Are You Being 'Spied' On

Webcams And Your Privacy!

It sits at the top of your screen and is your visual link to the internet world, but it can invade your privacy - Watch the video below to find out more

It appears that some software can be a double edged sword, but I liked the solution.  There are pieces of software which are available, that can turn the webcam into motion detectors although this is limited, with out an infra red sensor, to recording anyone using the computer.  Now how about that, you can be recorded putting your password into your bank account or how about your credit card details.  This would be a fairly unsophisticated method and possibly not very practical way of doing this.

Enter the keylogger, a small program or in some cases a piece of hardware which silently records ALL your keystrokes and pops them into a text file for recovery by a third party.  Nasty little beasts aren't they.

These programs are used and can be installed on your computer by using Trojan Downloaders.
A typical scenario might be, you find a piece of software e.g. a screensaver or  little game that is a free download (bear in mind this is purely an example here and in no way suggesting that all pieces of free software are linked in this way).  You agree to the license (not having read it and in most cases who does) and install it. Being totally oblivious of the fact that you have agreed to download a number of other little programs being downloaded and installed with what you wanted.  One or several of these programs are Trojan Downloaders or even the keylogger itself.  The Trojan downloads  a further program which transmits the acquired keystrokes recorded in a text file back to the originator of the program, who has now got the knowledge of what you  have being typing in at your keyboard.  Passwords, bank details, credit card or debit card details amongst other things.  Go figure what they can do with that informatioin!

Internet Security is not now a luxury, it is absolutely essential.  I suggest a full internet security suite and two further antispyware programs (see my last blog entry)







'For Exceptional Service on Computer Repair visit Green Dragon Solutions'

Spyware - The Nasties That Lurk In Your Computer

Most People Are Aware Of Viruses

BUT

NOT MANY ARE AWARE OF THE BIGGER THREAT

"SPYWARE"

Yes Spyware.  What is it, you ask?  It is malware (akin to viruses), that takes many forms. Some of its directly noticeable effects include
Pop-ups - These irritations are usually for advertisements and can be for purchasing, 'antivirus' or 'antispyware' programs which are in themselves spyware (and you have the privilege of paying to have it install itself on your computer!)

• Toolbars - These 'utilities appear from nowhere when installing 'free software'.  This then clutters the top of the browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera are browsers) and can have  unwanted side effects.
• Different homepage - On opening your browser, if you find your homepage is not what you expect, then you have probably been 'browser hijacked'.  These nasties direct your browser to a pre determined website
• Desktop changes - Some spyware had the effect of locking your desktop background to an advert or other image not of your choosing.

Other indications that spyware may be present, include the computer is very slow, and sometimes you find your hard drive is filling up much quicker than it should be (again slowing your computer down).  

I have on some systems seen the computer come to a grinding halt, even though the system is more than capable of running the programs requested..

Do yourself a favour, get a couple of free antispyware programs (these you will have to update and possibly scan yourself).  My suggestions are Superantispyware and SpywareBlaster ( And No I am NOT an affliliate or receiving any compensation for the promotion of these two programs, I just believe that they are good at what they do).   Get Superantispyware here. and get Spywareblaster here.   You will need to update both programs manually and scan with Superantispyware.  Spywareblaster sits in the background and checks the system for unusual actions.

Aside from the above two programs I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU GET A FULL., PAID FOR SUBSCRIPTION to an INTERNET SECURITY SUITE such as AVG Internet Security (Yes I am a Reseller for this Program and as such I am not allowed to promote other products of a similar type).

'For Exceptional Service on Computer Repair visit Green Dragon Solutions'

More  Next Time