Psychopath and Narcissist Survivors Support Group

Echo · Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:58 pm Post subject: Rebooting?

Can anyone tell me what a Reboot is, how to do it, and what its for? Thank you - tecchie challenged Echo Embarassed

LILYLIVES · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 39 Location: PA.

Dear Echo,

I am pretty technically challenged, but I am very sure that rebooting is turning your computer off, by going to the Start, and then "turn off computer", the rest will happen on it's own. you are told to reboot when your computer is moving too slowly, and things like that.

On that note, however, i don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but i spent hours yesterday, checking on viruses, cleaning out the computer, etc. There was a mention of viruses. Could it be coming from here?

Peace,

Lily

lemondroppr · Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 1431

No, a virus is not coming from here. Having said that, if someone posts a little program (like XYZ.exe, I've made the name up) and you click on it, it could download a virus to your computer. So, the rule is don't ever run a program that you don't know what it is. These types of programs usually come in email, attached to spam, for one. But you can get a virus from a friend too, again if you run the program by clicking on a suspicious attachment. Programs are different than files. Programs have the extension of .exe, .bat, and a few others.

You get spyware from just surfing the internet. That's a different type of "bug". Spyware doesn't "hurt" your computer, but it can track and record your activity on the internet, including capturing your keystrokes. The information is sent back to it's parent company and they either use it for marketing or for capturing personal information.

I highly recommend everyone have current programs running to detect both spyware and viruses.

Echo · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:28 am Post subject:

Thanks Lily and Lemon,

Ive got Spybot - it found two keyloggers on my account a couple of years ago.

And then isnt there adaware?

lemondroppr · Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 1431

For a better understanding about the various things that can attack a computer, I offer the following, which was copied from Wikipedia:

There are concerns about adware because it often takes the form of spyware, in which information about the user's activity is tracked, reported, and often re-sold, often without the knowledge or consent of the user. Of even greater concern is malware, which may interfere with the function of other software applications, in order to force users to visit a particular web site.

It is not uncommon for people to confuse "adware" with "spyware" and "malware", especially since these concepts overlap. For example, if one user installs "adware" on a computer, and consents to a tracking feature, the "adware" becomes "spyware" when another user visits that computer, and interacts with and is tracked by the "adware" without their consent.

Spyware has prompted an outcry from computer security and privacy advocates, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center [1]. Often, spyware applications send the user's browsing habits to an ad-serving company, which then targets adverts at the user based on their interests. Kazaa is one example of a popular file-sharing program that delivers target ads to its users.

Adware programs other than spyware do not invisibly collect and upload this activity record or personal information when the user of the computer has not expected or approved of the transfer, but some vendors of adware maintain that their application which does this is not also spyware, due to disclosure of program activities: for example, a product vendor may indicate that since somewhere in the product's Terms of Use there is a clause that third-party software will be included that may collect and may report on computer use, that this Terms of Use disclosure means the product is just adware.

A number of software applications are available to help computer users search for and modify adware programs to block the presentation of advertisements and to remove spyware modules. To avoid a backlash, as with the advertising industry in general, creators of adware must balance their attempts to generate revenue with users' desire to be left alone.

Computer viruses:

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself without permission or knowledge of the user. The original may modify the copies or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a metamorphic virus). A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium. Additionally, viruses can spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses. A worm, however, can spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host. A Trojan horse is a form of malware that presents itself as a legitimate program. In contrast to viruses, Trojan horses do not insert their code into other computer files. Many personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local-area networks, facilitating their spread. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, and file sharing systems to spread, blurring the line between viruses and worms. Furthermore, some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any form of self-replicating malware.

The term comes from the term virus in biology. A computer virus reproduces by making, possibly modified, copies of itself in the computer's memory, storage, or over a network. This is similar to the way a biological virus works.

Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do any damage, but simply replicate themselves and perhaps make their presence known by presenting text, video, or audio messages. Even these benign viruses can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden, and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.

Cookie1 · Guest

A couple weeks ago my daughter and son in law vacationed down in Mexico...the resort had a deal where you could get email from home so we would email back and forth....Soon after that Guess who was getting spam about Mexico? I know I dont need to tell you Lemon Embarassed

I have so little $ that I can't even afford to 'PAY ATTENTION' and they want me to fly to Mexico Question