Five criteria for determining spyware

Here are the five criteria that Microsoft (and others) use to determine if a program qualifies as spyware, and the level of danger that it poses.

1. "Deceptive behaviors. Runs processes or programs on the user's computer without notifying the user and getting the user's consent. Prevents users from controlling the actions taken by the program while it runs on the computer. Prevents users from uninstalling or removing the program."

2. "Privacy. Collects, uses, or communicates the user's personal information and behaviors (such as Web browsing habits) without explicit consent."

3."Security. Attempts to circumvent or disable the security features on the user’s computer, or otherwise compromises the computer's security."

4. "Performance. Undermines performance, reliability, and quality of the user's computing experience with slow computer speed, reduced productivity, or corruption of the operating system."

5. "Industry and consumer opinion. Considers the input from software industry and individual users as a key factor to help identify new behaviors and programs that might present risks to the user's computing experience."

You can go here to read more about it, including longer explanations of the five criteria. You will find them about halfway down the page.

New service pack for Windows XP

Microsoft has recently confirmed that it is creating a third Service Pack for Windows XP.
A "service pack" (or SP) is a collection of patches, fixes and general improvements that Microsoft believes will make the operating system work better.

Early testing on SP3 indicates that not only is does it show a 10% improvement in performance (read speed) over Windows XP Service Pack 2, but it makes Windows XP work almost twice as fast as Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 installed. You can read details of the testing here.

The difference between the hard drive and RAM

Alot of my customers ask me "What is the difference between the hard drive and RAM?"

The hard drive is storage memory, similar to the filing cabinet in an office. Its where you put things you want to save.

RAM (or Random Access Memory) is working memory, its similar to a desk in an office. You can only place so many things on the desk top at any one time. With RAM as your desktop, you can only do as much work as you have space on your desk. When you increase the amount of RAM, your desktop gets larger so you can work on more things at once or do fewer things faster.

Next time, I will talk about the dangers of using file-sharing (aka peer-to-peer or computer-to-computer) programs.

Cell phone acronyms

Have you ever wondered what all those cell phone acronyms meant? I have too.

So here I will set them out for you, what they are and what they mean.

For networks (how the signal travels from phone to phone) there are pretty much only two choices:
CDMA and GSM.

CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access and is the network used by Verizon and Sprint/Nextel.

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile communications, and is the network used by T-Mobile and AT&T. Outside of the United States, GSM is the standard, but American GSM phones will not work with international (Asia/European) GSM networks due to incompatible radio frequencies.

EV-DO stands for Evolution-Data Optimized and is a 3G network. It is the way laptop and smart-phone users connect to the Internet at DSL speeds.

EDGE stands for Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution and is technically a 3G network, but because of slow network speeds (similar to low-end DSL) it is called "2.5G" or "2.75G."

EVDO only works on CDMA networks and EDGE only works on GSM networks.

3G stands for "third generation network", and is the way phone companies advertise the ability to quickly surf the Internet, download music and watch streaming movies or TV. Due to the cost of providing DSL-quality bandwidth to cell phones, most cell phone companies in America have not completed their 3G network.
Verizon tends to lead in network availability and ability to browse web pages quickly, with other CDMA carriers following. GSM phone companies (AT&T/T-Mobile) continue to lag with the expansion of their networks to 3G speeds (3G speeds are comparable to DSL).

"Smart"-phone is a term used to describe any cell phone or mobile device that uses an operating system like Windows or Palm (although there are others).

SIM cards are Subscriber Identity Module cards used in GSM phones (both American and International) that are a small physical card that contains all the users phone numbers and other information. The SIM card can be removed and placed in any other compatible GSM phone; thus making it easier to transfer handsets. (CDMA phones do not use SIM cards.)

Problems with uploading

Last month, people using Comcast cable internet were reporting problems with their upload speed. As it turns out, Comcast is deliberately stalling, "delaying", the upload signal from their subscribers computers, when certain programs were used.

If you are having trouble using your webcam, your Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone, like Vonage or Comcast Digital Phone, or are experiencing more than usual lag with online video games, then this is the reason.

Published interviews with Comcast personnel indicate that calling and complaining will do no good, because the call center staff have been told to lie to callers.

Read more about it here and here.

Why is Firefox more secure than Internet Explorer?

