Spyware is a malicious form of technology that aids in gathering information about an individual or organization without their knowledge or consent. It is used mostly for tracking and storing user movements on the internet initiating pop ups and advertisements for the benefit of a third-party. Spyware also changes the configurations of an individual’s computer settings to the point where it can take over the computer. The computer can then have slower internet connection speeds as well as not having access to the other computer commands. Spyware is usually installed by tricking the individual by hiding in a software bundle which they want to download.
The popularity of Internet Explorer along with its poor security measures makes it a frequent target of spyware. Unlike worms and viruses where they self-replicate, spyware is designed primarily for commercial gain. Spyware copies important banking passwords and credit card information and sends it back to the third party. In the US there have been security measures to counter act the threat of spyware called policeware. (Reimer) According to the website “Paretologic” there was a “71 percent increase in spyware from 2008 to 2009”, and about “15 percent of spyware sends potentially confidential info inputted by users which is collected via keyloggers”. Simply clicking on the wrong links can download spyware onto a computer. One must be extremely careful and know the good websites from the bad.
The problem of spyware is only getting worse and there is no sign of it slowing down. In most cases the sign of spyware is not even evident and it allows the spyware to temper with the hardware mechanics of the computer eventually slowing down the computer’s performance. Peop...
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...2000 and fight back the adware. (LavaSoft) Another case of spyware came in the supposedly harmless game of Elf Bowling. The game was highly popular during the Christmas 1999 holiday season but soon people noticed that the program reported user information back to the developers Nsoft. The developers denied the allegations but it provided many internet users with their first spyware experience. Due to Steve Gibson many computer owners were able to ward off any opposition from any threats of spyware.
Spyware has obviously been in the cyber world for quite some time now. No matter how much anti-software there is spyware will still make a stand to steal valuable information from honest working people. No matter what one does on their computer they must always have protection against outside programs and know exactly what gets downloaded to their computers.
After coming home from a long day at school, I turn on my computer and go to the Internet to see "What's New!" Then all of a sudden I hear, "You've Got Mail!" I check my e-mail and it's a message from my friend in Alabama. It is warning me about a computer virus that is being spread, and that I should watch out. Thank goodness someone warned me about this. I said to myself, "This kind of stuff must be the work of those hackers that I hear so much about." But what exactly is a hacker, and what are they out to do?
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone.
Having first appeared in Russia in 2005, referred as Winlock, that successfully scammed over £10m from unsuspecting victims before the Russian authorities arrested 10 individuals for involvement in such hackings in 2010, however it hasn’t stop the growing number of the problem. With such profitable money to obtain, perpetrators have discovered new ways to spread the malware and to cash-in at the expense of victims.
Computers are main technological features that allow criminals to step into unsuspecting victims lives. With a simple piggy-backing program hackers are able to track every keystroke made by the victim. One such program is called spyware, not to be confused with adware, which is often referred to interchangeably with spyware, but is potentially harmless (Louis 15). Spyware, hidden within downloaded software, implants itself deep within a computer’s hard drive, allowing it to track every move made by the user (Louis 16).
In today’s society technology is used for everything. With the invention of computers and the internet this open doors to the cyber world. Today you can do almost anything without having to leave your home. The internet gives us the opportunity of shopping online, ordering food online, working from home and video chatting with friends and family across the world. Everyone has a computer and internet access in their homes. While the internet is really convenient it also opens doors for cybercrimes, loss of privacy and the need for computer security.
“ Prevention is better than cure ”, if computer users are aware of Malware attacks, they may prevent those attacks . So, in this research paper i am going to focus on Malware and Protecting Against Malware.
Protecting your personal information, both on your personal computer and in other places such as your bank or your job, has become more difficult with the massive growth of the internet and the expertise of some unsavory characters called hackers, crackers or phreakers. Whatever they choose to call themselves, they are theives, plain and simple. Some people still question whether or not hacking should be illegal. I think it's obvious that what hackers do is illegal. A personal computer is personal and the information on it is private. When a hacker invades that privacy, he/she is trespassing and when they take your personal information they're committing a form of thievery (Ludlow). In addition to hackers, we now have marketers invading our privacy through the use of cookies (Rodger).
Andrew Massung Mr. Wyse ENC 1101 15 October 2015 Cyber Warfare: the New Frontier Since the beginning of time, mankind has waged war against each other. Over the years, warfare has evolved, from fighting with sticks and stones to using gunpowder and launching missiles. The newest, and possibly most destructive, type of warfare is cyber warfare. Cyber warfare has the potential to be more devastating than nuclear warfare.
Cyber Security as an International Security Threat National and International Security is a sum of the actions taken by countries and other organizations that can guarantee the safety and well being of their population. It is vital for a nation to pre-emptively discover what issues could affect their security, and take action to prevent any detrimental or harmful events from happening. With the development of technology and the transition into a more technologically savvy society, cyber security has become one of the most prevalent and important economic and national security issues that the United States will come to face. United States President Barack Obama has identified cyber security as a key issue the nation will face. President Obama declared that the “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation” and that “America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyber security (“Foreign Policy Cyber Security,” 2013).”
Cyber security is the protection of networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. This is important because a great number of our confidential information is on computers and transmit that data across networks to other computers. As of now cyber-attack is one of the transnational issues that we are concern about in the United States. If these private networks were hack our national security infrastructure will be in distress.
Black hat hackers majorly damage computer users and large organizations by exploiting sensitive data, shutdown of servers and modifying data in websites and network.
...ing the first half of 2007 has revealed that the study found the banking industry as soft target for phishing scams in India.
In today’s days malware is designated as a software which aims to disturb a computer with the consent or permission of the owner. This term “Malware” is used by computer professionals to describe a varied forms of destructive, annoying and intrusive software code. This word “Malware” is used to indicate all types of malware which include a true set of viruses.
Cybercrime refers to all forms of crime conducted through a computer or a mobile device using computer networks. It is thus the use of a computer with the aim of intercepting and manipulating content, disrupting communication, stealing or generally destroying others’ information or hardware through a network. Although cybercrime is a worldwide problem and affects both small and big companies, small companies are affected more from the dangers of cybercrime. The rapid advancement in technology is causing tremendous problems to businesses in terms of more sophisticated cyber-attacks. This project is interesting and beneficial because it enlightens one on the dangers of cybercrime, thus preparing individuals to know how to prevent attacks while online, how to reduce the effects of a cyber-attack and how to prevent future
...ng to many individuals who have suffered from hacking, phishing, scams, identity theft, fraud etc. Computer crime describes a very broad category of offenses, which include anything that requires an electronic device or the Internet. Cybercrime is now a global issue and it has a major impact on every individual or business that interacts with technology and the World Wide Web. When important information is stolen, not only are individuals at risk of becoming part of greater crimes but it can also affect an entire country when its national secrets are stolen. In the end I may conclude that computer crime is a dangerous crime that all individuals should be aware of due to the many devastating results it can cause. Cybercrime cannot be stopped due to the high levels it has reached, but immunity can be used to keep safe from it or at least keep individuals less at risk.