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Operation 31LL
What people don't realize, is that not only we are fighting two wars in the silly middle east, but we are all fighting the home-based war on Spyware. On this page you will learn protection tips, and advice from a person who Spyware had run his life. This page is not complete, sorry for the wait.
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Other information:
What Bad Things are out There? There are several ways someone can infect your computer. Most can also do some bad things.
Trojans, Trojan Horses - These are malicious programs pretending to be a regular program. They can destroy data and send info back to the owner, such as passwords. The main difference between them and computer viruses is that they do not replicate.
Viruses - Bad programs made by people to (usually) do bad things to computers. They can be disguised as games, pictures, or regular programs. When executed they could destroy information.
Key Loggers - these are programs much like Trojans, but usually they don't destroy data. They keep track of every keystroke made, and then sends it back to the owner.
Worms - Worms are viruses that sit in the computer's memory, duplicating themselves. They can be sent to other computers through an email program, or IRC (internet relay chat), destroying data.
Spyware, Adware - Usually these come from programs with bundled software, like file sharing utilities. Both will track what sites you visit and what you do on them.
How Can A Person Get These?
All the programs above can be gotten from a computer program. Sometimes they can be sent by email, a downloaded program, or a website.
Instant Messengers
If someone asks you to be their friend, and then tries to send you a file, reject it. Especially files with a .exe, .cmd, .bat, or .scr extension. Even if they want to send you a picture of them self, I would advise not to accept it unless you absolutely trust the person.
How Not to Get Them:
There are lots of ways to be sure not to get any of the bad things mentioned earlier. Using your common sense is a good start.
Don't download anything questionable.
Never open an attachment from an email offering. It could be a dangerous program that I discussed above.
Make sure to have all updates for your Operating System (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc.) This helps to keep people from getting into your system.
Scan your computer for viruses using an antivirus program such as one of these:
McAfee - can be bought in stores or online.
Norton - can be bought in most computer stores or online.
Trend Micro - a really good online virus scan.
Scan for Spyware using any popular program such as:
Ad-Aware - an excellent program that will get rid of adware and spyware, along with other harmful programs.
Spybot Search & Destroy - another great program to find and 'destroy' all those pesky programs, from browser hijackers to spyware and Trojans.
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