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Secrets To Spyproofing Your Computer In Four Easy Steps By Elizabeth Ward, Thu Dec 8th
Secrets to SpyProofing Your Computer In 4 Easy Steps
DO I NEED TO SPY PROOF MY COMPUTER?
I think the question should be, do I use my computer foranything that would best remain private and confidential?Computer monitoring has become a huge industry, involvingindividuals, companies and governments worldwide. Ask themillions of people who’ve had their identities stolen if theywould have done anything different, knowing what they do now.
Did you know identity theft is the nations fastest growingcrime?
With the advent of computer technology and the Internetspreading through our homes and businesses at lightning speed,if you haven’t been affected by computer crime in one way oranother, chances are you will be soon. TYPES OF COMPUTERRECORDING DEVICES
There are two main products that are used to capture and recordcomputer activity: Hardware Keyloggers and SurveillanceSoftware. 95% of these are designed to be undetectable bycomputer users. Many Surveillance Software programs areavailable via a simple download over the Internet, FREE ofcharge, and completely anonymously!
HARDWARE KEYLOGGERS
This product requires no technical skill whatsoever to installand is often overlooked by even seasoned computer users. Thistype of keylogger requires that the culprit have physical accessto your computer and can be installed in less than 5 seconds.
Once installed, a hardware keylogger will capture everykeystroke entered into your keyboard and then store it forfuture retrieval on the device itself.
Some hardware keylogger companies boast a two-million keystrokecapacity! That’s about 5 years worth of typing for the averagecomputer user. Whether at home or in the office, you can easilyfall victim to this type of spying.
A hardware Keylogger is installed between your keyboard andcomputer.
One of the most popular hardware keyloggers is KeyGhost(www.keyghost.com) . You can visit their website for moreinformation on hardware keyloggers and why they are such anintrusion into your privacy.
REMOVAL OF HARDWARE KEYLOGGERS
By taking a peek behind your system and following your keyboardcable, you can find out if there is something "odd" insertedbetween your keyboard and computer. To remove a hardwarekeylogger, you MUST SHUT DOWN YOUR SYSTEM! You could damage yoursystem if you attempt to remove the keylogger while yourcomputer is running! Once your system is powered off, carefullyremove the device from in between your keyboard and computer,and then plug your keyboard directly back into the computer.Make sure that it is plugged in completely and be gentle as theconnectors are somewhat fragile.
BEWARE SURVEILLANCE SPY SOFTWARE Surveillance Software is by farthe most insidious…and hard to detect of all computer monitoringtype spyware products. Some legitimate uses for spy software areto watch a child’s Internet activity or to monitor employeeswhile in a work environment. Unfortunately, this type of spysoftware is often used unethically and even illegally by ANYONEwho wants to spy on or steal sensitive or private informationfrom you, or your business, without ever being caught.Surveillance Spyware can be broken down into four main subcategories:
Keyloggers, which record keystrokes like a hardware keylogger,but without a physical device. Email Redirectors, which silentlyduplicate all incoming and outgoing messages to a third party.Chat Loggers and URL Recorders, which will monitor popularinstant messaging programs such as AIM and Yahoo Messenger,regular IRC chat clients and web browsers. All communicationsand web site visits are recorded and sent back to the intruder.
Screen Recorders, which silently take snapshots of your entiredesktop screen and everything you are doing, and then package itup as a slide show, for the intruder to view. Screen recorderscan also email or upload these recordings for remote access.
DANGERS OF SURVEILLANCE SPY SOFTWARE Surveillance Spy Softwareis wreaking havoc in families and businesses around the globewith very little media attention. Surveillance Spy Softwareamong other things is used for: • Spousal Spying • FinancialSpying • Blackmail • Identity Theft • Corporate Espionage •Stalking
Whatever anyone wants to find out about you or your business cannow be easily obtained with Surveillance Spy Software that canbe purchased by anyone easily right over the Internet…
One of the leading Surveillance Spy Software companies isSpectorsoft http://www.spectorsoft.com
They openly acknowledge that a large part of their sales arefrom spouses who spy on their mates. Businesses will not letanyone know their systems have been compromised withSurveillance Spy Software, unless they are absolutely forced to.It's bad for business.
DETECTING SURVEILLANCE SPY SOFTWARE
The only product I've found to specifically target and detectsurveillance spy software is from a company call SpyCop (http://www.spycop.com).
SpyCop has been reviewed by the best in the industry includinglaw enforcement, government and hundreds of businesses bothlarge and small.
