Category Archives: Site Security
What is Adware?
The word Adware is short for Advertising-Supported Software. This term describes any software which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer, after the software has been installed on it.
It is usually included with other software which one can download from the Internet – especially software that you can download for “free”. The price you pay is having the adware installed on your computer. When you run the program that you downloaded for “free” from the Internet, it will usually automatically cause adds to pop up on your screen thereafter.
Adware software is integrated into, or combined with, another program. The person or company who is making the free program available is usually paid for including adware in his program. This is one of the ways that some programmers make a living or cover the cost of writing “free” programs.
Sometimes Adware takes the form of spyware, keeping track of what you do on your computer, and which pages you visit on the web. This information is automatically sent over the Internet to the company which runs the adware. The data is then used in order to target you with specific advertisements, or is sometimes resold to other companies. This is can be done entirely without your knowledge. Should you, however, complain about this, you would most likely be referred to some fine print in the license agreement which you accepted when you installed the “free” program.
Some Adware can interfere with the functions of other programs running on your computer, in order to force you to visit a particular web site. If you find yourself being automatically sent to a certain website, you can be fairly certain that you have some form of adware running on your computer.
These days it can be hard to separate out “Adware” from “Spyware” and “Malware;” especially since many programs might do all of these things at the same time. For example, if you install “adware” knowingly or unknowingly on a computer, and agree to a tracking feature, the “adware” becomes “spyware” as it is now also keeping track of what you do and sending the information somewhere. If someone else visits or contacts your computer, this will also be recorded and his information is then passed on as well.
Some Adware is not classified as Spyware because, somewhere in the user agreement it says that “third-party software will be included that may collect and may report on computer use.” As the company has included this statement in the “Terms of Use,” it is now no longer Spyware but simply Adware, as they are not “secretly” collecting and tracking your information.
But really… how many people actually fully read the Terms of Use?
Another circumstance to take into account is the case when there are more than one person using the computer. In the case of a family computer, your kids might download a simple “free game,” and unaware of all the facts, automatically agree to have Adware installed. All you see is the kids playing a new game. You might even be happy as it didn’t cost you dime this time. However the “free game” is most likely not all that was downloaded.
A few names of well-known Adware programs are as follows:
- 180 Solutions
- 180SearchAssistant
- Zango
- Bonzi Buddy
- BlockChecker
- ClipGenie
- Comet Cursor
- Cydoor
- Direct Revenue
- Ebates MoneyMaker
- ErrorSafe
- Gator
- Hotbar
- Mirar Toolbar
- Smiley Central
- WeatherBug
This list is by no means complete and serves only to give some examples. There are also programs that detect and remove adware. These programs are designed specifically to detect spyware and adware. They and will not detect or remove viruses. Some of these products are available for free on the Internet. Anti-Adware or Anti-Spyware programs are not Antivirus programs. This is a different subject entirely. A virus is a malicious program which is spread from one computer to the other. It harms your computer, erases your data, keeps your system from running correctly, or does other damage.
A virus can also spy on you like spyware does – for example, by recording your credit card information and sending the data to someone else by email. But the terms adware or spyware usually refer to software which does only that spies on you, sends you advertisements, and steals your data; with or without your consent. Most Anti-virus programs also detect Adware and Spyware. But if you are very active online it is a good idea to have several different anti-adware and anti-spyware programs installed. Different programs detect different types of spyware and adware. By scanning your computer with more than one program, you can do a more thorough clean-up.
Your Company Is Falling Prey To Unseen Attacks! Can't Someone Stop Them? (Page 1 of 4)
There are literally thousands of malware variants in the wild of Cyber Space and any one of them could take down your company, steal your identity or the identities of all of your customers!
We are all aware of the multitude of solutions being offered to counter these attacks, so the question arises: while CSOs and CTOs together with their teams of professional security and systems engineers defend the enterprise armed with the multitude of tools available to them, how is it that this threat continues to grow?
Those tasked with company security and charged with trying to find safe harbor for their companys information and infrastructure have to deal with the unarguable fact that information assurance has not improved.
