Spyware

Forty years ago, John Updike made the fiction list and the cover of Time magazine.

SafeHardDrive is a rogue anti-spyware application designed to scare you into purchasing SafeHardDrive's full version. SafeHardDrive is usually downloaded and installed via ZLOB/MediaAccess Codec installer from an adult website. Once you're infected, Zlob Trojan will display misleading warning messages that pop up on your Taskbar. SafeHardDrive warning messages claim that your computer is infected with dangerous parasites and will pretend to display spyware results only to trick you into purchasing SafeHardDrive's commercial version. SafeHardDrive is known to be a clone of AntivirusForAll. SafeHardDrive program may be difficult to remove manually, and may continue to try to recreate itself.

Retnsrp Toolbar is a Trojan toolbar from the Zlob family. Retnsrp Toolbar infects your system through corrupt video codec such as Rich Video Codec Smart Video Codec trojan which are found on malicious websites. Once Retnsrp Toolbar has infected your computer, it will display fake warning messages that link to rogue anti-spyware programs. Retnsrp Toolbar has four icons named "Remove Popups", "Scan Spyware", "Security Test" and "Spam Protection", all of which lead to malicious websites that promote rogue anti-spyware software. None of the products and services Retnsrp Toolbar distributes are legitimate or trustworthy. It is recommended the immediate removal of Retnsrp Toolbar. Retnsrp Toolbar is a clone of The Voipwet Toolbar.

Dropper.IAW Trojan is a dangerous trojan that infects your computer through an email attachment sent by a spammer. Dropper.IAW Trojan may also come bundled with other trojans or malware found on malicious websites. Dropper.IAW Trojan infects the computer when it drops a file called xmas.jpg and starts randomly dropping key files from your system files which may cause a system slowdown or instability. Once executed, Dropper.IAW Trojan copies the following files to the Windows Temp\spoolsv folder: a.reg aliases.ini com.mrc control.ini ident.txt mirc.ico mirc.ini popups.txt remote.ini run.bat servers.ini spoolsv.exe users.ini xmas.jpg Dropper.IAW Trojan modifies the following registry locations: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\mIRC HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Agent HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Dropper.IAW Trojan is a harmful infection and it is strongly recommended that you remove Dropper.IAW Trojan without any hesitation.

I'll stick with my current version of Firefox, I'm tired of updating every month or so. I use Firefox for testing purpose only anyway, so... So the ONLY time that you will use it to surf, you'll get to an evil site that will exploit the bugs, install spyware & cie.

The free (for noncommercial home use) AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0 keeps your system safe from spyware and from Web sites that host malicious exploits.

When most people think about Internet security problems, they focus on viruses and spyware technological attacks that can usually be mitigated by technological defenses. But the most insidious Internet security problems today rely on human gullibility, not tricky software. While technological defenses can help you fend off these newer types of...