In the past, we’ve been fortunate to offer discounts on SUPERAntiSpyware to our readers, and the response has always been great. SAS is an excellent product, one which Kat highly recommends. Today I learned that they are offering a very special license for educational institutions, and I wanted to make sure that it is passed along to you. If you are a teacher or administrator, you’re going to want to check this out. If you’re a student, why not show this post to your principal?

From now through August 1, 2010, all SUPERAntiSpyware multi-user licenses sold to educational clients will be upgraded to a lifetime subscription with no renewal fees at no additional charge. “Economic hardship and budget cuts are an everyday reality for school systems at all levels,” said Nick Skrepetos, founder of SUPERAntiSpyware.com. “We highly value the role that education plays in communities worldwide, and we want to support schools in their efforts to provide quality education while balancing their tight and shrinking budgets. Managing high-priced software renewal fees is simply not practical for schools in today’s economic climate. We want to help.”

Additionally, SUPERAntiSpyware will include one Technician’s License for its new portable scanner with each educational license at no additional cost. The portable scanner harnesses the same powerful anti-spyware engine as the Professional Edition of SUPERAntiSpyware and references a spyware definition database that is updated at least once per day.

To take part in this amazing offer, simply send them an email. The danger of malware infections pose a huge threat to the educational system, one which could potentially cost millions of dollars to eradicate. Without proper protection, schools are at risk that can not only rob them of instructional time, but may also require them to pay expensive repair bills.

SUPERAntiSpyware Educational License Special

The newly-published results of the 2010 Consumer Reports State of the Net survey are interesting, to say the least. While much of the findings discuss privacy in general, one item that was glossed over stood out to me. According to the study:

Of the estimated 18.4 million adult Facebook users who used apps (games and quizzes), 38 percent were either confident apps were secure or hadn’t thought about it. Meanwhile, a projected 1.8 million computers were infected by apps obtained through one or another social network in the past year.

Nearly two million computers were infected with malware from apps on sites such as Facebook. It boggles my mind that this was glossed over. Some of the infections may consist “only” of adware or other mostly-harmless (just annoying!) junk, many of them are likely far more dangerous. Some pieces of malware will dig into your computer without your ever knowing it and then proceed to steal your information. Still other types will use your computer as a part of botnet… attacking innocent sites and people.

With the risk of becoming infected being so great these days, I would think there would be a way for sites like Facebook to regulate the apps they allow. Sure, there is a “disclaimer” whenever you add an app to your profile. However, it just seems to me that more can – and SHOULD – be done to help keep site users safe. Heck, if FB isn’t going to police these apps, at least do something to warn users more clearly about the potential dangers.

When you’re surfing around your favorite social site installing things, please make sure you’re smart about it. Check out the source of the application, and research them. Are there complaints running around the web which talk of malware being installed or found with that app? Go one step further and ASK for other opinions before you click to allow access to something new. What are others saying about that little game or quiz?

As always, make sure you keep your machine protected with proper Windows updates and security software. Trust your instincts… not your lust for the newest time-wasting game.

Computer Malware: There’s a Facebook App for That

The bad news is that there are reports that another popular site was hit with malware. Allegedly, some visitors to the popular Drudge Report came away with a malware infection. You see the word “allegedly” used here because there is some dispute about the actual source of the infection:

“Matt Drudge denied that his site was infecting visitors, however it’s likely that the malware is coming from ads delivered by a third-party ad network and not the site itself.”

For the site visitor, it is really not important whether the source of the infection is the site itself or the advertising. The salient point is that people are being infected by malware. And that can lead to a variety of problems – from identity theft to an unauthorized use of the computer for spam to a whole load of time wasted.

It is not safe even by just going to the popular sites that have plenty of traffic. The cyber-criminals/hackers want to exploit that traffic and those popular sites become targets. This has been demonstrated over and over again.

If you are on the Internet, you have to take security precautions. There is no other alternative, except to stay offline.

The good news is that there are security programs that are effective in providing protection from this online trash. We are recommending SUPERAntiSpyware for your computer security.

