...------------------------------------------------- Spyware From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Spyware is software that aims to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge and that may send such information to another entity without the consumer's consent, or that asserts control over a computer without the consumer's knowledge.[1] "Spyware" is mostly classified into four types: system monitors, trojans, adware, and tracking cookies.[2] Spyware is mostly used for the purposes of tracking and storing Internet users' movements on the Web and serving up pop-up ads to Internet users. Whenever spyware is used for malicious purposes, its presence is typically hidden from the user and can be difficult to detect. Some spyware, such askeyloggers, may be installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer intentionally in order to monitor users. While the term spyware suggests software that monitors a user's computing, the functions of spyware can extend beyond simple monitoring. Spyware can collect almost any type of data, including personal information like Internet surfing habits, user logins, and bank or credit account information. Spyware can also interfere with user control of a computer by installing additional software or redirecting Web browsers. Some spyware can change computer settings, which can result in slow Internet connection speeds, un-authorized changes in browser settings, or changes to software settings. Sometimes, spyware is included along with...
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...SPYWARE – WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT? Today’s technology has advanced from a time where the government used spyware for espionage purposes to the average American gaining information from another person’s personal computer, mobile phone, or technology device. Knowing how to prevent routes of infection and ways of removing spyware is information that Americans should be well aware of to ensure the best security for their technology devices. If not, they might become a victim like I was. “Spyware is software that monitors a user's computing; the functions of spyware can extend beyond simple monitoring. Spyware can collect almost any type of data, including personal information like Internet surfing habits, user logins, and bank or credit account information.” (From Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, 2012) The spyware software performs these actions without appropriately obtaining a person’s consent first. The most common ways a computer can become infected are through advertising (software that displays advertisements is called adware), pop-ups, downloading shared music and software torrents, visiting a website with malicious ActiveX or JavaScript scripts, opening email attachments, downloading anything from crack sites, and watching certain videos. “ According to some estimates, more than 80 percent of all personal computers are infected with some kind of spyware.” (Close-Up Media, 2009) Some people mistake spyware for viruses which damage the user’s personal files...
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...Recommendation for Law Proposal: Limiting Adware and Spyware James S. Dunmire Management 520 Professor Michael Carr June 11, 2015 The Law that I am Proposing The law that I would propose for e-commerce is to severely restrict unsolicited adware. Adware that is often bundled on an e-commerce site gets downloaded on the consumer’s computer without their knowledge or consent. “Internet companies, whose apparent "business model" is the exploitation of consumer trust and ignorance, are sneaking their spyware systems into our machines for their own purposes”(GRC, n.d). This is not only extremely annoying to the user; it can compromise the user’s security and corrupt the software. This Adware can also contain or be classified as spyware, a type of malware that is considered by many to be privacy-invasive. Spyware can steal a user’s information or corrupt the user’s system files (pc tools, n..d.). Spyware is also difficult to remove once it has been downloaded onto the PC. Many users inadvertently download spyware or adware when downloading other programs. Many popular peer to peer applications and other software packages include adware or spyware packages. Even seemingly innocuous programs such as special cursors can contain spyware. In addition, many websites and advertising banners set cookies on the user’s system that track their web usage without their knowledge or consent (Secure Perdue, n.d.). Spyware is not an illegal type of software in any way. However...
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...Parent” (2008) suggests that parents should monitor their children closely online. Coben supports his suggestion by listing the many dangers on the internet. Coben suggests that parents should install spyware on their child’s internet in order to keep them safe. The author writes in an informal tone for parents. Indeed, parents should monitor children closely online by using spyware because they can see if their child is in danger and they can help prevent their child getting in danger. Parents should monitor their children online because they can see if their child is in any kind of danger. For example, Coben states in his article “The Undercover Parent”, “One friend of mine, using spyware to monitor his college bound, straight-A daughter, found out that not only was she using drugs but she was sleeping with her dealer…. He decided to come clean, to let her know how he had found out, to speak with her about the dangers inherent in her behavior” (Coben, Paragraph 13). The example shows how a father used spyware to find out if his daughter was in danger, which she was in, the father then had a conversation with his daughter to tell her that the things she was doing online was very dangerous. The father prevented his daughter from getting into even more danger on the internet by using spyware. Since the father talked to his daughter, she wasn’t in any danger any more. Furthermore, Ellen Goodman in her article “Big Brother meets Big Mother” states, “but even if kids aren’t wandering in...
