Internet Survival Tips -- Viruses, Spyware, Hoaxes, etc.

In just a few short years, the Internet has become an indispensable service to the civilized world. It is almost another utility along with electricity and water. Unfortunately, along with this newfound treasure are a few snares and traps that can hamper and all together stop your access to all of those Internet resources. You can avoid those traps if you prepare yourself for your Internet expedition.

Computer Viruses:

Computer viruses pre-date the Internet and as such are not really Internet dependent but with the Internet, viruses have really come into their own. With so many computers interconnected to the Internet, it does not take long for a virus to spread across the world. Viruses spread via a variety of different means. Some use your email client to email copies of themselves to everyone in your address book. Some spread directly across the Internet and your network looking for open computers that are setup for file sharing. And yet others infect files on your computer that you end up sending to other users on the Internet.

Today's viruses are multi-vector, meaning they spread though more than one mechanism making things just that much worse. The damage that viruses can cause varies -- some just infect files and spread doing no real damage. Others can open your computer up for other virus infections or for a remote hacker to gain control of your computer. Some can delete files or entire hard drives. There are a few that can even damage the BIOS chip on your motherboard rendering the computer dead in the water with motherboard replacement your only option.

The only good thing about viruses is that they are the most well known of the Internet "gotchas" out there. Most people have heard of computer viruses and are vaguely aware of the threat they represent. However, most people think that they solution is just to load some anti-virus package on their computer and go about their business as usual. This is not the case. Virus software needs to be continuously updated. So far in the month of March alone, 25 new viruses have been discovered. With new viruses being released every day your anti-virus software must be updated to deal with newly discovered threats. Make sure you have your software configured to update its virus definition files on a regular basis. I have my computer looking for updates every morning around 2am and have it do a full scan around 3am. That way the anti-virus activity does not interfere with my daily use of the computer and I always have the latest anti-virus data on my computer. While there are a handful of freeware anti-virus packages, I recommend biting the bullet and buying a commercial package for the support that comes with it. The three big players in this arena are Norton Antivirus, McAfee VirusScan and Trend Micro PC-cillin. Any of these packages should work well for you. Most of these packages also include a firewall program that prevents hackers from gaining entry to your computer over the Internet.

Spyware:

Spyware is a newcomer to the Internet and as such not many people know of it but they are very familiar with the results of having spyware on their system -- the dreaded pop-up window. If you have ever been on the Internet and had numerous windows pop-up on your screen, you many have spyware on your computer. In fact, if you spend any time at all on the Internet you probably have spyware on your computer.

Spyware is software that is installed either automatically by a website or inadvertently by you. You may have received an email that describes an upgrade to your web browser or email program and you end up installing it. You may get a pop-up window on the Internet that looks amazingly like an error message or some other "official" looking notice that you need to install some update or patch in order to hide your computer IP address or similar message. By clicking "OK" on those windows you are agreeing to have their software installed on your computer. Software that watches your actions on the Internet and sends that information off to marketers and advertisers so they can send targeted advertisements to you. This is one source for all that spam that shows up in your email in box. They also watch what you type in looking for keywords so they can target those interests as well. Spyware is also installed along with just about the entire peer to peer file sharing programs out there like Kazaa, Bearshare, Audio Galaxy, etc. If you have any of these or similar programs on your computer, you probably have spyware on your computer.

Apart from being really annoying there are other drawbacks to having spyware on your computer. Most spyware packages cause stability and performance problems on the computers they reside on. If your computer has started slowing down, crashing a lot and the system tray (the row of icons in the lower, right hand corner of the screen) has a lot more icons than it used to, you probably have spyware problems.

The good news is that there are some freeware programs out there that are great at getting rid of these malicious programs. The bad news is that if the spyware was loaded as part of one of the previously mentioned peer-to-peer files sharing programs, those programs will no longer work. There are spyware free peer-to-peer client programs that you can use without risk of spyware infection such as Kazaa Lite.

Hoaxes:

We have all received those emails -- the ones that have been forwarded so many times that 90% of the text of the email is a listing of the email addresses of all the other people that have suffered through the email before you. The email details some kind of program where you get a free Mickey Mouse doll for every 100 people you forward the email to or The American Heart Association will give little Jimmy a free heart transplant if you forward the email to all your friends, etc. Perhaps emails detailing a tax on Internet use, Ollie North discussing Osama years before the 9/11 attack or even computer viruses!

Net hoaxes are rumors that are spread via that Internet that 99% of the time are simply not true. Photographs to further enhance the story sometimes accompany them. They don't delete your hard drive, spy on you or contribute to male pattern baldness. They do however clog up your email inbox and add to the traffic on the Internet. The "jdbgmgr.exe" virus warning can cause minor damage to your computer if you end up following the procedure outlined in the email. There are several sites on the Internet that allow you to look up any suspicious emails that you receive to make sure they are legitimate. If they are not, politely inform the sender with a reply that contains a link to a reference site debunking the hoax. You will have educated a fellow internet user and also stopped a net hoax dead in its tracks!

By being aware of these issues and guarding yourself against them, your time spent on the Internet will be much more productive, efficient and most of all fun!

Helpful Links:

Antivirus Software:
Norton Antivirus:
http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/
McAfee VirusScan:
http://www.mcafee-at-home.com/products/virusscan/default.asp?m=1
Trend Micro PC-cillin:
http://www.pc-cillin.com

Spyware:
Spybot -- Search and Destroy:
http://security.kolla.de/
Adaware:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Internet Hoaxes:
About.com Urban Legends and Folklore:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/index.htm?once=true&rnk=c1&terms=hoax
Snopes.com:
http://www.snopes2.com/

Member Comments: