Zombies, Bots and Botnets – Computer Attacks on the Rise
80% of spam comes from Zombies, personal computers compromised by trojan horses and controlled by hackers as part of a ‘Botnet. New eBook "Help! Something's Got Hold of My Computer and It Won't Let Go!" fights back.
Tigard, OR (PRWEB) March 20, 2005
Failure of computer users to patch and harden their systems fuels spam, spyware and password stealers.
New eBook "Help! Something"s Got Hold of My Computer and It Won"t Let Go!" helps computer users protect themselves from the newest forms of attack as well as Phishing, Identity Theft, Password Stealers, Trojan Horses, Browser Hijack Objects and other Internet Nasties
Eighty percent of spam comes from Zombies, personal computers compromised by trojan horses and controlled by hackers as part of a ‘Botnet.
Do you ever get angry at the hundreds of spam emails that clog your inbox? Your computer may be the one thatÂ’s sending it!
Thousands and thousands of computers are "Zombies," part of a vast network of ‘Botnets of compromised personal computers controlled by hackers without the owner’s knowledge or permission, according to Sandvine, a computer network management firm.
Hackers are renting out their ‘Botnets for between $500 and $1,000 so that spammers and other hackers can’t be shut down by their ISPs because each compromised computer uses their own ISP to send spam.
Innocent owners of the Zombies risk losing their ISP accounts if their machine is traced as a source of spam.
Most computer users donÂ’t keep their machines patched with the latest software that can prevent these attacks and so are vulnerable to hackers, trojans and backdoors.
The new eBook, "Help! Something's Got Hold of My Computer and It Won't Let Go!" (available at http://HelpProtectMyComputer. com (http://HelpProtectMyComputer. com)) contains tools, fixes and education to prevent hacking, phishing, browser hijackers and many other forms of attacks on PCs.
When Steve Freedman turned on his new computer and connected to the Internet, he expected to see the CNN web page. Instead he got a porn page. When he changed his home page back to CNN, the porn page came back every time he rebooted his computer.
Like hundreds of thousands of other surfers, his computer had been hijacked by something called a "Browser Helper Object" (BHO) better known nowadays as a Browser HIJACK object – a nasty little piece of spyware.
BHOs originally were developed by Microsoft to extend the capabilities of Internet Explorer. The problem is that the Bad Guys have learned how to use them to change Internet Surfer"s home pages, install password stealers and copy their keystrokes when they are doing their online banking.
Spyware is so common that over 90% of computers are infected with it. (1) At Dell, Inc. 15% of service calls are related to spyware problems, up from 2% in 2003. (2)
But unlike most people who are attacked by BHOs, Steve is a Webmaster, computer geek and an educator.
"I got mad that some hacker jerk had hijacked my computer. While I was researching how to fix it on the Web, I found out how prevalent this exploit was, and also found great resources for fighting back," says Steve.
"I decided to write an eBook that anyone, even computer Newbies, could follow to clean their computers and prevent future hijackings. I knew that Newbies needed lots of pictures (screenshots) and plain talk, not technobabble, so that they felt secure every step of the way. I also built in a lot of interactivity, to make it fun."
"Even most Computer Wizards haven't taken these simple steps to harden their computers against these malicious attacks. People and businesses really can't risk losing all their photos and emails and business information, but they don"t know what to do. This eBook will help them."
"Help! Something's Got Hold of My Computer and It Won't Let Go!" is a short but information packed eBook available for download at http://www. HelpProtectMyComputer. com (http://www. HelpProtectMyComputer. com). It has vulnerability tests, awareness education and fixes for many Windows and Internet Explorer vulnerabilities and resources that will be appreciated by beginners and advanced computer users.
Mr. Freedman is available for TV, Radio and Press interviews. His engaging, non-technical style and ability to communicate complex information in an understandable way makes him an ideal interviewee.
About the Author
Steve Freedman, co-owner of Archer Strategic Alliances has been a Webmaster for more than seven years. His interactive websites have won Golden Web Awards, and he has done presentations for the Public Relations Society of America, Portland Metro Chapter, the Native American Business Alliance, MARSA (Marketing and Sales Association) and many other organizations.
Many of Mr. Freedman"s clients are at the top of the Search Engines.
Mr. Freedman has been interviewed numerous times on radio and television in his role as Director of the City of Portland Metropolitan Human Rights Center; Assistant Director, Donor Recruitment, American Red Cross (news - web sites) Blood Services, Oregon Trail Chapter; Founder, Oregon Uniting, a racial reconciliation non-profit.
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A media kit is available at http://www. HelpProtectMyComputer. com/Media. html (http://www. HelpProtectMyComputer. com/Media. html)
(1) Houston Chronicle "Tangled in Spyware" 10/31/04
Http://www. chron. com/cs/CDA/ssistory. mpl/tech/2875335 (http://www. chron. com/cs/CDA/ssistory. mpl/tech/2875335)
(2) National Cyber Security Alliance/AOL study 1/6/04
Http://www. timewarner. com/corp/newsroom/pr/0 ,20812,670186,00.html (http://www. timewarner. com/corp/newsroom/pr/0 ,20812,670186,00.html)
(3) ZD Net "Alarm over "pharming" attacks" 2/21/05
Http://reviews. zdnet. co. uk/software/internet/0 ,39024165,39188617,00.htm (http://reviews. zdnet. co. uk/software/internet/0 ,39024165,39188617,00.htm)