SUPERAntiSpyware has “Real-Time Blocking of threats! Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing! First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system.”

The program offers much, much more and you can read about it at the links provided. SUPERAntiSpyware will detect and remove spyware, adware, malware, trojans, dialers, worms, keyloggers, hijackers, rootkits and many other types of threats. This program is easy to use and it is effective. SUPERAntispyware is being offered at a special rate for our readers. There is a ten dollar ($10.00) saving, until March 17, 2010.

This is a program that is highly recommended within the security community. It has over 20 million users worldwide. People who work on these pages use it and recommend it, too. Recommend this to your friends and family. We are trying to make it as easy and as economical as possible for our readers and their friends to protect themselves and your computers. When you have this program, use it – update the security protection offered and use it!

Popular Site Becomes Alleged Source of Malware

There is a malware fallacy that needs to be corrected immediately. Some students have netbooks for taking notes because the machines are light and easily carried… and some even have terrific battery life. As students, they use their netbooks almost exclusively for taking lecture notes and checking email. There is a belief that, because the little machine is used just to check email online, security software is not needed.

This is incorrect.

It does not matter where you go online. Simply being online is a danger, and the same precautions should be taken, whether on a netbook, a laptop, or a desktop. There are reports that 2009 was a record breaking year for malware. There were millions of these malicious programs circulating online. Millions is not an exaggeration.

Every machine that you use to go online, no matter how briefly, has to be protected. One of the software programs that is recommended is the award winning security offered by Spyware Doctor.

“Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus is a top-rated malware, spyware & virus removal utility that detects, removes and protects your PC from thousands of potential spyware, adware, trojans, viruses, keyloggers, spybots, and tracking threats.” It has won numerous awards and Spyware Doctor is good for “Microsoft Windows 7 (32bit, 64bit), Windows Vista SP1+ (32bit, 64bit), Windows XP SP2+ (32bit).”

This is one of the premier, well-recognized security programs. PC Tools is allowing three computers to be protected under one license. That means that, for under seventeen dollars each, three computers can be protected from viruses, spyware, malware, and other security threats.

This is a bargain to protect every online computer in the house. If you are online, you need to be protected. We recommend Spyware Doctor as one of the programs to use. And when you use Spyware Doctor, update the security definitions regularly. It is doubtful that malware will decrease in the new year. Unfortunately, there will be millions more malware programs identified by the end of this new year.

Correcting a Malware Untruth

Happy Holidays! If you are one of those generous Santas who is giving a computer this holiday season, please remember to protect it with some anti-virus and anti-spyware software. It seems that the hackers / criminals are going to vary and increase their attacks in the new year. It has been reported that file sharing networks will be under attack.

The tragic death of Brittany Murphy has meant fake sites spreading malware and faked emails leading to bogus sites. It is simply dangerous, and any new computer needs immediate protection.

Sunbelt Software is offering our readers a generous discount on their premier product, VIPRE.

VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware is high-performance antivirus software that doesn’t slow down your PC like older, traditional security products. VIPRE is the end of antivirus as you know it. The press loves it. VIPRE got 5 STARS on download.com, and was just VB100 Certified…

This award winning software is suitable for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. And for a limited time, Sunbelt is offering our readers a ten dollar discount.

Please use the following coupon code: SPYINFO

VIPRE combines antivirus, antispyware, anti-rootkit and other technologies into a seamless, tightly-integrated product. Built with next-generation technology, VIPRE (Virus Intrusion Protection Remediation Engine) gives you powerful antivirus and antispyware software in-one that protects you against today’s highly complex malware threats including viruses, adware, spyware and rootkits, without hogging your PC resources like many traditional antivirus products.

This generous offer will be valid until January 5, 2010. Our thanks to the Sunbelt crew for this generous offer to our readers. This product will protect those new computers – and it is a great idea as a year-round gift that is functional every time your friend or family member turns on the computer.

Have a great and safe holiday.

