The Internet is a wonderful place. Anyone with an Internet connection can stay in touch with family and friends via email. Starting an Internet business is easier than ever and can even lead to the lifestyle of your dreams. And, thanks to eBay, you can even hold a "virtual garage sale" without worrying about the weather or bothering the neighbors.

But the Internet is also a DANGEROUS place to be. In fact, YOU are at RISK right now.

Computer security is the most important issue of being on the Internet. Just consider the following statement - startling I know, but VERY true.

"If you are connected to the Internet and you don’t have current anti-virus software, ALL security updates to your Operating system and browser, as well as a firewall properly configured, you have a virus or adware on your computer RIGHT NOW!"

That is what I’ve been telling clients of my computer repair business recently. Some of them listened and took action. Others didn’t and had to learn this important lesson the very hard way.

Let’s look at the problem first, then I’m going to give you FIVE ways you can solve that problem today!

First: the facts.

Fact 1. There are three types of programs that are attacking your computer right now: Spyware, Malware, and Adware. All three are programs that get downloaded to your computer as part of a legitimate download, then hang around sending data like your credit card numbers to the villains who write them.

While this article is too short to define each, all three types are a threat. For now let’s call them all adware.

Fact 2. In the last 12-18 months I have not seen ONE unprotected computer that doesn’t have a virus or adware.

Doing computer repair on a daily basis for a living I see a LOT of computers. Some units have OVER 50 pieces of adware on them. Please understand; these people are just like you and me, not some 14 year old gamer who will download anything. They THOUGHT they were being careful enough, and were shocked when they discovered that they had a problem.

Some of these machines even had anti-virus software, but weren’t updated with the latest security patches.

Fact 3. While onsite or phone support service calls used to involve bad hard drives, equipment failure, or adding new devices, about 80% of all service calls now involve virus and adware removal.

Fact 4. It’s getting worse. The adware and virus creators are getting smarter, and the software is getting much harder to remove.

Here is what you can do TODAY to solve the problem, a problem you might not have even been aware existed, yet could cost you untold hours of frustration as well as put your financial life at risk.

Step 1. Be aware! Does your computer run slower now than when you bought it? Do some software programs no longer work or "hang up"? Does your browser go to some strange home page? If so, the odds are 99.9% that you ARE infected.

Step 2. Install anti-virus software that automatically updates. There are several good choices out there that fit that criteria, Norton, MacAfee, AVG, PC-cillin are the top brands. The important thing is to make sure that the software is setup to update the virus signatures automatically.

Step 3. Install all security patches for your operating system. Go to the Microsoft site and run a test of your computer and software. It will tell you what updates you need to install and even install them for you.

There is no cost and it is extremely effective against many of the virus and adware out there. Go here to check your system: www.microsoft.com and look on the menu on the left for Windows Update and click on that. Depending on what operating system you have, it will take you to the appropriate update page. Also turn on auto-update if your operating system allows that feature.

Step 4. Install a firewall. A firewall looks at network traffic coming into or going out of your computer. Viruses or adware that may try and infect you is scrutinized and rejected. Windows XP has an included firewall (automatically turned on in the SP2 update) that can help but you may find a 3rd party program like Zone Alert (www.zonelabs.com) to be a better choice.

Step 5. Now that you know the danger, use a generous amount of common sense in reading email and surfing the web. If you get an email attachment from anyone you don’t know, don’t open it, ever!

If you know the person sending the attachment but it looks questionable, don’t open it. You may also want to set your email to open only in text mode, that keeps any html (that can run a program) from doing any harm.

Never, and I mean never, click on a hyperlink in an email to fill out any financial, password, or login data. No legitimate vendor will ever ask you to do this under any circumstances.

When you are surfing the web and a window pops up and asks you to install a program, just say no. If you don’t recognize the company or publisher, don’t do it. You can go into your browser security section and make changes so that no outside source can make any installations or changes with out prompting you to approve.

Keep current backups of all your important data. We all know to do this, but so few actually do it. No matter the method - just do it!!!! If disaster strikes, your critical data will be safe.

By following these five tips you will have peace of mind knowing that your online experiences, be they playing games or making money or something totally different, are safe as well as enjoyable.

Protect your data, and your peace of mind, by taking action on these five steps today.

