Trojan Horse….Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it?  A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus?  Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable.  You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software.  In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments. 

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen.  Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious.  Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons.  The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines. 

1.     Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments.  Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.

2.  Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date.  If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.

3.  Install reliable anti-virus software.  It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms.  Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.

4.   Consider installing a firewall.  A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer.  A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.

Computer Viruses that Come a Callin’

Every day new computer viruses are created to annoy us and to wreck havoc on our computer systems. Below are ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent in terms of being seen the most or in their ability to potentially cause damage.   New viruses are created daily.  This is by no means an all inclusive list. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.

Virus:  Trojan.Lodear
A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.

Virus:  W32.Beagle.CO@mm
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings.  It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.

Virus:  Backdoor.Zagaban

A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.

Virus: W32/Netsky-P
A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.

Virus:  W32/Mytob-GH
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform.  Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as:  Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.

Virus:  W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH.  W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels.  This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.

Virus:  W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER

This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do.   They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network.   Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).

Virus:  Zafi-D
A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe.   It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension.  W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh" and the text "Error in packed file!".

Virus:  W32/Netsky-D
A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus: W32/Zafi-B

A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com.  A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to “We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)”

Fighting Spam

How prevalent is Spam?  According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (www.oma.org):

“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”

In 2003, President Bush signed the  “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail.  The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanor crime subject to up to one year in jail. 

One major point that needs to be discussed about this:  spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations.  Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.

So what do you do about this?  Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.

Number 1:  Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.  

There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to.  If you are interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you will be amazed at what you get back.  Interestingly, there is a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open source project geared to fight Internet "spambots" and "spam spiders", by giving them bogus HTML web pages, which contain bogus email addresses

A couple suggestions for you:  a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.

Number 2:  Get spam blocking software.  There are many programs out there for this.  (go to www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net for example).  You may also buy a professional version.  Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time.  The software is not foolproof, but they really do help.  You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.

Number 3: Use the multiple email address approach.

There are a lot of free email addresses to be had.  If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.

Number 4:  Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.

A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses.  Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you.  Personal email is far more “open country” for spamers.  General rule of thumb:  if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT.  Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.

Number 5:  Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets.  If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vender.  The concept is simple.  If you know someone, they can send you emails.  If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle.  Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.

Destroy Viruses: Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day.  While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down for one second.  Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion. 

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs?  Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses.  With the primary way in which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a lot easier.    By today’s standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system.  The antivirus software of that time was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before they caused too much damage.  Additionally, computer users were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our desktop. 

The Internet helped change all that.  The Internet provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to host with lightening speed.  No longer could a computer user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads.  Today’s viruses can attack through multiple entry points, spread without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program.  With technology advancing everyday, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential of new types of threats also increase. 

Protecting Your Computer

Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats.   Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs.  These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops.  Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated.  You need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server.  Consider a more comprehensive security system which includes several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection.  This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company. 
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software.  Become familiar with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically each time you boot your computer.  This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up. 

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.

4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown sources especially if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment       to an email.  

5.  Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted.  It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software

There are numerous applications available to consumers.  With a little research, you can pick the program that is right for you.  Many programs provide a trial version which allows you to download the program and test its abilities.  However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall.  As a precaution make sure to set up a System Restore point before installing. 

Here are a few programs which typically receive high marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005™ provides virus protection and hacker security through ongoing support and updates. When a virus breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005™ promises to provide a patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5 hours. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly and run a complete virus scan.

BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email protection, and heuristics in a virtual environment.  This provides a new security layer that keeps the operating system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious pieces of code for which signatures have not been released yet.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0  program is simple to install and use. The user only needs to choose from three levels of protection.  It allows updates as frequently as every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer.  The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature and round-the-clock technical support.

PC-cillin Internet Security  combines antivirus security and a personal firewall—for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition  is a free downloadable antivirus program that has received high marks for its reliability.  In the past, free downloadable antivirus programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues relating to its reliability.  However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs available.  While AVG can not be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it still makes a good choice for many home computer users.  The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with no further obligation necessary.

5 techniques increase adsense income

If webmasters want to monetize their websites, the great way to do it is through Adsense. There are lots of webmasters struggling hard to earn some good money a day through their sites. But then some of the “geniuses” of them are enjoying hundreds of dollars a day from Adsense ads on their websites. What makes these webmasters different from the other kind is that they are different and they think out of the box.


