Spyware101.com

The assassination of former Pakistan president Benazir Bhutto has

Apparently spammers are providing links to sites that claim to offer a
video of the killing but instead link to malicious sites that infect
the user's PC with malware.

This harks back to a similar attack following the execution of Saddam
Hussein, and then, as now, the number of things wrong with this
scenario is simply staggering.

The fact that others are profiting from these events is despicable,
and the fact that others are apparently keen to 'view' the murder is
even more so.

But regardless of the content, what is even more unbelievable is the
simple fact that people are still reacting to spam emails.

We're not sure we can make this any clearer: if you receive an
unsolicited email from an unknown source it is spam, and if it's spam
then delete it. It really is that simple.

Strangers don't go out of their way to email random people and hand
out hot stock tips, or illegal medication or porn out of the goodness
of their heart.

They're doing it to make money from you. If you're lucky they're just
unscrupulous advertisers looking for website traffic, but the chances
are they're after a lot more.

News:

Malware writers exploit Bhutto killing
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmVA0AF

Hackers create new year Storm mutant
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPj0Ao

Microsoft Office SP3 causes data blocks
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmVB0AG

DES full disk encryption to rival Bitlocker
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmVC0AH

2007 Roundup: Data explosion to continue
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPB0AA

2007 Roundup: Pump-and-dump tops spam league
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPF0AE

2007 Roundup: The march of the botnets
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPH0AG

Cyber-gangs gear up for 2008
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPI0AH

The main internet threats for 2008
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPK0AJ

2007 Roundup: Data loss hits the headlines
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmPO0AN

Review: APC Biometric Password Manager
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmVD0AI

Review: Eset Smart Security
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0EmVE0AJ

Download: Spyware Doctor 5.5 RC
http://mail.vnunet.com/cgi-bin1/flo/y/eBPYH0NS3DC0cyi0DjHu0An

Psychological Internet Security: There Is More To Downloads Than Meets The Eye

Internet downloads offer unlimited potential; if you want something, chances are there is a download for it. Because of the history of downloads and the uses they have provided, most people have developed a mindset that with proper computer security and internet security, downloads are harmless. Unfortunately, there is more to downloads than meet the eye.

Have you ever had advertisements (i.e. adware) spontaneously pop up on your computer? What about dramatic decreases in computer security, speed and performance? Now you would think computer and internet security software would always detect these things when they first appear on your system, but they don't. Know this: computer security software, no matter how expensive or how much is on your system, will never provide 100% security. Hackers and malicious software (a.k.a malware) developers know this and capitalize on people's ignorance, therefore allowing them to infect people with ease.

This is where psychological computer security and internet security come into play. Before you download anything, make sure to use your judgment and common sense. This can be one of your best internet security defenses against malware and it doesn't cost any money! With that in mind, just remember all downloads are not created equal, which you will quickly discover.

Hackers and malware developers evade computer security by taking legitimate downloads and injecting homemade or pre-constructed malware in them. This serves two purposes: (1) antivirus software will have more troubles detecting malware within other files, and (2) people will download and install the program since it looks legitimate at face-value.

To protect yourself from running into malware infected downloads, there are two things you can do. First, only download from trusted sites such as CNet and TuCows. If you stumble into downloads that are not on trusted sites because of exclusivity, research the website by checking the Better Business Bureau or using a search engine. Second, use integrity checking software to see if downloads have been altered.

Integrity checking software provides good computer security and internet security because of what it examines. The software can be downloaded for free and analyzes MD5 hashes, which are like ID tags for downloads. MD5 hashes look like this:

de4174sd23859b1f1fr147424328fb7m

These hashes can be trusted because the most minor modification will change virtually the entire string, thus making it easy to detect unauthorized alterations or malware in downloads. The software is easy to use and can be done in three steps: (1) copy the MD5 hash supplied by the website, (2) download the file onto your computer, and (3) use integrity checking software to develop a MD5 hash of the downloaded file. If the hash from the website is identical to the one you created, it hasn't been modified and reduces the probability of malware infections!

Now you know why psychological computer security is so important when it comes to malware infected downloads. There are a lot of times where internet security software will not help, thus leaving protection entirely up to you. While common sense and judgment can act as a double-edged sword, remember to use the strategies above. Knowing and practicing what you now know about internet downloads will provide you with above-average computer security and internet security against malware, and you didn't even spend a penny to do so.

By: Josh George

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Josh George has been an active member in the computer security and internet security community since 1998. He has made many presentations to groups that involved members from the FBI, DoD, and NSA and hopes to now help personal and small business users. To learn more about computer security and internet security, the link below provides time-tested best practices and recommended tools: Securityfor Computers

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