John Dow owns http://www.jdWebWorks.com, a website that specializes in computer troubleshooting and repair. His Power Solutions CD has helped thousands of customers protect their computer and data, by providing a collection of utilities and how to articles to fix and repair ANY hard drive or computer problem. Click here to learn more: http://www.jdwebworks.com/SuperCD/supercd.htm

One area that parents and children overlook when on the Internet is the fact that nothing put on the Internet ever leaves. That means that anything incriminating posted online can be later dug up and used against your child at work, in a divorce or by the government. In this article I will look at three fallacies that impact your child’s safety and future.

Fallacy 1

If I delete something, it is gone.

• The delete key removes it from your eyes, however, it still resides on your computer’s hard drive.
• The only way to remove it forever is to reformat the drive or wait until some other program writes over it on the hard drive.

This is true for everyone’s computer, including the MySpace hard drives and backup tapes.

Fallacy 2

If I remove my content from the web, no one can access it anymore.

• Once information is placed on the Internet, anyone can copy it to their computer.
• In addition, the place that stored the information still retains copies on their hard drive.

MySpace says they delete it off the hard drive when requested. My question: do they delete it off their backup copies and everyone’s hard drive that copied or downloaded something? I didn’t think so…

Fallacy 3

Nobody will want the stuff I put online.

• Pedophiles/sex offenders collect images and stories.
• Pornography sites seek out images and stories to put on their sites.
• Attorneys use this information for litigation
• Employers seeking to fire an employee will search the net and the employee computer for incriminating evidence.
• Disgruntled employees will use past Internet use to incriminate other employees or employers.
• Electronic conversations are used in court cases and government investigations.
• Spouses use this information in divorce cases

Think about this: remembering your high school years, how would you feel if the things you did then were on the Internet in living color for anyone to find? Today, MySpace users post their real and fantasy lives online! Scary, very scary…

As you can see, the "here and now" is not the only issue parents need to worry about. It is the tomorrows we need to protect as well. Protect your children by becoming computer literate and getting educated about online dangers.

Rhonda Goetz
Parent Smartz
Empowering Parents…
866.241.9927

Rhonda Goetz is a high school technology teacher and instructional designer. She deals daily with the Internet and student’s Internet use. She designed an easy-to-use online course to help parents understand Internet perils and how to monitor their child’s activity.

Get Empowered! Sign up for the Parent Series:Protecting Your Child Online online class today!

In only a couple of years we computer users have learned a lot about online threats. There is no need to explain what "spyware" means — we all know it. Or do we?

If software collects information without users’ knowledge and transmits it, such a program is usually automatically labeled "spyware" no matter how valuable this information is. It can be either relatively innocuous code for gathering users’ browsing habits — or extremely dangerous software created specially for unsolicited monitoring and committing cybercrime like identity theft, or espionage.

In the classification from SpyAudit they the latter are called System Monitors. Here belong such programs as keyloggers and more advanced keylogger-based programs, which can intercept not only keystrokes, but also capture text from application windows and clipboard contents, make screenshots – in other words, everything you do. This is particular kind of software specially created for stealing valuable information.

"There has been a recent wave of system monitoring tools disguised as email attachments or free software products.", experts warn. (see http://www.earthlink.net/spyaudit/press/) Keyloggers can be hidden in viruses or even slip into a PC while a user visits some website.

We users have become smarter and try to protect our data. Loads of programs are created to counteract spy software. Why data stealing is flourishing then? Unfortunately, the "means of defense" are, as it often happens, half a step behind "means of offense".

Generally speaking, most anti-spyware works like that: it scans the operating system in search for suspicious bits of code. Should the program find any, it compares these suspicious pieces with bits of code (they are called signatures), which belong to already detected and "caught" spy programs. Signatures are kept in so-called signature base — the inseparable part of any anti-spy program. The more signatures it contains, the more spyware such program will detect, so your PC will be protected more effectively. As long as you update your anti-spy software regularly and the system doesn’t come across some unknown spyware product, everything is going to be all right.

The problem is that some keyloggers are written to be used only once. These "tailor-made", or should we say, "custom-made", keyloggers are extremely dangerous, because they will never be detected with existing anti-spy software which uses signature bases.

