|
(published in Brainstorm! 2005)
Is your computer getting sluggish, especially
on the Internet? Do you find that pop-ups occur even when you are not
surfing? Does it take forever for Internet Explorer to start up? Are you
unable to change the settings of your computer back to they way you had
them? Do new toolbars suddenly show up in your browser's window? If you
answered yes to any of these questions, then it's likely your computer
has parasites.
A parasite is software that has been installed to
your computer, usually without your knowledge or consent, and is designed
specifically to damage, disrupt or do something you do not want your computer
to do. This software is usually created to do one of the following:
- spread a virus
- run adware to allow multiple advertising to pop up on your computer
- run spyware to keep track of what you are doing on your computer and
send it back to marketing companies
- hijacking Internet Explorer, thus preventing you from specifying your
home page on your browser
- allow security holes to remain open so that hijackers can continue
to manipulate your computer
- watch what you type and steal your valuable data (like passwords)
through key loggers
- have complete access to your machine through remote access Trojans
- search all the pages you surf to better target how they market to
you through browser help objects
How can you be attacked by parasites?
There are many possible ways that these parasites can end up on your computer.
The most common type of spyware install is called "drive by"
installs. This is when you surf the web and software magically appears
on your computer. The code in the web page you are visiting will instruct
software to install, usually without your permission.
Sometimes when you visit a web site it asks if you want
to install a program (given that your settings on your Internet Explorer
are not set to automatically install). You may answer yes or the software
may trick you into saying yes; then it installs a parasite.
You may have downloaded a specific program for a specific
use, not knowing that the software vendor has added other programs to
piggy back on it. So, when you install one piece of software, such as
a program to download music, you could also be installing software that
brings in pop-up ads to solicit you to buy something.
Another way these nasty pests find their way onto your machine
is by exploiting security holes found in the browser's code.
Why do people create parasites?
The vast majority of parasites are created to make money. They watch and
learn about how you surf the web site, even the entire Internet, to better
understand how to market products and services to you. Companies pay big
money to learn how they can try to sell more to you and this is one way
it is done.
What can you do about it?
Prevention
- Use a browser other than Internet Explorer. Browsers like Firefox and Opera are much
more secure and are less likely to be hijacked or allow unwanted programs
to install without your knowledge.
- Keep your antivirus software running and up to date. We recommend Norton Antivirus.
- Install Spybot
- Search and Destroy. Update this and run at least once a month
if not more often. Remove any items it finds as critical threats.
- Install Ad-aware
SE. Update and run this at least once a month or more. Removing
all of the items it detects as critical threats will definitely help.
- When a web site asks if you want to install a program, unless you
know specifically what you are installing, just say NO.
- If you have to use Internet Explorer, secure it as much as possible.
- Just because a program is free and cool, does not mean there are not
parasites bundled with this software. When in doubt, read the privacy
policy then ask before you install it!
- Update your operating system and Internet Explorer with the latest
security patches. For windows users, you can go to www.windowsupdate.com to obtain those critical security patches.
- Use a firewall.
If you think you are already infected:
- Run your antivirus
software update, then scan your computer.
- Run Spybot and remove any critical threats it finds.
- Run Ad-aware and remove any critical threats it finds.
- Update your operating system with security
updates, if possible.
- Reboot your computer. If you computer is still acting weird, is slow
or pop-ups are coming at you in every direction, call in an expert!
Resources
Add
On Manager for Windows XP SVP2 to check which programs are installed.
Process
Lookup to see if what is running in the background is a parasite.
Search for files names to see if they are malware (viruses, parasites, and other nasties):
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
http://www.kephyr.com/filedb/index.php
|
