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by Ed Gray

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A computer infected by spyware is not just crippled in speed and performance (slow to start, slow to open programs, error messages and other behavior) but also poses a serious threat to security and the information you view, access or enter using the infected computer.

In fact, the sole purpose of spyware as the name implies, is to spy on you and extract information vital to criminal element responsible for development of the spyware program running on your PC. Translated in plain English, bad guys want your information and the software running on your PC is stealing it from you.

Some facts. It is estimated that a complete identity (including first name, last name, address, SSN, and other important and highly confidential details) is worth about $25.00 USD on black market and those things are traded every day, bought and sold just like you and I buy stocks, cars or anything else. The underground industry worth billions of dollars is active as ever and it is predicted the things will only get worse. Criminals are getting smarter, their mechanisms for extracting and collecting the information of interest to them, are getting more sophisticated, more difficult to detect and very complicated to remove.

Additionally, bad guys are also putting additional pressure on major software vendors constantly examining software under the microscope looking for flaw and a way to exploit the flaw to gain unlawful access to the PC running the software. And it is not that software vendors are ignoring to fix those security issues, in most cases the patch for the software is released quickly after the flaw had been discovered. More infections and breaches happen because the end-user fails to exercise due diligence themselves and never bother to check for or download and properly apply those security patches for their software.

So how does one make sure to not become a victim of bad guys?

The sad answer is that you can never guarantee that it will not happen to you or anyone else. You can implement measures and safeguard to decrease a likelihood it will happen and this is best one can hope for.

Depending on how many PCs you are trying to safeguard, complexity of your network setup, resources available, knowledge you have about what is out there and tie and money you are willing to spend there are several ways and tools you can utilize to help yourself from becoming a victim of bad guys.

1)Keep your computer in shape by making sure all your software is updated and any security patches and upgrades available from software vendor, are properly applied as soon as or shortly after they are released. This is a very simple yet often overlooked advice to make sure your computer does not endure the breach.

2) If it says it is free to download, it does not mean you need to have it. There is much of a garbage software out there and many of those programs although claiming wonders for your PC are only good to load spyware and expose you and your PC to risks associated with running infected PC. Beware of free software being advertised on questionable sites. Free may not necessarily be free and the cost of it may be to big. Same goes for pirated software and patches to run the pirated software on your computer. Much of those patches that claim to bypass the installation check and allow you to run pirated versions of software, are infected with viruses, spyware, Trojans and so are sites where those files are usually found. many of those sites run malicious code that will try to exploit your PC and install spyware on your system without you even knowing about it. So stay away from those sites and from pirated/cracked software in general. Same goes for illegal music, MP3, movies, videos etc. Majority of P2P and torrent software that had not been shut down by the industry it is trying to pirate from, is poorly written and can harm your PC not to mention to all spyware and viruses that may be disguised in the software itself as well as in files you are downloading via this software. Saving a 99 cents by stealing a pirated song may be the most expensive mistake you ever make so do not do it and do not load any of the questionable p2p software to your computer.

3) Be aware what is happening with your computer. Staying away from questionable sites, not downloading everything and anything out there is important but so is being aware of anything out of ordinary that your computer is doing. Slow down in performance of your PC, increased network activity, popups, errors, etc. is a good sign your computer is infected. When that happens, you can try to clean your computer or in worst case scenario you may have to format and re-load OS and all programs if you suspect something is going on but cannot root out the infection using the software and hardware available there.

4) Good Anti Virus, Anti Spyware and Anti Spam protection is must. There are many low cost and even free resources available to fortify your PC from becoming infected. AVG Free Anti Virus by Grisoft http://free.grisoft.com/ is available for non-commercial use. If you want more and better and no restrictions to use in non-commercial environment only, they have a very affordable paid version. F-Secure http://www.f-secure.com/ is another product used and trusted by those who know how to guard themselves. Very good, and highly recommended. Iolo http://www.iolo.com System Mechanic Professional has the Anti Virus component to it and although primarily designed to fix errors on your PC, does pretty good job in fortifying your PC against Spam, Viruses and Spyware.

Than there are usual names like McAfee - http://www.mcafee.com, Norton - http://www.norton.com, Trend Micro - http://us.trendmicro.com, etc. Choosing one over another is matter of preference but having anything is better than having nothing.

A word of caution. Some people will recommend using multiple Anti Virus engines. Although possible they may interfere with each other and in the end let the dangerous stuff pass through. So, for an average home PC user, stick with one good package. However, whatever you pick make sure your software is updated constantly as even best Anti Virus and Security program will not stop the virus if it does not know about it.

5) Security hardware, firewall, IDS (intrusion detection system). A cheap hardware based firewall such as Linksys or D-Link router with built in firewall may cost you under $50.00 USD but it may save you thousands of dollars by stopping the intrusion and infection of your PC. Combined with good Anti Virus program the platform will make your PC a relatively safe place however it is still not impenetrable.

Better designed commercial grade security devices will commonly include Anti Virus, Anti Spam, Web Filter, Intrusion Detection and more physically embedded onto the hardware itself, therefore decreasing the possibility of someone tampering with the software or the software itself becoming corrupted or not working properly. Companies such Secure Computing and FortiNet have some decent level UTM (Unified Threat Management devices) at decent prices.

