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What is Malware?
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Internet
advertising can be more than just a nuisance. It can damage your computer.
Learn how to avoid some types of trouble on-line. |
Internet advertising has become an art form in which the advertisers
dream up ingenious ways to get your attention. They want to show you ads
that will be "of interest to you". Personally, we find very few of these ads to be "of interest" but apparently some people
do, otherwise the marketers would not be using them.
Unfortunately, some of these marketers have found some ingenious methods for placing software on your computer to assist them in their efforts. Some of this is software is simply annoying. But some it can adversely affect your computer's performance or even bring it to a halt. We call it all "Malware", or malicious software. Different types of malware include, but are not limited to:
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Adware - Software that displays advertising on your computer, or that alters the functioning of your browser so it favors certain Websites.
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Spyware - Software that sends information back to a central location. This could include your surfing habits, personal information, credit card numbers, passwords, or even every keystroke you enter. Some spyware is disguised aa useful software or as "patches" to correct problems with Windows.
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Viruses - Code that "infects" your computer. A virus can cause your computer to behave erratically, it can destroy all information on the hard drive, it can infect your network, and it can send itself to other people.
Malware has become a multi-billion dollar problem, or the equivalent in other currencies. The Internet is not restricted to one country and neither are the troubles that can affect it. Perhaps you recall the Love Bug virus and the Blaster worm, which made international news.
There are plenty more where those came from, and the virus writers sometimes try to outdo each with the severity of the payloads they can deliver and the methods with which they deliver them. Suffice to say, a number of companies are making good money helping their customers avoid trouble, and cleaning up after trouble strikes.
So, just how bad are viruses and Malware? Bad. Very bad. We have helped a number people remove Malware
from their computers. Below are just a few examples of what can happen
to the unsuspecting.
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Our son's computer was locking up and crashing. After much hair pulling we reformatted the hard drive and started over. A few weeks later, when it happened again, we found the program TSADBOT running. When it tried to send information from his computer to the "mother ship" the firewall blocked it and the computer hung awaiting a reply.
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One user had a new cable modem connection that we thought was rather slow. He had never had cable so he thought it was very fast. We removed over a dozen pieces of Malware from it, after which the cable provided blazing speed. He noted that whenever his wife
saw a dialogue box pop up she simply clicked OK.
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A friend reported that his system kept dropping his dial-up connection.
Attempts to download Malware removal tools failed. Later we found 262 pieces of Malware. The trouble began right
after he downloaded a "free" pop-up blocker that was offered
to him in the form of a pop-up ad from an unknown source.
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A co-worker went on vacation for a month and hired a house sitter. Upon
her return she noted that her menus were in German and the machine did
not work well. When she accessed the company network the security system
noted a virus attack originating from this user's account. A Spyware
removal program found dozens of pieces of Malware..
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At work this co-worker encountered a pop-up window reminding her that for the past year she had been using a program to protect her system against Malware. It asked her to renew her subscription on line. Just two months earlier her hard drive had been reformatted when Windows XP was installed so it was impossible to have used this program for a year.
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Malware can totally cripple a computer.
A friend's Dell Pentium 1800 had trouble loading the desktop. A steady stream of pop-up ads prevented
much of anything else from happening. The browser had at least four auxiliary
tool bars, as did the Windows desktop. HIs browser would take over 5 minutes to open a window over a fast cable connection.
This system had 551 pieces of Malware including multiple "hijack
dialers", which break your local connection, mute the modem
speaker, and then re-connect you to the Internet via an unregulated
overseas number at a very high per-minute rate. The Windows toolbar
offered direct links to pornography and gambling sites.
This user was ready to junk the Dell and order something else.
Considering that his grandchildren had recently visited and used
the computer, we were able to convince him that a new computer would
quickly get into the same situation. We showed him how to restrict
logins with the Windows XP security feature.
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How can someone pick up so much Spyware and not know it? Simply stated,
the marketing people that create this junk find ingenious ways to force
it onto your computer and they are very creative.
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A window may pop advising that "Your computer is broadcasting
its IP address to the Internet!!!!" If you did not broadcast your address then you could not connect to the Internet; that is a normal thing. But the warning does sound serious.
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You may be offered a free software package, which includes the Malware. File sharing programs, screen savers, games, and toolbars are notorious for their Malware.
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Sometimes a Website will all but force you to make their page your home page, altering your system settings at the same time. Restoring the old settings can be rather tricky.
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An ad may offer to improve your Internet performance for free! Some
of these products actually work but if they come from an unknown source, such as a pop-up ad or spam, one must wonder what else they will include.
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You may be advised that you are a winner and that you need to click
to collect your prize. Some of these ads are come-ons for you to give up personal
information, i.e., so you can receive Spam (junk mail). Some may do worse
things.
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You may be offered a pop-up stopper for free. Now, isn't that ironic?
You get a pop-up ad from an unknown source offering a free and unknown
product to stop the very kind of advertising that they are using to
attract your attention! My friend's free pop-up
stopper stopped his computer from working, and it could
not be turned off or uninstalled.
