What Is Malware?
Malware are any intrusive control programs put on your computer with or without your knowledge. Malware includes spyware, adware, backdoor trojans and keystroke loggers. Some of the programs' purpose is to make your computer a "zombie", under the control of a hacker. Your computer may be used to send spam, host a pornography site, or with the keylogger programs your personal information, anything you type, can be used to steal your identity or credit card information.
How big a problem is it?
Earthlink, an internet service provider, recently did a "Spy Audit" on over a million computers. They found 29.5 million examples of spyware and adware. Even more serious were the results of scanning for backdoor trojans. They found over 300,000 systems that had been infected. Currently we're seeing a problem endemic to computer users: hijacked browsers, spyware, adware, worms and trojans.
What are the symptoms?
Slow system start up
Sluggish program response time.
Unusual hard disk activity.
Internet Explorer pop-up advertisements.
Browser Hijacking: When your homepage is continuously redirected or changed.
New or unknown taskbar, browser search bar, or system tray icons.
