I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal
How to Know You Have it and What to do About Removing It
What is it? Malware, short for Malicious software, is the macro concept behind names like “Adwareâ€, “Spywareâ€, “Hijackersâ€, “Toolbars†and “Dialersâ€. Malware is a growing PC-related assault epidemic (doesn’t effect Macintosh too much yet).
How you get it? Malware tends to sneak into your life (usually in a hidden or invisible manner) via third party software (software from less-than well known developers) disguised as added functionality to your work flow and your internet experience (and other bells and whistles) in order to execute many malicious tasks that are bad for business.
Tell tail signs you have it- there’s the activity you can see; Pop-up ads, re-directing of your browser, out-of-the-ordinary sluggishness, and other virus-like activity. Then there’s the activity you can’t see (and generally the most malicious of all); The taking of personal information from different parts of your PC, keeping track of web sites you visit and web searches you make, files you download, software you install.
All of this can (and usually does) involve your personal and sometimes private information, cause system slow down or even interruption inproductivity and produce virus-like activity to the point of annoyance or even system crash. This involves security issues, downtime and productivity loss (money lost!)
Discovering you are one of malware’s victims is critical and yet only half the battle. Knowing what steps to take to rid your life of it (and possibly to prevent future attacks) is then key. The point is, malware is bad and Three18 can help you get rid of it.
At Three18 we continue to stay on top of current malware and other emerging malicious technologies and we pride ourselves on educating our clientele on the benefits of using practical skeptical computing technique to reduce the possibility of malware ever getting to your system and/or network.
If you do get malware’d, Three18 will help to get you and your network cleaned up and safely back onto the information super highway!