The History of Identity Theft : Anti-Spyware

Identity theft is thought of as a modern crime, happening mostly online, but it has been around since long before the internet was born. Criminals have long been using other people’s identities to commit crimes and steal money and are sure to continue. But when did it start, and how did it occur without the technology we have today?
There is no set date we can trace identity theft to but a hundred years ago if a criminal wanted to assume another person’s identity they didn’t steal their personal information and open credit cards, they killed that person and then pretended to be them. This was identity theft’s grizzly beginning and while it is not as violent anymore it can still ruin a person’s life.
As society advanced the phone and mail box became the next targets of identity theft. Now criminals could just steal information and assume another person’s identity without violence. The first identity theft scams were conducted over the phone. Unsuspecting people were contacted by criminals and told they had won a prize or were approved for credit. In those simpler times many people were conned into giving away personal information in this way. Mail box theft was also born as credit cards and loans became more common and personal information was being sent through the mail. Getting personal information out of the trash also became increasingly common as credit card companies grew and began sending more mail that wound up n the trash. All these practices continue today, but as technology advances so does the way criminals steal identities.
After the internet became wide spread, it gave criminals even more ways to commit identity theft; they could send spoof emails requesting personal information, create websites to harvest this information for them or use viruses and spyware to collect information right off personal computers. Criminals continue to use the old methods of identity theft as well as new technology. The internet has revolutionized they way we communicate and get information but it has also revolutionized the way our identities can be stolen. No matter how a criminal gets their hands on a victim’s information identity theft is still a problem today.

You can read more posts here:
The History of Identity Theft

The Role of Credit Counseling in Debt Consolidation : Anti-Spyware

Finances are a struggle for you and your family. You have come to the decision to consolidate your debt. This option will help to reduce the monthly payment amounts and loads of dough in interest. During the process of debt consolidation, the idea of credit counseling has come up. Is credit counseling beneficial for those who consolidate debt?

Although many people can get out of debt and improve their financial circumstances solely by consolidating debt, the choice to participate in credit counseling is a good option for most consumers. Frequently, too much debt was accumulated by overspending. One way to curb this behavior is to learn the proper way to create a manageable budget. Creating and understanding a budget is essential to improving your financial circumstances. Credit counseling can help consumers learn to budget effectively.

Credit counselors can advise you on ways to deal with credit card companies to reach the best agreement for payments. They may even be able to help you reduce your interest rates and waive expensive fees for late payments or going over the limit of the card.

Debt consolidation can be a stressful experience to work through. Adjusting to a budget and learning how to live within your means can be done and is well worth the effort, but someone who is going through this financial change can use support. A credit counselor will provide the support you need to ease this transition and improve the likelihood of success.

Credit counseling can educate consumers on pitfalls of predatory lending, cash advances, and other lending pitfalls. The practical tips can really enlighten consumers about the ways to better utilize their finances and protect their wallet.

Credit counselors will be frank about the financial situation, but they are not judgmental about the circumstances. Consumers often are concerned that they will be looked down upon because of their poor financial outlook, but rest assured that this is not the case. Should you ever experience such negative feelings from your credit counselor, it is wise to discontinue the service and find another counselor who is reputable.

A credit counseling organization offers numerous benefits for consumers. Typically, credit counseling services are free of charge. Participating in credit counseling will greatly improve the success rate of the debt consolidation process and positively influence your financial future. Anyone who is considering debt consolidation should heavily consider credit counseling to enhance the experience and educate themselves about their options and financial freedom.

You can read more posts here:
The Role of Credit Counseling in Debt Consolidation

Methods Used to Quit Smoking : Anti-Spyware

When you decide to quit smoking there are many products on the market just for this purpose. Finding one that will work best for you is the hardest part. They have all been known to be successful for many people. Every company that sells these types of products claim that they have the best quit smoking product on the market. It can be very confusing when trying to choose just one. There are different stop smoking methods that you can use like prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, self help tricks, hypnosis, acupuncture and many more. All of these things claim that they can help you to stop smoking successfully. One way to start is by asking around and getting a good idea of what these products are and how they work. You probably know people that have quit smoking. Ask them what they used and how successful the product was for them.

Quit smoking products come at different prices. Some are pricier than others and it just depends on what you decide to buy. The cheapest way to quit smoking is by quitting cold turkey. This way may be the hardest way to quit, but depending on how bad you want to quit and your will power to quit it is very possible. Nicotine patches and gum are a popular method of quitting. These things slowly wean you off the nicotine and work well for many people. You can gradually reduce how many cigarettes you smoke each day. This way works for some people but not for others. If nothing else works for you than you can go to a doctor and have them give you a prescription medication to stop smoking.

