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 Spyware, Hijackers, Trojans...the mere
pronunciation of the words alone, whether you are familiar with them or not,
certainly raise a level of concern among the growing number of users in the
internet community. Unfortunately, if you are a Windows user, chances are you
will fall victim to one or all of these threats at some point or another.
Microsoft Windows happens to be the most widely used Operating System in the
world. Unfortunately, its success certainly leads to its vulnerabilities. Advanced users have become so knowledgeable on the Windows registry, that they
simply find ways to take advantage of it. Why is it that when you touch on the
subject of Spyware, Macs or any other operating system just doesn't come up?
Well, the Windows registry is so well-known, that a majority of users or
companies with
malicious intentions find ways to simply make a profit. With that said, there
is honestly no way to completely avoid this unless you opt for a different
Operating System that may or may not meet your standards or level of
proficiency. So, you are basically stuck with only one option, which can lead
to issues if one is not careful or aware of the dangers. Yes, this may sound a bit blunt
on my behalf, but it is honestly the primary reason for this particular
article at ExtremeMHz. I feel your frustration, and want to get my point
across in order to educate the public with these potential threats and offer
ways to protect themselves.
In this Extreme Guide to Spyware and Hijacker removal, I will show you the
absolute best tools to use in order to help you fight against this growing
issue. From freeware to shareware, these tools will help keep your system
running smoothly, provided you do use them properly. However, before you
can protect yourself against them, it is important to familiarize yourself
with these threats and understand how they manage to creep into your system in
the first place. Without getting too technical, I'll briefly go over
both with you.
What’s a Hijacker?
A hijacker is basically a tool and/or Trojan that will primarily alter
the settings of your internet browser. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to
prevent them, but can be
easy to remove as long as you have the right tools. There are many things a
hijacker can do to your system. I will try to explain its most primary
functions without
getting too technical, considering a majority who may view this article may
not be to knowledgeable about computers and simply looking to rid of one these
annoying pests.
The most common function is to change your browsers homepage. This is one
quick and obvious way of knowing you are infected by one. For example, you
could be browsing the internet one minute, then quickly and unknowingly find
that your homepage has suddenly changed the next. The homepage of choice
really depends on its actual author or creator. While some users may think
that you can simply just go into your browser settings and change the homepage
back to their desired page, if you do not properly remove a majority of these,
it will simply redirect you to their homepage upon re-launching of the browser
or rebooting of your system. This is the most common issue; however, a
hijacker can also be designed to react in a much more serious fashion. For
example, they can actually install BHO’s, or Browser Helper Objects, that are
designed to look at a list of URL’s you have previously typed. This does
included any sites which you may have entered passwords or credit card
numbers, which is certainly something to worry about.
At a much more serious level, a hijacker can even change your Windows system
settings and/or policies as well as your internet settings at any time.
This can ultimately lead to some connection related issues, especially if you
are still on a slower Dial-Up connection.
These are some of their primary functions, and although they may raise a high
level of concern for many, it is really quite difficult to avoid them if you
are simply running a Windows Operating System and are not a "light" surfer. In
fact, a majority think that as long as they do not visit any Warez or Porn
sites, they’ll be OK. Unfortunately, I’ve personally found that even some
trusted sites are riddled with spyware and/or hijackers, making it increasing
difficult to avoid them.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is basically software that gets installed and runs covertly on a users
machine to monitor actions and even collect information on the user. In
most cases, you don't know it is installed. However, there are numerous
signs that you do have a spyware issue, such as frequent pop-ups when browsing
the web, unknown toolbars, etc.
Touching on this subject alone makes me cringe! Why? Well, this is honestly
something that has kept me quite busy lately. In fact, PC Technicians can
actually thank spyware for their increasing business. It is a norm now for a
PC Technician to offer recurring charges for simply maintaining their client’s
systems at optimal performance. A major
part of this maintenance agreement involves constant removal of threatening
spyware that the user will eventually be exposed to at some point or another.
Spyware can substantially affect your overall system's performance and is why
a majority have been
looking for ways to protect themselves.
Spyware, in my opinion, is quite different from Hijackers in the sense that if
the user bothers to do a bit of research on the subject, it can actually be
prevented to an extent. As an IT professional, I honestly get extremely
frustrated when discussing this subject. The main reason for this is because
many users are completely unaware of the dangers and still have the mentality
that there really is such a thing as “free” in this greedy world. What I
always tell users, is that if the software is free, chances are it is spyware.
That’s the rule of thumb here, but unfortunately, many refuse to accept this
analogy. So what exactly is my point here? Well, Spyware, in most cases, can
be
distributed in free software. Whether it is a free screensaver you think looks
really cool, or a peer-to-peer file sharing program that will allow you to
download free music, chances are, YOU are infecting your own system with Spyware, leading to a substantial decrease in overall system performance and
other serious issues. I personally can tell just by quickly looking at a
users desktop or browser whether or not they have it and just how serious it is. I'm not necessarily saying that you should
avoid such software or not use
peer-to-peer file sharing programs like Kazaa, just that you should take the
time to research and find better alternatives. In fact, I'll touch on
this briefly in this article as well.
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