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Computers and the Internet have become such an
important tool in our everyday life that it is
no surprise it has become part of fly fishing,
thanks to FAOL. The most common concerns and
annoyances in using computers and the Internet
are the files placed on our computers without
our knowledge or by some sort of trickery. These
are called malware, viruses, spyware, adware,
browser hijackers, popup generators and some
add-on browser tool bars. The marketing companies
responsible for some of these usually get upset
when their programs are placed in the same category
as viruses. In fact, one such marketing company
sued a company that makes removal tools (we'll
cover those later) and got an a court order to
stop them from calling their program "spyware,"
it could only be called "adware." Let's look at
the similarities, how they differ and the thin
line than separates them.
To start with let's define them:
Malware: the word comes from, Mal_
icious soft_ware. It can be any program,
such as a virus, that causes damage. As far as
I'm concerned, that damage can be in the form of
lost computer software, data files and or operating
system software as well a computer users frustration
and loss of time that may result in damage to their
health or pocketbook!
Virus: a program, sometimes hidden in another
harmless program (Trojan) that propagates by placing
itself in other programs and/or by emailing itself
to other computers from the infected one. The virus
program usually, but not always, performs some
malicious function, like erasing or altering files.
In some cases they may alter operating system files
or wipe out your hard disk rendering your computer
useless.
Spyware: a computer program that is placed
on your computer without your knowledge or consent
that gathers information about you and how you use
your computer and sends it back spyware creator.
This may include e-mail addresses in your address
book and sensitive personal information.
Adware: a computer program that is placed on
your computer "supposedly" with your knowledge and
consent that gathers information and sends it back
to the adware creator. You give consent by accepting a
"free" something. That could be a search bar, smilely
faces for your e-mail program, bonus points, discounts,
etc. etc. At the same time you agree to accept this "gift"
you are given a link to one of those long disclosures/policy
pages that no one ever checks out. Most don't even
notice the link. The adware program quickly installs
but an uninstall program is, surprisingly, missing.
But then why would you try to uninstall a program
that you don't even know exists?
Browser Hijackers: They are similar to the
adware but in addition they reset your browsers
home or start page to one of their choosing that
is filled with their advertisements.
Popup Generators: a program that is a form
of adware that studies your web surfing interests
and then downloads popup ads that are specific to
you and displays them.
Addon Browser Toolbars: NOTE: not all of these
are bad, but some are just part of, or the "bait"
(should I say fly here?) for the other types of
adware. Be very careful in accepting one to be
installed. Read the fine print!
So it seems, the point that separates malware from
adware is consent or loss. I'll let you decide
whether on not you feel you gave consent and didn't
lose anything if you end up with adware on your
computer.
What can you do about it?
Do operating systems have anything to do with it?
The most common, and therefore the most susceptible
one is Microsoft Windows©. Although there is less
chance of contracting these annoyances with a Mac©,
or Linux©, it can still happen. The PC is far more
popular and is the best supported in terms of amount
and availability of software, so it naturally is the
one with the most incidents. I have had Mac's in the
past and now have many PC's using Windows and servers
using Linux. I have never had a problem with malware
or adware with any of these systems. You need to protect
yourself no matter what operating system you have. There
are many ways to do this. Let's discuss a few:
Common Sense: Most viruses are distributed through e-mail.
There is a very bad piece of advise that keeps going
around concerning viruses and e-mail. It is:
"Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you don't know"
Don't believe it! It's bad advice, which helps spread viruses!
Also don't have your email program set open attachments
automatically and launch the virus for you!
A typical virus that spreads by e-mail will first gather
addresses from the address book on an infected computer.
It will then send itself out to them using the address
of the computer owner or the addresses in the book. The
result is your friends get an e-mail that appears to come
from you or a possible common friend with an attachment
that contains the virus. If they follow the above advice
they will infect their computer and the cycle will start
again. The best defense against virus is to not open
suspicious attachments. An attachment is suspicious when
you are not positive what it is and/or you are not
expecting it. Let your virus program help you make
that decision.
Anti-Virus Program: Everyone needs to have a
good anti-virus program that is kept up to date. NO
anti-virus program is good if it is not up to date!
The responsibility of keeping it up to date is yours,
not the program. It is a good idea to check for
updates every day as soon as you go online. Those of
you who rely on automatic updating may be in for a
surprise. They don't always work. Sometimes the update
servers are busy, sometimes the download is bad. You
may have programs that are scheduled for a certain time
to update and you may not be online. All anti-virus
programs will allow you to manually check for updates.
Learn how to do that. It is wise to make sure you update
every day before you check your e-mail.
To look at a worse case scenario let's say a new virus
is discovered right after you update. Your software
provider will put out an update as soon as possible.
