About Technology

What is the difference between spyware and viruses?

By: Deepak gosain

Shin, a fictional character whose name means "faith" or "trust," sits by his laptop in the living room of his home in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. He is busy at work for his boss, dictator Kim Jong-il. His job, to make sure some spyware gets into specific computers at the Pentagon so he can gain vital top secret information. He's particularly interested now that the United States government suspects his country might soon conduct its first nuclear test.

With spyware surreptitiously installed on the computers, he could, for instance, engage in the practice of keylogging. In other words, our "trustworthy" Shin could tract the actual keys on the computer hit by the Pentagon officials. This would help him learn their passwords, the content of email messages, encryption keys, or other means to bypass security measures at our nation's defense fortress. Shin's not interested in crashing computers at the Pentagon or making them otherwise operable. That would be too overt and might reveal him. He's simply after information.

There are other types of spyware, sometimes called "malware" because they don't actually spy on your computer habits. They might instead just barrage you with annoying popups, for instance. Or they might give you a different home page that isn't of your choosing, like one of an advertiser's. But for the moment those types of malware, or adware as it's sometimes called, aren't very useful for Shin. He wants to use spyware that actually spies.

Over on another part of the globe in Turkey, a fictional terrorist sits with his own laptop in a suspected al Qaeda terrist cell. But he's not out to infect computers with spyware. That's child's play. He's out to bring the house down. This story is strictly hypothetical. But let's say the terrorist wanted to disrupt the daily hubub at a major American corporation. He'd infect the computers with a virus!

The terrorist might try to attack the company's vast network by inserting a worm into it. Worms reside in RAM, and travel from machine to machine and, unlike the classic viruses, they attack the computers themselves rather than individual files. Very disruptive. This type of virus could potentially make the computers inoperable.

Bring down the goings-on at a major corporation by spreading a worm through the computer network, and the terrorist could have a field day. But let's hope not.

So to summarize, spyware often keeps track of your computer habits, and viruses are often out to disable computers in some way. Hence the difference.

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How To Correct A Continually Rebooting Computer

By: Otis Cooper

When you sit down at your computer desk and press the power switch on your desktop, the last thing you want to experience is a continually rebooting computer.

There are a variety of causes that contribute to this problem, from something as simple as a stuck power button to a much more serious problem as your power supply slowly failing. Other causes for this problem may be overheating PC components, or viruses affecting your system.

Now, if you’re like the rest of us, having a computer that reboots constantly is not our idea of a productive day. So how do you diagnose this problem and where do you start to to make corrections. Here are some common but often overlooked causes and solutions that will get your system running again.

First take a look at the power button and see if its stuck in the socket. If so, you may be able to simple tap the front of the case to release the button. In some cases, you may have to remove the system unit cover to get the button to return to the out position.

If you cannot stop the computer from rebooting by pressing the power button and releasing it, turn off the power switch in the back of the computer next to the power supply. If your power supply do not have a power switch, you will have to unplug the system from the wall outlet.

This must be done as soon as possible so that the constant rebooting will not damage components such as the hard drive. Constant rebooting also have the danger of power surges that can further damage larger components such as the motherboard.

Second you check your computer’s software by checking to be sure no virus or malware have not effected your hard drive. Virus and malware are small software that is downloaded along with other files that is designed to cause mischief.

To remove any viruses and malware, use a anti-virus program that will search your hard drive and remove these file quickly. These files can cause such damage as wiping your hard drive of all data or hijacking your web browser so you have no control over your online surfing.

If you find no malware on your computer, take a look at your BIOS to see if it has become unstable or has been changed. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System and is a small program designed to check all components for proper operation when the computer is turned on.

If your BIOS has been changed or if you’re not sure if its been changed, try to reset the BIOS settings to the default settings after you access the BIOS as the computer reboots.Once inside the BIOS, you should have the option to load your default settings, save the change, and reboot the computer.

However, there are times when a continually rebooting computer will not allow you to access the BIOS. You can then reset the BIOS by removing the system unit cover and locating the jumper on a three pin header.

You must consult your computer or motherboard manual to properly perform this procedure and it should be done as a last resort. Before making any changes to your BIOS, you should backup your BIOS if your computer reboots at long intervals.

After checking your computer’s software for its rebooting problem, you must check to be sure hardware is not at fault. This problem may exist because one of your memory modules are unseated from its socket . Memory modules are long, narrow sticks that attach to the motherboard.

