What is a virus?
A computer program that is
loaded on your computer without your knowledge, with the
intent of doing some damage to your system. The effect
of computer viruses varies from doing so little damage
that you are unaware that your computer has been
infected, to wiping out the entire contents of your hard
disk. There are viruses which play music, display
messages, change or delete files. Computer viruses are
manmade and most are intentionally designed to replicate
themselves. When the virus program runs it makes a copy
of itself and adds itself to another computer program.
Each time the infected program is run, the virus is also
run and in this way spreads. If your system is infected,
you can easily spread the virus to others through shared
disks and email attachments
What is Spyware?
A recent
study by Earthlink has reported that 90% of internet
connected PC's contain some form of spyware. Spyware,
often called malware or adware, can come in many forms.
Recently spyware has eclipsed viruses as the No.1
online threat to the security of both private users and
large corporations. If you are not protecting
yourself from this scourge you are more than likely
contributing to its success.
The most frustrating part of
having Spyware on your computer is the sheer feeling of
helplessness that is invoked. Your computer slows down,
it no longer does what you instructed it to, it seems to
have a mind of its own. You effectively have lost
control of your computer. Spyware (also referred to as
Adware or Malware) is malicious software that is
installed on your computer without your consent. Spyware
software monitors or controls your computer use. It may
be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your computer
to websites, monitor your Internet surfing, or record
your keystrokes, which, in turn, could lead to identity
theft.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is using the
internet to try to trick someone into giving away
personal information by pretending to be a well-known
company or organisation.
For example, a typical
phishing technique involves sending emails which look as
if they are from a bank, and asking people to enter
their bank details.
According to the
International Anti-Phishing Working Group, phishers
are able to convince up to 5% of their targets to give
them personal information |