When I suggest that my customers use Firefox instead of Explorer, alot of them ask "why is Firefox more secure than Internet Explorer?" This post will try to give you an understanding of the difference between the two browsers.

Simply put, Explorer is tied to the Microsoft Operating System (aka Windows), while Firefox is not.
All versions of Windows (98, XP, Vista, etc) and all other O.S.'s (Macintosh, Linux, etc) have several parts; one of these is the File Management program. In Windows, the file manager is called "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer."
By clicking on "My Computer" the user is allowed to view, modify or delete any or all of the files and documents on the computer, including files necessary for Windows to operate; the user may also use Internet Explorer to view, modify or delete any file. This is a problem because if the user can do it while sitting at the computer, a hacker or malicious program can also do it through the user's Internet connection.
Firefox is not designed to access the computer's file management program ("My Computer"), which means that malicious programs cannot access it through the browser either.

So now, you might be asking "How does Internet Explorer let bad stuff into my computer?" It does this through a mini-program that websites can add to your browser, called ActiveX controls.
Back at the beginnings of the Web, when most people only had dial-up access, web pages were mostly text with a few pictures. Microsoft, in an attempt to make Web pages that were viewed through Internet Explorer look better, created little mini-programs that would automatically (and invisibly to you, the user) download into Explorer and make the web pages have bells and whistles and animations and all sorts of additional little things that made the web pages become more alive (this is called "interactive" or "dynamic"). This way web pages seen in Explorer would look far better than the same pages seen through Netscape's browser.
Over time, the bad guys on the Internet realized they could build their own "controls" and Explorer would automatically download and run them like any other program.

It was in this way that the bad guys were able to take over peoples computers. Because ActiveX controls are run through the browser(which if you remember, allows anyone to delete or modify files necessary for Windows to operate properly), most anti-virus programs do not recognize the malicious controls as threats and do not get rid of them.

Firefox is just another program as far as the operating system (Windows) is concerned; just like Word, or Adobe Reader.

This is why Firefox is more secure than Internet Explorer; because people or programs on the Internet cannot infect or control your computer without your knowledge.

And we're back!

After a long hiatus, I am back posting again. I will be posting once a week to start and hopefully will be posting more often soon.
I intend to include sections for the less computer-saavy amongst us; I hope that those who do not need the advice will not be offended if I offer it to those who may.

I have been told by a new-style marketing guru that I should solely target seniors, at least to start. Since he is successful, there must be something to his advice, however, it leaves me feeling like I will ignoring a huge swath of people who need help.
This is the reason I will be adding a section to my posts. To help those who may wish to have some basic computer tasks explained.
-----------------------------------------------
Not-so-savvy section:
My first post here will be "copy and paste". I know that just about everyone who will read this already knows how to do this, but just in case somebody doesnt...

To copy a piece of text(a phrase, a web address, etc) move your mouse pointer (the arrow on your screen) to the beginning of the object you want to copy, click the left button on your mouse, and, while holding the left mouse button down, move the mouse pointer over what you want to copy (this is called "highlighting"), then let up on the mouse button.
Once you have highlighted the text you want, click on "Edit" then click on "Copy" (or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-c (pronounced "control-c").
Move the mouse pointer to where you want to paste the text you highlighted and go back to Edit and click Paste. Or you can use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl-v.

There, that was easy. I hope I havent offended anyone by telling you something so basic that you already knew it.

See you next time.

Speaking of spyware...

The new Windows Vista incorporates the Windows Genuine Advantage program(where the Microsoft website has to test your copy of Windows to make sure that you, the user, are not a dirty pirate; if the test fails, you are not allowed access to the Microsoft website or to Microsoft technical support).
Once the WGA program began, computer reviewers and average users began noticing an abnormally high failure rate in WGA tests. Inconsistencies such as reporting that a system is valid one day and, after requiring another test the next day, reporting that the same system had failed the test also began to appear.

Because Windows Vista uses the Windows Geuine Advantage program, it means that Vista must report to Microsoft that your copy of Vista is legitimate. This doesnt happen just once like it does with WGA(Windows Genuine Advantage), but rather every time you turn on Vista and connect to the Internet. Most of the time it does this silently, but occasionally it interrupts what you are doing to notify you that you have installed a pirated or counterfeit version of Vista; even if you have passed previous authentication tests.