Keylogging software is relatively simple and not too difficult to compile. Even an average computer programmer can write a simple keylogger in a couple of days. More sophisticated one will take longer to make, of course, but not too long. Hackers often compile source code of several keyloggers (it’s easy to find them in the Web–for those who know where to look for) — and get a brand-new one with an unknown signature even faster. If a keylogger can be installed remotely without the victim’s knowledge, it gives the hacker great possibility to steal any information he pleases.

However, now most anti-virus and anti-spyware vendors proclaim that along with signature bases they apply heuristic algorithms for detecting spyware. It means that their products now can catch more "spies" than their signature bases contain. To verify it experts from Information Security Center Ltd recently carried out a simple test.

The testing simulated a situation when a thief applies a custom-made keylogger compiled from source code freely available (!) from the Internet. The testers did what a thief with a bit of programming skills can easily do: they took source code from the Internet and compiled 9 keyloggers. Then these "test spies" were used for checking whether world-known anti-spyware will detect anything. The results turned out to be shocking: 28 out of 44 anti-virus and anti-spy software products couldn’t do anything — they detected none. 10 products managed only 1 spy out of 9; 5 programs caught only 2 out of 9. The only product that blocked all the 9 spies was a dedicated anti-keylogging solution based solely on heuristic algorithms with no signature base.

To read more about this testing visit http://bezpeka.com/en/lib/antispy/art2869.html

Not to use signature base analysis at all is a relatively new trend in software development. This approach is rather promising; it means that such a dedicated anti-keylogging product –it already exists–can counteract even custom-made spies.

Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation, LLC — an independent software developing company that provides various solutions for information security. The company’s R&D department created an innovative technology, which disables the very processes of information capturing — keylogging, screenshoting, etc.

Learn more — visit the company’s website http://www.anti-keyloggers.com

Google: Yes, You Can Find Just About Anything
————
Hackers and security experts use various custom and open source tools to complete their tasks. In fact, one of the tools they use you probably use every time you browse the web, the Google Search Engine.

I remember the first time I used the Google Search Engine years ago. I was amazed at how quickly it fulfilled my search request. Google’s huge index of systems / information and it’s ability to perform complex searches have evolved over the years. When we performed security assessments and penetration test, we regularly use Google to locate information that organizations typically want to keep private and confidential.

The reason for me writing this article is to give you several examples of basic and complex Google search terms and queries. As a disclaimer, it is not my intention that you use this information to invade the privacy of someone else or access data and files on systems that do not belong to you. It is strictly educational information and a way to make people more aware of what kind of information they may be exposing to the rest of the world.

Using Google To Locate Password Files
————
One of the most common remote web authoring tools is Microsoft’s Front Page. Front page extensions and WebDav, the services on the web server that allow you to remotely connect and author web pages, can be configured with a certain degree of security. However, in certain configurations, the userID and password are stored in local files on the server. Using a Google query, you can easily locate thousands of these files and dump the contents.

The query form is quite simple: "inurl:(filename).pwd", where (filename) is the name of the .pwd file. This query can be expanded to be very specific and target a specific site by using a command to search for a specific site or domain. The results of a specific search like this would list hundreds if not thousands of these files that would contain something like "# -FrontPage- dmiller:I1KEaH1TZqxEw". Basically dumping the userID and password.

This type of basic query can be used to find all kinds of interesting information such as using the "intitle:"index of" (name of directory you want to locate)" which not only reveals many web directory structures of "index of/", it also reveals how many web servers on the Internet do not have even the most basic forms of permissions and directory security. You will find that once you access a particular directory, that you can then move up the directory tree and you never know what you may find.

More Complex Search Queries
————
The Google Search Engine supports very complex query types. For instance, if you were to construct a query like ""parent directory " Gamez -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums", the query would result in lists upon list of systems that have a /Gamez directory off the root of the "parent directory" of the web server. Or, to locate music files of type mp3 you could issue a query like "intitle:index.of mp3 (name of band/song)".

The bottom line here is that it is possible to locate very specific types of files. It is also possible to perform queries for inline passwords from various search engines by performing a query similar to "http://*:*@www".