And if you need more than just basic they have a more scalable hardware that can protect and guard anything from Small Office / Home Office to large enterprises and ISP (Internet service providers). I had came across the www.FirewallShop.com web site recently and found it out great and useful with multiple vendors and multiple products ranging from small office to enterprise level. Feel free to visit the site, from my dealing with the people run it, I was impressed to say at last.

However, for a small business owner where funds may be tight buying the commercial UTM appliance may be to expensive since asides from just buying the hardware, the service also requires yearly maintenance and subscription fees that can be from few hundred to few thousand of dollars depending on vendor, product and options.

I had recently came across the another company called Untangle. While they sell complete solution (including hardware and software) that can cost you few thousand dollars, unique thing about the untangle is that they offer almost entire software platform that forms the core of their technology, absolutely free of charge. With exception of few premium components you get the whole meal deal. And loading/configuring the platform is not that hard at all if you have a basic knowledge of network. A inexpensive PC (P3 1GHZ will run the platform OK although if you want to load all modules, a faster P4 with more memory is recommended).

Even better, if you have a fast PC with lots of memory and hard drive space, with few modifications (you need minimum 2 but 3 network cards are recommended) you can load a virtual image (Vmware image) to your computer and run it as surrogate install of your existing OS.

With this platform you get Anti Virus (single Anti Virus based on Open Source Clam AV engine is free of charge, the second AV engine is optional paid component), Anti Spam with SpamAssasin, Razor, Bayesian filters, DNSBL/RBLs, optical character recognition (OCR), tar pitting, custom tuning and updates components (same technology based on Open Source GPL model that other vendors utilize in their appliances that sell for several thousand of dollars up front and cost thousands of dollars in subscription fees per year to maintain and operate), Web Filter with full category listing of 50 plus categories to customize your unit plus custom allow and deny web sites based on URL, IP, etc. You also get Anti Phishing module, Intrusion Detection module, Firewall, Protocol Controll, Fully Controllable and Customizable Router and NAT gateway and more. To summarize it in simple terms, you are getting same level of protection that some other companies can easily charge you as much as $50 000 USD or more, absolutely free (if you do not count cost of hardware to load the platform and a bit of time you may spend configuring and customizing the platform).

By properly implementing the Untangle Server and configuring all of its defense capabilities as well as installing a good desktop anti virus/ spyare and anti spam protection, you will get to as close to impenetrable defense perimeter for your PC and network. Even if you cannot guard your PC any longer, you can rest assured that no bad sites will be visited (the platform will block banned sites from its extensive list plus from your custom list from being accessed by anyone inside the perimeter unless custom override by the admin had been entered into the platform settings), no spyware will reach the desktop PC, no one will be able to intrude and remotely take over or steal information from your PC, and more. In turn this will ensure that your computer or computers Will stay healthy and infection free longer. You can find more information including the more detailed description of technology and each module by visiting their web site www.Untangle.com

6)Managing threats from within. Even with best protection you are still not protected from internal threats. Flash drives, digital cameras, MP3 Players, Ipods, Floppies, CD, DVD can all be infected with dangerous payload. This may happen on the outside of your network but since those devices are highly mobile they can easily find their way inside your network by simply the end user bringing those devices with them and connecting it to a PC. Even if you have best and most sophisticated perimeter UTM platform deployed, you are not protected from threats from within. If you have a Anti Virus, Anti Spyware software etc. loaded on each PC you have and it is updated and functional you may catch the risk soon enough to protect the harm from occurring but than what happens if this secondary layer of defense is not working properly or the end user finds a way to bypass it.

Portable device access controll is important to make sure your PC and network stays clean. There are many free open source GPL access control packages that will lock and monitor your CD ROM drives, Floppy Drives, USB, Firewire ports, Floppy drive access etc. By effectively securing those devices from being used as an potential entry point for the spyware and viruses to enter your PC and network you are further fortifying your security and making sure your PC or PCs are staying clean.

If you are looking for a commercial software that will do this on a large scale allowing you to manage larger networks of PCs, he GFI makes product called GFI End Point Security. Please feel free to further take a look at it and even try the fully functional trial to see how it works.The web site is http://www.GFI.com

7) Stay informed. Almost all security vendors maintain some sort of site that is dedicated to keeping track and informing consumers of current threats, levels of danger, etc. There are several sites that although less known than above mentioned vendor sites, have even more detailed info on above. http://www.Secunia.com is an excellent site with lots of pertinent information that is updated around the clock about current levels of threat, specific malware, virus and spyware dangers and combined security issues and bulletins from many of industry leaders in the filed. Well worth visiting often to make sure you stay on top of what is happening.

Above of course, are just few tips of what one can do to keep their computer free and clean from spyware and viruses. Most important ting of all is to be aware of the risk and what harm it can do to you. But also knowing how to protect yourself and what to do if everything else fails and you discover your computer is infected, is also as important. I hope I had contributed at least something in raising your awareness and equipping yourself with tools and knowledge to fight the spam, spyware, viruses and other junk out there. Stay informed, stay safe.

Learn more about this author, Ed Gray.

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