Protect Yourself from Drive-By Downloads

By Matt Williams

Drive-by downloads is a term coined to cover software programs that download onto your system without your consent, knowledge or intervention. Drive-by downloads don't trick you into installing them, they usually install on their own along with downloaded freebies like screensavers, games, music or email.

Once you've been a victim of a drive-by download, your system may get bombarded with annoying pop-up ads, it may slow down considerably, your web browser's home page may change, and your privacy may be compromised. Your computer is now infected with adware and spyware capable of stealing your private, confidential information.

Drive-by downloads can clog your PC's resources making it run slower than usual or even cause potentially harmful computer errors. If your PC crashes frequently, you could be a victim of a drive-by download. Not only are these crashes inconvenient, you could lose data as a result.

Not only is data loss a real possibility because of drive-by downloads, but data theft is also highly likely. Spyware programs called keyloggers record every keystroke and send this data back to a third party. From there, the third party can extract passwords, PIN numbers, credit card information and anything else you may have entered.

Graphic pop-up ads for porn sites are another side effect of drive-by downloads. These are particularly objectionable to parents due to the graphic nature of the ads that their children might see.

Because drive-by downloads happen without your knowledge, it's critical to protect yourself. First, re-think your web-surfing habits. Free downloads like smilies, screensavers, games and file-sharing music sites are notorious for drive-by downloads. Don't open unexpected attachments that come in your email. Stay away from websites that rely heavily on pop-up style advertising as their revenue stream such as bootleg video and game websites, porn websites and free file sharing websites.

In addition, if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 and be sure to use the built-in pop-up blocker and phishing filter. Internet Explorer 7 has also made changes designed to combat drive-by downloads such as enforcing all browser windows to display their address bar so users are less likely to follow windows they believed were from legitimate websites.

Internet Explorer 7 also prevents hackers from using HTML links with excessive or unusual characters designed to cause the user's computer's buffer to overflow and run malicious code when parsing the link. It also will notify you when a website is trying to download a program.

The next step you can take to protect yourself from drive-by downloads is to find and purchase a reputable anti-spyware program like XoftSpySE. Be careful of the unsolicited pop-ups you encounter offering a free anti-spyware tool as these tools themselves often contain spyware. Only purchase an anti-spyware program from a reputable company that you trust.

Once you have an anti-spyware program installed, set it up for regular system scans and automatic updates. Just like anti-virus programs, anti-spyware programs come with regular definition updates to address new threats. The anti-spyware programs can also remove any spyware it finds on your system.

Investing in this technology pays off right away with a better performing PC that's cleaned of all the malicious junk. You'll have piece of mind, a faster and more secure PC.

Remove Drive-By Downloads and Fix Registry Errors