What Else Can Be Found With Google Search Queries
————
One of the things we do when we are performing a security assessment is perform a quick review of the various web servers to determine what types of scripting is being used. For instance, a lot of people use PHP code to create dynamic content. Many people install PHP example code and administrative tools to help them manage their site. Unfortunately, most of the time these files are not secured and contain login ID’s and passwords. We then use Google search queries to locate these specific files on the servers in question. I’d say we are successful in finding files like these that help us gain access to systems approximately 60% of the time.

We recently learned of a financial institution that was taking credit card information from one of their partners using a web based upload service on their primary web server. The problem was this file was being indexed by the Microsoft Index Service, the information was being spidered by search engines, and the file itself did not have effective security permissions on it. The result, the file was indexed by Google and someone performing a Google query found it and was able to open it in the browser, revealing hundreds of credit card numbers, names, and other personal information. This happens all the time.

Conclusion
————
The Google Search Engine is a powerful tool that can be used by people with ill intentions just as it can be used for basic web searching. If you are setting up a web server at home or the office, you need to understand that you may be publishing information on the web that no one but you should see. This could include financial files, credit card information, and other private / personal information. There is a lot more to setting up a "secure" site than just following the Microsoft setup wizards.

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

About The Author
————
Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with over sixteen years experience. He has written many technology & security articles, some of which have been published in nationally circulated magazines & periodicals. If you would like to know more about computer security please visit us at http://www.defendingthenet.com.

Spyware refers to software that collects useful information from your personal computer and sends to another computer without your permission. The term spyware is different from viruses and worms because it doesn’t self-replicate however it is designed to make use of infected computers for some commercial gain. Main motive of spyware is to deliver unwanted pop-up advertisements and theft of confidential information. It may cause Internet connection failure and some printing problems. Spyware can be installed via file-swapping programs that are generally used to download music and movies from Internet. If it is installed on your system it monitors your all Internet related activities and then transmits your private information to other party.

You can easily remove spyware by getting all information about spyware. For the purpose of spyware removal it is essential to find spyware on your system. You can detect spyware by following certain tips like:

-Note all the list of tasks that is currently running on your PC. You can check it by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL. It helps you in finding new unknown thing that occurs on your system.

-Sometimes spyware is listed in the startup list so it is important to be familiar with your startup list. Spyware can restart your personal computer by appearing in the startup list and it also slows down the system processing. You can check your startup list by clicking on the start-run option and then type msconfig and OK. It will show you running programs at the time of rebooting.

Spyware removal is important due to security purposes. Various companies provide free as well as low cost spyware removal software that check your computer and help you in removing the unwanted spyware. You can also remove it by uninstalling unfamiliar applications. For that purpose you should go to Add or Remove option from control panel and uninstall the unknown applications. It is an easy way to get rid of spyware.

You can also choose a better quality spyware removal application. It’s an effective way to secure your system from spyware. You should run these applications in safe mode because safe mode loads a file that is required by operating system. Spyware removal program can efficiently remove spyware in safe mode. If you’re sure that your system has a spyware you can also eliminate spyware with the help of system restore feature.

Several companies are currently providing the best spyware removal products. You can choose one of the following spyware removal products.

• Spyware Doctor
• eTrust Pestpatrol
• Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1
• Spybot Search and Destroy
• Ad-Aware SE 6 Personal
• SpySubtract PRO
• Aluria’s Spyware Eliminator

Remember that prevention is always much better than finding and removing spyware. Spyware prevention is an easy task instead of finding in your system. Spyware can easily attack on your privacy. It can also make your system crash. You can prevent your personal computer from the spyware with the help of following tips:

• Keep your software up to date and always choose latest security patches
• Adjust your Internet explorer security settings
• Don’t forget to implement firewalls
• Try something other than Internet Explorer like Firefox or Opera
• Whenever you’re going to download a software from a website read all security warnings, privacy statements and license agreement carefully.
• Be alert while downloading some free music and movie file sharing programs because these are main source of spyware.

About Author: The Author own a website on Spyware Removal Tools. The website provides all information about spyware, spyware removal and some important tips for spyware prevention. You can also visit his site to get Spyware Removal Tips.

An Easy Way to Avoid Fraud

I publish a web site on the subject of fraud. I personally have been scammed on eBay, have been a victim Of Identity Theft, commonly known " Phishing "and a Telemarketing scam.

