Internet Security Threat: SPYWARE

"..The Internet is becoming bigger and better but not secured.."
This statement was part of the opening burner by Steven Dimitrigev The Senior Economist/Private Sector Development of World Bank in a just concluded conference in Abuja Nigeria on the 5th of May 2009.

It is pertinent to note that as the Internet grows so does the technology that drives it and Internet security threat is becoming a source of concern to surfers.

The Advent of spyware has raised the question of how secured our cyber space is or how private is our online experience. Spyware is a class of computer program that sticks themselves to your systems program without your permission with the intention of causing harm to the operating system and making undesirable changes to your data. Sometimes they tend to get information from your browsing history which may include personal data like credit card details, user names and pass words. It is known that most spyware targets only the windows operating system. Some of the more notorious spyware threats includes Trymedia,Nuvens,Estalive,Hotbar and New.Net.Domain.Plugin(Source CA)

How do you get Spyware:

Spyware programs come as a disguise most time as free products, harmless games, screen savers which is activated as soon as you download and run this product. Some may even be masked as spyware remover that will not detect or remove any spyware but will report so only to perpetuate themselves.


How to handle Spyware

Spyware can be taking care off by observing some simple Internet security tips:

1. Use pop-up blockers: Many current browsers like Internet explorer 6.0 and above or Firefox 1.0 and above have the setting to block websites from opening unsolicited pop-up windows, they can also tell you from where the pop-up window is coming from and you have the option to either allow it or not because these windows are the means by which spywares get into our machines.

2. Disable Active X: The security setting of browsers gives you the option of diabiling active x which is a lee way for spywares to gain entrance into your system. This may interfere with some website functionality but this are usually taking care of by site designers by making provision for alternatives in such circumstance.

3. The use of "X" : Use the :"X" butten at the top-rigth part of the window to close supicious websites before they cause harm to your system.