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The Ten Most Common Spyware Threats

You've heard the phrase "know thy enemy."  Well, here are your most common spyware enemies (source:FaceTime Security Labs).  Don't be fooled - spyware is not a game.  It costs individuals and corporations millions of dollars each year.  Spyware can be used to watch your surfing habits, steal credit card information, or just be a nuisance.  In any case, it's a royal pain.  Know they enemy.

1. Gator - Gator is installed by users as a password vault.  That means that passwords can be recalled for you automatically when visiting sites.  The trade-off for this service is that you have to endure pop-ups when visiting certain sites.  Claria, the maker of Gator,has cleaned up its act a little by labeling the pop-up ads, but they're still annoying.

2. CoolWebSearch - This has got to be one of the most notorious browser hijackers out there.  This is the name given to a program with many different variants that redirect users to coolwebsearch.com or datanotary.com.  Uninstallation can be extremely complex.  Users shouldn't try to manually remove this software.

3. 180SearchAssistant - This software either serves ads in pop-ups or pops up website windows based on your keyword searches.  This software usually comes bundled with other "freebie" type software installs like emoticons or wallpaper.  Newer versions of the software have an add/remove program uninstall item.

4. Huntbar - Now here's an annoying piece of software.  Huntbar installs a toolbar onto internet explorer and windows explorer windows.  It changes your home page and search page settings to point to their servers.  If you use another search engine, Huntbar will redirect you to theirs.  Great stuff.  Oh, and it puts a 15% drain on memory resources.

5. Cydoor - This software usually comes with P2P software, ie. peer to peer.  Again, it barrages you with a series of pop up advertisements.  It also tracks usage information.

6. ISTbar - Yet another nice, unwanted piece of software.  ISTbar does "drive-by" install via ActiveX and javascript.  Basically, that means that you visit a site and it tries to install itself to your computer.  Nice, huh.  The Activex control installs a toolbar that pushes information to my-internet.info and blazefind.com.

7. WhenU-DesktopBar - Displays advertising content. Monitors internet traffic, collects search profiles, and can execute code from a remote server using its update feature only. Relevant searches may cause it to display a special offer, coupon, or other advertising content. The adware may also display advertisements.

8. New.Net - New.Net is a company that sells domain names for "nonstandard" top-level domains.  It should be removed pronto.

9. IEPlugin - As the name implies, it installs a toolbar in Internet Explorer.  It tracks web site usage, form items (like names, addresses, etc. - ie. yikes!), and local filenames that are browsed.  It's invasive - remove it.

10. BargainBuddy - Bargain Buddy used to be everywhere.  It is distributed by BullzEye Network.  And it sets up a Browser Helper Object (BHO) and monitors your computer usage.  It then, you guessed it, pushes advertisements your way based on that usage.

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The Web Browser is Essential to Your Computer’s Security

For most people, the web browser is central to what you do on your computer. Companies are increasingly putting more and more services on the web and are encouraging their customers online. Securing your web browser is a vital part of surfing the web safely and keeping your computer free of viruses, spyware and other threats.

Most people own a computer which runs Microsoft Windows XP or other variants of the Windows operating system. This means that by default most people use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser and therefore hackers focus their efforts on finding vulnerabilities in this program.

The most important step you can take to securing your web browser is to make sure that the version you are using is the most current version and has all the latest patches or updates installed. Hackers exploit vulnerabilities in the software to steal personal information and take control of your computer. Make sure that automatic updates are switched on and that you immediately install any updates you are prompted to download.

Given the well documented issues with Internet Explorer it is worth considering an alternative browser like Mozilla Firefox or the Opera Desktop Browser. You will still need Internet Explorer for some sites, however due to the increased popularity of the Firefox browser most sites now work with both Internet Explorer and Firefox as standard. Both alternatives pack some impressive features liked tabbed browsing which Microsoft is only just catching up on. Switching browser does not mean that you are 100% secure but there is currently a much reduced likelihood of being impacted by security issues.

Regardless of what web browser you use a lot of information about your surfing habits is stored on your computer. Common items include the URLs or web pages you visit, files which have been downloaded, “Cookie” files which websites put on your computer and parts of the web pages you have viewed. It is therefore good practice to scrub this information on a regular basis. You can do this manually through your browser’s Options menu or use a free software tool like CCleaner which is highly recommended.

You should also be aware that “Active Content” settings on your browser pose a security risk. Active content are scripts which websites use that are executed in your web browser to give enhanced functionality like drop down menus. The three main versions are JavaScript, Java and ActiveX. Within the Options of your browser’s Tool menu there are ways to control how these scripts are handled. While the more limitation you add will enhance your security, you will loose some functionality from certain websites.

The good news is that the computer security industry is developing some great new products and services to help you protect yourself online. There appears to be an increasing emphasis on developing tools which help prevent your computer being infected in the first place.
A good example of this is a web browser plug-in called “SiteAdvisor” which was recently bought by McAfee.

SiteAdvisor gives each website it visits a red, yellow or green rating based on various tests it carries out. These ratings then conveniently appear next to search results in Google and other search engines. This helps users determine whether a website is safe to visit. Anti-spyware tools like Webroot’s Spy Sweeper and PC Tools’ Spyware Doctor also include sophisticated active protection features as standard.