Perhaps you think you are smart enough not to permit a download of software
to your computer. Think again! Those marketing types are very clever and
able to find ways to trick the smartest and most computer savvy person
to make a mistake.
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A download screen may pop up unexpectedly as you type, with the mouse
directly over the "OK" button. Your next keystroke will start
the program loading onto your machine.
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A graphic may pop up asking you to start a download. A prominent "cancel" button may be displayed. Unfortunately, this button is part of a graphic that launches
the download.
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A graphic may pop up asking you to start a download. Right after that
several other windows or ads pop up on top of it. Clicking the "X" in
the upper right hand corner will not close these windows. The
entire pile of pop-ups may be one graphic that, if clicked, will start
the download. The Windows menu bar and the real "X" may be almost impossible to find.
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Sometimes a malevolent script on a page starts the download in the
background, without your being aware of it.
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We have encountered several graphics overlayed upon other windows.
Clicking the seeming innocuous button on the pop-up, i.e., a "Close" button, actually starts a download or other undesirable action.
| The ultimate in overlays can be found in "phishing" scams. Phishing scams try to trick people into giving up their private information,
including passwords and PINs, in response to a seemingly legitimate
mailing from a reputable company. Some use an overlay that covers
a real company Web page. One possible clue to a problem is that if you click
any links on the page you will find you can never get back to the
phishing screen. Note that these scammers are clever so what is true today may not be true tomorrow. |
Where do you find Malware and what does it do? How do you know you have been infected? Depending on the package
you may see one or more of these behaviors.
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Your computer may display advertising, even when you are not connected to the Internet. Windows may pop up at random times. You may find your computer rendered unusable.
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Your computer may slow down at times. Some Malware replaces advertisements on Web pages with ads from another company,
effectively stealing site "hits" from that company. This uses a lot of your computers processing power.
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Your browser may create advertising links based on key words on a Web page. Your company's Web pages could feature links to a competitor's product.
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Your browser may insert advertisements into pages that have none. Eagle-Wing.Net carries
no advertising yet computers infected with some Malware will
display advertising on our pages.
- Your computer may send your personal information and surfing habits back to the "mother
ship" where marketers can decide how best to market to you.
Some of this is annoying. Some of it could compromise your privacy and
security. Your computer is going to be working a lot harder if it is infected
with Malware. Below is a listing of just a few of the known Malware products
and what they can do to your computer. Be aware that this list is probably out of date and very incomplete. There is no way to keep such a list current as this nefarious software changes constantly.
| Aureate / Radiate |
Collects demographics and delivers advertisements. Often
packaged with freeware products. |
| Aveo |
Displays targeted advertising at intervals. Often included
with commercial packages from a number of well-known companies. |
| BDE Viewer |
Shows 3 dimensional ads. Can crash some sytems. Comes
with Kazaa. |
| Bonzi Buddy |
A talking gorilla recommends other sites to visit. Can
slow your computer or cause a "blue screen of death". May
install itself silently. |
| Common Name |
Toolbar that allows using site names and not a URL.
Gathers information, alters some settings, can block some sites. Comes
with other Spyware. |
| Cydoor |
Serves up ads from sponsored sites. Comes with some
free software. |
| Gator |
Stores personal information to help you fill in on-line
forms. Hijaacks advertising, substituting different ads. Collects
information about your browing habits. Often comes to you courtesy
of a drive-by download. |
| Hotbar |
Provides a neat tool bar for Outlook plus graphics and
emoticons. Monitors browsing habits and pops up ads, even on pages
that don't have them. Purports to be an Outlook upgrade. |
| Lop |
Alters your start page, bookmarks, and default search
engine. Adds links to advertising sites. Pops up ads. Can trigger
a dial-up connection. Comes to you courtesy of pop-up ads and drive-by
downloads. Lop is a very common infection. |
| NetObserve, Spy Agent, WinWhatWhere |
Captures keystrokes. All of them! May be installed by
a jealous relative. May arrive as a plug-in that lets you view a free
greeting card. |
| Twisted Humor |
Displays large Flash ads and may gather personal information.
May be included with free novelty software downloaded from TwistedHumor.Com. |
| WebHancer |
Tracks browsing habits. Can cause networking problems.
Comes with many free products. |
| Xupiter Toolbar |
Tracks browsing habits and hijacks advertising. Diverts
your browser to its site. Comes with Spam and drive-by downloads. |
So, what is a beleaguered computer user to do when their computer becomes
infected with Spyware? That's easy. Go to our Software
page, where you will find links to several software packages
that are good at finding and removing Adware and Spyware. We personally
use AdAware and Spybot.
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Some software comes with strings attached but without the sneaky
terms and conditions characteristic of most Spyware. One such product
is HotBar. To install HotBar you must initiate the download, you
are told up front that it will collect data on your computer, and
you are given plenty of chances to decide whether or not to install
it. Read our HotBar
review for an example of what this type of software does.
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