Fraud is on the increase particularly on the Internet and most especially on online auction sites. It’s reported that 65% of fraud cases are related to eBay and it’s sister organization Paypal.

They are both reputable but furnish a tremendous opportunity for fraud. Tracking down and prosecuting these criminals is virtually impossible as they generally operate from overseas. They defy any and all laws s o the only way to defeat them is through education and vigilance on our part.

I’ve learned the hard way and I constantly research the subject for my web site. I and others like me have come up with all kinds of sophisticated ways to Identify and avoid fraudulent schemes and the perpetrators.

I’m not sure that’s the best or easiest approach.

I’ll lay it out for you very simply in two simple easy to follow rules.

Dealing on eBay all I can say is "Let the Buyer Beware." Visit www.caveatemptorus.com for numerous articles about eBay.

For all other situations follow these two simple rules:

1. Be suspicious of all e-mail and unsolicited phone calls.

2. Never answer either directly.

If it’s something you are interested in Go directly to the source. Do not use links or phone numbers that you are given.Know whom you’re dealing with.

Written by: George W. Cannata Author and publisher of http://www.caveatemptorus.com

Today more and more people are looking to the internet to do their shopping. With online stores popping up all over the internet the urge to spend money on the World Wide Web has never been stronger. The unfortunate thing is that the urge for scam artists to take your money has never been stronger. So how do you protect your self from these thieves? If you follow these simple steps I promise you’ll enjoy shopping on the internet more having taken these precautions.

The first thing you should consider when buying online is if the website you are shopping on is secure? These days most retail websites have secure pages where you enter your personal information but that doesn’t mean that all sites are secure. The first step in making sure that your information is secure is to check the address bar and look for “https” this means that you are on a secure page. If the address begins with “http” the page is not secure and your information should not be given. The second step in determining if the website is safe is to look for the picture of a closed lock or an unbroken key. These pictures can be found in the bottom right corner of your browser window. When the lock is open or the key is broken the page is not secure. The last thing to look for is mention of secure certificates or “SSL” . These logos usually appear near the bottom of the screen. If you are still not sure if the website is secure you can always ask them through e-mail (make sure to save the reply just in case).

Credit card fraud is still relatively common. Even with all the security that some of the larger websites have, these con artists are still able to scam some people. So what do you do if you suspect that you have been scammed? The first thing you should do is determine if the charges on your credit card are really unauthorized. This is why you should save all of your receipts. Sometimes when a company makes a charge to your card it might show up on your statement as a charge from a name that you don’t recognize so it is important to check your receipts and confirmation e-mails (the company will usually tell you what the purchase will be charged as in the confirmation) to make sure that the mystery charges aren’t legitimate. Once you are sure that you have been scammed either by the store or by someone that has somehow stolen your credit card information your next step is to contact the credit card company. Some companies such as VISA and MasterCard offer zero liability for fraudulent charges. If your credit card issuer does not have a zero liability policy then you are only liable for up to $50 according to federal law.

Shopping on the internet is more popular than ever and with the flood of internet shoppers comes a wave of con artists. Protect your self from these crooks. Follow the information I have laid out for you and remember to save your receipts, look for secure pages and if that isn’t enough then only buy from well established websites that you have had good experiences with.

Steven Stoeterau is the owner and operator of a bargains website called Badassbargains.com.

In a previous article, titled All About Spyware, I detailed exactly what spyware was, how it can harm you and your computer and ways to avoid getting spyware on your computer. Now I want to turn my attention to adware.

Many describe adware as the lesser of the two evils compared to spyware. And for the most part, that is general true. However, many forms of adware are just as destructive as spyware, and can cause you a great deal of time and aggravation trying to get rid of it.

Like my article on spyware, I want to start off by defining exactly what spyware is. According to McAfee Inc., the leader in spyware and adware protection solutions:

Adware is software whose primary function is to make revenue through advertising that is targeted at the person using the computer on which the adware is installed. This revenue can be made by the vendor or partners of the vendor. This does not imply that any personal information is captured or transmitted as part of the software’s functioning, though that is often the case.

