Beware of e-Greeting Cards - The Newest Spyware Threat
Be very careful about opening emailed greeting cards, as many are now known to contain dangerous spyware. Originally developed as a means for spouses and lovers to spy on each other, e-greeting card spyware was designed to monitor the internet activity of the recipient, thereby sending the sender an emailed record of email activity, passwords used, etc...
Although this type of "monitoring" software is legal to buy and is intended for non-criminal use, it provides a new tool for con artists and cyber-criminals to use.
Here's how these spyware ridden e-greeting cards work: The recipient gets an innocent looking romantic email message with an attached or linked greeting card. The email appears to legitimate, and says something like "I love you", "I was just thinking about you", etc... When the card is opened or the link clicked on, dangerous spyware is silently and instantly installed on the computer as the recipient reads the card.
Once installed, the spyware begins monitoring immediately. The software runs silently in the background, and is undetected by the user or her antivirus software. It records all the emails that are viewed, as well as all passwords that are entered. It also records all chat and instant messaging sessions, and logs every single website that is visited. All this information is sent directly to the person who sent the email greeting card, be it a lover or a criminal.
If you get an e-greeting card, think about it carefully before opening it because there's a good chance that it's spyware in disguise. Even if the card appears to come from a legitimate e-card company such as American Greetings, Blue Mountain, Yahoo Greetings, etc..., this is no guarantee that the email isn't spoofed. Spammers and internet con artists have mastered the art of sending emails that appear to be from legitimate sources, and spyware e-cards can be easily disguised with fake "from" addresses as well.
It's a good idea to check the header information on any email you want to open, but may be suspicious. An email header shows the history of the email as it has traveled through the internet, and will reveal a spoofed "from" address. As all email clients are different, click on the "help" menu and search for "internet header" to see how to perform this task with your particular software.
If you are running anti-spyware software that is current with its updates and are certain that your operating system and browser are up to date with the latest security patches, your chances of getting infected by a spyware-tainted e greeting card are reduced significantly. Even having the best protection available is no guarantee that you will be able to avoid a spyware infection, though. New variations of spyware come out every day, and your protection is only as good as your latest update.
As with all potentially suspicious emails, your best defense is the "delete" key. If you don't click on hyperlinks or open email attachments within any e-mail messages that might be questionable, you cannot get a dangerous spyware infection. Because we are only human however, and the risk of spyware is so great, its advisable to include a good antispyware product in your computer security arsenal.
Some excellent antispyware products to consider are AVG Anti Spyware, Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy, and eTrust Pest Patrol.
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