Security Alert Center:

Viruses were at one time just a nuisance, now they have become a major security threat to our national defense, local governments, large and small businesses & home users. infecting serious harm and loss of client and personal data.

Computer problems and what the main causes are!

Adware is software that generates advertisements such as pop-up windows or hotlinks on Web pages that are not part of a page's code. Adware may add links to your favorites and your desktop. It will often change your home page and your search engine to sites that earn income from various advertisers. This income is dependent on, for example, how many people visit the adware site, or how many people click on the links or advertisements at the site. Ads are not bad by themselves but they become a problem when they are unauthorized. Unfortunately, many adware programs do not give users enough notice or control.

Spyware is software that collects and transmits user specific behavior and information, with or without permission. Sometimes, permission to collect and transmit is assumed to have been given simply by the act of installing software or loading a Web page. In reality, few people read EULAs (End User License Agreement) or Terms of Use/Service/Installation that are displayed during installation.
Like ads, data collection can be okay if done with consent or for a reasonable purpose. For example, software that transmits user specific information for the legitimate purpose of confirming eligibility for updates or upgrades should not be classed as spyware. Programmers are entitled to ensure that their software is not being pirated, and that the users of pirated software are not receiving the same benefits as legitimate users.

Malware is software that damages your system, causes instability, or exhibits antisocial behavior such as changing settings or interfering with a computer's registry and security settings. Typical examples include computer viruses or worms.
Bundled Software (sometimes called Foistware) is software (often adware and/or spyware) that is included with a particular product, and without which the product will not operate, or which is compulsory according to a product's EULA.

How Times Have Changed

When Adware first appeared on our computers it was very simple, dare I say harmless, stuff. Often it would involve only a few files which could be deleted or disabled at will, with no ill-effect. Early Adware even appeared in Control Panel under Add or Remove Programs.

As Adware has matured it has become smarter. Historically, as fast as the clean-up experts have worked out how to fight malware, those behind it have fought back with new tricks.

Over time malware started polluting and changing our computers' registries, and using random file names that were harder to identify and remove.

Adware began exhibiting spyware and malware characteristics. Even if victims were able to remove hijackers, they were sometimes unable to change hijacked home pages or other settings to what they wanted because the relevant buttons had been grayed out (made unavailable). Entire sections sometimes disappeared completely from Internet Options when the hijackers began to take advantage of the pre-existing ability to lock down Internet Explorer.

Malware writers began to design their programs so that they would reinstall automatically if removed, sometimes using different file names. The malware started monitoring itself and even the computer registry for detrimental changes. Other antisocial behavior that has appeared includes: using super hidden files, registering malware processes as a Microsoft Windows Service, and changing a victim's security rights so that they are unable to remove the malware.

Adware is now big business and there is a lot of money to be made. It must be said that advertising is not unique to the internet. After all, advertising has been around forever and provides an important community service if used appropriately and responsibly. But there are dangers inherent to Adware that we must all be aware of.

From a technical viewpoint, the most obvious problem caused by unauthorized programs is computer instability. Badly infected systems may operate very slowly, crash constantly, and sometimes will not start at all. To add insult to injury, the owners of such badly infected machines may face serious problems when trying to clean up their machines. Their attempts to use popular anti-spyware software may fail if the number of items that require removal is so great that the software cannot cope with the load. Sometimes when the hijacking software is removed the computer's ability to connect to the internet may be damaged.

There is also a privacy and security risk. Adware may exhibit spyware tendencies, reporting where you go on the internet, when and how often, what you enter into search engines, and what advertisements you respond to.
During a malware installation, the security settings in Internet Explorer may be changed to register untrustworthy sites as Trusted sites. The Trusted sites zone is reserved for Web sites that you trust not to damage your computer or data. Obviously, we do not want malware sites to be added in our Trusted sites zone, because they should not be trusted. Sites should not add themselves to any security zone without permission or interaction from us.
Adware may add itself to the pop-up blocker exception list in Windows XP Service Pack 2, or to the Windows Firewall exceptions. There are also reports of some malware using Trojan Horses such as HackerDefender to hide themselves from popular anti-spyware software.

As a mother of two teenage children, my concern goes deeper than the technical and security problems caused by adware and spyware. For example, I know of a certain young teenage girl who is a big Delta Goodrem fan. Using her parent's computer, and a search engine, she went searching for the lyrics to her favorite song. You would think that such an innocent activity would be safe, but alas no. The computer ended up badly infected with adware and some very unsavory, family unfriendly pop-ups started appearing to which no teenage girl should be exposed. The malware was extremely difficult to remove – in fact, in the end I had no choice but to reformat the infected computer – wipe everything out and install afresh.

1. Home page and search engine hijackingWhen a user's preferred choice of home page or search engine is changed to an unknown site an unwary victim may be exposed to an increased risk of further malware or spyware infection. It is not unusual for malware sites to direct hijacked computers to other Web sites that download and install even more malware. There may also be an increased risk of exposure to unwanted or unsavory content such as gambling or adult links via advertisements or sponsored links.