Protect Your Computer for Christmas

There are times when malware seems to be everywhere. Even a large, security conscious company like Google can be exploited. This week, Elinor Mills reported that Google Doodle had been compromised:

Online scammers are taking advantage of the public’s interest in the Google Doodle to spread malware, a security firm warned on Tuesday.

In so-called “SEO poisoning,” scammers use search engine optimization techniques to increase the distribution of malware. They create special malware-rigged Web sites or hide malware on legitimate Web sites they’ve compromised and then use tags associated with popular search terms to get them listed high up in search engine results.

And with the holidays nearly upon us, malware will be in our email. For example, hackers will load malware onto email that looks like a holiday greeting card. Once the person opens that email – expecting it to be from a friend or family member – the computer can be compromised. Consider this a warning to not open any email greeting cards this year.

This holiday season is an opportune time for hackers. They too have expenses and they know that people online are rushing. Hackers are counting on any lapse of attention to have malware installed on more and more machines. That is why we recommend security programs such as Webroot Internet Security Essentials (WISE):

… With unmatched antivirus, antispyware and firewall security, WISE provides blockbuster protection for your PC. In fact, the technologies in WISE have won a combined 11 PC Magazine Editors’ Choice awards! These technologies provide more complete protection than competing products to proactively block: viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, data theft, rootkits, hackers, intrusions, keyloggers…

Webroot is allowing up to three computers to be protected and with a ten dollar discount. This works out to an amount under seventeen dollars per computer. It is a huge bargain.

Protect yourself with an award winning program. We want you to be safe online. This would be an exceptional gift to any friend or family member who does not pay much attention to internet security. This is an easy to use program that you can give for year round computer security. And remember, this offer will protect up to three machines.

Malware on the Rise

Online advertising is so pervasive that most people barely glance at it. Advertising has become part of the Internet landscape. One way that advertisers are hoping to stir interest is to put their advertising on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. For example, on Twitter, you would see someone you follow post a link. A click leads to advertising. This has been called in-stream advertising. It carries the weight of someone with whom you have some familiarity online, and it increases the chances that you will click and look at that link.

This type of advertising also provides hackers and criminals another way to access your computer. That person you follow online may have his/her account hacked and may be unknowingly serving up malicious links.

This is just one scheme to deliver malware to your computer. By the time this paragraph is read, there will be new means to spread malware. The daily news will trigger another flood of malware. There is no doubt that the criminals are fast and creative. There are big dollars to be had and easy targets to be found online.

That is why security programs are necessary for protecting your computer from these infections. We repeatedly urge our readers to protect themselves and inform their friends and family. Some of your friends and family may not have the slightest interest in computer security. Those are the people who become easy targets.

You may hear the argument from these people that they are careful online. However, no one can be vigilant 100% of the time. There are drive-by downloads that can install malware on your machine, without your even having to click a link. Sometimes, a person is just tired and errors are made. Hackers count on such errors and an absolutely necessary protection is an excellent security regime on your computer. You should have an anti-virus, a firewall, and at least one anti-spyware program running at all times. For an anti-spyware program, we are recommending SUPERAntiSpyware. We have an excellent deal for you that offers real time protection:

SUPERAntiSpyware has real-time blocking of threats! Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing! First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system.

The program offers much, much more and you can read about it at the links provided. SUPERAntiSpyware will detect and remove spyware, adware, malware, Trojans, dialers, worms, keyloggers, hijackers, rootkits, and many other types of threats. This program is easy to use and it is effective. SUPERAntispyware is being offered at a special rate for our readers. There is a ten dollar ($10.00) saving, until December 3, 2009.

This is a program that is highly recommended within the security community. People who work on these pages use it and recommend it, too. We use it. We need it and so do you. We are trying to make it as easy and as economical as possible for you to protect yourself and your computer.

Tempting You to Click

The number of malware sites are increasing. IBM has reported an increased sophistication with attempts to infect computers. The frightening thing is that some malware is being pushed unknowingly by legitimate sites.

