I have previously written a rather lengthy article on adware and spyware, what it is, where it comes from and how to prevent it. Instead of another lecture, this short article just runs through the most common forms of adware and spyware. For the purpose of simplicity, we'll just refer to adware and spyware as 'wares' for the remainder of this article. I hope to show you the many faces of adware and how easy it is to mistakenly download corrupt files onto your computer. Hopefully this makes you more vigilent when you're browsing through the open spaces of the world wide web.
The scariest form of wares is when they take the shape of looks we know and trust. Take for instance this ad:
Most Windows XP users will recognize the look of this image as one of Windows' notifications to update or upgrade your computer. Ads like these are scattered all over the internet and usually pop up in the center of your screen to make it look like an authentic Windows notification. At a quick glance, it looks legit and most people would click that "Next" button to get the so-called Critical Update. But notice the bottom left portion of the image, it say "Advertisement". Tricky, isnt it? A lot of people would'nt have noticed that. In fact, some images will not even put that "Advertisement" text on the image to further fool you into clicking the ad. So here we have just one example of advertisers using an image that we know and trust to try and bait us into clicking onto some unknown website. It doesnt end there.
Lets introduct another deceptive image:
In this case, the image isnt as recognizable as the previous one, but it fools some users into thinking that they have new messages waiting. I've been told before from people that they thought that image was generated by Microsoft Outlook when they had received a new email message. A lot of people are unaware that little ads like that are just another way for websites to trick you into click an ad and directing you to a possibly harmful website.
A couple of final examples:
Again these advertisers give the look of a legitimate program alerting you of a possible spyware file on your system. The images look like they were generated from your computer and if you click on "Yes" or anywhere on the image for that matter, you'll be redirected to another unknown website. People are most gullable when they see alerts claiming that they're computer is at risk. Advertisers often try and fool you into thinking something is critically wrong with your computer so that fear will lead to you clicking on that ad.
Advertisers are thinking of smarter and better ways of loading wares onto your computer. In some cases, this takes place "behind the curtains" where as soon as you load up a website, code is run (that you cant see) and malicious files are loaded onto your computer. There is no one solution to the problem, your best defence is becoming more aware of what to look for. Dont be fooled by false advertisements or images claiming that something is wrong with your computer. One way to make sure the image is legitimate, as we discussed earlier, is to look for that "Advertisement" text somewhere in the image. You could also just hover over the image and if you're using Internet Explorer, for example, on the bottom left of your screen, check to see if there is a URL attached to the image that leads to a shady website. Take a look at the image below, look at how I hover over one of my links and at the bottom left you see the location of where the link leads.
So you've been very briefly introduced into the art of internet deception. There are a lot of scam artists out there that will use every trick in the book to get you to click on their ad and then possibly have their way with your computer. Be aware of what links you click. Use that trick that I showed you above of looking where a link will lead you. If the link goes to a site that seems a bit shady, dont click on it. Do your part by installing spyware and adware programs, of which are all talked about on my forum. Happy surfing!
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Most Windows XP users will recognize the look of this image as one of Windows' notifications to update or upgrade your computer. Ads like these are scattered all over the internet and usually pop up in the center of your screen to make it look like an authentic Windows notification. At a quick glance, it looks legit and most people would click that "Next" button to get the so-called Critical Update. But notice the bottom left portion of the image, it say "Advertisement". Tricky, isnt it? A lot of people would'nt have noticed that. In fact, some images will not even put that "Advertisement" text on the image to further fool you into clicking the ad. So here we have just one example of advertisers using an image that we know and trust to try and bait us into clicking onto some unknown website. It doesnt end there.
Lets introduct another deceptive image:
In this case, the image isnt as recognizable as the previous one, but it fools some users into thinking that they have new messages waiting. I've been told before from people that they thought that image was generated by Microsoft Outlook when they had received a new email message. A lot of people are unaware that little ads like that are just another way for websites to trick you into click an ad and directing you to a possibly harmful website.