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...Spyware? Harlan Coben’s article, “The Undercover Parent” , March 16,(2008), is about the advantages of having spyware on your children’s computer. Coben believes that the internet in a dangerous place. Therefore, a parent has the right to monitor you kid. She states that as a parent you have the responsibility to monitor your children and keeping them safe.”Trust is one thing, but surrendering parental responsibility to a machine that allows the entire world access to your home borders on negligence” this quote implies that parents who believe that the internet is a safe place they are neglecting their parental duties. In addition a agree with Coben’s argument that spyware is a way to protect your children. I believe that parents should use spyware on their children’s computer only for the sole purpose of keeping their children safe. There are many disadvantages that the internet can have on your children’s life. Also, there is no reason for your child to hide anything from you. Parents have the right to monitor their kids if they feel like they are in danger. If the parents action is in the right state of mind then they are doing what a responsible parent would do. For example, ”One friend of mine, using spyware to monitor his college-bound straight -A daughter, found out that not only was she using drugs but she was sleeping with her dealer.” The dad was aware of the situation his daughter has been in and confronted her to talk out the situation. The first reason why...
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...MALWARE PROJECT ROOT KIT A root kit refers to a specialized set of programs normally used by crackers in order to subvert control of an operating system of a computer system. A rootkit enables breaking in security of a computer system and gaining root access for various operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Solaris, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS etc. A root kit is a set of tools used by a hacker to infiltrate a computer system without the knowledge or consent of the system's owner. These tools help the intruder gain access to the system in order to perform malicious activities at a later date without being detected. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM A VIRUS? Most often, rootkits are used to control and not to destroy. Of course, this control could be used to delete data files, but it can also be used for more nefarious purposes. More importantly, rootkits run at the same privilege levels as most antivirus programs. This makes them that much harder to remove as the computer cannot decide on which program has a greater authority to shut down the other. DETECTING AND PREVENTING ROOTKITS One issue with rootkits is that they are constantly updated; even with all sorts of computer security protocols programmed every day to specifically eliminate rootkits, people who program them continue to develop and update the rootkit, or make new ones. It doesn’t mean, though, that they cannot be prevented. Methods through which RootKits can be prevented are: * Anti-virus software. While...
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...Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense Second Edition Chapter 3 Network and Computer Attacks Objectives • After this lecture and completing the exercises, you will be able to : – Describe the different types of malicious software and what damage they can do – Describe methods of protecting against malware attacks – Describe the types of network attacks – Identify physical security attacks and vulnerabilities Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition 2 Malicious Software (Malware) • Network attacks prevent a business from operating – Malicious software (malware) • Virus • Worm • Trojan program – Goals • • • • Destroy data Corrupt data Shutdown a network or system Make money 3 Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition Viruses • Virus attaches itself to a file or program – Needs host to replicate – Does not stand on its own – No foolproof prevention method • Antivirus programs – Detection based on virus signatures • Signatures are kept in virus signature file • Must update periodically • Some offer automatic update feature Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition 4 Table 3-1 Common computer viruses Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition 5 Viruses (cont’d.) • Encoding using base 64 – – – – – – – – Typically used to reduce size of e-mail attachments Also, used to encrypt (hide) suspicious code. Represents zero to 63 using six bits A is 000000… Z is 011001 Create groups of four characters...
