SolveYourProblem
Article Series: Spyware
Gid Rid of Spyware on My System
Computer
Hijacking:
What Does This Mean for Web Surfers?
A despicable new thing out there on the net today is hijacking.
It is a trend that is becoming all too common among Internet
browsers. Hijackers are forcing web users to malicious
sites and downloading software in their computers. This software
can cause the users search pages and home page to be not of
their choosing. There can also be Internet short cuts added
to your favorites list. This allows the hijacker to be in control
of what sites you will frequent. He can force your computer
to generate him money by making you go to advertising sites.
One would think it is just as easy as going into your browser
settings and changing them back. It isn’t as easy as you think.
There are a slue of files in your registry and through out
your hard drive that reconfigure your machine every time you
re-start. The software can even prompt you to restart and make
you think it is a good thing. Once on your machine they can
be a very difficult task to get off.
There
are even some hijacking tools that will remove your Internet
options from your tools menu. This allows the hijacker
to have full control over your machine and you to have none.
Even companies such as AOL can be a hijacker. They put their
own site into your trusted sites and favorites once you have
installed the disk. Then they download ActiveX components onto
your computer with out asking permission. Other programs like
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Netscape 6, and ICQ also have
been know to do the same thing. The CWS trojan acts the same
way. It forces your computer to go to specific sites to generate
money per click for the hacker. All the sites are affiliated
with coolwebsearch.com who pays these hijackers for each visitor
they generate. The CWS hijacks Internet explorer and creates
pop-up windows for the hijackers site. The start and setting
option are changed to an unreadable mass of symbols and numbers.
This hides the domain name from the user and made blacklisting
very hard. Internet explorer actually translates the symbols
and loads the hacker’s site.
Other hijacking tools are even worse. They
can decipher every click of the keyboard and tell the hacker
what you are typing. These keyloggers allow people to get your personal information
including user names and passwords and even credit card numbers.
Once they have all your information they can cause a great
deal of harm. There is the risk of identity theft and fraud
if these people get a hold of all your personal information.
Usually the user gets infected by searching through a website
that downloads the software into your computer with out you
knowing. Every time you type it is recorded and sent to the
hacker for translation. This will include and off and online
typing you do. It is also includes e-mails and personal messages.
Nothing is private after the hijacker has taken over. The dangers
of surfing the net unprotected is no worth it today. One must
invest in their computer’s safety. Many people don’t realize
what they even have on their machines.
The
best action of defense is a good anti-virus program. Make
sure this software also protects you from spyware and hackers.
Most anti-virus software has firewalls as well to protect from
intruders. Make sure your updates are set on automatic and
daily so you are constantly being protected appropriately.
Your computer security system is the most important investment
you can make to ensure this type of software never gets on
your machine. Many programs now actually block these malicious
download and blocks all unwanted connections before they get
into you computer. Make sure to run your anti-virus and anti-spyware
once a day to catch anything you might have accidentally come
with a downloaded program. Sometimes you will get malicious
files from sites you least expect and they were not caught
while the download was in process. Never download anything
that requires you to lower your protection or disengage your
firewall. This is a sure fire sign that something is wrong
and the file is corrupted or infected. If you are going to
browse the net have security to save you from all the Internet
hijackers out there.
# # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > Spyware Articles:
Main Page |