This is a danger to all computer users. However, there is one segment of our readers who are going back to school in a few days and increasing their downloading. As students, these computer users will be downloading for school work and for their own entertainment. You have to know that the downloading puts you at risk. Even visiting some seemingly innocent sites can put you at risk.

It is absolutely not true that if you stay away from so called “bad” sites that you can escape the dangers of malware. Even a file transfer from a friend or classmate could infect your machine. With the expertise and sophistication of today’s criminals, any site can be compromised and turned into a site that delivers malware. This may be a site that you use for school work. Just recently, on June 1, 2009, Ryan Naraine reported that 20,000 sites were “hit with drive-by attack code.”

A drive-by attack means that you don’t have to click anything and malware junk will find its way onto your computer. This garbage will install on your machine without asking for your permission. Then your computer is infected.

Your computer needs a constant watchdog. This is the concept of WinPatrol – and “Scotty” is the watchdog. WinPatrol runs in the background and the watchdog Scotty will give an alert when there are any changes attempted on your machine. Scotty will alert you if you are installing any program. This may be an annoyance, but it is minor. It shows that WinPatrol is doing its job. It will save so much trouble when there is a rogue program trying to install itself on your computer.

WinPatrol is easy on the computer resources and it is on many people’s “must have” list. This is a program that has an excellent history – and countless recommendations over the years. We are recommending this for every student. You must know if some rogue program is trying to install itself on your machine. And WinPatrol will tell you.

WinPatrol has been available for over ten years, thanks to the work of Bill Pytlovany. The improvement functions packed into this program will surprise you.

For the Lockergnome / Chris Pirillo readers, we have an exceptional offer. Until September 5, 2009, we have a ten-dollars-off ($10.00) savings from WinPatrol. We have tried to make this super-affordable to students. We know this is a rough time financially and hopefully this make it an affordable security program for you. Use coupon code: Gnomes when ordering!

Effective for any version of Windows – including Windows 7.

This is a security program that is recommended without any reservation. The people who use this program have nothing but good things to say about it. Bill Pytlovany is an trusted name in computer security. He is a recognized MVP by Microsoft – and he stands behind this product. If there is even a hint of a problem, let us know. We stay in touch with Bill. If you are a business and want this to secure all your desktop and laptop machine, let us know and we will see if Bill can help you.

Know When Something is Being Installed on Your Machine

Most people now have more than one computer. Some may have a main desktop machine and a laptop for out-of-the-house work. It is baffling why each and every computer that a person owns does not have the same level of protection against malware and spyware. The analogy that comes to mind is that the front door of the house has the best dead-bolt lock on the market while the back door is secured by a hook and eye mechanism.

Protect all your computers! That cannot be stressed enough. In an office setup, all that is needed to compromise security is for one machine to be infected. The details of how that is done is not relevant here but it is not difficult.

Spyware Doctor is a highly rated and award winning program. The offer that is available is that one purchase allows the person to protect three (3) machines. That is more than sufficient for most people. Spyware Doctor has a long track record over many years:

“Spyware Doctor is a top-rated malware & spyware removal utility that detects, removes and protects your PC from thousands of potential spyware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, spybots and tracking threats.”

The awards and recognition goes back for many years. Privacy Guardian is available to clean and prevent tracking of computer activities. This is an excellent program, at an excellent price. However, your first concern should be security.

Malware attacks are not going away. Just today there were reports of web sites being infected with JSRedir-R. That is just one example. Tomorrow, it might be other junk. Unfortunately, this is just the reality of the Internet. Protect yourself.

Protect All of Your Computers at Once

Some people who spend many hours online fighting malware requested that this top-rated firewall be brought back, as an offer for our readers. It was formerly known as the Kerio Personal Firewall. Now, it is called the Sunbelt Personal Firewall.

This firewall was discussed previously. Not all firewalls are the same. They differ in efficiency. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall blocks unwanted traffic that is incoming but it also monitors what leaves from your machine. That cannot be stressed enough.