Two decades after the introduction of the PC and the Internet, computing prevalence has made every company a target of invisible attackers with intent to do harm.
These attackers are no longer the script kiddies of the past. They are organized, funded, trained, and in no mood to be deterred. While the role of CSOs will forever be entrenched in the global business economy, there are new approaches emerging which will put them back in control of their infrastructures. New technologies are now providing systemic answers to the problem of malicious software (malware), both present and future technologies like Savant.
Savant Protection has leapt ahead of traditional approaches by taking a far more encompassing view that accounts for the realities of present day chaos by introducing Savant, the first solution which eliminates the spread of any known or unknown malware without the need for inoculations, scanning, or rules. This new approach passively protects a computing system from new attacks regardless of strategy.
Gone are the days of corporate-wide outages due to previously undiscovered vulnerabilities. With Savant, the days of spread are over. Companies are now recognizing that while they concentrate on daily business, cybercrimes are being plotted by technically sophisticated teams driven to infiltrate and exfiltrate the enterprise.
A recent study conducted by Braun Research on behalf of IBM reflects this new reality, the results of which were drawn from 600 CIOs located both domestically and internationally;
The IBM survey reveals that 84 percent of IT executives of U.S. businesses believe that organized criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in the world of cybercrime. The threat from unprotected systems in developing countries is a growing challenge, according to almost three-quarters of respondents. 1
The problem is that these attackers know more about a companys system flaws better than the company itself. How can this be possible? The answer is a bit unnerving in its simplicity; the invaders are consumers.
The products companies employ to build their hard and soft infrastructures are readily available for purchase or download by anyone, at any time. The hackers clearly have the advantage. They have the drive, motive, and time to create new intrusion approaches. Approaches, as of yet, unknown.
Your Company Is Falling Prey To Unseen Attacks! Can't Someone Stop Them? (Page 1 of 4)
There are literally thousands of malware variants in the wild of Cyber Space and any one of them could take down your company, steal your identity or the identities of all of your customers!
We are all aware of the multitude of solutions being offered to counter these attacks, so the question arises: while CSOs and CTOs together with their teams of professional security and systems engineers defend the enterprise armed with the multitude of tools available to them, how is it that this threat continues to grow?
Those tasked with company security and charged with trying to find safe harbor for their companys information and infrastructure have to deal with the unarguable fact that information assurance has not improved.
Two decades after the introduction of the PC and the Internet, computing prevalence has made every company a target of invisible attackers with intent to do harm.
These attackers are no longer the script kiddies of the past. They are organized, funded, trained, and in no mood to be deterred. While the role of CSOs will forever be entrenched in the global business economy, there are new approaches emerging which will put them back in control of their infrastructures. New technologies are now providing systemic answers to the problem of malicious software (malware), both present and future technologies like Savant.
Savant Protection has leapt ahead of traditional approaches by taking a far more encompassing view that accounts for the realities of present day chaos by introducing Savant, the first solution which eliminates the spread of any known or unknown malware without the need for inoculations, scanning, or rules. This new approach passively protects a computing system from new attacks regardless of strategy.
Gone are the days of corporate-wide outages due to previously undiscovered vulnerabilities. With Savant, the days of spread are over. Companies are now recognizing that while they concentrate on daily business, cybercrimes are being plotted by technically sophisticated teams driven to infiltrate and exfiltrate the enterprise.
A recent study conducted by Braun Research on behalf of IBM reflects this new reality, the results of which were drawn from 600 CIOs located both domestically and internationally;
The IBM survey reveals that 84 percent of IT executives of U.S. businesses believe that organized criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in the world of cybercrime. The threat from unprotected systems in developing countries is a growing challenge, according to almost three-quarters of respondents. 1
The problem is that these attackers know more about a companys system flaws better than the company itself. How can this be possible? The answer is a bit unnerving in its simplicity; the invaders are consumers.
The products companies employ to build their hard and soft infrastructures are readily available for purchase or download by anyone, at any time. The hackers clearly have the advantage. They have the drive, motive, and time to create new intrusion approaches. Approaches, as of yet, unknown.