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By now, most of us are aware of the threat of
virus attacks and the risk of downloading, using file-sharing software (such
as Kazaa or Morpheus),
or just surfing the web. As a result of this and other widely publicized computer virus threats, most people have installed antivirus protection
on our computers. But there's a threat that, if you knew about it, would make
your nose hairs curl and make you run out and protect yourself. Spybots and Spyware and what do these things
do? They can do a number of things. Some of them track what web sites you
like to go to, looking for patterns in your surfing behavior or shopping
preferences. Others put a program on your computer that will run
automatically at startup. This program might lay dormant until you're not
around, at which point your computer can be hi-jacked and used as a hacking
zombie. Almost as bad, the sneaky program which was put there without your
permission could be using up valuable resources, RAM and bandwidth. This would
show up in decreased computer performance: programs opening or running
slowly, slow surfing or lots of PC crashes. If you have anti virus software like Norton Antivirus or McAfee, don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Spyware
isn't a computer virus or worm, and isn't treated like one. If you download
and install, for example, something like Gator to track your passwords, it is
also keeping track of you against your knowledge. Norton Anti Virus won't
care. Or, if you download and install some programs like Netscape Navigator
or Netscape Communicator, sometimes a small piggyback program called Comet
Cursor is installed with it. This is loaded automatically at startup and
sucks up your valuable computer resources. You unwittingly gave Comet Cursor
permission to be on your PC, and now it's there to stay. Chances are, your computer is filled with
spyware that you were clueless about. There are probably ad-tracking cookies
that know your every move. There are bots that are "phoning home"
to let the mothership know what you like to do. There are possibly even holes
in your security, where maybe someone can get their grubby hands on your
personal information like address, banking or credit card info. So, what to
do? Luckily, there are a number of software solutions. Call A-1 DFW PC today to remove this threat to your system. An
example which I learned about the other day follows.. Please read this
information and why removing spyware is necessary!!!! "I was cleaning out the "unerase files"
that Norton Anti-Virus holds when I happened to look through them. I found a
number of jpg files in the list. They were named something like
"2003-7-2_1-5-45.jpg," a record of a date and time. I traced the
folder to WINDOWS/system32/data. In it were more files like this. One was
created EXACTLY every five minutes. They also have a thumbnail version. When
I viewed them, I was shocked. There was a perfect screenshot of my computer
at that time! What if I have credit card numbers or a private email on the
screen at that time? Anyone with the right hack could find these files and
exploit them! Is this something that Microsoft is doing to keep an eye out?
My virus software can find nothing. Please, let the readers know if it is a
security issue." Looks like someone installed a very malicious spyware
program on this user's computer. These kinds of screen capture spy
applications are very effective for capturing credit card information, user
names, document and file system data, and email reconnaissance information.
There's a good chance that the program is sending these screen shots to
someone "out there" for review. That's why it's so important to
have a good spyware and scumware blocking application. Quality jobs with experience, it is what we do
!!!! 817-456-8100 Sales - sales@dfwpcservices.com |