The Ekaru Technology Advisor Vol 4-3 March 2004
Welcome to this month's issue! Ekaru's mission is to provide technology information and support to help you manage and grow your business!
PC Privacy Threats: Adware and Spyware
Recently, we have received many calls regarding adware and spyware. These types of programs surreptitiously monitor and record your Web surfing and other PC activities and report back to third parties. You may experience unusual behavior on your system such as an unexpected change in your default home page, unwanted additions to your "favorites" list, and annoying pop-up ads, or you may not even be aware that the programs are on your system.
Often these types of programs are downloaded inadvertently when you download certain free software, but you may also get them through email or from file-sharing programs such as the many popular music sites around. The usual distinction between adware and spyware is that adware is installed with your consent (although you may not know it because its buried deep in a license agreement) and spyware shows up without your consent, including through "drive-by downloads" - simply visiting a site embedded with spyware code. Typically, adware is included with a bigger program such as a game or a picture viewer, and the license agreement clearly states that in exchange for the free software, you will look at advertisements and provide the advertisers with some statistical information. The adware software then provides feedback to third parties to more accurately target ads. Read the "end user license agreement" carefully and think twice about these downloads! As you install the main application on your system, the adware embeds itself in your system, collects the URLs of the web sites you visit, then sends information back to the advertiser.
At a minimum, you may see annoying pop-up ads on your system. At its most severe, information gathered from spyware or snoopware could be used for violation of your privacy or identity theft.
Antivirus apps won't necessarily detect adware or spyware because they aren't technically viruses. And firewalls block only outgoing messages from adware and spyware; the components themselves remain deep within your PC. Also, keep in mind that even simple tools like a picture viewer may come with adware - they claim so that they can detect the version number of the application.
There are several free tools available on the web to scan your system, and increasingly more products are becoming available to protect you. We have used Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware. Bottom line, stay away from any downloads that don't look 100% legitimate, definitely avoid downloads from pop-up ads, and carefully read EVERY end-user license agreement - they're boring, but at least you'll know what you're getting into! If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call.
Think Green - Recycling Electronics Equipment:
Technology moves fast, and if you're like most people, you probably get a new cell phone and new computer every few years. The great thing about technology is that each year you can get a lot more performance for LESS money. The bad news is that increasingly, the disposal of digital devices is becoming an environmental hazard because many devices contain hazardous materials including lead and gallium arsenide.
When you're retiring your old equipment, think green.
Check with your local town for hazardous waste days. As of April 2000, Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), the leaded glass picture tubes found in computer monitors and televisions, are now banned from disposal in Massachusetts landfills and waste combustors due to their high lead content. To recycle an old cell phone go to any Staples store. Many of the major manufacturers such as IBM, Dell, and Apple all have recycling programs - you only need to pay for shipping. Printer toner and ink should also be recycled, and increasingly, they are packaged with kits to send in the old materials. Another approach is to find a good charity to donate old equipment. Keep in mind that there is so much surplus equipment around that if your machine is really old, you may not be able to give it away.
2004 Technology Workshop Series: April 13, 2004:
Top 10 Technology Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!
We are proud to announce that Comcast is sponsoring the 2004 Ekaru Technology Workshop Series. These workshops are designed to help you get more from the technology you already have, and introduce you to the new technologies you need to know about. For more information on the April 13th Workshop - Top 10 Technology Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!, click here.
Technology Tip: Before you give away, recycle, or sell an old computer, read this!
Deleting files only hides them from the operating system. They still exist on the drive and can be recovered. Re-formatting the disk provides better protection, but the drives can still be read using certain recovery tools. Properly purging the drives can be done using programs that write meaningless information on the drives in a process that can take several hours. The best protection? Smash the hard drive. It's the equivalent of a paper shredder - could be fun, too!
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Sincerely,
Introductory Technology Assessment Over 100 local small businesses have chosen Ekaru to manage their computers and networks. We offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation to get started. We'll visit your office, review your network, and make recommendations. Call us toll-free at 866-463-5278 x9 or email us to schedule a no-obligation assessment. If you know someone who could benefit from this offer, simply forward this email to them.
Two MIT graduate students, Simson Garfinkel and Abhi Shelat , conducted an interesting study last year that was published in the IEEE Security and Privacy Journal: Remembrance of Data Passed: A Study of Disk Sanitization Practices January-February 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 1) The pair bought 158 hard drives at used computer stores and ebay and then checked the drives to look for data. On the 129 drives that actually worked, they found all sorts of personal information including a drive with over 3,700 credit card numbers, and even one drive that had been used in an automatic teller machine with account numbers and balances for customers.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Team Ekaru
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