Let’s say that for some reason a malware does infect your machine. If that malware starts sending out information from your machine, you want to know that. For example, what is sent out may be your personal information. Furthermore, it may be that your computer is now part of a bot spamming operation. A good firewall, which monitors the outgoing traffic, will give you an additional chance at catching some infection that has occurred on your machine.

This offers expires on May 20, 2009. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is really a gift at ten dollars. Yes, it is only ten dollars when you use this link and the coupon code SPFLOCKERGNOME when you place your order.

There is one further note from the people who deal with malware, like our very own resident Malware-removal Expert Kat. It is a bit of a shock – but there are still people who do not use a firewall. That may be hard to believe but when these malware fighters inspect logs of what people have on their machines, there isn’t a firewall. At this price, the Sunbelt Personal Firewall is more than affordable protection. Look on your email contact list and see if there is a family member or some newbie who might be just learning about computers. Ask them if they use a firewall. And don’t be surprised if they ask you… “what is that?”. – Then just buy this for them. You’ll be glad you did.

Top-Rated Firewall Back by Request

Every major news service on the planet is carrying stories about the tragedies and possible escalation of problems concerning the swine flu outbreak. It is a serious problem with the possibility of becoming significantly worse. One of the first responders to this global concern is the hacking / malware community. Hackers and criminals are viewing this swine flu problem as an opportunity. Slick malware may be on its way, if it is not propagating at this very moment. It is only a matter of time. These hackers may be seen as first responders of the very worse kind.

The news is just one venue. Are you on Facebook? Have you joined Twitter? These are just some of the example of social media where people are sharing and clicking on links. If you are on Twitter and have a good number of followers, there are links posted every minute. It would be so easy for a hacker to play the social network and drop some malicious link there. And it will happen more and more often.

You may think you are careful enough. However, no one can be vigilant 100% of the time. There are drive-by downloads that can install things on your machine without your even having to click a link. This is the type of incidence that calls for an excellent security regime on your computer. You should have an Anti-Virus, a Firewall and at least one Anti-Spyware program running at all times. For an Anti-Spyware program, we are recommending SUPERAntiSpyware. We have an excellent deal for you that offers real time protection:

SUPERAntiSpyware has “Real-Time Blocking of threats! Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing! First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system.”

The program offers much, much more and you can read about it at the links provided. This program is being offered at a special rate for our readers. There is a ten dollar ($10.00) savings until May 3, 2009.

Use this link for the discount when buying/.

This is a program that is highly recommended within the security community. People who work on these pages use it and recommend it, too. We use it. We need it and so do you. SUPERAntiSpyware will detect and remove Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, Hijackers, Rootkits and many other types of threats. This program is easy to use and it is effective. If you have any problems with SUPERAntiSpyware, let us know. We will tell the founder / director of the company and have any problems addressed. Nick Skrepetos is well known in the security community and he stands behind his products. And if you need this program in large numbers, let us know. We will see if we can help with pricing for your company.

Protect yourself. There are more malware programs coming and these malicious programs are becoming better and better. Let SUPERAntiSpyware give you and your data first class protection.

More Malware on its Way – Protect Yourself

Security threats seem to be in the news constantly. Just yesterday, it was reported that a phony Facebook application was putting some people in danger of being Identity Theft victims. There are daily examples of security exploits online. I’m not trying to scare you into considering protection software. This is a reminder that there are very real dangers online.

You may think you are careful enough. However, no one can be vigilant 100% of the time. There are drive-by downloads that can install things on your machine without your even having to click a link. This is the type of incidence that calls for an excellent security regime on your computer. Kat recommends using layers of protection. You should have an Anti-Virus, a Firewall, and at least one Anti-Spyware program running at all times. If you’re not sure what Anti-Spyware you should be using, we have an excellent deal for you.

SUPERAntiSpyware is a comprehensive, highly-recommended program. People all over the Security community – Kat included – regularly tout SAS as one of the best pieces of security software you can have in your arsenal.

SUPERAntiSpyware will detect and remove Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, Hijackers, Rootkits and many other types of threats. It even has built-in real time protection, to alert you to things attempting to install themselves or make changes on your system.

