Tag Archives: adware
Beating Adware, The Sneakiest Software (Page 1 of 2)
Promoters of adware, software that shows advertising on a user’s computer, use some cunning tricks to get you to install their software on your machine. Here’s what to look out for.
Adware is, by definition, something reasonable people don’t want on their computers. That’s why malware can’t just come out and ask people to install it. Often, the computer owner is completely unaware of it being installed. But not always.
When adware doesn’t want to sneak in through an open window, it will try to trick you into letting it in through the front door. Don’t think you could be tricked? Don’t be so sure until you’ve checked out these most common ways people have been tricked into allowing malware to be installed on their machines.
Adware Installation Trick 1: Piggybacking
How it works: malware may come bundled with a legitimate piece of software the user actually wants, such as a game or emoticon. The malware is merely labeled “companion software,” without any indication of what it will do.
How to fight it: be very suspicious of any software that comes bundled with other software. Don’t installed software that comes bundled with other software unless you know everything that the bundled software does. After all, if the bundled program has anything to do with the program you actually want, why couldn’t the software developer just get both programs’ functionalities into a single piece of software? Software developers are now very sensitive to malware concerns and will provide a lengthy explanation of just why the bundled software is necessary, in the cases when they actually do need to use bundled software.
Adware Installation Trick 2: Bait and Switch
How it works: since people are getting more and more suspicious of bundled software, the malware’s developers may simply label it as valuable software, for instance, a browser plugin that supposedly accelerates web browsing (but in reality only shows ads).
How to fight it: again, a suspicious mind is useful in avoiding malware. Ask yourself some questions:
o What will this software actually do? Malware often comes with very fuzzy claims attached. Sure, it says it will improve your browsing experience, but how? Often, this improved browsing experience just means a browsing experience with more advertising.
o If the software is so great, why is it being given away free? Most commonly, software is only given out free in two cases: if it’s OpenSource (designed by a community of developers and not proprietary–OpenSource software is always clearly labeled as such); or simply a come-on for a fuller-featured version of the software. If neither case is true, there’s a real chance the software is financed by adware.
Adware Installation Trick 3: Outright Lying
How it works: malware may even be labeled as something else entirely, such as a well-known piece of software or a crucial component of the computer operating system.
IT Support Services in London, How To Remove Winfixer 2005 Plus Unwanted Spyware And Adware (Page 1 of 2)
At Netstaruk, we provide a range of IT support services in London. We provide telephonic and remote support to our clients, onsite visits on a schedule or during an emergency, remote monitoring of servers and auditing of LANs. Our engineers can help you set up and monitor your network. They can help you protect your network using firewalls, antivirus and antispam software, and can also help you back up your data remotely. They can enable you to set up an actual network to connect three or more computers, or a virtual private network (VPN), so that you or your employees can work from home. Netstaruk’s telephonic support service is offered at a fixed cost, as and when required by your business. We provide comprehensible support via phone and e-mail, so that your problems are solved quickly. We also provide downloadable software that enables us to remotely monitor your computers in an emergency. At least 92 percent of the emergencies we deal with are solved remotely or via telephone. In case telephonic or remote support does not solve the problem, we send our engineers to solve the problem onsite. We also send our engineers onsite to resolve support issues, help with network administration, work on minor projects and install and configure software. At Netstaruk, we provide an initial LAN audit when we first set up your network, to ensure that all devices are working as promised and expected. We also monitor your server remotely, a service that was till now provided only to large corporations. Our engineers also pay scheduled visits to clients, to ensure that all is well and to take care of minor problems before they snowball into major issues. Netstaruk also enables you to set up firewalls, and use antispam and antivirus software to protect your systems. Firewalls prevent unauthorized break-ins into your computer systems, antispam software ensures that you do not receive junk mail and antivirus software ensures that your systems are not affected by Trojans or internet worms. We also enable our clients to encrypt and back up their data over the internet-at present, we safeguard at least 200 GB worth of client data. In case you are looking for a web hosting service, we have various packages to suit your needs. We can provide a wide range of broadband services for small office-home office (SOHO) and business networks, as well as domain registration services. Spyware and adware is advertising supported software that allows its publishers to snoop on a computer user’s internet activity.
It is designed to obtain information about computer users and their surfing behavior usually without their knowledge or consent. Spyware is potentially more harmful than Adware because it can record your keystrokes, history, passwords, credit card number and other confidential and private information. Besides spyware and adware, computers can also be infected with my other internet parasites such as Winfixer 2005, viruses, trojans, dialers, etc.
Spyware and adware are installed quite easily on most computers. Many spyware programs often enter computers hidden in programs such as freeware, shareware or demos. Some programs like Winfixer 2005 will often load on boot up, take up your computer memory, cause a computer to display system errors, spawn multiple pop-up windows and even shut down itself.