S
Smee
Guest
As a computer tech (part time, also a part time collections manager, PT repo man, PT delivery man, . . . etc.) lately I have been getting bunches of computers coming through with all kinds of Browser Helper Objects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_Helper_Object), which can do a lot of damage to your system, and even to your personal life.
Hijack This! (a tool produced by Trend Micro Antivirus) usually identifies them as a BHO. You probably have several innocuous ones on your computer. There is usually one for Microsoft Instant Messenger (dangerous program because of the security flaws, but . . .). It allows you to access MSIM from your Internet Explorer window.
Other BHO's are quite dangerous. The BHO of itself, does very little. It is usually a poorly written program written by coders with little to no experience in legitimate computer programming. What this means is that the code is easily hackable, which can be discussed later.
The danger comes when the BHO begins to run malicious programs on your computer. Some of these BHO's may download viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted programs (PUPS). Some of these programs are even designed to access your banking accounts and otherwise gather personal information about you, without your permission and this is not in your best interests. The worst ones can dramatically increase your debt by spending your money to satisfy their creator's selfish desires for wealth and goodies.
So, what is one to do? Well, as mentioned earlier, Hijack This!(HJT) can show you where they are hiding on your computer. Make sure that windows' Explorer is closed before you start. After running the scan, you will see these BHO's listed. Don't just kick them out, do a little research. Check out their "Privacy Policy" and make sure that they aren't going to "suck you dry" by driving up the cost of keeping your computer healthy.
How could they do that? Well, if you bring it in to my shop after the fact, then besides the money you may have already lost, I will have to charge you the going rate for computer repair. This will not be cheap, but I'll try not to dig too deep into you children's future earnings
. Hopefully, your computer's infection will not be "terminal" as in "too advanced to be repairable." This can happen if the effects of BHO's are ignored too long.
At that point, we will kill the operating system. Unfortunately, we will have to make that decision based on what we believe you will be able to afford. We won't have time to get your opinion because that might significantly raise the cost. You would not believe the time and money we used to expend on recovering photographs and personal data before killing the system! After all, time is money in this business . . . besides, I may need the dock for another computer with better prospects of recovery.
The process will destroy the desktop you've grown to love and it will never be recoverable. You'll be able to start all over again without your beloved icons after they have been turned to vapor in the cybersphere. But you'll feel better about the change someday.
So, take the time to be careful about which BHO's you allow into your life. Your computer will thank you, and you'll be able to sleep better at night knowing that if you avoid a BHO infection, your desktop can be around as long as you want without someone else deciding when to pull the plug.
There are people working on a solution but it appears to be a couple of years out yet. Hopefully the new software will be able to defeat this insidious threat . . . but for now, please be aware.
Hope this helps.
Hijack This! (a tool produced by Trend Micro Antivirus) usually identifies them as a BHO. You probably have several innocuous ones on your computer. There is usually one for Microsoft Instant Messenger (dangerous program because of the security flaws, but . . .). It allows you to access MSIM from your Internet Explorer window.
Other BHO's are quite dangerous. The BHO of itself, does very little. It is usually a poorly written program written by coders with little to no experience in legitimate computer programming. What this means is that the code is easily hackable, which can be discussed later.
The danger comes when the BHO begins to run malicious programs on your computer. Some of these BHO's may download viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted programs (PUPS). Some of these programs are even designed to access your banking accounts and otherwise gather personal information about you, without your permission and this is not in your best interests. The worst ones can dramatically increase your debt by spending your money to satisfy their creator's selfish desires for wealth and goodies.
So, what is one to do? Well, as mentioned earlier, Hijack This!(HJT) can show you where they are hiding on your computer. Make sure that windows' Explorer is closed before you start. After running the scan, you will see these BHO's listed. Don't just kick them out, do a little research. Check out their "Privacy Policy" and make sure that they aren't going to "suck you dry" by driving up the cost of keeping your computer healthy.
How could they do that? Well, if you bring it in to my shop after the fact, then besides the money you may have already lost, I will have to charge you the going rate for computer repair. This will not be cheap, but I'll try not to dig too deep into you children's future earnings
. Hopefully, your computer's infection will not be "terminal" as in "too advanced to be repairable." This can happen if the effects of BHO's are ignored too long.At that point, we will kill the operating system. Unfortunately, we will have to make that decision based on what we believe you will be able to afford. We won't have time to get your opinion because that might significantly raise the cost. You would not believe the time and money we used to expend on recovering photographs and personal data before killing the system! After all, time is money in this business . . . besides, I may need the dock for another computer with better prospects of recovery.
The process will destroy the desktop you've grown to love and it will never be recoverable. You'll be able to start all over again without your beloved icons after they have been turned to vapor in the cybersphere. But you'll feel better about the change someday.
So, take the time to be careful about which BHO's you allow into your life. Your computer will thank you, and you'll be able to sleep better at night knowing that if you avoid a BHO infection, your desktop can be around as long as you want without someone else deciding when to pull the plug.
There are people working on a solution but it appears to be a couple of years out yet. Hopefully the new software will be able to defeat this insidious threat . . . but for now, please be aware.
Hope this helps.
