SPYWARE

Spyware is software that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge.

May send your personal information to another entity.

May assert control over a computer without the consumer's knowledge.

"Spyware" is mostly classified into four types: System monitors (key loggers, habits or interest, passwords)

Trojans (named after the trojan horse…not what you expected)

Adware (pop ups, advertisements)

Tracking cookies (placed on your computer to watch your actions)

SPYWARE

Spyware can collect almost any type of data, or personal information:

user logins bank or credit account information can installing additional software redirecting Web browsers Internet surfing habits

Gator - Gator is installed by users as a password vault. That means that passwords can be recalled for you automatically when visiting sites. The trade-off for this service is that you have to endure pop-ups when visiting certain sites. Claria, the maker of Gator,has cleaned up its act a little by labeling the pop-up ads, but they're still annoying. CoolWebSearch - This has got to be one of the most notorious browser hijackers out there. This is the name given to a program with many different variants that redirect users to coolwebsearch.com or datanotary.com. Uninstallation can be extremely complex. Users shouldn't try to manually remove this software.180SearchAssistant - This software either serves ads in pop-ups or pops up website windows based on your keyword searches. This software usually comes bundled with other "freebie" type software installs like emoticons or wallpaper. Newer versions of the software have an add/remove program uninstall item.Huntbar - Now here's an annoying piece of software. Huntbar installs a toolbar onto internet explorer and windows explorer windows. It changes your home page and search page settings to point to their servers. If you use another search engine, Huntbar will redirect you to theirs. Great stuff. Oh, and it puts a 15% drain on memory resources.

Cydoor - This software usually comes with P2P software, ie. peer to peer. Again, it barrages you with a series of pop up advertisements. It also tracks usage information.ISTbar - Yet another nice, unwanted piece of software. ISTbar does "drive-by" install via ActiveX and javascript. Basically, that means that you visit a site and it tries to install itself to your computer. Nice, huh. The Activex control installs a toolbar that pushes information to my-internet.info and blazefind.com.WhenU-DesktopBar - Displays advertising content. Monitors internet traffic, collects search profiles, and can execute code from a remote server using its update feature only. Relevant searches may cause it to display a special offer, coupon, or other advertising content. The adware may also display advertisements.New.Net - New.Net is a company that sells domain names for "nonstandard" top-level domains. It should be removed pronto.IEPlugin - As the name implies, it installs a toolbar in Internet Explorer. It tracks web site usage, form items (like names, addresses, etc. - ie. yikes!), and local filenames that are browsed. It's invasive - remove it.BargainBuddy - Bargain Buddy used to be everywhere. It is distributed by BullzEye Network. And it sets up a Browser Helper Object (BHO) and monitors your computer usage. It then, you guessed it, pushes advertisements your way based on that usage.

Gimmick

A device employed to deceive, or trick.

An innovative or unusual contrivance.

An innovative stratagem or scheme employed especially to promote a project.

A significant feature that is obscured, misrepresented, or not readily evident.

Ransomware comprises a class of SPYWARE which restricts access to the computer system that it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed. Some forms of ransomware encrypt files on the system's hard drive (cryptoviral extortion), while some may simply lock the system and display messages intended to coax the user into paying.

CRYPTOLOCKER

The bad news is decryption is impossible unless a user has the private key stored on the cybercriminals’ server.Currently, infected users are instructed to pay $300 USD to receive this private key.Infected users also have a time limit to send the payment. If this time elapses, the private key is destroyed, and your files may be lost forever.Files targeted are those commonly found on most PCs today; a list of file extensions for targeted files include:3fr, accdb, ai, arw, bay, cdr, cer, cr2, crt, crw, dbf, dcr, der, dng, doc, docm, docx, dwg, dxf, dxg, eps, erf, indd, jpe, jpg, kdc, mdb, mdf, mef, mrw, nef, nrw, odb, odm, odp, ods, odt, orf, p12, p7b, p7c, pdd, pef, pem, pfx, ppt, pptm, pptx, psd, pst, ptx, r3d, raf, raw, rtf, rw2, rwl, srf, srw, wb2, wpd, wps, xlk, xls, xlsb, xlsm, xlsx

EMAIL

administrator@esc17.net Fed-Ex, UPS and USPS do not work together If an email looks suspicious...send email or text to sender and do not open until they respond. Do not respond with the same email. Do not reply to email that has been sent to multiple people.

ORGANIZE IMPORTANT ITEMS

ie. SCANS, OFFICE DOCUMENTS (WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT), PICTURES TO FOLDERS

MAKE FOLDERS INSIDE OF FOLDERS, WITHIN YOU’RE MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER.(RIGHT CLICK IN A FOLDER TO MAKE A NEW FOLDER)

CUT/COPY DATA –PASTE IN FOLDERS

BACKUPS

STEPS1. COPY MY DOCUMENTS (RIGHT CLICK ON FOLDER)2. OPEN FLASH DRIVE3. PASTE ON FLASH DRIVE ICON (RIGHT CLICK ON ICON)4. CHOOSE TO WRITE OVER EXISTING DATA

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