Previous First Lady Senator Hilliary Clinton Becomes An Aim of Malware Swindle

No, even former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, is not immune from dangerous Malware scams. You'd think the Senator from New York's staff would be computer savvy enough to avoid 'attack of the Malware', but it seems they are not. According to Symantec, Mrs. Clinton is only the most recent target of Malware. Millions of everyday people run the risk of intercepting this type of malicious and annoying scam.

Earlier this year email was widely distributed with the subject line 'Hillary Clinton Full Video'. Because of the intense and ground-breaking level of interest in the election this year, many people opened the email to view the presidential-hopeful up close and personal. Unfortunately, they were in for a surprise; and it was not a good surprise.

Many computer users don't know what malware is; even the media uses the term incorrectly on a regular basis. Some describe malware as a computer virus, it isn't. Malware is a computer program or code that was developed strictly to interfere with computers around the world. Malware interferes by many means; adware, spyware, Trojan horses, rootkits and viruses are all found in malware. Some malware installs viruses that completely delete the user's files; often, this can go undiscovered for a short while. The most dangerous computer viruses will slow the computer down, shut-it down and/or cause irreparable damage.

Malware is computer software specifically designed to infiltrate a computer without the knowledge or consent of the computer owner. Malware is a broad term which can include adware, spyware, Trojan horses, worms and rootkits. The word 'malware' is actually a combination of the words malicious and software. Generally speaking, malware is annoying and intrusive software or program code. In 2008, Symantec reported 'the release rate of malicious code and other unwanted programs may be exceeding that of legitimate software applications'. According to the experts at F-Secure, 'More malware was produced during 2007 than was produced in the previous 20 years combined'. It's no wonder that many of us have encountered malware and may continue to do so.

Once opened, users were asked to click on a link which resembled a link to a Google search page ' so far, so good. This is precisely where the problems begin; when the link is activated the malware installs itself onto the operating system ' it is not a link to Google at all. Once activated, the malware begins to weave its web of deceit quickly through adware, spyware, Trojan horses, rootkits and computer viruses. Users can be bombarded, in a matter of minutes, with pop-up-ads (many of them, appearing one after another) and copious emails.

So, if Hillary Clinton and her staff were unable to bypass a malware scam, how can you? Internet security suites are constantly being updated to detect the latest malware and they will catch some of it. No security package is able to detect and block all malware ' at least not yet. As often is the case, the best defense is a good offense. It's up to the computer user to exercise caution.

There is no fool-proof way to avoid Malware scams; you can reduce your chances, though, by being on the look out for email that comes from an unknown or suspicious address.

At RemoveSpywareandAdware.com, we are honored to have Isaiah Henry as researcher on how to remove spyware. Read daily info on malicious programs at the Spyware Removal Blog.