A better but much longer (and my personal favorite) definition of adware comes from geekpatroloncall.com. They define adware as:

Adware, also known as an Adbot, 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 has been bundled (i.e. peer-to-peer file swapping products) with other software without the user’s knowledge or slipped in the fine print of a EULA (End User License Agreement). Not all Adware is bad, but often users are annoyed by adware’s intrusive behavior. Keep in mind that by removing Adware sometimes the program it came bundled with for free may stop functioning. Some Adware, dubbed a "BackDoor Santa" may not perform any activity other then profile a user’s surfing activity for study.

AdWare can be obnoxious in that it performs "drive-by downloads". Drive-by downloads are accomplished by providing a misleading dialogue box or other methods of stealth installation. Many times users have no idea they have installed the application. Often Adware makers make their application difficult to uninstall.

A "EULA" or End User License Agreement is the agreement you accept when you click "OK" or "Continue" when you are installing software. Many users never bother to read the EULA.

It is imperative to actually read this agreement before you install any software. No matter how tedious the EULA, you should be able to find out the intent BEFORE you install the software. If you have questions about the EULA- e-mail the company and ask them for clarification.

As you can see from these two definitions, adware is just as bad as spyware.

I offered five great tips previously on how to protect you from spyware. So here are five tips to protect your self from adware:

1. Buy a good, comprehensive software program that protects your computer. For this, I have to recommend the products that I use. I use McAfee Internet Security Suite and XoftSpy, which is a malware scanner. These products can stop spyware and adware dead in its tracks. If you already have adware or spyware on your computer, these products can find it and delete it for good (http://www.delete4good.com).

2. There is no such thing as a free lunch. When you download freeware or shareware, chances are that you are downloading adware with it. Many programmers will offer a “free” trial of their software that you can use. However, adware is built into the “free” program to bombard you with advertisements for the “paid” version of the freeware that you are using.

3. Certain “types” of websites are notorious for adware. Those “types” of websites include: peer-to-peer sites, free games websites, and pornographic sites. If you frequent these type of website, make sure your computer is protected (see number 1 above).

4. Make sure that your web-browser security settings are configured correctly. This can prevent adware or other malicious software from automatically downloading on your computer.

5. Never, never, never click on pop-up ads. I know that some pop-up are irresistible. But they are irresistible for a reason. Pop-ups are meant to get your attention. But if in the pursuit of your attention, they get you to click on them, you may get more than you bargain for.

The best thing to do is stop pop-ups from showing up on your computer in the first place. Most web-browsers come with a respectable pop-up blocker. If your pop-up blocker is doing a poor job of blocking pop-ups, Yahoo and Google offer excellent programs that work well. They’re free and they come from a reputable source.

Protecting your computer has turned into a multibillion-dollar business. But, even the best spyware and adware protection is useless if you don’t take necessary precautions. Doing just a little bit of research and taking a few precautions can greatly reduce your risk of being exposed to spyware, adware, viruses, trojans and other so called malware.

J. Barbour is a consultant for Weinman-Skaggs Consulting in Miami, FL. http://www.delete4good.com

You’ve heard about and, you know it’s bad. We hear alarming statistics like “over 90% of personal computers are already compromised by spyware” and “spyware and other potentially unwanted programs are rapidly becoming the number one threat to business systems”. But just what is it?

According to McAfee Inc., the leader in spyware protection solutions:

Spyware is any software whose function includes the transmission of company or personal information to a third party without their knowledge. The consequences of undetected spyware and other potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) could include identity theft, system and network corruption, slower Internet access, reduced system productivity, and an increased number of pop-up ads.

To put it another way, spyware on your computer can send out to another computer, and ultimately another person, anything and everything on your computer and everything you do on your computer.

A better but much longer (and my personal favorite) definition of spyware comes from geekpatroloncall.com. They define spyware as:

Spyware is potentially more dangerous beast than Adware because it can record your keystrokes, history, passwords, and other confidential and private information. Spyware is often sold as a spouse monitor, child monitor, a surveillance tool or simply as a tool to spy on users to gain unauthorized access. Spyware is also known as: snoopware, PC surveillance, key logger, system recorders, Parental control software, PC recorder, Detective software and Internet monitoring software.

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. However you define it, spyware is plain old bad.