We use HitmanPro!

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Top 10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Online Identity Theft

Identity theft is becoming a bigger problem as more and more people are making the internet a bigger part of their lives. People who are new to the online medium often fall prey to ‘phishing’ or other internet identity theft schemes. In many cases the ‘phishing party’ uses your credit card to order goods for them selves, in other cases they will apply for credit cards, set up bank accounts, and take advantage of your good credit rating. Correcting these issues involves a lot of time energy and stress, so here are ten tips to help you from becoming a victim of identity theft.

Use a disposable email account. Keep your business or personal email account just for business or personal communication. If you are going to be making purchases online, joining newsgroups, or subscribing to mailing lists and ezines use a disposable email account. There are many online free accounts such as yahoo, hotmail or grail, and most of them can interface with popular email clients like outlook or outlook express. Use one of them for all of your shopping transactions.

Disguise your online identity. If your real name in Mary Smith try to avoid using email accounts with name like msmith@example.com when dealing with people you don’t know and trust. If you were born in 1972 don’t chose msmith1972@example.com as your email account.

Use different level passwords. Use one password for your personal information, use another for your business accounts and a third for your disposable email accounts or mailing lists you sign up for. Don’t use sequential passwords like password1 for personal use password2 for business, and password 3 for disposable accounts.

Use strong passwords. Don’t use your birthdates, year you were married, or your children’s birthdates. Avoid choosing passwords that consist entirely of letters or numbers. Also try to avoid using passwords that are actual words. The best passwords are mnemonic phrases like “my father ate three apples for breakfast”. Take the first letter of each word and convert the number into numbers and you end up with “mfa3a4b”.

Rotate your passwords. You should change your passwords every 6 to 12 months. If you suspect your passwords have been compromised change them as a safety precaution.

Use only one credit card for all of your online purchases. If any of your other credit cards have online transactions you know they are fraudulent. If you see offline purchases for your online credit card you also know they are fraudulent.

Use credit cards instead of debit cards. While many debit cards now offer online purchase protection it’s easier to dispute fraudulent charges than to recover debit card funds that have already been spent.

When you make purchases online make sure your transactions are secure. In the address bar you should see “https” and not “http”. There should also be small lock icon in your browser. If this is your first purchase from the company make sure the issuing company is someone you have heard of like Verisign, or Thawte.

Check a company’s privacy policy. When you make your first transaction make sure your check the privacy policy, look for logos from consumer groups like Trust-E and the better business bureau. Click the logos to make sure they are authentic.

Never open or fill out email requests for you to update you account or credit card settings via email. These are ‘phishing’ scams people use to try and secure your personal information. Many of them are growing increasingly sophisticated and go to great lengths to look exactly like the companies website using their exact logo.

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Online theft is a terrible thing! Here is some free lessons.

Top Ten Online Shopping Security Tips.

Every year billions of dollars are spent by consumers on line; and as the trend is growing rapidly, shopping security is still the number one factor in which a person may choose not to buy from a website.
This is particularly true if you are new to the internet or starting to buy on-line for the first time.
Shopping security has always been a touchy subject and is so important that most reliable companies go to a great deal of trouble to protect their customers rights, privacy and security. 
So can people feel safe when shopping on-line?
The answer to this is yes, if shoppers follow simple guidelines. If you are new to the Internet or a regular shopper online, the following guidelines should apply.

1. Make sure you know the exchange rate; if you are not sure of the current rates, find out before you buy an item. 
2. Find out the cost of delivery before placing your order and how long the delivery will take. Most shopping sites use couriers to deliver the goods and when delivering overseas can become quite expensive.
3. If you are bidding on E-bay check out the buyers and sellers feedback. This should become standard before you ever place a bid.
4. Always read the FAQ section if you are new to the site.
5. If someone demands cash for a payment, ‘say no‘. Use your credit card to make your payment; this will protect you against fraud. Credit card companies refund accounts where fraudulent activity transpires.
6. Check the buyers contact page. Make sure their postal address is posted on it. If not, don’t deal with them.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask the seller lots of questions, genuine sellers should be very helpful, some online shopping sites have forms where you can see customer feed back.
8. Check, and read in full the terms and conditions, and the privacy policy of the site.
9. If you are unsure about a site, try doing a search with Google or any of the other search engines.  You may find comments posted about the shopping site from other customers.
10.  If you are still not sure after reading the above it may be time to go shopping elsewhere.

These simple guidelines should also apply when bidding online.
If you do make the occasional bid in one of the many online auction sites, the same safety guidelines should become standard. Part of the appeal of buying or bidding online is that you tap into the global markets at a click of your finger. Buying through auction sites on the web can be very exciting and for most people enjoyable, but remember they can also be very addictive.
Most of the well-known auction sites are based in the United States; so overseas bidders should follow proper, but simple guidelines when placing their bids. 
We should not shy away from the worthwhile experience of online shopping.  Shopping on-line can bring you great savings, and will also take away the burden of going shopping.