|
|
|
Software
"Nasties"
Viruses, Spyware, Adware, and
other Malware
|
|
|
Last
Update: 09/02/2009
|
| Malware
is a term referring to a
general classification of
software
that
"infects" a computer
without the owner's knowledge
or informed permission.
The purpose of these programs
varies but is usually
undesirable from the
perspective of the computer
owner. |
| Viruses
are
malicious programs intended to
damage the computer hardware,
software, or user data. |
| Worms
are
self-replicating (copying)
programs that use a network
(including the Internet) to
send copies of itself to other
computers connected to the
network usually without any
action by a user.
Usually, worms negatively
impact the use of the network
although they may have a
"payload" which may
perform a malicious action on
computers hosting the worm. |
| Spyware
is a form of malware the
purpose of which is to monitor
the use of the computer or to
gather the user's data. |
| Adware
The
purpose of adware is to
advertise a product or service
in a manner that generally
cannot be stopped by the
user. |
| Trojan
A trojan is a program that may
be purposely installed
by the computer user who
believes that it serves a
particular purpose.
While it may indeed serve that
purpose, the author of the
trojan has also programmed it
to perform some other
clandestine purpose that is
generally undesirable from the
user's standpoint. |
| Rootkits
are programs or groups of
programs the purpose of which
it to take "root" or
basic control of the
computer's operating
system. |
| Keyloggers
are programs that capture
every key pressed (and with
many, every mouse function)
performed by the user.
This data is usually sent
through email to the
perpetrator which enables them
to snag passwords, credit card
numbers and other personal,
private data. Keyloggers
are usually considered to be a
form of spyware. |
| |
|
Protecting
your computer from Software
"Nasties" |
| |
1.
Antivirus
software
(AV) is software
installed on a computer to
identify, prevent, and remove
viruses and, usually, other
types of malware
including worms,
rootkits, and trojans.
Most AV programs protect the
computer in 2 ways.
- Monitoring
computer activity to
prevent malware from
infecting the computer.
- Regular
active scans to identify
and remove detected
malware.
There
are many options in choosing
an AV program - both free and
commercial. At RVJG, we
like free and suggest that you
consider AVG
available from grisoft.com.
|
| |
| 2. Anti-Spyware/Anti-Adware.
Like antivirus software, anti-spyware
and anti-adware is software
installed on computers to
identify, prevent, and remove
spyware and adware and uses
the same methods for doing so.
Again,
there are many options and we
like free. Be sure to
check Spybot
- Search and Destroy
(available from download.com)
and Ad-Aware (lavasoft.com).
At RVJG, we use both Spybot
and Adaware on our computers. |
| |
| 3.
Firewall. A firewall attempts
to prevent malicious programs
(and persons) from accessing a
computer system. People
generally refer to two types
of firewalls: hardware and
software. Technically,
all firewalls are
software. References to
hardware firewalls pertain to
software built into network
devices such as routers.
Software firewalls are
programs (many times a part of
the operating
system)
that run on the local
computer. |
|
4. Behavior.
There are many behaviors that
can increase the risk of
infection of malware on a
computer.
- Opening
email attachments. Users
should refrain from
opening any email
attachment, especially if
they do not know the
sender of the email.
Even when the sender is
know, caution should be
employed. It is
possible that the sender's
computer is infected with
a virus that sends an
infected email to everyone
in the sender's
addressbook.
- Visiting
"risky"
websites.
Visiting some websites can
be an invitation to
picking up unwanted
programs or browser
add-ons.
- Believe
it or not, some of the
most dangerous sites
for picking up
unwanted "nasties"
are children's
websites.
- "Adult"
websites (at least 12%
of all websites are
pornographic).
- Using
Peer-to-Peer Network
applications.
Peer-to-Peer networks such
as Limewire, Ares, Kazaa,
and others allow users to
share many forms of media
such as music, photos, and
videos. Without
consideration of the
potential legal issues,
these sites are dangerous
as many times a
seemingly innocuous
file is intentionally
misnames and is actually a
virus or other malware.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
