Viruses, spyware, spam, and popups are all annoyances end users must learn to defend themselves against. This page is provided as an aid.  Panda Antivirus now offers a Product line November that has support to help prevent Viruses, spyware and Spam from infecting your network. Check out Panda's new product, Business Secure.

Viruses, Trojans and Worms

A computer virus is a program designed to spread itself by first infecting
executable files or the system areas of hard and floppy disks and then
making copies of itself.  Viruses usually operate without the knowledge or
desire of the computer user.

A trojan horse  is a  type of program that is often confused with viruses.  This is not a virus, but simply a program (often harmful) that pretends to be something else.

Worms are very similar to viruses in that they are computer programs that replicate themselves and that often, but not always, contain some functionality that will interfere with the normal use of a computer or a program.

The difference is that unlike viruses, worms exist as separate entities; they do not attach themselves to other files or programs. A worm can spread itself automatically over the network from one computer to the next. Worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers.

Scan For These Online

Spyware & Adware

Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program. Data collecting programs that are installed with the user's knowledge are not, properly speaking, spyware, if the user fully understands what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared. Some websites use cookies to gather this information.

Adware is advertising supported software. It is software that can be downloaded free from the web, but contains banner advertisements that create revenue for the company. Adware will usually, like Spyware, install components on your computer that will send marketing information whenever you are online. Unlike Spyware, Adware contains a disclosure telling you that they will be using your information. It is important to read the privacy policy when downloading Adware.

Try Adaware or Spybot Search and Destroy

Check out our walkthroughs

Popups

A small on-screen window that is displayed on top of the existing windows, application or Web page. It "pops up" on screen. Popup windows are know to "call" other popup windows and sometimes "flood" a user this is generally followed by the user frustratingly rebooting their machine. There are many popup blockers/stoppers on the internet. We have found that 90% of users use Google as their search engine of choice and they provide a very handy toolbar that stops popups.  The Google Toolbar is only compatable with Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher.If you use a different browser or just want a different method for blocking popups please do a search below for "popup blocker/stopper".

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Spam

Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send -- most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender.

There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on Internet users. Cancellable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. (Through long experience, Usenet users have found that any message posted to so many newsgroups is often not relevant to most or all of them.) Usenet spam is aimed at "lurkers", people who read newsgroups but rarely or never post and give their address away. Usenet spam robs users of the utility of the newsgroups by overwhelming them with a barrage of advertising or other irrelevant posts. Furthermore, Usenet spam subverts the ability of system administrators and owners to manage the topics they accept on their systems.

Email spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. Email spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses. Email spams typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Many people - anyone with measured phone service - read or receive their mail while the meter is running, so to speak. Spam costs them additional money. On top of that, it costs money for ISPs and online services to transmit spam, and these costs are transmitted directly to subscribers.

One particularly nasty variant of email spam is sending spam to mailing lists (public or private email discussion forums.) Because many mailing lists limit activity to their subscribers, spammers will use automated tools to subscribe to as many mailing lists as possible, so that they can grab the lists of addresses, or use the mailing list as a direct target for their attacks. 

Spam is most easily stopped at the ISP level but this is not always the best solution, especially if you are on a mailing list. There are many spam blockers available for download from places like download.com or if you are comfortable with using outlook you can customize you filters and trusted recipients to do much of the same that an anti-spam program might do for you. look for improvements in Microsoft's new version of Outlook 2003 with a new Junkmail folder and customization options ou can even import from a list which you may be able to find on the internet sometime real soon.

One of the easiest ways to keep from getting spam is to setup a Free internet email account at hotmail.com or yahoo.com or one of the other providers. Then whatever you fill out on the internet make sure you use this "alternate" email address. Give out your "preferred" email address only to people you "prefer" to hear from.