What Are Computer Viruses, Spyware, Spam and Robots
How to Protect Your Computer

As you travel the Internet, there is malice afoot. Hackers have created computer viruses, spam, spyware and robots for their own malicious purposes. Computer security software is available to protect you and your computer as you explore the Internet. A few precautions will keep your computer safe. Here I answer your questions. What Is a computer virus? How do you protect your computer from a virus? What is spam and how do you protect your computer from spam? What is spyware and how you protect your computer? What are computer robots and how do they work?

The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards - and even then I have my doubts.
Eugene H. Spafford, director of the Purdue Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security

What Is a Computer Crime

Computer crime, also called cybercrime, is criminal activity that targets the computer or the network. Computer crime includes illegal access to a computer, illegal capture of data, altering data, interfering with the functioning of a computer system, forgery, ID theft and electronic fraud.

The tools for protecting yourself against computer crime are powerful. Cybercriminals are regularly caught and prosecuted.

What Is a Computer Virus

A computer virus is a malicious software program that infect computers. A powerful virus may have ten thousand lines of assembly language code. A virus is harmless until it is permitted to execute as software code. So, viruses often travel inside a spreadsheet or a Word document, because these documents allow executable code. PDF files and HTML web pages cannot contain viruses, but they may have clickable links to malicious code. Viruses are unwittingly spread to other computers if they attach a copy of themselves to outgoing email or infect files on a network. Some viruses are harmless invaders that introduce themselves with a nuisance message on the screen. Others damage computer programs, delete files or reformat the hard drive and crash the computer.

Viruses can duplicate themselves from computer to computer. Sometimes the damage is so complete that people must replace the whole computer. Regular computer backups help protect against file damage due to viruses. When the computer virus is exterminated and your backup files are scanned for viruses, you will have a clean backup file to use. For backup, you can use a few CDs, an external hard drive or a flash drive.

Anti-Virus Software Protects Your Computer From Viruses

Anti-virus software programs can detect and eliminate known viruses. They work by examining the content of the computer's memory and the files stored on hard drives and floppy drives, and comparing those files against a database of known virus "signatures." In addition to scanning sent and received emails, some anti-virus programs are able to scan opened files in a similar manner. Sometimes in the worst cases, to destroy the virus it is necessary to back up important files, erase the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. Anti-virus software is available from BitDefender, Zone Labs, Kaspersky Labs, Norton, McAfee and Trend Micro. Alwil provides free, effective anti-virus software. Other products cost from $30 to $50 each year.

What Is Computer Spyware?

Spyware is software that is secretly installed on your computer. It can collect personal information, install additional software, redirect your Web browser to another site, or divert advertising revenue to a third party. Adware is used as an advertising agent to put popup ads on the screen when you least expect them. Spyware and adware are often hidden inside free screensavers or downloaded music. Internet file-sharing sites, where music files are available, can be the source of infected files that, when downloaded, have access to your computer. Law enforcement has successfully brought to trial the marketing firms that use Spyware to deliver unwanted ads to your computer.

One notorious type of Spyware is the key-logger, which records your keystrokes and secretly sends screen images to the spy. Key loggers can monitor every email, Instant Message, chat and Web site visited. Suspicious spouses might buy and install this software to check up on their partner’s activities. Worried parents install key-logger software to oversee their children's surfing activities. Key logger Spyware can be used as a form of malicious stalking. If you suspect that you are the target of a stalker, contact a law enforcement official.

Protect Your Computer From Spyware

If you surf the Internet often but have not checked your computer for Spyware, your computer could be infected. Download the free, effective software called Spybot to locate and remove any Spyware on your computer. Other popular anti-Spyware programs include F-Secure, Webroot Spy Sweeper, PC Tools Spyware Doctor, Trend Micro Anti-Spyware, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Zone Labs, BitDefender and McAfee. Prices range from $10 to $60 for a one-year subscription. Be sure you download any software from the official site.

What are Computer Robots, or Bots

The fastest growing breed of malicious software are the robots, also called bots. Robots can control a computer without the owner’s knowledge. Even while you are using the computer, the robots run in the background doing their own dirty tricks. The compromised computer is called a zombie.

How does the robot invade your computer? It is often hidden inside features you downloaded from the internet, like free screensavers and free games. Free porn downloads are likely to be contaminated, too. Eventually, the robot owner gains control of thousands of computers, which he calls his “herd.”

The robots play a role in Internet extortion schemes. An extortionist will demand money from large, well-known Internet shopping sites. If they don't pay him off, the extortionist threatens the web site with a Denial of Service attack. He will command the herds of robot-infected computers, including your infected computer, to flood the shopping site with browser requests for pages. This attack, called a Denial of Service, effectively blocks legitimate customers from the shopping site, and shuts down the web site.

What Is a Computer Firewall

A firewall is computer software or hardware that blocks unauthorized communications between your computer and the Internet. It will protect your computer from viruses, spyware, spam and robots. It is especially important to use a firewall if you have a high-speed DSL or broadband Internet connection. Computers with high-speed Internet connection are the prime targets for hackers. Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X have built-in firewalls. If you need a firewall, ZoneAlarm is inexpensive firewall software for effective computer security.

What Is Computer Phishing

Phishing, pronounced “fishing”, is a criminal activity. Using email or instant messaging, phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire your usernames, passwords and credit card information by pretending to be a legtimate business. Most often, the victim will receive an email purporting to be from a site like Paypal, eBay, a well-known bank or even the IRS. The email will ask you to click a link and enter your security data. When you click the link, the site you visit looks authentic, but it’s actually a fraud. And once the criminals have your personal data, they can wreak havoc.

How to Protect Yourself From Phishing

It is actually easy to protect yourself from phishing if you keep your eyes open. Don’t let an email message trick you into revealing personal information. There are ways to recognize fraudulent emails. They almost never address you by name. The fradulent document may contain grammar and spelling errors. And if you are at all suspicious, don’t click the link that’s provided. Instead, enter the correct web address in your browser when you want to check your account.

If you look at the HTML source code for the fradulent phishing email, you’ll see that the link which appears to connect you to eBay or Paypal or Hawaii Credit Union, is actually defined in HTML as a link to an unfamiliar Internet address, often with the IP numbers instead of a name. What I do with fradulent emails is to forward them to the real company, eBay or Paypal or whatever, together with the message headers. Internet companies have the procedures in place to deal with these criminals.

What Is Spam Email

Spam is any unwanted email that you have not requested. By law, emails should contain the sender’s contact information so that you can opt out or unsubscribe. Much span originates outside the United States and is tricky to detect. The spam message is hidden inside a graphic picture file, or inside a PDF file. Maybe you have received spam emails for penny stock pump and dump schemes, or for pharmaceutical drugs sales. Spam is annoying and time consuming, but by itself spam email is not dangerous to your computer.

Spam Blockers Protect Against Spam Email

Spam blockers for email are provided by most large Internet Service Providers, like AOL, MSN and EarthLink. Spam blockers also come bundled with Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail.

There are relatively few security hacks targeting Mac OS X and the Unix-based file system. But because Windows allows users to accesss and make changes to the operating system environment, it has been the favorite target of hackers.

Computer security software, safe practices and cautious Web surfing are part of your computer security. Defend yourself against these rogue invaders. Be sure that children’s activities online are always supervised. Children who surf the Internet are easy targets for viruses, spyware, spam, robots and phishing.

>> Please Return to the Top.

Return to the complete index of new blogs.