72% of PCs have Spyware

[Michael]

An average of 24 per computer.  Rootkit technology and polymorphic code can defeat some anti virus software:

http://www.technologyreview.com//wtr_15899,1,p1.html?trk=nl

 

[SteveR]

I think it is time!

 

[Eagle43]

Finally, protection at last... Great pic, SteveR.

 

[Brat]

I have MS AntiSpyware on my 'puter. Has anyone seen an evaluation of that software?

 

[Michael]

http://tinyurl.com/al55g



Moderator Edit: Reduced length of URL (Note: You may need to be a subscriber to access this ConsumerReports.com web page)

 

[Nords]

You may need to be a subscriber...

Or maybe not. It was rated #1 with "excellent" ease of use & "very good" detection.

 

[Gone4Good]

72% of PC's have Spyware and the other 28% never connect to the internet.

I run 3 different Spyware/Adware programs and each one identifies "problems" that the other two did not. I suspect that if I added a 4th or a 5th they would find new "threats" too. It is hard to know how serious any of these invasions are, but they are proflific. And with key loggers readily available for download by any punk with an internet connection, you are constantly at risk while on the Internet.

 

[wabmester]

I'm glad to see people trust Microsoft to protect us from evil script kiddies. Microsoft would *never* want to spy on us.

 

[laurence]

So I'm running 2 spywares (including Microsoft's) and an anti-virus and felt pretty good about how clean my pc was. But Yrs to Go's comment about adding another and finding more sparked my curiosity, so I installed webroot just now. 67 spywares found! Upon close examination, none were very serious (some pop up crap, mostly cookies), but still, your point is validated!

 

[REWahoo]

So I'm running 2 spywares (including Microsoft's) and an anti-virus and felt pretty good about how clean my pc was. But Yrs to Go's comment about adding another and finding more sparked my curiosity, so I installed webroot just now. 67 spywares found! Upon close examination, none were very serious (some pop up crap, mostly cookies), but still, your point is validated!

Sounds to me like someone's been visiting porn sites.

 

[yakers]

Spyware, whats that?I use a Mac at home. At work our small group keeps two people busy keeping our computers running.

 

[greg]

Sounds to me like someone's been visiting porn sites.

REW: How would you know?

--Greg

 

[REWahoo]

REW: How would you know?

--Greg

--Greg

Martha told me.

 

[greg]

Martha told me.

Oh, Marthaaaah!

--DH

 

[AltaRed]

How do you identify which ones are key loggers? Is there a list of names around that anti-spyware programs look for?

 

[Tadpole]

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Based on my experience with Microsoft and MSN over the years, I cannot help wondering if they allow their advertisers exemption from their filters.

I also have a couple of questions about keyboard loggers. Do they send their information back in such a way that ZoneAlarm type programs would block it? Also, do discussions on finance such as those that go on here attract the attention of the bad guys?

 

[Michael]

How do you identify which ones are key loggers? Is there a list of names around that anti-spyware programs look for?

The anti spyware programs look for computer code used by the key loggers.

 

[Michael]

Do they send their information back in such a way that ZoneAlarm type programs would block it?

Many do, and Zone Alarm will not only stop those, but tell you that a new program is asking for permission to access the Internet (click no). Others are programmed to try and shut down Zone Alarm, or bypass it. Multiple layers of defense are best.

There is information on how to secure your computer at web sites such as:

http://castlecops.com/index.php

 

[Martha]

Many do, and Zone Alarm will not only stop those, but tell you that a new program is asking for permission to access the Internet (click no). Others are programmed to try and shut down Zone Alarm, or bypass it. Multiple layers of defense are best.

There is information on how to secure your computer at web sites such as:

http://castlecops.com/index.php

We have some kind of security system from our ISP that tells us when a new program is asking for permission to access the Internet. I always click no. But the same ones keep trying. One is for something like "Sonic update manager." and another is Dell support. Should I let Dell in? What do people think Sonic might be? Anyway to stop them from trying?

 

[wabmester]

We have some kind of security system from our ISP that tells us when a new program is asking for permission to access the Internet. I always click no.  But the same ones keep trying.  One is for something like "Sonic update manager." and another is Dell support.  Should I let Dell in?  What do people think Sonic might be?  Anyway to stop them from trying? 

That's your PC firewall software, not your ISP. Some apps need to fetch info from the internet. For example, "Sonic" is probably a music player looking for title info. "Dell support" is an annoying program that will "help" you with support issues. Personally, I remove all of that bloat as soon as I get a new machine. You can safely ignore them -- they're just chewing up cycles and space on your computer.

 

[lazyday]

I've been looking into using something like Knoppix, where you put a DVD or CD into your computer, reboot to the Knoppix system, browse to banks and brokerages, then reboot to windows for day to day stuff.

Knoppix runs off the CD, not from your hard drive, so would be much harder to get and keep a virus or keylogger. Ideally, I'd like to have it not touch the hard drive in any way, so that there is no way something left from a windows surfing session can become a keylogger when I'm running Knoppix.

Haven't figured out yet, how to completely disable hard drive when booting Knoppix. But even as-is, it seems immeasurably more secure than windows.

 

[Martha]

That's your PC firewall software, not your ISP. Some apps need to fetch info from the internet. For example, "Sonic" is probably a music player looking for title info. "Dell support" is an annoying program that will "help" you with support issues. Personally, I remove all of that bloat as soon as I get a new machine. You can safely ignore them -- they're just chewing up cycles and space on your computer.

So is there any way I can get them to stop trying to get me to let them in? I get sick of the pop ups.

 

[wabmester]

So is there any way I can get them to stop trying to get me to let them in?  I get sick of the pop ups.

Yes, if you want to keep the offending software, then you should be able to tell the firewall to allow internet access for those apps, and it'll then stop prompting you.

Or, if you don't want to keep the software, go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, and then select the programs for removal. The Sonic thing might be a CD burning app, so it could be useful (if you haven't installed something else). I'm pretty sure the Dell Support app is worthless. At least, I don't miss it.

 

[Spanky]

Another way to guard against Spyware is to have two partitions in your PC, one for Windows and the other Linux. Use Linux for browsing the internet.

 

[laurence]

Another way to guard against Spyware is to have two partitions in your PC, one for Windows and the other Linux. Use Linux for browsing the internet.

Whoa! Galactic forces in alignment! I just set up my main home computer with a dual boot of windows and SUSE linux. Konqueror is a pretty slick web browser. I think anyone serious about LBYM should definitely check out linux, you get the OS, office, browser, email, cd-burning software etc. etc. in one package, with continuous updates for free! No more "oh, I have to buy the latest version of Windows for $300.". Once Windows XP becomes obsolete, I will probably go exclusively linux from that point on. It's easy to install, too, autodetected everything, no more 300 page tomes just to get the OS to see the video card!