|
Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Thursday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week –
05/19/05 |
|
|
Internet threats - browser hijackers - comes in
the form of a program named Ezula. I had an
assistance call from a client who said she seemed to have an abnormal amount
of ads and popups everytime
she used the internet. As soon as I sat down at her computer, I could tell
something was very unusual. No matter what web page I went to, I see strange
links and get
popup ads, even on pages where I knew there were no popup ads. Every single
webpage I went to had certain words underlined as
yellow links, and even if you didn't click on the link, you'd get a popup ad
related to an underlined word - almost as if an evil force had taken over her
computer. I noticed
she had a lot of junk programs installed , and I
asked if anyone else used her computer. Yes, her teenage daughter, who
downloaded a lot of music files off the internet.
And the program she used to download music files with was Kazaa
- a free program for doing this, and what comes bundled with Kazaa is one of the most invasive programs ever to appear
on the internet - one named Ezula - which takes
over your computer and plunges you into popup ad hell. The
purpose of Ezula - also known as the Toptext plugin
for Internet Explorer - is to turn words and links on legitimate web pages
everywhere into yellow links to Ezula advertisers.
The goal is to steal traffic from websites and to generate money for the Ezula advertisers.
If you
have your own website, it is critical that you become aware of Ezula and what you can do about it, because it
potentially can steal traffic and revenue from your site. The worst
part about Ezula is that it installs itself on your
computer without
you knowing anything about it, which is why critics call Ezula both a virus - in that it installs without your permission - and a
hacker's program - in that it takes over your computer. It is estimated that
as many as 7 million computers are now infected with Ezula. And the company itself -
at www.ezula.com - denies anything wrong about its product. In fact they brag
about their products and their marketing relationships with many websites and
some search engines.. Information on scumware - this new generation of internet programs - can
be found at http:\\www.scumware.com.
Here you will find information on Ezula and other
programs they consider to fall into the generic scumware
category, which also includes Gator and Coolweb
search. But what do you do if you
think you might be infected with scumware on your computer?
Many websites provide detection of ezula and other
programs and it is easy to find a small piece of code to put on your webpage
to help your visitors see if they are infected. I did this for my website - if you go
to http://www.mtamicro.com/ezula
you will see a screen that will tell you if Ezula
is detected on your computer, and if it is - there is a link there to a site
with removal instructions. You can also find detection and removal
instructions at http:\\www.scumware.com
and many other sites. The internet is an
emerging technology and comes with its own set of problems for which
currently there are no laws or solutions. Internet users need to
realize the threats of the internet, as well as its many positives, and
protect themselves, their families, their businesses, and in this case, their
own webpages. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2005 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html (509)624-7230 |
|