Here are a few tips to help protect you from spyware:

1. Buy a good, comprehensive software program that protects your computer. I use McAfee Internet Security Suite and XoftSpy, which is a malware scanner. These products can stop spyware. If it’s already on your computer, they find it and delete it for good (http://www.delete4good.com)

2. There is no such thing as a free lunch. When you download freeware or shareware, chances are that you are downloading spyware with it. Therefore, only download software from sources that you can absolutely trust.

3. Certain “types” of websites are notorious for injecting your computer with spyware. Those “types” of websites include: peer-to-peer sites, free games websites, and pornographic sites. If you frequent these type of website, make sure your computer is protected (see number 1 above).

4. Make sure that your web-browser security settings are configured correctly. This can prevent spyware or other malicious software from automatically downloading on your computer.

5. Never, never, never click on pop-up ads. I know that some pop-up are irresistible. But they are irresistible for a reason. Pop-ups are meant to get your attention. But if in the pursuit of your attention, they get you to click on them, you may get more than you bargain for.

If you happen to see a pop-up that is advertising something that you just have to have more information on, just take note of the item it’s advertising and do a keyword search on it. But never click on the actual ad.

Spyware protection has turned into a multibillion-dollar business. But, even the best spyware protection is useless if you don’t take necessary precautions. Reducing your risk to being exposed to spyware better than anything. Doing just a little bit of research and taking a few precautions can greatly reduce your risk of being exposed to not only spyware but also adware, viruses, trojans and other so called malware.

J. Barbour is a consultant for Weinman-Skaggs Consulting in Miami, FL. http://www.delete4good.com

There is nothing wrong with taking less than adequate measures to prevent a bigger damage to anything you treasure if you have financial or other constraints, as long as this is done temporarily over a short time. Similar reasoning applies when it comes to computer security threats.

Unfortunately some (if not most) computer users tend to forget this. They search on the internet for free computer security software which they dump into their computers and hope for the best. Most of the free software developers consistently forget to inform the downloaders of the inadequacies of their software – and they are many and significant!

A simple search for free anti-spyware programs on any search engine yields significant results. If we exclude genuine beta-software from these results, almost all of these anti-spyware programs operate on the principle – “Get infected first, then call us”. In other words these programs are reactive. They scan and destroy spyware as it’s found in the user’s computer. The real downside of these programs is that they offer no real-time protection. Are you surprised? Maybe you’ve forgotten that “there’s no such thing a free lunch”!

The big computer security software developers spend millions of dollars every year developing products that can quickly detect and destroy new computer security threats like spyware, adware, viruses, hacking techniques, Trojans, worms keyloggers etc

Do you think the developers of free computer security software inject millions of dollars in order to bring users of their software regular software updates? I think not!

Computer security software is such a critical purchase that I think one should actually buy the software before bringing home a new PC!

The most critical software that you should have in you PC is:

1. Firewall - To protect your PC from hackers and internal malware that maybe trying to "phone home"
2. Spyware/Adware - To detect the "ETs" that are "phoning home" from your PC, endangering your sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information. These programs also use lots of your critical computer resources. That’s why your computer is slow and crashing lately!
3. Anti-virus Software - These can either completely wipe out your critical data or render it or your computer useless. The most dangerous thing is that you may end up (unaware!) being a source of the virus (e.g. through email or infected website pages).

Here are common-sense measures you can take to protect your PC:

1. E-mail - Avoid replying to chain letters. Also be very careful of image attachment. Hackers attach malicious JavaScript program on these.
2. Regularly update your anti-virus definitions by running the update function of your security software.
3. Before buying a computer security software or package make sure that it offers regular updates to keep up with new viruses, adware, spyware and other computer security threats.

I want to repeat what I said at the beginning of this article: There is nothing wrong in taking temporary security measures as far as your computer security is concerned (i.e. using free software/downloads). What is wrong is forgetting that the measure was supposed to be over a temporary period in the first place.

About Msingathi Mnyengeza

Msingathi is the owner of the Computer Security Resources Website. The website is targeted at the computer user who wants the best computer security software to protect against spyware, adware, viruses and to improve computer performance using registry cleaners. Visit Msi’s websites at http://www.computer-security-resources.com and at http://www.computer-security-resources.biz

Copyright: 1st Analyst Information Services 2006, All rights reserved.

Website owners can use this article on their websites and ezines, as long as no part of this article is changed/amended.