You go online the next day, you get you e-mail, your
anti-virus software is not up to date and, guess what?
As I said, this is a worse case situation and good
anti-virus software employs technology that could
catch it, but why take chances. Fact is, if you do
not keep your software updated you will most likely
be infected sooner or later.
There are many brands of anti-virus software. To name
some: Grisoft's AVG©, McAfee©, Norton©, and Trend
Micro©. More are available but these are the very popular
and they all work, if they are kept up to date! I
often hear people say, "I installed this brand and
then changed to this brand and it found a virus the
other missed." I say, if both are up to date with
the latest virus patterns they both would have caught
it.
One concern in choosing a package is the load on your
system. Anti-virus programs just like other software,
make demands on your computers systems resources. Some
of these packages come bundled with many other, usually
security oriented, but sometimes automatic reporting,
updating programs, anti-spy, popup blockers, etc. etc.
that get installed along with the anti-virus. It all
sounds good but you need to ask yourself "do you really
need and want all of that stuff running on your computer."
And, even more important, can your computer run all
that stuff?
Does it have the resources it needs? In a lot of cases
you already have some of those things covered to your
satisfaction. I have recently had several clients bring
in their computer that were rendered almost useless in
terms of speed and performance after installing one of
those "complete Internet security bundles" that has a
2003 version going around cheap right now. It had
installed far more security than they needed, bogged
down their system with so many programs running in the
background that they couldn't even use the programs
they normally use everyday. They couldn't even complete
the update of the software which involved very large
update files for many programs. Of all the ones mentioned
above, the one with the least system impact is AVG. If
you have an older overworked system, I'd advise staying
away from the big combo security packages.
Another advantage of handling each security issue
separately is choice of what suits your needs and
you systems ability. Another mistake some make that
will bog down your system and possibly cause problems,
like "illegal operations" because they are both trying
to use the same resource at the same time, is to run
multiple anti-virus programs. They are not designed
to work together and you should direct your efforts
to keeping one up to date. The more programs you have
running the slower your computer will run. Don't
duplicate efforts. Choose the one, best program to
accomplish the task.
E-mail Programs and Browsers: Popular e-mail
programs like Outlook© and Outlook Express©, have been
and are exploited by many viruses. Good anti-virus
software will have provisions for screening e-mail
in these programs. There are many email client
programs that don't have the same vunerabilities.
One that is free and a very good program is Mozilla's
Thunderbird©. It is similar to the one in the Mozilla©
browser but it is a stand alone. The Mozilla browser
is the technology that the Netscape browser is based
on. They also have an excellent stand alone browser
called Firebird. The great thing about these stand alone
programs is they run without installation. Just download,
place in a folder and run them. The regular Mozilla browser
with intergrated e-mail and the stand alone Firebird,
allow blocking of popup ads and are not vunerable to
the hijack programs designed for Internet Explorer©.
They also have many configurable security settings.
Anti-Spy: There are many programs designed to
find and remove spyware and adware along with the
tracking cookies they load on your computer. Many are
free and have pay versions that will also prevent them.
They, like virus programs, only work well if you keep
them updated. Some available programs are not very good.
I'll mention two popular and effective programs. Spybot
Search & Destroy a free program that accepts donations.
It does a good job and has an immunization feature.
Ad-aware which only finds and removes in the free
version, the Pay version also prevents. X-Cleaner
Spyware Remover, a program that runs without
installation. You can even run it from a floppy.
It's available in pay only.
Firewall: Hardware and software firewalls can
be a big help in protecting your computer when connected
to the Internet. Hardware firewalls for home and small
offices are inexpensive and although not 100% hack
proof will dramatically decrease your exposure to
hackers by hiding your computer. In combination with
software it will block probes and prevent unauthorized
communication between your computer and the Internet.
Firewalls offer good protection not only from intrusion
but the software usually offers screening of e-mail
downloads and can prevent suspicious ones from executing.
Popular ones are Zone Alarm and Outpost. Firewall software
will often, at first, be too protective and may take a lot
of adjusting. Some inexperienced users may find it
frustrating. It is a good tool, don't give up.
There are many other programs useful in dealing with
these issues but they are mostly intended for the more
computer savvy. For example, a program called "Hijack
This" is free and will tell you what is running on your
computer helping you to find the things that shouldn't
be. I won't go into any more here because I just wanted
to cover the basics. The programs I mentioned are some
of the ones that I use or am familiar with. I am sure
there are many other fine programs out there that will
do the job and it is not my intention to imply that they
are only ones you should consider. To find sources for
these programs just do a search on Google.
May your computing be as smooth and trouble free as your
forward cast. (I hope that's not a curse!) ~ JM
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