The ones who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

Here are some 5 proven ways on how best to improve your Adsense earnings.

1. Concentrating on one format of Adsense ad. The one format that worked well for the majority is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This same format have the tendency to result in higher CTR, or the click-through rates. Why choose this format out of the many you can use? Basically because the ads will look like normal web links, and people, being used to clicking on them, click these types of links. They may or may not know they are clicking on your Adsense but as long as there are clicks, then it will all be for your advantage.

2. Create a custom palette for your ads. Choose a color that will go well with the background of your site. If your site has a white background, try to use white as the color of your ad border and background. The idea to patterning the colors is to make the Adsense look like it is part of the web pages. Again, This will result to more clicks from people visiting your site.

3. Remove the Adsense from the bottom pages of your site and put them at the top. Do not try to hide your Adsense. Put them in the place where people can see them quickly. You will be amazed how the difference between Adsense locations can make when you see your earnings.

4. Maintain links to relevant websites. If you think some sites are better off than the others, put your ads there and try to maintaining and managing them. If there is already lots of Adsense put into that certain site, put yours on top of all of them. That way visitor will see your ads first upon browsing into that site.

5. Try to automate the insertion of your Adsense code into the webpages using SSI (or server side included). Ask your web administrator if your server supports SSI or not. How do you do it? Just save your Adsense code in a text file, save it as “adsense text”, and upload it to the root directory of the web server. Then using SSI, call the code on other pages. This tip is a time saver especially for those who are using automatic page generators to generate pages on their website.

These are some of the tips that have worked well for some who want to generate hundreds and even thousands on their websites.  It is important to know though that ads are displayed because it fits the interest of the people viewing them. So focusing on a specific topic should be your primary purpose because the displays will be especially targeted on a topic that persons will be viewing already.

Note also that there are many other Adsense sharing the same topic as you. It is best to think of making a good ad that will be somewhat different and unique than the ones already done. Every clickthrough that visitors make is a point for you so make every click count by making your Adsense something that people will definitely click on.

Tips given by those who have boosted their earnings are just guidelines they want to share with others. If they have somehow worked wonders to some, maybe it can work wonders for you too. Try them out into your ads and see the result it will bring.

If others have done it, there is nothing wrong trying it out for yourself.

three reason why Adsense is essential for a sitees

To know why Adsense is essential for your content sites is to know first how this works.

The concept is really simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.


The search engine is the one handling all the tracking and payments, providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive and targeted ads without having the hassle to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor the clicks and statistics which could be a time-consuming task in itself. It seems that there is never a shortage of advertisers in the program from which the search engine pulls the Adsense ads. Also webmasters are less concerned by the lack of information search engines are providing and are more focused in making cash from these search engines.

The first reason why Adsense is essential for content sites is because it already has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Together with its continuous progression is the appearance of more advanced system that allows full ad customization. Webmasters are given the chance to choose from many different types of text ad formats to better complement their website and fit their webpage layout.

The different formatting enables the site owners the possibility of more click through from visitors who may or may not be aware of what they are clicking on. It can also appeal to the people visiting thus make them take that next step of looking up what it is all about. This way the people behind the Adsense will get their content read and making profit in the process.

The second reason is the ability of the Adsense publishers to track not only how their sites are progressing but also the earnings based on the webmaster-defined channels. The recent improvements in the search engines gives webmasters the capability to monitor how their ads are performing using customizable reports that has the capacity to detail page impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Webmasters and publishers can now track specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Trends are also easily spotted.

With the real-time reporting at hand, the effectiveness of the changes made will be assessed quickly. There would be time to sort out the contents that people are making the most clicks on. The ever-changing demands would be met while generating cash for the webmasters and publishers. The more flexible tools are also allowing webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or category, which will provide them some accurate insight on which pages, ads and domains are performing best.

The last and final reason is that the advertisers have realized the benefits associated having their ads served on targeted websites. Thus increasing the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services. All because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are no using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines’ ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

There was a time when people were not yet aware of the money to be achieved from advertisements. The cash generated only came into existence when the webmasters and publishers realized how they can make Adsense be that generator. In those days, the content were the most important factors that is taken quite seriously. It still is. With the allure of money, of course.