Archive for February 2010
When it comes to privacy and computer security Trojans are your biggest enemy. A Trojan is actually a program that can steal your private information and send it over to the maker of the Trojan with out you ever knowing about it. One of the most common ways that people use to spread Trojans is by sending files to users over various chat systems.
When users download files from the internet using P2P software often times the programs they download carry Trojans, viruses and worms that can not only steal your information but can damage your computer. This is probably one reason why people are warned so much about P2P file sharing systems.
What harm can Trojans do?
There are quite a number of Trojans out there that get on to your computer and begin to access private information that is stored locally. This information is then sent via the internet without you ever knowing about it. These Trojans usually don’t cause much damage since they try to ensure that they are not detected. Many Trojans also serve as a backdoor that opens network port that allow other applications to access your computer remotely.
The major difference between worms and Trojans is that Trojans don’t replicate themselves. They also don’t seek to infect other computers. What a Trojan does is enters your computer without being detected and allowing the attacker unlimited access to your computer and the data stored on it.
Many Trojans allow an attacker to take over your computer. Trojans are used to steal passwords, credit card numbers, and other private information on our computer. Trojans are sneaky programs that at times cannot be detected by virus scanning software. The reason being that these programs can easily masquerade as harmless programs. They don’t do much damage which is unlike a virus which is built to damage.
In order to avoid getting hit by Trojans its imperative that you keep your computer software up to date. User a good firewall with strict permissions. This will allow the program to prompt you when there is an unauthorized program trying to access the internet. You can then take a look at the program and determine if you really want the program to access the internet and then either grant or turn down permission. This helps stops Trojans from transmitting your personal information over the internet to an attacker.
You should also keep your virus scanning software up to date. Make sure that its regularly updated via the auto update feature. You also need to make sure that you only download programs from known and trusted sources. Do not use P2P software because at times a well designed Trojan can pass though your fire wall and virus scanning program cleverly. In order to remain one step ahead you need to take the proper precautions to protect your computer.
Its also a good idea to constantly keep an eye for any suspicious activity on your computer. Try also not to store sensitive information unprotected on your system.
