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Firewalls and Proxies

In building construction, a firewall is a structure designed to contain building fires. For example, an attic crawlspace that covers the entire length of the building would allow a fire to roar from one end of the building to the other. Breaking up the crawlspace with non-flammable walls helps to slow the spread of a fire. Network firewalls have a similar function. A firewall is a network security system, either a program or an actual device, that breaks up a network to contain viruses and hackers. Imagine two large fish tanks side by side, separated by a wall. We want to allow the blue fish to mingle, but we need to keep the carnivorous fish on the left away from the baby fish on the right. If we opened a computer-controlled door in the wall, programmed to only allow blue fish to pass but no one else, that would be a fish tank firewall. Network firewalls “segment” the network. Local traffic, the information that moves between the computers in that segment, doesn’t go through the firew...
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Malware May Be Hard At Work On Your Computer

If you’ve been using a personal computer for some time the word “ Malware ” gets on your nerves. Malware is the nice term for malicious software, anyone that has had their PC corrupted by it will use a different choice of words. Malicious software includes viruses, adware, spyware, and Trojans. If you don’t take precautions they will take over your computer. Viruses are probably the most common type of malware. Viruses can do all kinds of maddening things to your computer. They can erase all the files on your hard drive, cause your computer to close windows without reason, they can eventually cause your system to not even turn on. Adware is another type of Malware that is not quite as openly malicious as a virus but can be just as annoying. Adware is a type of software that people inadvertently download onto their computer. They may download a screensaver or a video game and before you know it your whole desktop has changed. Adware is used to monitor a persons surfing habits so that th...
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Malware or Spyware

Malware is a new term used to describe malicious “ mal ” software “ware” that has no other purpose other than to destroy or disrupt a computer. Spyware and adware are considered to be malware. There is only one reason for spyware to be put on your computer, and that’s to make money, and no, not money for you. When you download those funny and comical files that your friends e mailed to you, free video or music files, free wallpaper, etc. spyware usually comes attached. The spyware industry is a billion dollar industry. There are people getting very rich selling the information they track about you and hundreds of thousands just like you. Adware is a software program that also is attached with free downloads of many kinds. What adware does is cause pop ups on your computer, even when you’re done with the initial site you visited. That means that anytime you’re on your computer, surfing, checking e mail, or even working, annoying pop ups will appear. There are ways for your to protect yo...
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Types Of Malware

In this article we discuss four common types of malware. Virus: A virus is a computer program that has been coded to replicate itself and infect a computer without the user’s knowledge. A virus spreads from computer to computer by infecting network files as well as CDs, USB drives, and other forms of removable media. The best free anti-virus is AVG anti-virus which can be found at http://free.grisoft.com/ . Trojan horse: Trojan horse or just Trojan is a program which looks legitimate but performs illegitimate actions such as granting full access to the intruder, installing a keylogger, disabling security software and as an invisible downloader of spyware. Spybot Search and Destroy is a free program that can find and delete Trojan horses and spyware. It can be found at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html Adware: Adware (advertising supported software) is a software bundle which automatically downloads and displays advertisements to a computer in which it is instal...
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Adware Overview

Adware is advertising delivered directly to your computer. Generally, a program puts ads on the screen at some regular interval. In some cases, this program can be installed without the user’s knowledge, but not always. Many programs clearly state on install that “this program is supported by advertising, and if you turn off the advertising, you also shut down the program.” Adware tends to be a “ grey area ” in the malware family. Yes, it can run without the user’s knowledge, and yes, it can bog down the system (especially when the adware program goes online to retrieve new ads to display). At the same time, adware is generally more open about what it does, giving the user the choice to install the program the adware is attached to. Adware is most often tied into Internet Explorer somehow. The ads that appear are browser windows. When it’s installed above-board, adware is generally accepted by the internet community as a valid marketing system, even though it can include elements of sp...
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Malware Overview

Do you know what goes on under the hood of your car? Do you know the solution for a warning light on the dash? Do you know what’s wrong with the car if it starts making strange noises or loses power? Those same questions can be asked about your computer. Computers can have many of the same problems as cars. Engine problems can cause cars to lose power, just like a large program can take up too much of the computer resources for anything else to run. Where an engine could “throw a rod” or “break a timing chain,” computers can mysteriously reboot or die with the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death.” We expect that our car will bog down sometimes. You can’t expect a car to perform as well when pulling a two-ton trailer up a five degree hill. Likewise, when a computer gets bogged down with a big project, you would expect it to respond a little slower. What you don’t expect is for either the car or the computer to bog down or die when we’re not pushing so hard. One of the things that “Malware” ca...
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Spyware Overview

Imagine a program that watches your computer. It sits in memory, watching everything the computer does–the websites it displays, the passwords used to get into them, the advertisements that get clicked on. This program silently and secretly gathers all of this information, without the user’s knowledge. Then, at some point, it connects to a server somewhere on the Internet, and hands over this collection–again, without letting the owner of the computer know what it’s done. Scary thought? Experts believe that at least six out of ten perhaps as many as nine out of ten computers on the Internet have this kind of malware installed. Like a virus, many spyware programs run without the user’s consent or knowledge. There is an entire industry devoted to gathering demographics information through the use of spyware, and there is another industry that’s grown to combat spyware. Spyware is meant to capture “demographics.” This is meant to help advertisers better target their ads. For example, if a...
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