Boys and Girls, do you remember how you felt when you knew that someone is stalking you? They know your address, making you feel unsafe. They have your phone number and always calling anonymously. They even know what you ate for dinner. What’s worse is that they would sometimes know things that you hide from everyone else, like your bank account password. Isn’t that disturbing? Because you know that every minute they could strike at you, stripping everything that you own and leaving you with nothing but your name. This doesn’t only happen outside your home, it could also happen inside, with you knowing nothing, by using Malware.
Malware, short for malicious software, is solely created to penetrate a computer system without the owner’s consent. It could vary from programs that delete your hard disk, control your computer system, search your data archives and are used to infect other computers. These programs are made for the creator’s financial benefit.
How do they manage to do this?
This is achieved by using a malware called Spyware.
Different companies are recently becoming up-to-date with their advertising programs. Using the television sets and printed media is not enough for them. They also use the internet in advertising, but others do this illegally. This is what spywares do. These malware could be installed secretly into your computer. Most spyware applications are installed to your computer by way of deceit. They would come “piggybacked” on other desirable programs and tricks you into installing it. You did get the desired program and managed to install it, but with that comes the spyware that could spy on your internet activities. When the spyware learns what and where you usually hang out on the internet it would present to you advertisements connected to your interests, often disrupting your usage and wasting your time.
Another scheme this kind of malware uses is through the Trojan method. By presenting itself as a useful utility you are deceived to download it, not knowing that the program itself is the spyware. Internet surfers are more susceptible to being infected by spyware. When surfers open a site that the spyware author owns, it includes a written code that forces the user to download the program. It exposes the computer’s vulnerabilities and gives the author access to its data archives, claiming bank accounts and other financial routes profiting them. Such fearful acts aren’t they? Don’t lose hope. All you need to prevent these unprecedented attacks are to follow some simple guidelines.
First, is to install the malware’s eternal enemy the Anti-virus. These anti-virus programs include in them your needed anti-spyware programs. When installed, these programs would warn you when a spyware is trying to install, warn you on search generators if a site is a possible spyware nest and give enough power to remove the spyware. But with the innovation of spyware programmers they could bypass these programs. But this is not an excuse for you to not install these programs. These give a larger chance to survive an attack. You just need to supplement your programs with manual safety measures.
Other than your favorite internet browser you should install another for emergency use, especially when you become infected through a browser; showing you the weakness of your browser. Second, you should not download any program known to adjoin with spyware programs. You will know this through signs indicating if a site is okay or not after installing an anti-virus. And lastly, by using your computer’s firewall. These will block malware to install in your computer.
By using these guidelines you will gain extra security when surfing the net and saving you from these new-age spies, stopping them in their tracks, and hopefully resulting to a more enjoyable time inside the virtual world.
