Anti Spyware
Why does the small and medium business (SMB) need Anti Spyware?
Behind computer viruses, spyware and adware impose some of the heaviest risk to a small and mid-sized business. Besides the obvious issues of having your computer data exposed to whomever has the spyware solution on your systems, there are other problems. Many spyware solutions hijack the underlying computer asset and use it for purposes of the creator. Without you realizing it, you could be actively helping to attack other computers, host gambling or pornography sites, or having your resources dedicated to other malicious issues. Legally, you could be at risk if your systems are used in such a fashion.
What is Anti Spyware?
From wikipeida.com:
Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. The term Spyware, which was coined in 1995 but wasn’t widely used for another five years, is often used interchangeably with adware and malware (software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer respectively).
Personal information is secretly recorded with a variety of techniques, including logging keystrokes, recording Internet web browsing history, and scanning documents on the computer’s hard disk. Purposes range from overtly criminal (theft of passwords and financial details) to the merely annoying (recording Internet search history for targeted advertising, while consuming computer resources). Spyware may collect different types of information. Some variants attempt to track the websites a user visits and then send this information to an advertising agency. More malicious variants attempt to intercept passwords or credit card numbers as a user enters them into a web form or other applications.
The spread of spyware has led to the development of an entire anti-spyware industry. Its products remove or disable existing spyware on the computers they are installed on and prevent its installation. Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware in two ways:
- They can provide real time protection against the installation of spyware software on your computer. This type of spyware protection works the same way as that of anti-virus protection in that the anti-spyware software scans all incoming network data for spyware software and blocks any threats it comes across.
- Anti-spyware software programs can be used solely for detection and removal of spyware software that has already been installed onto your computer. This type of spyware protection is normally much easier to use and more popular. With this spyware protection software you can schedule weekly, daily, or monthly scans of your computer to detect and remove any spyware software that has been installed on your computer. This type of anti-spyware software scans the contents of the windows registry, operating system files, and installed programs on your computer and will provide a list of any threats found, allowing you to choose what you want to delete and what you want to keep.
Such programs inspect the contents of the Windows registry, the operating system files, and installed programs, and remove files and entries which match a list of known spyware components. Real-time protection from spyware works identically to real-time anti-virus protection: the software scans disk files at download time, and blocks the activity of components known to represent spyware. In some cases, it may also intercept attempts to install start-up items or to modify browser settings. Because many spyware and adware are installed as a result of browser exploits or user error, using security software (some of which are antispyware, though many are not) to sandbox browsers can also be effective to help restrict any damage done.
Contact CopiaTECH to see how we can help you today with Anti Spyware products.