As a special consideration for our community, you can save $10.00 off the normal price of SUPERAntiSpyware between now and March 3rd, 2009.

You might be interested in the background behind this product. The founder of this product is Nick Skrepetos. Nick is well known for products like Pop-Up Stopper and SuperAdBlocker. These are well known and ’super’ products. He brings decades of experience to the Spyware wars. Nick and his team are in Anti-Spyware forums, and keep tabs on current issues. That is important because dangers may appear daily and protection/security programs must be nimble enough to respond quickly. Nick stands behind this product – and emails/questions are answered.

I know how important it is to you to have a trouble free computer. This program will help… and at this price, it is an excellent value. I have no reservations when I suggest that you have SUPERAntiSpyware on your machine.

SUPERAntiSpyware – Special Savings for our Community

There’s all sorts of news about trojans being unleashed on Mac OS X. However, there’s only one fool-proof way of protecting yourself from trojans on Mac OS X:

STOP PIRATING SOFTWARE, YOU MORON.

This way, there’s little chance of you installing trojans in the first place. If you were stupid enough to pirate software, you deserve everything that happens to you and your system. Yeah, that goes for Windows users, too – if you pirate content and your system gets hosed, you have nobody but YOURSELF to blame. Stop blaming Microsoft for YOUR problems.

I actually received an email the other day from someone claiming that LimeWire installed viruses on his system. Well, he was right – and yet completely wrong. This recent outbreak of Mac OS X trojans doesn’t illustrate how vulnerable Mac OS X is so much as it shows that users, no matter the platform, can be unethical and stupid.

If you pirated iWork, you got a trojan. If you pirated Adobe CS4, you got a trojan. Either way, you do NOT have my sympathies.

How to Protect Yourself from Mac OS X Trojans

This is Rodrigo Anonimo’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

When you think about security, you probably think of your own physical security. There are other kinds of security that you should be concerned about. When you are working on the computer, your personal information can be at risk. You should be concerned about network security, and what can you do to protect yourself. In fact, your credit/debit card is part of some kind of Network. This article explains threats and solutions for a computer network.

Viruses are the first threat to be concerned with when using the Internet. A computer virus is a small application which is downloaded while you visit a web site, or can be embedded in something you download. There are different kinds of viruses, but the most common are Trojan horses and Worms. If you know about the Trojan horse back in history, you should know that it was a threat pretending to be a gift, and that’s what Trojan viruses are. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it, such as corrupting your hard drive. Worms are like bacteria in the human body, and they can reproduce and pass themselves on to other people. The worms have the ability to copy and paste and pass themselves to other computers. A worm is the most risky virus in a network because it can spread to other computers, and make the network crash.

You may be asking yourself, who makes all of these things? People who make the viruses and other security threats call themselves hackers. There are two types of hackers, White Hat hackers and Black Hat hackers. A hacker is someone who modifies something that already exists, and makes changes to it. For example, they can do reverse engineering which allows them to modify an existent computer program to make it work better… or to completely trash it. When one is using the hacked program, their computer can completely crash or the program can spy on the infected computer. The same thing applies to computer hardware.

There are tons of securities tools, but none of them are one hundred percent secure. The best bet is to enable firewalls on your computer to protect yourself from hackers. You must also get an AntiVirus software, to protect yourself from the different types of Viruses. Be careful when you buy your AV software. Make sure you buy from a well-known brand of AV. Also – make sure you have a WPA password for your wireless network. This type of key is harder to crack/hack. The last thing to do is to make sure the operating system is up to date with all security patches and fixes.

You will never know if you are hundred percent secure, and any kind of security is not one hundred percent safe. Having a little knowledge of what dangerous threats can do for a computer can be very helpful.

Is Your Network Secure?

Malware today is complex, and Windows users have had enough. More and more of you are fighting back by learning how to protect yourselves. You take advice from people like Kat, who have years of experience in combating these problems. What programs do you use for protection?

What do you use? Are you happy with it? Have you ever been the victim of a Malware infection?

What is the Best Anti-Spyware Software?