will be able to know which users might be interested in their products.
For many people. However, adware quickly becomes an annoyance. In addition to feeling uncomfortable that they are being watched – associating the feeling with being spied on and the adware with spyware – they just want to be able to go about using a program or surfing the internet without a steady stream of advertising or even advertising pop-up windows slowing them down.
As a result, they start looking for ways of removing adware from their computer.
Removing adware from your computer can be done by installing ad-blocking software. Removing adware, in many cases, can also be done with the installation of anti-spyware programs.
But why settle for removing adware when you can make efforts to keep it from getting on your computer to begin with? Rather than dealing with adware and having to find ways of removing adware from your system, consider doing the following:
· Read the licensing agreements that come with software programs that you are thinking about installing. If a mention is made of third-party software that will track the way you use the program or the software is listed as ad-supported, do not agree to the terms of service and choose an alternate program. In many cases, the user agreement or licensing agreement are available to you before you download and install the software;
· Choose the free but feature limited software or pay for the program rather than using the advertising supported version to avoid installing adware on your system;
· If you think that you are getting adware or spyware on your system and you have been using Internet Explorer as your web browser, consider making the switch to another browser that contains ad-blocks;
· Make sure that the security patches for your computer's operating system as well as your anti-spyware and firewalls are up to date.
In easer words, the best means of removing adware from your computer is to not install it in the first place. Taking control of your computer is not only the best way of preventing adware but also some of the more dangerous security threats including spyware, trojans, worms and viruses. Once you have the right software installed you can now Surf the net with more confidence, privacy and therefore with more security.
Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com
By: kirby
Of course, that is an example of your consent to having adware installed on your system. Another possibility is that you install software and don't fully read the part of the user agreement that suggested that third-party software was included to see how the software was used on your computer.
This third-party software is typically adware. With it, the person who wrote the software can collect money from advertisers who will be able to know which users might be interested in their products.
For many people. However, adware quickly becomes an annoyance. In addition to feeling uncomfortable that they are being watched – associating the feeling with being spied on and the adware with spyware – they just want to be able to go about using a program or surfing the internet without a steady stream of advertising or even advertising pop-up windows slowing them down.
As a result, they start looking for ways of removing adware from their computer.
Removing adware from your computer can be done by installing ad-blocking software. Removing adware, in many cases, can also be done with the installation of anti-spyware programs.
But why settle for removing adware when you can make efforts to keep it from getting on your computer to begin with? Rather than dealing with adware and having to find ways of removing adware from your system, consider doing the following:
· Read the licensing agreements that come with software programs that you are thinking about installing. If a mention is made of third-party software that will track the way you use the program or the software is listed as ad-supported, do not agree to the terms of service and choose an alternate program. In many cases, the user agreement or licensing agreement are available to you before you download and install the software;
· Choose the free but feature limited software or pay for the program rather than using the advertising supported version to avoid installing adware on your system;
· If you think that you are getting adware or spyware on your system and you have been using Internet Explorer as your web browser, consider making the switch to another browser that contains ad-blocks;
· Make sure that the security patches for your computer's operating system as well as your anti-spyware and firewalls are up to date.
In easer words, the best means of removing adware from your computer is to not install it in the first place. Taking control of your computer is not only the best way of preventing adware but also some of the more dangerous security threats including spyware, trojans, worms and viruses. Once you have the right software installed you can now Surf the net with more confidence, privacy and therefore with more security.
Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com
By: kirby
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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