eSource-News.com has a very enlightening article about New Computers and New Dangers.  BizNet Productions feels it beneficial to share with its affiliated IBOs.

New Computers Bring New Dangers

If recently you purchased a new computer for home or office beware, the net can be a very dangerous place filled with viruses, spyware and other sneaky and nefarious programs in search of new users. People who are attempting to get comfortable in their new computer shoes. Some spyware programs lay in wait and actively search you out as you attempt to download a security patch for your software.

Lack of awareness is the single biggest danger.   According to a recent survey by the National Cyber Security Alliance, of the 185 million Americans with home computers, one in three say they'll never get hit by viruses or other cyber attacks. That is a myth. Some tech execs describe the relationship between hackers and security software programmers as an arms race.

Now let’s look at some facts, a Consumer Reports study, found that 36 percent of U.S. home computers showed signs of being infected with spyware.  Less than half of the households surveyed say they are actively taking steps to prevent it.  How does it happen? You might be the target of spyware if you download music from file-sharing programs, get or play free games from sites, visit free email portals that are not trusted source. If you are visiting a web page that has ads on it, it is very likely that the site is leaving tracking “cookies” spyware on your computer. Protect your new computer.

Software security firm, Webroot recently published the Hall of Shame.

The ten worst ad ware and spyware program for 2004

CoolWebSearch is the most dangerous program on Webroot's latest list of the 10 worst spyware and adware threats. Webroot's list of top threats also includes:

• Transponder (vx2), an Internet Explorer "browser helper object" that monitors Web browsing and sends relevant advertisements.

• KeenValue, an adware program that collects personal information and sends advertisements to computer users.

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