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...to a system. It’s up to the personnel or team that’s in charge of protecting the system from threats and vulnerabilities. The personnel that secure information technology systems are known as (ISO) Information Security Officer, (IASO) Information Assurance Security Officer, (ISM) Information Security Manager ect. No matter what name the personnel there job is the same to protect information systems. Security Officers will have to set policies that govern the system and create plan on how to handle security threat and vulnerabilities. Security threats can consist of any number issues ranging from physical attack, spoofing, password attacks, identity theft, virus attacks, and Denial of Service attacks, Social Threats, Espionage, malware, spyware, Careless Employees, and hackers. We will disuse all of these threats and ways to prevent them later in the report. In 2010 Kevin Prince, CTO, Perimeter E-Security "As these security threats are becoming more serious and difficult to detect, it is vital for companies to understand what they can do to best protect their systems and information” he also was implying that Information Security Office stay update with changes in Information Technology community. (Prince 2010) Vulnerabilities in computer system are weakness in software. These vulnerabilities are the resole of oversight of developers...
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...A Brief History “In 1949, Von Neumann established the Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata, where he presented for the first time the possibility of developing small replicating programs able to control other programs with a similar structure In 1959, in Bell Computer’s laboratories, three young programmers: Robert Thomas Morris, Douglas Mcllroy and Victor Vysottsky created a game called CoreWar, based on the theory of Von Neumann and in which programs fought between each other, trying to occupy as much memory as possible and eliminating opposing programs. This game is considered the precursor to computer viruses. In 1972, Robert Thomas Morris created the first virus as such: Creeper, which could infect IBM 360 on the ARPANET (the predecessor of the Internet) and show an on-screen message saying “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can”. To eliminate it, a virus called Reaper was created to search for it and destroy it”…………………...PANDA SECURITY ( 2011) Malware Overview Retrieved from http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS391US392&q=virus+clipart&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=nOx7TfqZEoXorAGvu5zCBQ&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1174&bih=463 Malicious software, better known as Malware, is the most sophisticated type of threat to a computer system. Malware is simply code that is designed with purpose and intent to destroy, steal, disrupt or damage someone’s data, computer system or network. Malware is software that is written...
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...block cookies, or even just delete one particular one. But cookies are part of the Internet. In reality, it is better to just recognize that one is not as anonymous as they think they are when surfing the Internet. Sorry to burst that bubble folks. Whether or not you remove Ad.yieldmanager.com, dozens of other cookies are watching what you do. A note of caution. If you are receiving a warning about the Ad.yieldmanger cookie (an apparent security notice) then you have a bigger problem. The problem isn’t the cookie. It is a trojan that is using the Ad.yieldmanager cookie as a scapegoat. These trojans are money stealing devices that convince you something is wrong with your computer and then try to get you to buy a program to get rid of the spyware, virus, or...
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...examine 8 of the most common types. These types are virus, worms, trojans, adware/pop-up ads, spyware, keyloggers, rootkits, and scareware. * Virus- as defined above, a virus is self-replicating code planted in a computer program. This malware’s sole purpose is to destroy or shut down systems and networks. (“Virus,” 2012). * Worms- These are standalone programs whose sole purpose is to replicate and spread themselves to other computers. Their main use is to search for and delete certain files from computers. * Trojans- This malware is designed to look like a useful program while giving control of the computer to another computer. It can be used for several malicious things: * As part of a botnet to use automated spamming or distribute denial-of-service attacks. * Electronic money theft * Data theft * Downloading or uploading of files to the computer * Deletion or modification of files * Crashing the computer * Watching the viewer’s screen * Anonymous internet viewing * Adware/pop-up ads- “The definition of adware is a software package which displays or downloads advertisements to a computer. These ads are usually in the form of pop-ups, and the goal of adware is to generate revenue for its author. In itself, adware is harmless, however, some of it may come integrated with spyware (What is the definition of adware? 2012).” * Spyware-...