Here’s what some of the leading experts in the industry aresaying about SpyCop:
SpyCop... found a trace of SpectorSoft's Eblaster keylogger onmy system that Spy Sweeper and Norton AntiVirus
failed to noticeEDWARD C. BAIG PERSONAL TECH WRITER USA TODAY
The best I've seen so far is SpyCop. It scours your system,looking for secret keystroke-logging software. JOHN DVORAKCONTRIBUTING EDITOR, PC MAGAZINE
If you're on the receiving end of a snooping program, wouldn'tyou want to know? SpyCop can ferret out hidden spy programs… KIMKOMANDO THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
SpyCop has been recommended in many books: The Art of Deception:Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin D. MitnickMicrosoft Encyclopedia of Security by Mitch Tulloch Secrets ofComputer Espionage: Tactics and Countermeasures by Joel McNamara: Steal This Computer Book 3: What They Won't Tell You About theInternet by Wallace Wang : Privacy Tactics by Scott GermaiseHome Networking Bible by Sue Plumley Computer and IntrusionForensics by George Mohay Absolute PC Security and Privacy byMichael Miller
WHAT IS ADWARE?
The public has become outraged at the advertisers who use hiddenmarketing programs to take over computers for the purpose ofmarketing their products. The symptoms of Adware areuncontrollable popups, unwanted extra toolbars, and drasticallyslowed down computer performance that can result in freezes orlock up. Most spyware detectors are concentrated on detectingadware because that is what is getting all the press…and adwareprofiles are free for them to add to their detection databases.This makes it very easy and inexpensive for anyone to get intothe adware detection business. Many times the same advertisingspyware databases are passed around or copied between Adwaredetection companies with very little new research done.
Unfortunately, there are many inferior products out there thatonly do a half job at detecting adware. Adware is extremelyannoying and will often cost you money because this type ofspyware is poorly designed, and may cause severe damage thatonly a computer repair shop can fix. All expenses related toadware damage come out of YOUR pocket, not the advertiser.
REMOVAL OF ADWARE I’m going to let you in on a little secretthat many in this industry don’t want you to know: You DO NOThave to spend ANY money to detect and deal with Adware becausethe best product out there is FREE. Yes, I said FREE, and itamazes me how many people are spending their hard earned cash todetect Adware …but as I explained earlier, there is a lot ofconfusion regarding the subject of spyware.
Look what Andrew Brandt from PC World wrote about all these socalled spyware detectors
POOR DEFENDERS Some anti-Spy Software companies use confusingads, and our tests show their $20-$60 products are lesseffective than free competitors. Andrew Brandt
From the December 2004 issue of PC World magazine
You've almost certainly encountered the ads: A dialog box popsup on your system bearing the message Warning! Your computer maybe infected with Spy Software and suggesting that you scan yourcomputer immediately. Click it, and you often reach a Web siteproviding a free Spy Software scanner that finds all sorts ofmalware on your PC--and then offers to sell you software thatwill clean it all up. Should you buy these products? Based onour tests, our opinion is no.
Following complaints from several PC World readers, we testedseven heavily advertised Spy Software-removal tools--MyNetProtector, No Adware, Pal Spy Software Remover, SpyAssault,SpyBlocks, Spy Software Stormer, XoftSpy--
and found that none were as effective as reputable free productssuch as SpyBot Search & Destroy
Andrew Brandt PC World Magazine...
Here’s what some of the leading experts are saying about FREESpyBot
Spybot Search and Destroy is adaptable for both beginning andpower users, BRUCE STEWART CNET EDITOR.
Spybot: A powerful, easy to use tool for detecting, removing,and preventing adware… WINPLANET.COM
So folks, don’t waste your money on Adware Spyware detectors,just do like Andrew Brandt says and get your FREE copy of SpyBotS&D from the website link below: To download your FREE copy ofSpyBot go to www.safer-networking.org
There are a lot of companies imitating SpyBot and trickingcustomers into thinking they are going to the SpyBot websitewhen they are really going to a competitor who wants to cash inon SpyBot’s popularity.
Adware Prevention (Careful what browser your using)
Many people are unaware that they can get adware deposited ontheir computer by simply visiting a website with an insecurebrowser. To help prevent new adware from making its way ontoyour machine when you surf the net, I recommend FireFox. FireFoxis the latest cutting-edge browser designed for simplicity andsecurity: To download your FREE copy http://www.mozilla.org/
FOUR EASY STEPS TO SPY PROOF YOUR COMPUTER 1. Check for hardwarekeyloggers attached to the keyboard input. 2. Download your copyof SpyBot from www.safer-networking.org 3. Download your copy ofSpyCop www.spycop.com 4. Download your copy of FireFox browserhttp://www.mozilla.org/
About the author:Elizabeth Ward is a freelance writer and consultant for techmagazines and security magazines. She is a watchdog for consumercomputer users and small business.
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