A couple of final examples:
Again these advertisers give the look of a legitimate program alerting you of a possible spyware file on your system. The images look like they were generated from your computer and if you click on "Yes" or anywhere on the image for that matter, you'll be redirected to another unknown website. People are most gullable when they see alerts claiming that they're computer is at risk. Advertisers often try and fool you into thinking something is critically wrong with your computer so that fear will lead to you clicking on that ad.
Advertisers are thinking of smarter and better ways of loading wares onto your computer. In some cases, this takes place "behind the curtains" where as soon as you load up a website, code is run (that you cant see) and malicious files are loaded onto your computer. There is no one solution to the problem, your best defence is becoming more aware of what to look for. Dont be fooled by false advertisements or images claiming that something is wrong with your computer. One way to make sure the image is legitimate, as we discussed earlier, is to look for that "Advertisement" text somewhere in the image. You could also just hover over the image and if you're using Internet Explorer, for example, on the bottom left of your screen, check to see if there is a URL attached to the image that leads to a shady website. Take a look at the image below, look at how I hover over one of my links and at the bottom left you see the location of where the link leads.
So you've been very briefly introduced into the art of internet deception. There are a lot of scam artists out there that will use every trick in the book to get you to click on their ad and then possibly have their way with your computer. Be aware of what links you click. Use that trick that I showed you above of looking where a link will lead you. If the link goes to a site that seems a bit shady, dont click on it. Do your part by installing spyware and adware programs, of which are all talked about on my forum. Happy surfing!
Most Windows XP users will recognize the look of this image as one of Windows' notifications to update or upgrade your computer. Ads like these are scattered all over the internet and usually pop up in the center of your screen to make it look like an authentic Windows notification. At a quick glance, it looks legit and most people would click that "Next" button to get the so-called Critical Update. But notice the bottom left portion of the image, it say "Advertisement". Tricky, isnt it? A lot of people would'nt have noticed that. In fact, some images will not even put that "Advertisement" text on the image to further fool you into clicking the ad. So here we have just one example of advertisers using an image that we know and trust to try and bait us into clicking onto some unknown website. It doesnt end there.
Lets introduct another deceptive image:
In this case, the image isnt as recognizable as the previous one, but it fools some users into thinking that they have new messages waiting. I've been told before from people that they thought that image was generated by Microsoft Outlook when they had received a new email message. A lot of people are unaware that little ads like that are just another way for websites to trick you into click an ad and directing you to a possibly harmful website.
A couple of final examples:
Again these advertisers give the look of a legitimate program alerting you of a possible spyware file on your system. The images look like they were generated from your computer and if you click on "Yes" or anywhere on the image for that matter, you'll be redirected to another unknown website. People are most gullable when they see alerts claiming that they're computer is at risk. Advertisers often try and fool you into thinking something is critically wrong with your computer so that fear will lead to you clicking on that ad.
Advertisers are thinking of smarter and better ways of loading wares onto your computer. In some cases, this takes place "behind the curtains" where as soon as you load up a website, code is run (that you cant see) and malicious files are loaded onto your computer. There is no one solution to the problem, your best defence is becoming more aware of what to look for. Dont be fooled by false advertisements or images claiming that something is wrong with your computer. One way to make sure the image is legitimate, as we discussed earlier, is to look for that "Advertisement" text somewhere in the image. You could also just hover over the image and if you're using Internet Explorer, for example, on the bottom left of your screen, check to see if there is a URL attached to the image that leads to a shady website. Take a look at the image below, look at how I hover over one of my links and at the bottom left you see the location of where the link leads.
So you've been very briefly introduced into the art of internet deception. There are a lot of scam artists out there that will use every trick in the book to get you to click on their ad and then possibly have their way with your computer. Be aware of what links you click. Use that trick that I showed you above of looking where a link will lead you. If the link goes to a site that seems a bit shady, dont click on it. Do your part by installing spyware and adware programs, of which are all talked about on my forum. Happy surfing!