Important Malware Information

Adware
Adware usually acts without your authorization or knowledge. Many free utilities may install hidden software, possibly to earn money for the author to recover development costs. While adware is not always malicious, it typically tracks your Internet activity and sends other information from your computer (which can include email addresses) to advertisers. With this information, you may now be a target for pop-up/pop-under advertisements, additional toolbars, and spam.

Backdoors
Backdoors exploit vulnerabilities of installed software to obtain remote, unauthorized access to your computer. Usually, backdoor spyware is secretly installed by viruses, worms, or sometimes even malicious adware programs. As the name suggests, backdoor spyware works sneakily, making it very difficult for you to find and disable without using anti-spyware technology.

Browser Hijackers
Browser hijackers change your Internet web browser settings without your permission. Sometimes this means changing your home page to a pay-per-click site so that the author of the browser hijacker software earns money. Sometimes browser hijackers may change your ?search? page so that all your queries lead to pay-per-click sites, while also tracking your Internet activity. Unfortunately, simply restoring your browser to factory settings usually will not prevent the browser hijacker from working.

Downloader
Downloader is a software application which may download and install additional malware to your system. The downloaded malware may have the ability to re-install itself what makes it difficult to remove manually.

Hijacker
Hijacker is an application that may take control of your browser's settings in order that to redirect you to other websites. Hijacker may cause your browser to behave sluggish.

Keyloggers
Keyloggers record every keystroke you make on your PC, possibly with the intent of capturing usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc. Some keyloggers also take screen shots of your computer activity, monitor emails and online chatting, and?when installed by someone authorized to do so?are often used to monitor child or employee computer activity. Even in cases such as these, keyloggers usually work secretly.

Mail Bombers
Mail bombers flood your inbox with thousands of emails. It's usually impossible to find the real source of the spam and to track the attacker. 

Proxy
Proxy is a firewall that blocks and re-creates a connection between two points. Proxy has an ability to hide a user from the outside world or an attacker from a user. For malicious purposes a proxy may be used to make a connection anonymous between an attacker and your computer, making the connection more difficult to notice. SMTP and FTP may be used in conjunction with Firewall Killers, Downloaders, RATs, and Trojans.

Rogue Anti-Virus
Rogue anti-virus programs are fake programs that are designed to disguise and behave just like a legitimate virus removal application. Rogue anti-virus programs are usually created by hackers who attempt to take your money through devious tactics. Rogue anti-virus programs use popups, fake scans and alert messages as scare methods. Rogue anti-virus may scan your system displaying erroneous results of viruses present on your computer. Rogue anti-virus programs may cause damage to your computer and can be difficult to remove in some cases. Rogue anti-virus programs, as well as, rogue anti-spyware programs and rogue registry programs are known to be used by Trojan makers to install malware and other scumware.

Rogue Registry Cleaner
Rogue registry cleaners are deceitful and unreliable registry cleaner programs that pretend to fix or clean a computer's registry. Rogue registry cleaners use deceptive security alerts and bogus registry scans as a method to get computer users to purchase the full version of the rogue registry cleaner in use.

Spyware
Spyware is any malware or software used to spy or track your computer activity. While some spyware is not malicious and is intentionally installed by parents or employers to monitor Internet activity, spyware may be installed maliciously. Often spyware can come bundled with downloads of free software, and may track your Internet activity or may steal usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal financial information. 

Trackware
Trackware is a software application that may send your personal identifiable information by the means of Internet connection.

Toolbar
Toolbar consists of a group of buttons that may perform certain tasks, such as provide with an additional search bar or additional bookmarks. A toolbar for Internet Explorer is nomally located below the menu bar at the top of the form. Toolbars are usually created by Browser Helper Objects.

Rogue AntiSpyware Programs
Rogue anti-spyware programs are fake applications that are cleverly disguised to behave like legitimate spyware removal programs. Rogue anti-spyware programs are usually created by hackers with the sole purpose of rendering a sale for the rogue application. Many rogue anti-spyware programs use deceiving tactics to entice computer users to purchase the rogue anti-spyware program. In many cases computer users do not realize that they have downloaded or installed a fake anti-spyware program until after the sale has taken place. Rogue Anti-Spyware Programs are bogus applications that usually require an extra effort to completely uninstall or remove from your system. Computer infections such as Trojans are known to install rogue anti-spyware programs which do not remove parasites or justify the abnormally high cost of the full version.

Remote Administration Tools
Remote administration tools are mostly used by network administrators to control your PC remotely. The main purpose this spyware is to control and fix your computer and settings without having to physically be in the same location. However, sometimes remote administration tools are used for illegal purposes, such as unauthorized remote control that may allow access to your personal and financial files and information.

Network Management Tools
Network management tools are mostly used by large corporations to log and examine network traffic, proxies, and other information going through the network. This software can analyze traffic without installing any software on your computer, because it monitors the traffic which goes through the central servers of the network. This spyware is not malicious, but can monitor your Internet activity, which may compromise your username and password information for online banking and ecommerce.

Dialers
Dialers change your modem's dialup connection settings. Like a lot of spyware, dialers may come bundled with free software, and then begin working without your consent or knowledge. Dialers usually switch your modem from connecting to the Internet through a local provider to a very expensive 900 or international phone number. Owners of the dialers usually collect a share of the money when you connect through this alternative number.

Browser Plugins
Browser plugins can affect your web browser in a variety of ways. Some plugins may create windows to display additional information on a web page you?re viewing, and others may replace websites? banner advertisements with their own. Some plugins may simply change your home page, while others are used to monitor and report your Internet activity to a parent server. This spyware is usually not stopped by your firewall, because it?s seen by the firewall as part of your browser.

Browser Helper Object
Browser helper objects may be used to help website authors customize and control Internet Explorer. These components usually load when Internet Explorer starts, and may share IE's memory context and perform any action on the available windows and modules. A browser helper object may detect events, create windows to display additional information on a viewed page, and monitor messages and actions.