Ducktoes Spyware Blog

A new rogue anti-spyware has just crested over the cyber-horizon. By rogue anti-spyware, I mean a program that is supposed to get rid of spyware, but is actually spyware and malware itself. SunshineSpy is this decidedly unsunshiny program.

SunshineSpy gives you fake infection warnings and dire security alerts and uses rootkits to hide its dastardly and fraudulent doings from legitimate anti-spyware programs. It preys on the newbie and untrained computer user.

It is surprisingly easy to get rid of, however. Just go to your green start button on the bottom left of your computer screen. From there go to Control Panel and then to: Add and Remove Programs. From the list of programs that will eventually appear find SunshineSpy, and click the button to remove it. Restart your computer.

I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet: a free anti-spyware for Mac computers. (Yes, it’s true I’m afraid, I use both PC and Mac, for awhile I even dabbled in Linux. I know for those of you in the die-hard polarized-camps of Apple versus PC it’s hard to believe, but, in fact I’m so bi-OS sometimes I forget what kind of computer I’m working on. It’s a tool, not a religion.) And unlike some Mac users, I do believe running in virus software on my ibook. There are malware authors out there in cyber-space who specialize in Apple viruses and spyware, fewer in number, perhaps, than the PC bad guys, but still enough to put our computers at risk. Prevention is so less messy and so much preferable than cleanup. I use Virex from days when Apple included it in their Mac services. When Apple stopped sending updates, I found a site where I can download them for free. However, I can’t seem to find a free anti-spyware for Macs. If any of you readers know of one, please let me know.

You don’t let strangers into your house to tramp around and go through cupboards to share your cds, do you, just so you can have a bit (or a lot) of free music? So why let people into your computer to tramp around its registry code and system files or stroll through your personal data? Instead just buy the music you want on iTunes for 99 cents each. That way your favorite musicians can earn money for their work. And you won’t compromise your computer’s security 24 hours a day.¬† Having your hard drive constantly reformatted is a lot more expensive!!
Peer-to-Peer networks (otherwise known as P2P) usually come as a package that includes adware, and sometimes spyware, malware, and viruses, so you’re asking, just asking for trouble from the very get go. And then, when you’re sharing music, all that traffic in and out of your computer slows it down and the music files you receive in return can be infected. LimeWire, Bearshare, Kazaa, Morpheus, Nutella are a only a few of the P2Ps. If you must download free music, and I know some of you must, then make sure you have a real-time spyware catcher in your system. Spy Sweeper is excellent. Let Ducktoes install it for you. Or if you’re not in the Calgary area, download it from their website or buy it at a computer store. And use a good virus checker, AVG has a free one for personal home use, and Spybot and Ad-Aware are good programs to run along with Spy Sweeper. No one software can completely keep you safe.

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Oh my gosh am I excited. I just found a site that has everything you need to defend your computer and much, much more. And all free, free, free. It’s called The 46 Best-Ever Freeware Utilities, by Gizmo. Don’t spend all day there, just bookmark and come back over and over. Or sign up for his newsletter. If you used some of these utilities, you wouldn’t need me. Actually, my goal is become obsolete, so you don’t need to reformat your harddrive every year or more to get your computer back up to speed. Ducktoes, always at your service.

Rootkits are malware tools used to hide spyware and trojan horses from your virus scanner and anti-spyware. They are quite effective. You could have a rootkit for months and never know since your virus software can’t detect it. Yesterday I told you about Spy Sweeper, an invaluable defender against rootkits and other trojans. I recommend Spy Sweeper to all my clients. And also AVG’s free rootkit scanner. I neglected to include Panda’s rootkit tool, also free. If I were you, I’d use them all, since the battle with spyware and rootkits is intensifying. Baby, it’s bad out there. Your best defence is, however, knowledge and training. put into action. Ducktoes can help you defend your computer from the onslaught. Call 403-483-0105.

A rootkit is a stealthy malware program that hides itself from the operating system of your computer. Its processes are not visible in Task Manager or in the start programs. Most anti-virus and anti-spyware don’t catch rootkits. Spy Sweeper by Webroot has a rootkit tool in its Advanced Options. If you would like Ducktoes to install Spy Sweeper on your computer and configure it to search for rootkits, please call (403) 287-0105. AVG by Grisoft has a free rootkit remover. Please click here to go to their site to download it.

Pornography can be an addiction. It is also a multi-billion dollar big business. Pornographers are always trying to find new recruits online. Hoping to suck in more and more customers, they use adware, spyware, and malware to serve pornography to unsuspecting computer users and entice them into their expensive boudoir. One way they do this is called cyber-squatting. According to Jerry Rupelato in his article “Tricks Pornographers Play” pornographers purchase domain names that sound like legitimate sites offering information about various topics. You think you are going to a site to learn about hotels in Germany, for instance, and instead find–you guessed it–graphic pornography. A well-known example of this, according to Rupelato, is whitehouse.com. I remember this example from my days as an Educational Computer Strategist in Clark County School District. Teachers who told their students to research for facts about the President or executive branch of government would be shocked to find the kids had found pornography instead. This didn’t happen in the school’s computer labs because Clark County had strong, effective filters. But it did happen at home. Parents can also purchase filters for their home computers. Click on the above link to find recommended ones. If you are in Calgary or it environs and unsure of how to download, set up, and install a filter, Ducktoes can help. We can come to your home or business. Click here to go to Ducktoes.