Why this matters to you is because Vista uses this same program to determine if your copy of Vista is genuine. If the WGA program in Vista determines that your copy of Vista is pirated or otherwise counterfeit, it will reduce the functionality of Vista to the point where all the user can do is use Internet Explorer for 60 minutes per day before Vista automatically shuts itself off.

Whether Microsoft will produce a patch that fixes the poor programming of the WGA program(so that it only shuts down "genuine" pirates) is yet to be seen.

This is another reason(of the vast number of reasons expressed elsewhere) to delay your purchase of Windows Vista.

How spyware can hurt you

My last post talked about the definitions of spyware; in this post, I would like to show how spyware can cause serious problems for anyone.

Norwich, Connecticut substitute 7th grade teacher Julie Amero was recently convicted of showing pornographic pop-ups to several of the children in her class. Her sentence could be as long as 40 years without parole.
You might be wondering how this is connected to spyware. As it turns out, the classroom computer was filled with spyware-launched pop-ups(stored on the hard drive, not coming from the Internet).
A discussion of the facts in the case can be read here.

If you let your anti-spyware protection lapse, or dont have it in the first place, you become a prime target of the bots that deliver the spyware.
You know you have some form of spyware when your computer mysteriously slows down for no reason and your anti-virus reports nothing found.

The teacher, Juile Amero, was caught in a never-ending loop of pop-ups. This is a common enough occurence that most people understand the confusion and helplessness that accompanies this. How this might hurt you is if you are caught, by your boss or a loved one, in the same situation it would be very embarrassing and possibly job threatening. You would know you were innocent, but would anyone believe you? Probably not, because the impression that most people have about porn is that you have to go to it to get flooded by pop-ups.
That's the wrong impression, because the advertising networks that use spyware will download the program onto your computer at an innocuous website and the spyware will look at your search terms and interpret certain words to mean that you are looking for "adult material" and give you pop-ups from pornographic sites on the same ad network. So you dont have to go to the porn, the porn will come to you.

This is how spyware can hurt you.

You really need up-to-date anti-virus, effective anti-spyware(some are better than others: Spy Sweeper and Counterspy are two good programs), a good two-way firewall(the firewall built in to Windows XP and Vista are not as good as good 3rd-party firewalls such as ZoneAlarm), and keeping up with Windows Updates.

Otherwise, you are just asking to end up like Miss Amero, losing your job and going to jail for 40 years for something that isnt your fault.

First new post of 2007

Todays post is all about spyware: what it is, and what the differences are between the various types.
Spyware(or mal-ware or bad-ware) is the generic name for any program, script or other software that is installed on your computer either unknowingly (you didnt know it was being installed, also called a "drive-by download") or unintentionally (you installed a program and the program installed the spyware).

Spyware can be divided into smaller groups called 'ad-ware,' 'spyware,' 'trojan horses,' and 'bots.'

• Ad-ware is relatively harmless software that is intended to monitor your Web surfing and shopping habits in order for web advertising companies to create better and relevant advertising. But you still do not want it on your computer.
  
• Spyware is much the same as ad-ware, but is used to monitor all activity on your computer, not just web surfing, but also to investigate what software you have, the presence of any illegally downloaded movies or music (the spyware used by the movie and record industries does not recognize music bought from legal online stores, as far as it is concerned any music is 'illegal'), and can be used to steal password information for secure websites such as banks or credit cards. Spyware is also used for identity theft.
• Trojan horses, or just 'trojans,' are like the trojan horse from Greek mythology (you may have seen it in the recent movie Troy). Its purpose is to sneak in past any defenses and then release a malicious program.

• Bot is an abbreviation for 'robot;' software robots are designed to sneak in, or be delivered, install themselves and then wait for orders from the Internet. Bots are programmed to do any number of things including sending spam, attacking websites (which they do as one part of a network of bot-controlled computers, called a 'bot-net'), or remotely controlling your computer. A bot-infected computer is called a "zombie," because, once controlled, it obeys orders mindlessly.

These are the main groups of syware and what they do. These are just general grouping because different groups of spyware fighters and anti-spyware companies (and even the spyware makers) call each type something different.

More on spyware and how to know if you have it in a later post.

News

Hi everyone,
I havent posted in several months as will have noticed. This was because of moving into the new house, settling in, and related items.

Since it is the new year, and a time to start afresh, I have resolved to post more often. So you can expect me to post at least once a week, hopefully three or four times a week.

So look forward to more and new posts.