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...Week Four Assignment Renee’ R0binson INF 220: IS Principles (BQE1351aA Melvin Lee May 8, 2014 Security Products are needed for all business and will help with any company that has technology involved. Most company are dealing with technology on a daily basis like the World Wide Web that takes on a whole new level and is important in every type of way. There are many software products that are out there such as virus protections, spyware, and firewalls. Spyware have many different types of products that has the same purpose of securing technical devices. Norton Security and MacAfee Security are two of the most popular spyware products that are used by most companies and independent users as well. Norton security spyware is a program that will protect computers and stop hackers from accessing any information that is on that computer. It is a program software that will keep a computer clean of virus, scan for spyware and clean them up it also keep your computer free of all unwanted monitoring software, backs up cd, and setup is easy to complete. This software also has parental control, it keeps your files in order including music and photos. There is always free tech support if needed through phone, email, and chat. Thus program would be better used for business as well as individuals because it offers all that is needed to protect your computer or other technical devices. This particular program have a special for a year it is $49.99 for one household and for...
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...A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also used to refer to other types of malicious software, including: adware and spyware programs. A virus can spread from one computer to another. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. As stated above, the term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware (malicious software). Malware includes computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware and other malicious and unwanted software, including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself automatically to other computers through networks, while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions. A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is malicious software designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner's permission or approval. It appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install but instead, it facilitates unauthorized access of the user's computer system. On the other hand, a computer worm is a self-reproductive malware computer program. It uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other computers on the network and it may...
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...Sandra Guzman 01/22/2015 Lab 4 Deliverables Note: Screenshots will be provided at the end. Q: From your local computer, use your favorite Internet browser to research the threat identified on this screen and the possible remediation steps and document your findings in your Lab Report file. Viruses found: 1. Win32/DH{eR4UTxVzG3U} 2. Win32/DH{eR4UTxVzG3U} 3. Win32/DH{HhMXFE8Vcxt1} 4. Trojan horse Dropper.Generic4.BVMA 5. Trojan horse Hider.BNG 6. Trojan horse PSW.Generic11.NYJ 7. Potentially harmful program Logger.IAC 8. Potentially harmful program RemoteAdmin.IH 9. Potentially harmful program Tool.IT Assessment: 1. It seems that the first three are all the same type of virus. A “Win/DH is a malicious software that once it is executed has the capability of replicating itself and infect other files and programs”( Win/DH). They “can steal hard disk space and memory that slows down or completely halts your PC, corrupt or delete data, erase your hard drive, steal personal information, hijack your screen and spam your contacts to spread itself to other users” (Win/DH). To avoid the possibility of one, you should be careful of e-mail attachments especially if they are from an outside source, as well as download links on websites. Having a virus removing application such as AVG is essential to being able to remove these viruses before they spread. AVG is capable of detecting this virus while surfing the web and...
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...Informative Speech Topic : Problems and Solutions associated with Spyware Specific Purpose : To inform our audience members of the dangers of spyware so that they may take appropriate steps to prevent infection Introduction I. Do you worry about identity theft online? Have you ever wonder what it means? Are you anxious about security of your passwords and credit card numbers? (Attention Getter) II. Based on our class discussion last week, many of you are aware of software known as spyware that can install itself on your computer and smartphone without your knowledge and harvest sensitive information, and many of you have taken steps to protect yourself. III. Spyware is constantly evolving, however, and to stay safe, we need to learn about and arm ourselves against the treats it poses. Twenty three years of experience in the industry including research and employment experiences has helped me develop an eye for detecting Spyware problems. IV. Today, we will talk about what forms spyware takes, how it gets into your computer, the harm it causes, and how your computer and smartphone can be kept from being infected. Transition: So, what is the state of spyware today? Body I. Spyware is a type of privacy invasion software known as malware. a. According to a history of spyware published on the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site, until the year 2000, spyware referred to monitoring devices on cameras (FTC, OnGaurdOnline.gov) ...
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