There’s a Spy in Your Coop!

All about espionage and the e-factor.

Whenever I read/hear/think the word “spy”, I unconsciously tend to conjure up images of James Bond. This 1953 fabrication of Ian Fleming has been so charmingly immortalised on celluloid by Messers Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan--and now hopefully Daniel Craig—that "Double-Oh Seven" is the world’s most ubiquitous secret agent.

Cyberdom is infested by a ubiquitous secret agent called Spyware. But unfortunately, this agent is the “bad guy” who seems to grant itself the infinite license to assail all and sundry who venture within a mouse-click. Spyware is a program that appends itself to your OS with its own wicked agenda—tracking your Internet behaviour, pestering you with unwanted offers and targeted advertisements, or generating traffic to a website, or even forcing your browser load specific websites or search results. It hogs up precious RAM as well as processor power thereby slowing your PC down. So if your computer has suddenly started acting up and slowed down, you know what the malady could be.

No, spyware is not a virus. It does not generally damage your files or data apps. It is a program that gets into your PC without your permission and skulks in the background carrying out its own tasks as I’ve mentioned above. It affects PC performance by making it carry out these unnecessary chores and invades your privacy by monitoring the sites you visit.

Nearly 65 percent of personal comps in the world today are afflicted with spyware. Spyware can sneak into your PC via file sharing programs, goodies that you download, websites that you visit, or browser add-ons that you install. Notorious spyware companies include the likes of Bonzi Buddy, CoolWebSearch, Cydoor, Gator, Euniverse, 180 Solutions, DirectRevenue, Xupiter, and XXXDial.

Combating Spyware
Prevention is better than cure. So you must thwart spyware from creeping into your PC. Here’s how:

• Keep the security patches in Windows updated. Automate the process if possible.
• Monitor and adjust the security and privacy settings of your Internet browser. Because IE so integrated with Windows, it gets hit the easiest. Even disabling ActiveX helps. Check www.getnetwise.org for help.
• Be careful of the websites you visit and download from. Don’t download everything you come across. Greed and thrill notwithstanding, if anything looks suspicious, just vamoose.
• The most popular route for spyware are file sharing proggies, screen savers, cursor enhancements, wallpaper bundles, “smiley” inserters. So beware these.
• Read the fine print of the license agreements etc. that you “agree” when you are installing unknown free programs. Tough call, but very important.
• Don’t click on “OK,” “Agree,” or “Cancel” to close those pesky pop-up windows. Click on the X or even better use Alt+F4.
• Use a personal firewall.
• To detect, delete and block spyware you need to use tools like Lavasoft Ad-Aware (www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware), Spybot - Search & Destroy (www.spybot.info), Webroot Spy Sweeper (www.webroot.com), Sunbelt CounterSpy (www.sunbelt-software.com), PC Tools Spyware Doctor (www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor), and ParetoLogic XoftSpy (www.paretologic.com).
• To get more practical tips on how to protect against Internet fraud, safeguard your PC, and defend your personal information, go to www.onguardonline.gov

And oh, Casino Royale, the next 007 flick is still a few months away (November 17, 2006) from release. But its official website (www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale) debuts May 19. So sneak in for a dekko. And if you’re hardcore Bond fan, fire up your browser right away and blast your way into www.jamesbondmm.co.uk for some truly awesome multimedia goodies.