Is your PC safe from viruses and spyware?
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A national study of US home computer users found many users have no idea their systems are infected with viruses or spyware, USA Today reported Monday.
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Q: It seems that most of the problems, viruses, etc. that PC users have are associated with Outlook Express or Windows XP. I don&#39;t use either of them.
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Spyware is rife and virus infection commonplace yet many home users reckon they are safe from online threats. An AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study - conducted by technical experts
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Security experts are warning PC users to be on guard against viruses masquerading as Valentine's Day messages, which could damage computers.
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Although more than two-thirds of home computer users think they're safe from online threats, an AOL survey found that 20% of home computers were infected by a virus or worm and 80% had various forms of spyware and adware programs.
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Are you nervous about viruses, worms, spyware and other threats to your computer? Wish you had the power to appoint an intelligence czar to safeguard your PC?
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Internet users at home are not nearly as safe online as they believe, according to a nationwide inspection by researchers. They found most consumers have no firewall protection, outdated antivirus software and dozens of spyware programs secretly running on their computers.
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Weâve all been hearing a lotÂ  lately about spyware, those nasty little apps that secret themselves onto your computer, hog resources, change your default settings, and maybe even steal personal information and send it to third parties. Despite all the talk, spyware still isnât getting the attention it deserves in the enterprise.
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Hi-tech viruses and malicious software programmes -- or malware -- commonly infect computers the world over: filling mail boxes with spam, deleting e-mail addresses, damaging machines and costing billions to corporations.
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Some estimates suggest spyware problems in the U.S. are decreasing, but writers of all kinds of malware are prevailing -- partly because of computer user behavior, antispyware experts said Thursday.Computer users run outdated antivirus software, operating systems, and browsers because they&#39;re scared of change, said Janie &quot;CalamityJane&quot; Whitty, administrator of security software vendor Lavasoft&#39;s online support forums.Whitty sees people running a 2003 version of antivirus software, she said during an Anti-Spyware Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. &quot;The nature of malware has changed since 2003,&quot; she said.In addition to problems caused by users, there&#39;s a healthy underground market for the kinds of data compromised by spyware and other malware, said Stefan Savage, director of the Collaborative Center for Internet Epidemiology and Defenses at the University of California in San Diego. The center monitored a popular malware-trading IRC forum for about six months in 2006 and found the advertised value of compromised bank accounts offered there was $54 million.While some estimates show the spyware problem shrinking, U.S. companies and consumers are losing the battle against malware in general, Savage said. Antivirus vendors, in unguarded moments, will say they&#39;re able to catch less and less malware as criminals become more sophisticated, he said.The chances of an Internet fraudster getting caught are &quot;virtually zero,&quot; he added.&quot;By any objective measure ... this is something we end up losing on,&quot; Savage said. &quot;The more money these guys make, the more money they can invest to get better.&quot;The panel on consumer behavior kicked off a day-long session on fighting spyware, during which many experts said they continue to have major concerns about spyware and other malware. Those concerns remain despite Consumer Reports&#39; annual estimate of spyware that suggests the problem is declining. The magazine estimated that 850,000 U.S. households had to replace computers in the first half of 2007, with the cost of fighting spyware at $1.7 billion for the year. In 2006, spyware cost U.S. individuals and businesses an estimated $2.6 billion, the magazine said.Part of the problem is that people hang on to outdated operating systems and browsers, even though newer ones have better security controls, because they don&#39;t want to learn how to operate the new software, Whitty said. &quot;The malware changes,&quot; she said. &quot;If we don&#39;t change with it,&#160;it&#39;s going to win.&quot;Computer users seem to be of two minds when it comes to giving up personal information, added Susannah Fox, associate director at the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a research organization. Many young computer users will refuse to disclose personal information to e-commerce sites, she said. &quot;But yet this is the same group that is putting their whole lives&quot; on social-networking sites, she said. One private detective has told Fox that social-networking sites make it significantly easier to track down details about people, Fox said.
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Over the past year, spyware has become an increasing problem. Every time that you visit a web site, you must run the gauntlet of a variety of pop-up adverts, any of which can be programmed to place spyware on your computer.
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Although the much-touted security enhancements in Windows Vista make it safer than earlier versions of Windows, it is still open to attack from malicious code, according to a study by Symantec.
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Though Microsoft&#39;s new security update package is all about protecting systems from worms, viruses and spyware, it can&#39;t do much about what&#39;s already on computersâand that could pose a problem.
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Workshop Windows virus cleanup primer
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Have adware and spyware commandeered your computer? An extreme solution: erasing your hard drive and starting over.
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Spyware is rife and virus infection commonplace yet many home users reckon they are safe from online threats.
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Viruses and worms just keep getting smarter and more devious. While the best defense is not opening e-mail attachments, you still need a solid antivirus program.