trojan software

[Sharkman]

I've found that watching this conference, I learn a tremendous amount about
Windows and related topics.
I'm curious about trojans. I know that cookies can be loaded onto your PC
from sites and, you can eliminate that from happening (at a cost of some
convienences). But if opening a web page can actually cause a piece of
software to be downloaded on your PC, will a firewall such as zonealarm
alert you that information is being sent to a site? Is there a way to check
for trojans on your PC? Either before they get loaded or after they are?
Thanks for the information.
sharkman

 

[Hilary Karp]

Sharkman,

Yes a firewall can definitely help. You should never go online without
one. There are a vareity of free ones that are good including from
zonealarms, sygate and kerio.

For spyware run this program to help keep it off your system:

Spywareblaster www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html

 

[Sharkman]

Thanks.. I use zonealarm, adaware and spybot but am still concerned that a
trojan can get onto my system and transmit data out of the system.

 

[Hilary Karp]

You should also use cwshredder:

Cwshredder http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip

Here are some good web pages with info about parasites/malware and how
to deal with them and keep your system clean:

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.spywareinfo.com

 

[Sharkman]

thanks...

 

[Alex Nichol]

Thanks.. I use zonealarm, adaware and spybot but am still concerned that a
trojan can get onto my system and transmit data out of the system.

ZA will warn you if something you have not already Okayed is trying to
get access out. These things usually get *in* by piggy-backing on
something you download voluntarily - the spyware that comes along with
Kazaa is notorious. Or sometimes as an attachment on email. The rule
today is to be suspicious of *all* attachments, especially if they seem
to come from someone you know. Get a separate confirmation, and even
then save and check with AV before opening

 

[Sharkman]

Yeah I agree.. I've set up my email (outlook express) with no preview pane
pane so usually I dont open emails from those that I dont know. Once in a
while one slips by me and I accidently open the email (I'd never open the
attachement) and once I've even clicked on the spoofed site (but never
entered any information).

So my questions are:
By opening the email can a trojan or virus be loaded on my system?
By clicking on a phony web site, can a trojan or virus be loaded on my
system?
And will zonealarm, adaware, spybot and cwshredder protect me?
Is there any other software that I should be using?
Should I clear my cookies on a regular basis?

Thanks again for the help
sharkman

 

[David]

A good program to add to your arsenal is SpySweeper at www.webroot.com and
there is a trial version that is free.

I used it and detected a very nasty backdoor program someone had installed
and it was transfering almost all system activity to a remote host.