There are many quit smoking methods that you can use to help you stop smoking. You have to look at your lifestyle and pick one that is best for you. What ever method you decide to go with you should know that quitting smoking takes time and you can’t do this overnight. It will be well worth the effort and will give you many good health benefits when you quit smoking.

You can read more posts here:
Methods Used to Quit Smoking

Install a Spyware Scanner on Any Computer Connected to the Internet - And Use It : Anti-Spyware

Beware! There is all sorts of malware out there in cyberspace! Malware refers to any software program designed to be installed on your computer without your knowledge or consent, to do things with and/or to your machine that you don’t want done. Computer viruses are the first malware programs that come to mind. These nasty bits of software can do anything from freezing your computer to erasing your hard drive. We’ve all heard many horror stories.
One type of malware not everybody knows about is called spyware. These programs are designed to track your computer usage and send the results to a third party. This third party could be your boss, keeping track of your work and making sure you’re not conducting personal business on company time. Or, it could be an identity thief in some foreign country, waiting to capture your login information when you do your online banking. And all kinds of people in between, from spammers to pop-up ad generators. Any time you download files or interact with other users through the Internet, you run the risk of having spyware installed on your computer. For this reason it is crucial that you have a spyware scanner installed on any computer you use to connect to the Internet. And use it. Regularly.
A spyware scanner is a program designed to detect and remove spyware from your computer. There are many such programs on the market, from downloadable freeware to boxed programs costing hundreds of dollars. The better-known software companies like McAfee, Symantec, Norton and others generally offer bundled programs, or even online subscriptions, to deal with the full gamut of malware – viruses, spyware, adware, trojans, and they usually include a firewall to keep hackers out. Most also come with a utility that allows you to set a time to regularly scan your computer for fresh infections.
So, do a little research. Ask your friends, or someone from your company’s IT department. Search the Internet. Find out the spyware best solution for your computer. Install a spyware scanner on any computer connected to the Internet. And use it!

You can read more posts here:
Install a Spyware Scanner on Any Computer Connected to the Internet - And Use It

How Does My Computer's Anti-Virus Scanner Work? : Anti-Spyware

Before getting into how anti-virus software works, let’s take a look at just what a virus is. A simple answer to that would be any self-replicating code introduced into a computer’s programming from an outside source without the user’s knowledge or consent. Generally, this code will then attempt to spread the "infection" to other computers, either through network or Internet connections, or via email, sending itself to email addresses found in the user’s contact list. There are many other types of malicious programs, such as trojans, spyware, adware and worms. All together these programs are called malware. A large and still growing segment of the computer software industry is geared toward detecting and eliminating this malware from computer systems.
What these companies do is to collect, isolate and analyze this malware. They look for a "signature", a bit of code that distinguishes the malware program from the "good" files they attach themselves to. They then incorporate that information into a database to be used by the anti-virus software to detect and eliminate the unwanted code. Most anti-virus scanners you get for your computer these days fights all kinds of malware, and the definitions are updated automatically via the Internet.
What happens when you activate your computer’s anti-virus scanner is that the program scans through the types of programs that viruses and other malware infect, looking for that signature. When one is detected, the scanner does a second test, called an integrity check, to verify the virus’ presence. This minimizes the number of "false positive" results that plagued early anti-virus scanners. Once the virus is confirmed, in most scanners, what’s called an activity blocker then stops whatever behavior the virus calls the computer to perform. Most often, that behavior is the virus’ attempt to transmit a copy of itself to other machines, though some also attempt to damage various files on your computer. Finally, the virus code is removed and the original useful file is restored to its previous state.
Most anti-virus programs allow the user to schedule scans at regular intervals. It is a good idea to set that up for at least once per week.

You can read more posts here:
How Does My Computer's Anti-Virus Scanner Work?

articles/Access Your PC Anywhere.txt : Anti-Spyware

Access Your PC Anywhere

Remote PC access software such as Gotomypc enables you to access another PC system from anywhere in the world with ease, requiring only that you have an internet connection. Once into your PC, you are free to navigate through its operating system and hard drive, as if it were really in front of you.

To obtain remote PC access, you need only download a small piece of software on to the PC you plan to control remotely, before protecting this system with a password. This done, you can achieve remote PC access to your chosen machine simply by visiting a website, downloading a tiny piece of software called a

You can read more posts here:
articles/Access Your PC Anywhere.txt