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DANGERS OF THE INTERNET
TROJANS, SPYBOTS, BACKDOORS, MALICIOUS COOKIES AND MORE

Some people assume that the world is a completely and totally safe place filled only with good intentions (Congratulations. You've got worms!). Others are afraid to the point of paranoia that the bad guys are watching their every move (lighten up a little; they can't give you a virus with the power cord unplugged!). The reality is somewhere in between.

Today, my job is to teach you about reality on the Internet and what to do about it. I'm going to teach you what to be careful of, how to protect yourself and when to start enjoying life and quit worrying.

First, the Internet is just like the rest of the world. It is full of good and caring people. It is full of bad people, too. The only difference between the Internet and the real world is that you can't see the people who are trying to take advantage of your innocence. There are no dark alleys here full of shadow figures; there are no golden meadows full of blooming miracles of creation. Here, everything is in disguise.

Doubt it? Try to describe what the person you've been chatting online with was wearing, where they live and where they go to school or work. Chances are you can't. Yes, you have a mental picture of them, but that may or may not be reality. In the last ten years, I have met many good and honest people, and have had the good fortune to get to know a few of them in the real world. I have also made some serious mistakes, some people pretended to be things they weren't. A few were actually sending me fake photographs, using multiple identities and screen names to contact me. One lady, early on, managed to become one of my closest friends and confidants. I thought I knew everything about her (She even sent me pictures), She turned out to be severely mentally ill. She had 47 screen names (Yes, I said forty-seven screen names) with matching identities that she was using to contact myself and others. She lied about who she was, where she lived, her age, in some cases she was even disguising herself as a man. Over the last ten years I have seen hundreds of instances of someone using multiple identities to stalk or harass someone else online.

What does all this have to do with viruses, worms, Trojans, spybots, etc?

Imagine a stranger sitting down at night (at their home) to read (your) email. Or maybe someone you know sitting at their home reading the files inside 'your' computer so that they can stalk you. How about someone who doesn't even know you, using your email account to send out advertisements (spam) for pornographic websites. What about a bunch of kids hacking into your computer simply because it sounds like fun? How would you feel if you realized that there is a chance that some of the sickest, most dangerous people in the world, could be accessing materials inside your computer?

Are you scared?

You should be. Unless you are taking precautions!

For a complete tutorial on "How To Put Stalkers in Jail" please visit www.baddteddy.com/stalkers/index.htm

"VIRUSES"

Viruses are an impersonal attack on many users around the world. Unless an individual deliberately sends you a virus, most virus attacks are random. It's like a real virus in the real world. It gets passed from person to person, and it doesn't care about who its victims are. Its mission is to seek out and destroy.

For a complete tutorial on viruses and how to protect yourself please visit
www.baddteddy.com/tutorials/virus.htm

"SPAM"

Spam is also an impersonal effort to get something from you (your money). They have no personal interest in you as a person. All they care about is reaching the largest number of people possible and trying to reach into their wallets.

For a complete tutorial on spam and how to reduce it please visit
www.baddteddy.com/tutorials/spam.htm

PERSONAL ATTACKS

The difference between spam and viruses - versus - worms, Trojans, back doors and malicious cookies is that each of these represents a possible 'personal attack' against you and your computer.

"WORMS"

Worms are very much like a virus in how they spread. Once on your computer they use your address book to email themselves to all your friends, but unlike a virus their job may not necessarily be to seek out and destroy. Instead, their mission could be to first spread themselves and then secondly allow others to access the contents of your computer. In essence a worm is a program that could allow a stranger to look inside your computer.

NOTE: A major publication recently reported that one out of every seventeen emails contained an attachment with malicious intent (virus, etc.).

NOTE: If you are getting mailer-daemons for emails that you did not send, you need to read the worm tutorial.

For a complete tutorial on worms and how to protect yourself please visit
www.baddteddy.com/tutorials/worms.htm

"TROJANS AND SPYWARE"

Trojans and spyware (Spy Bots) are programs that can be sent to you in an email attachment, and then used to remotely monitor everything you do on your computer. Sounds impossible?

The following is part of an advertisement for spy software: I removed the companies name and added the black text to show how this software can be used by a stalker to do harm to you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| ACTUAL ADVERTISEMENT FOR SPY WARE |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Stalker, Spammers and Bad guys <----This is my handwriting

(Our software) ... offers users (including stalkers and other bad guys) the ability to remotely install the application (spy ware) from any location and view the logs from anywhere in the world (their home)! Simply send .... via email (in an attachment) to the Remote Machine you intend to monitor (your computer)! Once ... has been installed, you have full control and monitoring power in real time of that remote PC (YOUR PC)! (The bad guys can) View (your) Chat Conversations in REAL TIME, (your) Keystrokes, (your) Passwords, (your) windows applications, (your visits to) websites, and more! ... Is the perfect choice for monitoring (Other people's) homes and Businesses.

SCARY?

From the various advertisements I saw, those using Trojans, spyware, etc., can read all your email, read your IM's and chat, see every website you have visited, watch as you balance your checkbook online, copy your credit card numbers when you buy something online, copy all your passwords, and actually watch every single keystroke you make. And then they can access your computer to copy or delete files, make changes to your software, etc. Now are you scared?

"TROJANS AND SPYWARE"
MAY NOT BE CAUGHT BY ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS

Yes, you heard me right. Many antivirus programs will not catch Trojans, spyware, etc. And some Trojans and spyware can work even if you are using firewalls and anti-virus protection. How scared are you now?

