I am posting this becasue I think this article will benefit many
people. I have posted this article in its entirety and unmodified,
with respecting all copyright info..


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Your Computer May Be Infected. Here's how to check..

NOTE: Please take time to read on - it may be vital for your PC's
security. If you are not in the mood, just save it or print it out
for later reference.

A recent research revealed that 80% of the computers today is
infected with these dangerous spyware and most of the users not
aware of it. (Your computer could fall into this lot too.) The most
dangerous fact is, even though the anti-virus software is running,
these software can even inactivate them and take over your PC.

Have you experienced any of the following?
* Awsome popups comes out of nowhere, when browsing the web
* Home page reset to some other site

How can this happen?

- The components installed when viewing certain sites, starts up
and running as soon as it's finished installing (or after the page
is completely loaded) and with every windows startup since then.
Their job is to collect information and report (or transfer) it to
an external computer.

What is deceptive software? (Reference: www.microsoft.com)
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Spyware and unauthorized adware are two examples of "deceptive"
software. Deceptive software includes programs which take over your
home page or search page without first getting your permission.
There are a number of ways deceptive software can get on your
system. A common trick is to covertly install the software during
the installation of other software you want such as a music or video
file sharing program.

Whenever you are installing something on your computer, make sure
you carefully read all disclosures, including the license agreement
and privacy statement. Sometimes the inclusion of adware in a given
software installation is documented, but it may appear at the end of
a license agreement or privacy statement.

Sometimes deceptive software gets silently installed on your system
without any warning at all. If you use Internet Explorer as your Web
browser, this can happen if your Internet Explorer security setting
is set to its lowest value. Make sure to keep this setting at the
medium level or higher. Doing so will help you control what is being
installed on your computer.

Have you ever had an experience where you were repeatedly asked to
accept a download even after you said "no"? Creators of deceptive
software often use such tricks to get you to load their software. If
this happens to you, do not click "yes". Instead, try to close the
Web page that first asked you to accept the download by hitting
the "X" in the corner of the window. Alternatively, quit Internet
Explorer and restart it to begin browsing the Internet again. If you
visit a Web page that continually displays these tricky pop-up
windows, that Web site may not be worthy of your trust.

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Your computer may be infected by now, but you may not know. Just
have a checkup with a software specifically designed for it, to know
the status of your computer. You must clean infections once you find
it and the game is not over yet. The spyware might reinfect your PC.
So it's highly recommended that you run a firewall on your system
after the clean up. This will allow you to monitor every single
communication occurs with your computer and block the ones which you
feel unnecessary. The firewall acts as a barrier between your PC and
the external world (Internet / Network).

A good spyware detector recommended by most people is,
http://noadware.cjb.net and it shows you all the infections and
potential dangers in great detail. It's free to scan but not to
clean. It's a good idea to have a scan even you have no idea of
cleaning, since you know the status of your PC in great detail. This
gives two advantages.

Firstly, if there are minor infections and if you have a fair
knowledge on registry settings and how to edit them, you may have a
try to clean them up. Secondly, if it shows that there are major
infections, you can avoid using credit cards and doing other
confidential stuff, until you clean it up later.

You must run a firewall. In many new operating systems(eg. Windows
XP), there is a built-in firewall. Google search on how to activate
it. Others may try one at http://www.download.com

You may have a question by now. What is the purpose of these
spyware? Even though we cannot give an explicit and clear cut
answer, we can safely state that every thing boils down to the urge
of more profits. How? The spyware collects all your personal
information and transfer it to an external computer. The information
is reviewed by a software in the receiving computer and then
deleivered targeted popup ads to your PC. There are many things that
spyware does in addition to this. The most dangerous of those is
that collecting the credit card numbers.

If you have some technical knowledge on your PC, here's a technical
explanation on what trouble does the spyware cause.

1. An extra process is running to monitor and log your activities in
your PC.
2. Constant transfer is taking place between your PC and the spyware
writer's computer.

The first process in it self is an unneeded process and it
contributes to slow down your PC. Second is the most harmful. It
transfers logged info to the external PC (spyware writer's PC). Then
the external PC transfers targeted popups to the infected PC. This,
in addition to slowing down your PC because of these extra
processes, it also slows down the internet connection, as the
bandwidth is shared. In short, PC with a spyware is like a dumping
ground for snakes. Once its there and up and running, it can do
almost anything with your PC.

Please pass this on to all you know. The most risk is for people who
use Internet Explorer, as it is the most popular web browser and
that very fact has drawn more attention of many malicious software
developers.

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By: Fahad Hassen - hfahadh @ yahoo.co.uk
(Undergraduate at Staff. University UK, Computing & IT)

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NOTE: (From the poster of this message, Fazly Mohamed) If you choose
to forward this message, please copy-paste it into a new email and
send it. This ensures that the letter is not passed on with a lot of
email addresses at the top, which will catch spammers' eyes to
capture email addresses. Forwarding isn't discouraged but
forward 'only the message' and not overheads. It might actually be
helpful to your friends, as it did to you.