Remove any static electricity from yourself, remove the system unit cover and check these memory modules to be sure they are secure. Check the connections to the hard drive and the connections leading from the power supply.

Power supply connectors should be checked if you’ve done work inside your computer recently. Power Supplies are known to slowly fail and lead to rebooting problems. There is no way to check an ailing power supply and this should be considered the problem as a last resort.

Following these steps will help you correct any computer that continually reboots itself. If no virus or malware is found, carefully and thoroughly check all connections. And if the problem still exist, the most likely cause would be the Power Supply.

About the Author:

Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Sign up to receive his informative articles every month and learn PC Repair absolutely free.Sign up now at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com

No Comment | Posted in » BIOS, constant rebooting, Continually Rebooting, hardware, jumper, malware, power supply, socket, virus    

DIGITAL ACHES AND PAINS INCREASE ODDS OF DATA LOSS FOR TODAY’S CYBER-RETIREES

By: Susan Stuart

North American retirees and seniors are embracing computers and technology in increasing numbers. It may be only to keep in regular contact with family and friends over long distances and share photos of their winter cruise. However, unlike their younger counterparts, they are less likely to take precautions against threats to their digital data.

In Canada, research by the federal government reveals that older adults are the fastest growing group of computer buyers and Internet users. In 1999, one quarter of households headed by a person 55-64 years old used the Internet from home. In the 65 and over age group, 10 per cent did. In fact, Internet use in the 65 and over age group is growing faster than in all other age groups.

Meanwhile, according to research by the PEW Internet & American Life project, 22 per cent of Americans 65 and older use the Internet, and the percentage of seniors who go online jumped by 47 per cent between 2000 and 2004. In January 2006, PEW found 34 per recent of Americans age 65 and older go online, up from 29 per cent in January 2005. That being, said, just 28 per cent of Americans age 70 and older go online – almost same percentage as the year before.

The most interesting and dynamic segment is the recent retirees or those approaching retirement in their 50s or 60s. They are unlikely to give up their wired ways and therefore will transform the wired senior stereotype. As this “silver tsunami” of Internet-loving Baby Boomers swamps the off-line senior population in the next 10 years, PEW predicts the demographic shift, paired with a rising tide of viruses, spyware, and other online threats, is cause for concern.

Retirees and seniors place themselves at greater risk of losing precious information stored on their computer. Just as many retirees who can’t immediately recall something may blame it on a so-called “senior’s moment”, it’s not just humans--young or old--who sometimes cannot recall the information stored in their “brains.” When computers cannot recall or access the files electronically stored on them, computer users often panic.

That digital information could be e-mail messages sent and received, income tax returns prepared but not yet filed, the household budget maintained in a spreadsheet, a letter written to a municipal counselor protesting illegal parking on the street, research conducted on the family tree, or the expanding collection of photographs of grandchildren.

There are numerous causes of data loss:

• You experience power interruptions, power surges or a blackout causing your computer to shut down unexpectedly
• Your computer experiences a mechanical failure
• Your computer is contaminated with a virus or bug after a file is downloaded from the Internet
• Your software no longer works as it should
• Your saved information is deleted accidentally
• Your computer won’t start up and only the infamous blue screen of death is visible on your screen.

Any and all of the aforementioned problems can cause digital information loss. These problems can be all but eliminated by taking a number of precautions to prevent the loss of important files:

• Regularly backup your data and check to make sure the backup information can be retrieved
• If possible, store your backups somewhere away from your home like a safety deposit box
• Buy USB drives for your kids or grandkids and save a copy of the photos to this small storage device and provide one to each of them
• Use anti-virus software and update it frequently to scan and screen all incoming e-mails especially those jokes that your brother-in-law keeps sending you with attachments
• Use power surge protectors since a power fluctuation can disrupt software, erase valuable data and damage the hard drive
• Maintain your computer in a dry, controlled environment free from dust
• Turn off your computer immediately if it makes any unusual noise.

If you’re not comfortable with technology and prefer not to attempt recovery of your data with a Do-It-Yourself solution, you could ask your computer-savvy relative or friend to assist you. Or, you can seek the assistance of a data recovery specialist who can come to the rescue of your irreplaceable digital information.

Don’t let digital aches and pains get you down. Enjoy the Cyber Years.

Susan Stuart is responsible for public relations for CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc. CBL is a leading international provider of data recovery services to consumer, enterprise and public-sector clients who experience data loss disasters.

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