 | Zach Adams is the marketing manager for Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative. Craw-Kan offers cooperative members security systems, local telephone, long distance, high speed internet, digital cable television, IP television and cellular phone service. Zach can be contacted directly at Craw-Kan (620)724-8235 or by emailing zach@ckt.net. |
Communications
2011-04-01 13:55:00
Spyware, spam, viruses - what are the biggest threats to my computer?
Answer: The more time we spend online shopping, paying bills, playing games, social networking or surfing web, the more our computers and personal information are exposed to the threat of malicious software. For a time, our biggest worry was our computer becoming infected with a virus. Today there are many new types of malicious programs including spyware, scareware, malware, homepage hijackers, trojans and adware that can cause users all sorts of problems. The list continues to grow each day.
So what are the biggest threats? Some of these programs are a simple annoyance while others can lead to stolen identity and monetary loss. I will list and explain what I consider the more serious threats to you and your computer.
1. Spyware or Trojan viruses are significant problems as they install unwanted software on your personal computer (PC) that secretly monitors your activity by tracking your keystrokes, scans for private information or gives outsiders control of your PC. They are quickly and easily distributed through free downloads of innocent and legitimate looking programs.
2. Scareware are fake security warnings that look as if they are legitimate warnings from known software. Antivirus and firewalls can not protect your computer when, if you click on the warning, give permission for the fraudulent program to run.
3. Surprisingly to most people, the biggest threat to their computer security is the user themselves. Perhaps our increased comfort with technology has caused us to become a little lax. Very frequently our internet security is jeopardized by clicking on unfamiliar sites & links, opening attachments from unknown senders, or falling prey to a “phishing” scam.
The best bet is to become familiar with the threats and the best practices to protect your computer and your identity.
