Tag: SPYWARE

Chances are you've seen some flashing ads from time to time on certain sites, ads that say your computer is infected with a virus or running more slowly than usual and that, if you don't buy their software, you're utterly screwed! In case you didn't know, we assure you that there's virtually no way for a flashing ad like that to have any idea what's wrong with your PC. So, those ads are basically ...

Like Megatron's Decepticon minions from 'Transformers,' spyware and malware keep finding new ways to hide themselves in an effort to infect your home computer. The latest attempt is a supposed video showing Barack Obama engaged in some sort of sinful act. It's all a lie -- it's just another piece of malicious software looking to hide itself on your machine. In this case, the malware is a trojan ...

An interesting new Web attack is making the rounds that hijacks your computer's clipboard and uses it against you. The code has been found lurking in Flash-based advertisements on legitimate web sites (we knew there was a reason we hated Flash). So what does this new Web attack do? It places a link (that is difficult to delete) to a Web site selling fake security software in your clipboard. ...

Web security firm Sophos just published its study of security threats for the first six months of 2008, and you'd be wise to take heed of its findings. The Internet is a dangerous place, and every year it becomes more and more perilous for you and your personal data. The study is long and dull, so we put together some quick bullet points to save you some time and head scratching: 2008 has ...

Note to our younger readers: Installing spyware on school computers and hacking your way into the system to change your grade is a terrible idea. A pair of teens in Orange County, California are accused of exactly that and now one of them faces a maximum prison sentence of 38 years in jail on multiple counts of second degree burglary, identity theft, computer access and fraud, removing and ...

Is Facebook too friendly? It seems the social behavior of the networking site's users is itself to blame for the proliferation of a spyware application on users' computers. Users are invited to find out who their "secret crush" may be by adding a new Facebook widget to their Facebook accounts. (Widgets are the names of third-party developed applications for Facebook that allow users to share ...

If you've signed up to receive e-mails from Sears, and then clicked on to join the retailer's "My SHC Community," it's likely you've been providing more information to more people than you thought. Even more troubling, it turns out that you're not just sharing information with Sears, but also with a company called comScore, which tracks and aggregates Internet browsing habits. Installing the ...

The battle between malicious software makers and computer security companies has taken a new turn. Spammers have turned users against themselves and against the security firms trying to protect them. The latest security system to undergo assault by spammers is CAPTCHA, or "Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart." CAPTCHA displays a series of letters and ...

MySpace is a minefield. Time magazine even put the social-networking site on its list of 'Five Web Sites to Avoid.' Even we here at Switched have posted endless coverage of the sexual predators, spammers, and hackers that have made the MySpace risky at times for anybody not browsing with a sandboxed Firefox browser. Now, the hackers have managed to expand their attacks beyond the usual faux ...

For most Internet users, retrieving wanted e-mail messages is like hacking through the dense underbrush of a rainforest using a Jason Voorhees-sized machete. But, instead of vines and tree branches, it's pitches for stock deals and Canadian penis pills you're hacking through. Though junk mail is a modern inconvenience we've mostly gotten used to, it's no less shocking to learn that spam now ...

Privacy advocates, prepare thy letter writing hands. A student at Timberline High School, outside Seattle, Washington, has recently been arrested for calling in repeated bomb threats. That, you should have no problem with. The scary part is the manner in which he was caught and convicted. Josh Glazebook, 15, taunted authorities via e-mail and even created a MySpace profile called ...

Though it was just a few short weeks ago that the House of Representatives passed legislation attaching prison time to the use of spyware, another bill has just sailed through that takes an even stricter stance. Last month's legislation was altered at the last minute to remove a key component requiring companies to notify users of what is being installed and to obtain consent. It was removed to ...

A new study has found that Internet searching is getting safer overall, but that certain search terms -- particularly those related to music and technology -- are more likely than others to steer users in the direction of spyware and other malicious code. The study was conducted by security software maker, McAfee, which used its SiteAdvisor program to test 2,300 popular search terms across the ...

Good news for Windows users! Yesterday the House passed legislation that attaches jail time to the criminal use of Internet spyware. According to the new bill, accessing a person's computer without authorization and with the intent of committing a federal offense would be punishable with up to five years in the clink. Illegally obtaining or transmitting personal information with the intent to ...

Whether you're trying to keep goons out of your bank account or off of your wireless network, safe computing isn't as easy as it used to be. Even if your network and accounts are on tight lock down, there's always the specter of the evil computer virus. The threat of virtual infections dates back to the earliest days of computing when viruses spread from machine to machine via floppy disks. But, ...