The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
As if all of the spam sitting in your email inbox, and a constant need to be aware of the dangers of viruses and trojan horse programs was not enough, a new study released last week says that spyware programs are running rampant in people's computers. Spyware is the generic name for a type of software that is downloaded, often without you knowing, and which sits on your computer recording what you do. Nonviral malware, as spyware is officially called, can be of many different types. Some of them record what you do online, the websites you visit, and where you shop. Others are more complex pieces of software called keyloggers which have the ability to record each and every keystroke you perform on your computer. The important part of spyware is not only the fact that these programs are often downloaded to your computer without your knowledge when you download something else, but the fact that this information is collected and sent back to the parent company for a variety of purposes. Released last week was a survey of over one million computers connected to the Internet. It found on average that each PC has over 28 of these programs installed on them. These pieces of software run in the background of your machine, never telling you they are there, but sometimes drastically affecting the performance of your computer. This is the main complaint that people have that often leads them to finally search and destroy spyware. Spyware can be notoriously difficult to get rid of. Most programs hide their files and their collected information deep within your program or system files. Hiding folders within folders makes them extremely difficult to find. One story circulating around the Internet tells of someone cleaning out their computer files and finding a spyware folder contain over three gigabytes of personal information. You've probably go it, so what to do? Most of the major companies such as Network Associates, Norton, and MacAfee are now producing anti-spyware programs along with their anti-virus software. Most of these will prevent new spyware from being downloaded to your machine, but something different is required for getting rid of what is already there. Spybot, PestPatrol, and Ad-Aware, can detect spyware already installed on your machine and can help you to get rid of them. As well, installing a personal firewall on your machine will notify you every time a piece of software on your machine tries to "phone home". But beware. Most legitimate pieces of software also contact their home companies at least occasionally to search for updates or new versions. Having a personal firewall can keep you busy. Spyware can be a large invasion of your privacy as it collects your personal information, and may leave you open to more serious concerns such as trojan horses, viruses, and identity theft. Check it out. ([email protected])