2. Tool bars that appear out of nowhereOften such toolbars are search engine based. Sometimes they cannot be turned off permanently and reappear on reboot, and sometimes they cannot be turned off at all. Sometimes, as part of their installation, they will disable other toolbars that may already be installed – for example, if a reputable toolbar such as GoogleBar, or AltaVista's toolbar, or Earthlink's toolbar is installed the hijacker will turn off those toolbars to remove competition.Search results from hijacking toolbars may be restricted to only sites that pay for positioning, otherwise known as "sponsored" results.It is important to understand the difference between sponsored results and standard search results. Standard search results are most often created by 'spidering.' Spidered pages earn a high ranking over time. Community popularity plays a big part when search engines determine the ranking of sites that appear in standard search results. Things such as number of hits to a site, or the number of other sites that link to the page, affect ranking. Sponsored links, on the other hand, are there simply because they have paid for the privilege.

3. Pop-up windowsPop-up advertisements can be very intrusive. Sometimes they interfere with Web browsing by taking over the entire computer screen. They can be difficult or impossible to close. In bad cases, many windows will appear in rapid succession, making the computer virtually unusable.Sometimes adware pop-ups are deliberately deceptive. I have seen examples where the "no" or "cancel" buttons are actually "yes" or "install" buttons. I have also heard of pop-up windows with fake Close buttons that when clicked trigger malware installations, much to the shock of their victims.

Pop-up windows can sometimes be explicit and family-unfriendly. They can also advertise what is commonly known as "BetrayWare" (a term coined, and encouraged, by MVP Jim Eshelman at his Web page). One example that I saw on my own computer while I was testing a sponsor program bundled with free software was an advertisement that trumpeted a warning that my computer is infected with spyware. I can reassure you that it is, and was, not! Sadly, far too many people are fooled by such BetrayWare advertisements.


Do not believe everything you read – the computer was NOT infected !

If all else fails email our staff tech support at computershowhost@yahoo.comor call us to come out and clean your computer of all Viruses, call 813-818-9075. for help from our engineers.

Phel Trojan horse attacks on Windows XP (Home or Pro)
It can affect systems, even if the latest XP service pack has been installed

DECEMBER 30, 2004 - Security firm Symantec Corp. (Norton Anti Virus) is warning users of a newly discovered Trojan horse named Phel -- an anagram of the word help -- that attacks Windows XP. The Trojan is capable of remotely controlling a user's system even if the latest Windows XP Service Pack, SP2, has been installed.
The Trojan horse, distributed as an HTML file, attempts to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer's HTML Help Control component in all versions of Windows. The vulnerability was discovered in October.

Microsoft is actively investigating new public reports of a criminal attack, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.
For the exploit to succeed, an attacker would need to entice a user to visit a malicious Web site and then would have to place the Trojan horse on the user's machine. If the Trojan executes successfully, potentially malicious software could be downloaded and run on the user's system, the spokesperson said.
Microsoft is working to forensically analyze the malicious code in Phel and will work with law enforcement agencies to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the malicious activity, he said.

"Microsoft is taking this vulnerability very seriously, and an update to correct the vulnerability is currently in development," the spokesperson said in an e-mail message. "We will release the security update when the development and testing process is complete, and the update is found to effectively correct the vulnerability."
Microsoft said customers in North America who think they may have been affected can receive help with security update issues or viruses at no charge by calling Product Support Services at 866-727-2338. International customers can receive the same level of support online at http://support.microsoft.com.
Customers in the U.S. who believe they have been attacked should contact their local FBI office or post their complaint online at www.ifccfbi.gov. Customers outside the U.S. should contact the national law enforcement agency in their country, the spokesperson said.

Don't get caught with the a bug virus or more serious worm, that may slow your work production down...complete your Anti-Virus updates, Windows security updates...Call us for consulting on what the best Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus and Anti Adware software programs to remove them.

Back up your data, update Windows and Anti-Virus weekly

Don't purchase cheap 802.11 b routers with claims of firewall protection and Identity theft prevention...hackers love cheaply configured routers' and software firewalls....it is like a screen door with a latch lock to them, keeps the fly's out but not the big bugs.

Identity theft is on the rise according to FTC (see article at http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2003.pdf)

one half million have had there identity stolen from the internet and the crime is gaining headway. Protect your Identity from theft, purchase a commercial router with firewall software configured at the highest security the router allows, configure your windows XP firewall too. Increasing your firewall's security is like having a double dead bolt on your business door or at home lock security.

Compu Tek will set up a Router with Firewall configured at the highest allowed settings the router manufacture allows...call today before your hacked into and lose your identity.

Call us for a system check up for as little as $29.95 our Microsoft Computer Engineers, will run a system check, and scan your computer or network for hidden viruses, trojans, spyware, ad aware, and check your computer or computer network bandwidth bottle necks and connectivity errors.

813-818-9075 or 727-466-6242

Fax service request to: 727-725-3406

©2005-2008 Tampa Website Design by Everything Graphic