"BACK DOORS"

A backdoor is a "mechanism surreptitiously introduced into a computer system to facilitate unauthorized access to the system," In layman's terms, like Trojans, Spy Ware and Back Door Programs are designed to allow someone else to access the files on your computer. Some backdoors can access your computer even if you are using firewalls and antivirus protection.

MALICIOUS COOKIES

Cookies are sweet, delicious and wonderful, right? Maybe in the real world, but online there are two basic kinds of cookies. Those designed to help make your access to information on a website easier (good cookies) and those who goal is to take advantage of your innocence (Bad cookies).

What is a cookie? A cookie is a small program that is downloaded onto your computer when you visit a website. Sometimes the website asks your permission, other times it doesn't. What makes a cookie identifiable from all other programs you download is that it is stored in a special file on your computer called, "Cookies".

Your computer is designed to accept cookies from websites. It's a normal part of doing business on the Internet. Cookies can make websites much easier to use and therefore more fun. They can also contain spyware.

Bad Cookies have different purposes, none that are for your benefit. Some cookies are designed to track where you go on the Internet. Others are designed to monitor your activities to let spammers know what kinds of advertising to send you (if you start doing a search on Life Insurance the cookie tells its boss, and suddenly you may find your mail box full of advertisements for Life Insurance). That may sound like a good thing until you remember that spammers are generally dishonest people. They often use stolen email accounts to send you unwanted emails about products that at the very best are shady. Some cookies whole purpose is to tell spammers whether or not your account is still active. If the cookie says you are still using such and such an address the spammer will send you junk mail and then sell your information to other spammers as an 'active email account".

Bad cookies can get worse. Malicious cookies can include spyware that actually allow the owner of the site to access your computer, your files, your email and your passwords.

ARE YOU AFRAID?

My goal is not to scare you. It's to wake you up to reality. There are bad guys (and gals) on the net and chances are at least a few of them have managed to send you a virus, worm, Trojan, spyware, back door program or at the very least a malicious cookie or two. The good news is that all of these problems are easily solved.

Solutions are available for Viruses, Worms , Spam and Stalkers.

SOLUTIONS FOR TROJANS, SPYWARE AND BACKDOOR PROGRAMS

Antivirus programs may not be able to find Trojans, Spyware, Backdoor Programs and Malicious Cookies but the following programs can.

SpyBot - Search And Destroy

http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10122137.html

Ad-Aware
http://www.lavasoft.nu/products/ad_aware.php

These two programs are free, and they do a wonderful job of searching your computer for things that your anti-virus might miss. For instance, last night I ran my anti-virus program and found absolutely no viruses. Five minutes later I ran Spy-Bot Search and Destroy and found a large number of malicious cookies. Just by reading their names I could tell that some of them were malicious. Then I ran Ad-Ware and found a dozen more. I was able to clearly see that some of these were malicious in intent. They were sending information about me to their creators to track my visits to websites, to generate a source of information about me to spammers, etc. These programs Spy-Bot SD and Ad-Ware removed all the malicious cookies in under twenty minutes.

Removing these cookies reduced the chances of someone monitoring my activities online and probably reduced the amount of spam I receive by about 50%.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU RUN THESE?

How often should you run Spy-Bot SD and Ad-Aware? My recommendation is at least once a week. I also recommend using both products. One after the other. Both programs are great, but they depend on their creators having information on the particular Trojan, cookie, spybot that has infested your computer. By using both, one after the other, you can increase your chances of catching and destroying the bad guys toys.

IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC YOU NEED TO KNOW TO RUN THESE?

These programs are free and easy to use. Just download them, install and click a few buttons. They are self explanatory so I won't bore you by writing a text book on their operation. I will say that each program goes thru the files on your computer looking for Trojans, malicious cookies, etc. and then shows you how to remove the ones they have found. Removal is simple, it says, "Click Here To Remove" or something like that.

DO YOU STILL NEED TO RUN AN ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM?

Yes!

SPAM TUTORIAL

By the way, I have a tutorial on "Reducing Spam", you can you can read it at www.baddteddy.com/tutorials/spam.htm

DO YOU STILL NEED TO BE AFRAID?

No. It's pretty simple to defend your computer from attack. If you run the programs I listed here once a week, run your anti-virus all the time, use a firewall (My next tutorial) and use common sense when downloading programs from websites and email you should be perfectly safe. Then it doesn't matter if the bad people attack or not, because you are now protected in a suit of armor.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

The best defense you can provide for yourself is to be educated and to educate your friends. With that in mind please forward this tutorial to everyone you know. The more educated your friends are, the less likely they are to catch something like a worm or virus and forward it to you.

I HAVE A SMALL FAVOR TO ASK

I create these tutorials to help people (you). Each one takes a weeks worth of research, typing, editing, etc. I never ask anything in return except that you help others. Today I would like to ask you to click ("Americans For Fair Drug Pricing" and "911 Safety Net") and show your support. Five minutes of your time could help us save lives.

Great Bigg Teddy Bear Huggs. BaddTeddy

RELATED SUBJECTS

TUTORIAL INDEX

COMPUTER BASICS

VIRUSES

SPAM

RUMORS

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DANGERS OF THE INTERNET TROJANS, SPYBOTS, BACKDOORS, MALICIOUS COOKIES AND MORE

DANGERS OF THE INTERNET
TROJANS, SPYBOTS, BACKDOORS, MALICIOUS COOKIES AND MORE