Along with Viruses, Worms and Trojans (Click on it for an article on the same), one of the most silent and biggest threats on the internet is Malware. It can hijack your browser, redirect your search attempts, track the websites you visit, redirect you to sites where you are again and again asked to enter your email address and email password, creditcard information etc. , pop-up unethical advertisements and pop-up the forever annoying Windows Intaller Window to install/download a totally useless piece of code, which many people think is harmless and click on ok. Malware programs are poorly coded and cause the computer to get miserably slow and unstable. Many of them do reinstall themselves even after giving you a successful feeling that you have succeeded in uninstalling them on the next computer restart. Although, Viruses, Worms and Trojans are also classified as malware, they are usually taken care of by a good anti-virus software. You can get infected by malware in several ways. Malware often comes bundled with other programs (Kazaa, iMesh, and other file sharing programs which seem to be the biggest bundlers). These malware programs usually pop-up ads, sending revenue from the ads to the program's authors. Others are installed from websites, pretending to be software needed to view the website. And, there are still others, most notably some of the CoolWebSearch variants, which install themselves through holes in Internet Explorer and other web browsers like a virus would, requiring you to do nothing but just pay a visit to the wrong web page/site to get infected. The vast majority, however, requires to be installed by the user. Unfortunately, getting infected with malware is much easier than getting rid of it, and once you get malware on your computer it tends to multiply, spreading not only on your computer but also infecting the other computers which are connected to your computer. Anti-Virus companies are working for an effective solution to introduce malware removal along with their anti-virus programs but, usually, just using an anti-virus program is simply not enough. We need to also use some other malware removal tools like Adaware-SE, SpyBot-Search and Destroy etc. Some latest editions of Internet Security Suites do achieve a low level of protection against Malware, but fail to provide a full(though a level of full protection can never be gauranteed, the term "full" here means a practically achieveable level of protection against the malware). Malware, does not have an official breakdown, but, I have here categorized the malware with general terms used to categorize them.
Adware belongs to the class of programs which display various unwanted advertisements on your screen. These generally consist of Pop-ups which open new windows on your screen to display ads. These ads may be displayed while you are connected to the internet and are doing anything apart from surfing the net eg: Playing a game online (Ofcourse, playing the game has nothing to do with it), typing a document, listening to music, watching a movie etc. It is generally not dependent on you having a browser window open. Though, it does appear when you are also surfing sites, if your computer is infected or if the website employs a pop-up advertising system. Thus, modern browsers like Maxthon, Firefox etc. have an inbuilt pop-up filter in them, which enables blocking of some well known advertisements and allows you to add to the list by specifying which pop-up advertisement you wish to have blocked the next time you visit the page. Though, there are still some advertisements which show up despite the above procedure. SPYWARE:
Programs classified as Spyware are generally pieces of code, which spy on you and send personal information from your computer to the author or some website etc. Some spywares keep a tab on the sites you visit and relay the information to the authors whereas, there are others which send the information you type in various forms on websites using your browser, while there are still others which send out details of the programs installed on your hard disk, your sensitive information stored on the computer, creditcard information, bank account numbers, Login ids and passwords to various sites and email addresses etc.
Spyware, manytimes, works in conjunction with various toolbars allowing it to be integrated with your browser and allowing it to run in the background being untraceable while the browser is open. HIJACKERS:
Hijackers, as the word suggests, refers to programs which hijack your browser. This includes, setting your homepage to an unknown location, redirecting you to various search sites, prohibiting you from opening a website like a website of a commonly used tool for spyware removal, yet there are others which show pages similar to your email home pages, but are fake and record your email address and passwords. TOOLBARS:
Toolbars, as stated earlier, are used for the propogation of spyware. Toolbars plug-in to the browser to provide additional functionality to the browser and provide shortcuts to some facilities like searchs etc. But, there also exist legitimate toolbars like the yahoo search bar, the google searchbar etc. While there are legitimate ones, there are also quite a handful of others which are harmful. Those toolbars which are installed without your knowledge are the ones which are dangerous and are generally not easily removable. They reappear again and again. DIALERS:
Dialers are programs that set up your dial-up connection to connect to a perticular number. This provides the number's owner with revenue while leaving you with a large phone bill. There are some legitimate uses for dialers, such as for people who do not have access to credit cards. Most dialers, however, are installed quietly and attempt to do their dirty work without being detected. Today, some anti-virus companies are including the code to handle and delete and detect the common dialers that unknowingly come into your computer.
Keeping your computer clean from malware is important. Why? This is simply because of the fact that malware programs pose a security threat to you and your personal information stored on your computer. These, could potentially have all your personal information stored on your computer like Name, Address, Date Of Birth, Email address, Password, Bank Account Number, CreditCard number etc. among many other important information stored on your computer as mentioned above. This information can be used personally by the authors or be passed on to others or even sold to people wanting this information. Malware programs are generally poorly written, they slow down your computer by a considerable amount and use the system resources keeping them to a maximum, like CPU useage to 100% etc. Even the fastest computer can slow down if there are a few malwares installed on it. Apart from the regular slowing down of the computer, the malware can display pop-ups and pop-unders as mentioned above. They can also replace certain legitimate advertisements on a perticluar site with different and unwanted ones. Somethings to the like of what SuperNova had suffered quite a long time back. Malware programs also have the facility to update themselves as and when they want, thus creating a larger and bigger threat to the computers security. Besides, they also offer a chance to hackers to gain entry into your computer.
Many people who are tech-savvy, do have an idea about malware and take precautions to prevent them, but, those normal users, who are not so technically qualified or non-tech-savvy, do make mistakes unknowingly and download the above types of malware.
Thus, the question arises, what can we do to make the not so tech-savvy people realise that they must protect their computers from malware?
The answer to this question is quite simple, explain the harmful effects to them in a way which would not get them scared of the internet ( :bleh: ) but in a way by which they would like to protect their computers. Also, it helps to let them know the applications that can be used to prevent and remove malware like Adaware-SE and Spybot-Search and Destroy.
Many-a-times, people who have knowledge of this subject are greeted with a message: "Nah, I dont use malware and am aware of it, but I use xyz program", where xyz program is a well known malware product. Such people are pretty hard to convince that they have malware, but still, it is better to give them a warning about the same.
As it is commonly said, "prevention is better than cure", the same applies here. The best way is avoiding malware altogather. Though knowlegde helps in this along with common sence, experience helps better.
Though, we all, who have been using the internet for quite some time are experienced enough and are generally aware of the preventive measures, there are many others who are unaware of the various preventive measures available for malware.
The first and foremost is, being aware of the types of Malware and the common names, this can be found on all leading security sites on the internet.
The next is, to install a good firewall like Sygate Personal Firewall, this will help you identify all the programs connecting to the internet and will notify you of any change in the program accessing the internet. The malware is generally caught trying to connect to the net. Blocking it, would result in the transmission of the information from that program to the internet being restricted.
Another good practice is to install a good Anti-Spyware program like Adaware-SE and Spybot-Search and Destroy and regularly update and run scans.
Having a good Anti-Virus software also helps a lot in this area.
Avoiding all unwanted Windows Installers Pop-Ups like "CLICK YES TO PROCEED". Basically, avoiding installing any software which is unknown and not downloading any stuff which is unknown.
Using a good browser with inbuilt pop-up blocker is also helpful. Browsers like Maxthon, Firefox etc. come with bundled Pop-Up blockers and web-ad blockers too.
All in all, it is common sence, knowledge and a little experience which will help in the prevention of the spread of Malware.
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