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Time：第142次例會，2008年2月2日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
Time:
14:30 ~15:30 (Free Talks)
15:30~16:00(Speaker Session)
16:00~17:15 (Topic Discussion)
17:15~17:30 (Happy Time)
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Topic: Conquer Spyware
Source: Adam Sichko 2007,St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Protect yourself against a nasty new wave of computer hackers
Imagine a burglar with the key to your house and the code to turn off your alarm system. He could steal from you without you knowing anything happened. This could be happening on your computer right now.
Experts warn that unseen cyber-thieves use aptly named “spyware” programs to snoop around computers, pharming personal data and tracing every keystroke(按鍵的動作) users make.
Few disagree about spyware’s potential to damage. “There is a huge continuum of harm that can be caused,” said Rick Quaresima of the Federal Trade Commission, “from a nuisance and annoyance to major identity theft issues. That’s the real danger.”
Unwanted spyware programs furtively monitor and record personal behavior on the Internet, and they can clog a computer’s arteries(主要幹線), slowing its processing speed to a plodding pace.
Illegal Acts
Spyware itself is not illegal but is often used for illegal purposes. “People have no idea that someone can access their keystrokes. [When they find out] they’re going to say, ‘I don’t want that to happen,’” said U.S. legislator John Shimkus, a member of the House committee that handled the Internet Spyware Prevention Act. “Being able to clearly identify what’s getting downloaded and having it where the consumer can disable it is critically important.”
Critics of the Act, including many Internet companies and online advertisers, objected over concerns that the bill(法案) is too broad, especially in a filed with new technologies constantly cropping up. Critics also worry that Internet features such as “cookies” will be adversely affected, despite exemptions in the bill. Cookies are online nametags stored on computers to help websites remember the users and their information when they visit. They can also help advertisers target their messages.
More Than Spying
Spyware can get into a computer in many ways, often secretly downloading when users are installing other software online. Spyware can bombard people with pesky pop-up ads while they surf the web. It can even cause computers to crash. But hackers, for whom spyware is a key tool, can do far greater damage.
Although anti- spyware bills in recent years have gone nowhere in the U.S. Senate, Shimkus said he thinks that pattern will change. “We’re on the side of the angels on this one,” Shimkus said, “because in this world and age, privacy is a major concern to the vast majority of Americans.”
Common signs you have spyware
1. Barrages of pop-up ads.
2. New and unexpected toolbars(工具列) appear on your Internet browser.
3. Random error messages.
4. A sudden or repeated change in your Internet home page.
5. A sluggish processing speed or increase in sudden computer crashes.
What you can do to protect yourself
1. Update your web browser to get the latest security fixes.
2. Download free software only from websites you know and trust.
3. Install a firewall, which blocks unauthorized users from gaining access.
4. Never click “Agree” or “OK” to close a pop-up window. Instead, click the “x” in the upper right-hand corner of the window, or press the “Alt” and “F4” buttons at the same time.
5. Be wary of popular “free” music and movie file-sharing programs.
6. Take time to read the licensing agreement before downloading any software. If it’s hard to find, or difficult to understand, err on the side of caution.
7. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for more information.
(Sources : Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft Corp.)
Vocabulary
1. aptly : in a matter that is correct or right for a particular situation
2. snoop around : to look around a place secretly, in order to find information.
3. furtively : to do something quickly and in secret, in order not to be noticed.
4. clog : to cause something to become blocked so that movement is difficult
5. plodding : moving in an extremely slow and boring manner
6. crop up : to happen or appear unexpectedly
7. sluggish : operating more slowly than usual, with less energy or power
8. Wary : not completely trusting or certain about something
9. err on the side of caution : to be especially careful rather than taking the risk of making a mistake
Questions:
1. Did you ever be the victim of spyware or hackers? Tell us about how you were trapped and what you’d lost.
2. In “What you can do to protect yourself”, do you know the reason of number 4?
3. In “What you can do to protect yourself”, do you use file-sharing programs often? Are you really “wary” of what you download or not?
4. According to the article, spyware is totally different from computer virus, and is undetected by the anti-virus software. Except for the tips mentioned above, what do you do to protect yourself from spyware?
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from June, 2005
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高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
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20080202, Speaker--Jonathan Chiang
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