PC Maintenance & Security

Understanding How Malware Spreads

1.       Malware can be spread through email attachments, file sharing (P2P software), IM’s, unpatched Windows, unprotected systems and even by those who do not have any plans for security.

2.       The thing that surprised, though I suppose it seems obvious now, is that all those free software items that come in the mail or that appear in emails or websites, have spyware buried within that helps advertisers or may even corrupt your system.

Understanding the Threat of Rogue Anti-Spyware

1.       Rogue anti-spyware actually scans files for virus but reveals a “false-positive” for spyware. They then “fix” with junk files that actually weighs down/slows your system. There is a site “Spyware Warrior” that helps detect these rogue spyware files and how to beat them.

2.       The fact that we should all have more than one anti-spyware system operating but make sure that they are trustworthy and compatible.

Explaining Cookies

1.       There is a third type of cookie called a “tracking cookie.” This cookie creates security risks by working with advertisers to track where users go on the web and report their activity so that they can place ads on the sites that are visited.

2.       I never understood what a “cookie” was, other than the fact that I love choc. chip, peanut butter, snicker doodles and that I love to have a cold glass of milk when I eat them. Nope, cookies are small info files placed on a hard drive that is read by a website, most often a retail site. They let the website recognize you and keep track of what you do. There are 3 types, the third is mentioned above, Persistent, which stays on the hard drive and Session, which only stays on the drive for as long as you are on the site.