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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
Wednesday, October 28, 2004 |
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The protection you need on the
internet today - Part 4 – or Don’t surf in shark
infested waters ... Last week
I talked about 2 of the most dangerous new threats on the Internet today
– spyware and adware. Spyware will install itself on your
computer without your knowing about it and then can record anything -
from your internet surfing and buying habits, to recording and stealing your
passwords - or banking information. Adware will install itself on your computer
without your knowing about it and
then can bombard you with popup ads anywhere you go on the internet, and can
even take control of your browser
and permanently change your home page to an advertising home page that you
can’t change back. Sometimes it will even change your browser to its
own pirate browser instead of IE. You can
be horribly infected with both spyware and adware, yet when you run your
anti-virus program, it tells you that everything is
fine. This is because traditional antivirus programs are now technologically
obsolete in today’s internet threat world, and you need much more. I did a
check on the internet this morning and found that all of the major anti-virus
vendors – Panda, Mcafee, Symantec, Sophos and others – all offer
some kind of updated programs in addition to their traditional anti-virus
programs – to protect you from the new internet threats today. Some of them have a nice all-in-one
package, but some have a confusing ala carte menu of separate programs also.
So if you have a currently registered anti-virus program, you should
immediately look at upgrading it to what you really need to protect yourself
from all the internet threats today. As the
internet is a true international community, the current internet security
problems face all users, and many companies in different countries are
offering their own solutions. Adaware - http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
– is distributed by Lavasoft – a German
company – to remove Adware from your computer - and is one of the
leading anti-adware programs that you can download and use for free or for a
donation. They have free personal and for sale business
versions of their products. This program is effective in removing adware
programs – even ones that have hijacked your browser – and
generally is updated weekly. Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.spybotupdates.com/ - is distributed by a Swedish
company to remove and protect against spyware, and is one of the leading
anti-spyware programs that you can also download and use for free or for a
donation. This program is effective in removing spyware programs – and is updated
periodically. You can actually configure Spybot to
prevent spyware from being installed on your computer – whereas the
free version of Adaware requires you to keep
running it to detect new adware that might have infected your computer. But in
the computer world the best solution is a single solultion,
so you should check out what your current anti-virus vendor offers in a total
internet security program. But we
haven’t discussed perhaps the most dangerous threat on the internet
today – one that can ruin you financially and make you feel like a
complete idiot – and next week I’ll talk about different ways you
can protect yourself from what is known as spoofing and phishing. .For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2004 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html (509)624-7230 |
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