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Working Mom Special Report
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|  Saving You: Time, Energy & Money! For a Safe, Happy and Healthy New Year! Oh be careful little eyes what you see... My six-year-old daughter learned this song in school. While it's a cute, childish little ditty, it actually contains wisdom grownups would be wise to heed. But about those instances when "what you see" is outside of your control? How can anyone protect themselves and their families from disturbing images that start "popping up" or changing the home page on the computer? If you're new to WorkingMom, our motto is "Saving you time, energy and money." And this computer scenario has robbed far too many people of those precious commodities. If spyware hasn't affected your computer, then it has almost assuredly happened to someone you know and love. As a busy working mom, most of us don't have the time to research every development in internet technology. Since most home computers come with a built in anti-virus program and firewall, keeping it current and active is the most any of us would ordinarily be inclined to do. By now, its common knowledge an internet surfer needs an anti-virus program to keep safe surfing the web. But it's not commonly known that Spyware has become as big a threat as viruses. And a good anti-spyware program is now as important as an anti-virus program.
So... Exactly what is "Spyware"?
Spyware is a generic term that encompasses: adware*, malware* and Trojans which hijack browsers*. Spyware programs monitor web surfing habits, then it "phones home." Eventually it becomes almost impossible to surf the internet because the spyware makes the computer run slower and slower by constantly sending information back to its source. This wastes time and money, since most people don't know how to make it stop, and many end up using their hard-earned money to buy a new computer, or pay a professional to fix it. Browser Hijacks redirect a computer's home page, usually to an advertisement, gambling or a porn site. A remote dialer is a type of Spyware which calls a foreign country from the computer's modem. And some of the worst spyware programs search computers for email addresses, passwords, and personal information, -information that could be used in identity theft. This is not just a nuisance - this is serious.
The Head-to-Head Comparison Objective: To compare the four leading anti-spyware software programs to measure performance in removal of spyware, adware, malware, dialers and browser hijackers. Methods: Cathy Holden of TruthMiners.com took three computers that were rife with spyware and ran:
Results: In testing the programs, none performed like Spy Sweeper. All of the other programs missed actual spyware programs and a few major problems, (not just tracking cookies.) Spy Sweeper not only caught them, it fixed the problems and eliminated the backdoors. Furthermore, Cathy decided to test Spy Sweeper on her personal computer, which had always come up clean, but Spy Sweeper found a dialer program her previous anti-spyware programs had missed. After seeing these results, WorkingMom unanimously decided to endorse and recommend Webroot Spy Sweeper. Working with Webroot Software Inc. we created a desktop deal for our working moms to save big on it.
OR
While there really are some excellent free programs, they aren't
equipped to thoroughly fix what's already been downloaded onto the computer
and they are designed primarily to help protect the computer from
future spyware attacks. WorkingMom.com chose to recommend Spy Sweeper
because it fixes and eliminates existing spyware problems while
monitoring against downloading future ones. We also recommend keeping
the anti-spyware program up to date by checking for updates weekly,
just as you would with anti-virus software. TAKE HOME POINTS:
DEFINITIONS *Adware is a program that creates pop-up ads on your computer or supports banner ads on websites. These can often be pornographic. Adware is most often bundled with popular downloads or can even be the main reason for some popular free software. Some come loaded with themes and wallpapers. Some browser "helpers" are actually spyware. Some adware is very aggressive and actually adds a string to the browser to constantly send information back to the source. Some of it adds software to your start up, slowing down your computer considerably. *Malware: This is defined as "malicious software, software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system, such as a virus or a Trojan horse." It can drop programs into computers through "backdoors." These Trojans and backdoors can be used to hijack a computer, including the mouse and keyboard. Then your computer could even be used to remotely hack other computers. Viruses can be executed, and they bury their activation process into different sections of the computer's registry, making them very difficult to remove, even by many anti-spyware programs. The best defense is to prevent downloading them in the first place. *Browser Hijacks: Your browser home page can be hijacked by a "malicious" website. The home page would then only open to a page of ads, a gambling site or even a porn page. Another type of hijacking concerns the modem. A dialer can be installed on the computer without the user's knowledge or permission. It may come bundled in a fun software, theme or screen saver. Happy
New Year! And may God continue to bless you, your family and the
work of your hands!
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