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Today’s Security Tip: Run anti-spyware on your computer. Anti-spyware programs are a relatively new computer program that search for malicious programs running on your computer. While it might seem similar to Anti-Virus software, it is actually significantly different. It can detect many malicious programs running on your computer that your Anti-Virus software will not.
It is not your imagination; the spam you receive has probably been cut in half over the last week. What happened was that some security professionals got together and identified an Internet service provider (ISP), named McColo, that was responsible for hosting the systems that control some of the largest malicious software networks in the world. The security professionals contacted other ISPs, which cut McColo off of the Internet.
This means that more than 500,000 computers that were compromised by hackers were no longer under the control of the hackers. These 500,000 computers were used to pump out billions of spam messages a month. That is clearly a good thing.
However, there are still more than 500,000 computers that are vulnerable. Sadly, your computer might actually be one of them. I know you don’t want to believe it, but if your computer is always turned on and attached to the Internet, it is likely scanned dozens of times a day to test for vulnerability. If you are not running the right software and otherwise protecting your computer properly, your computer has likely been compromised. Statistically, up to 80% of home PCs are vulnerable to hackers.
Unless you are in the top 20%, your system needs to be better protected and has very likely been compromised. I can guarantee you however that if you are not running anti-spyware, Anti-Virus, and several other programs, you are not in the top 20%.
For more info:
Ira’s books, Spies Among Us and Zen and the Art of Information Security, cover security topics in detail. For any questions, please go to Ira’s website and click on the Contact Ira link.
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