Spyware Adware Protection

I just bumped into an article from Sandra Rossi with Computerworld Australia, which I thought was a great read. It deals with the invention of a Russian "flirt-bot" or spyware that is able to gather personal information from unsuspecting singles.

Talk about an instance of technology gone bad. This "flirt-bot" named CyberLover is able to initiate and conduct conversations with unsuspecting humans in chat rooms, notably online dating sites. Developed in Russia, the creators of CyberLover claim it is able to simultaneously establish a new relationship with up to 10 different people inside of 30 minutes.

CyberLover is pre-programmed with a series of questions to ask its unsuspecting users. It is than able to digest the responses it receives and develop follow up questions. As the conversation progresses, CyberLover begins to ask more detailed and pointed questions.

Sample questions that CyberLover may ask include:

• "Where can I send you a Valentine's Day card?"
• ""What's your date of birth? I'm planning a surprise for your birthday?"

While seemingly innocent questions to answer, you have just provided CyberLover with both your home address and your date of birth. Both are vital details for someone looking to commit identity theft.

CyberLover also has the option to invite its prey to a personalized web page. This page can be set up to load additional spyware or malware onto the unsuspecting person's computer.

CyberLover is then able to keep all of the information it gathers on each user in a data base. This data base could be passed onto various people with bad intent, and you could open yourself up to identity theft. The potential downside to a tool like this could be enormous.

CyberLover is only reported in Russia right now targeting various Russian websites, but its creators have mentioned a mid February 2008 release to other parts of the world.

How can you prevent yourself from becoming a victim?

The first thing to keep in mind when discussing anything online is to make sure you keep all of your vital information to yourself. Never give anyone in a chat room your real name, your home address, your date of birth, your real email, or your phone number. It's not something you need to provide the first time you "meet" somebody online.

If you are in a chat room and you feel like you're hitting it off, set up another time or form of communication. Tell them you've got to run, but ask them to send you an email through the dating service. CyberLover is designed to work over a chat format, but it's not capable of sending you an email.

If you're not using a dating service, make sure not to give your primary email address, but a secondary account you have set up with one of the free services like hotmail, yahoo, or gmail.

Most importantly, use your common sense. If it doesn't feel like the right thing to do, in most cases it isn't. You can only protect your vital information one time. Once it's compromised, there isn't much you can do.

Spyware Removal Freeware is currently available for download to help computer users become more aware of spyware, adware, and other malware. With so many programs being offered, it's only natural for people to seek out the top lists for the best spyware removal freeware.

Based on collated reviews from trusted online technology communities and readers, the following spyware removal freeware are the best programs currently available for downloading:

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, for Google Pack
Google pack offers a set of free software which includes a limited version of commercial product Spyware Doctor. Although this doesn't have the complete features included in the full version, it still gives a system active protection with scheduled scan tasks, and signature file updates.

Spyware Terminator
This is compatible with all Windows versions. This spyware removal freeware also provides active protection and warns against any third party trying to gain access to your system. It provides a spyware detection engine but also has a secondary engine based on the Open Source ClamWin anti-virus program, which is one of the most competent scanners on the market.

Microsoft Windows Defender
This program is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003. This spyware removal freeware has three main tools: scanning, real-time protection, and advanced features, which covers privacy and security. Once the system is scanned and threats are identified, the program shows details about detected spyware-- where the threat is located, risk rating, and recommended action. Through the Scanning feature, scans can be scheduled to be performed daily, weekly, or monthly, to guarantee automatic deletion or quarantine of spyware.

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE, Personal Edition
Lavasoft is a trusted product that has been used by millions of users for a few years now. This program includes realtime protection, and automatically renews its definition lists to remain updated on spyware. Results provide a line-up of infected files and steps available to fix the files, as well as an option to create a restoration point. This spyware removal freeware also indicates any suspected adware.

See easy-spyware-removal.net for more analysis and additional products.

To maintain a strong guard against malware, it's recommended to download two or more of the best spyware removal freeware. By doing this you not only learn more about spyware, you also get strong protection for your computer-for free.