CHAPTER 11. ANTI-SPY
The component of Kaspersky Internet Security which protects you against all
types of malware is called
Anti-Spy
. Recently, malware has increasingly included
programs that aim to:
•
Steal your confidential information, including passwords, credit card
numbers, important documents, etc.
•
Track your actions on the computer and analyze the software installed on
it
•
Deliver obtrusive advertising content in web browsers, popup windows,
and banners in various programs
•
Gain unauthorized access to the Internet from your computer to various
websites
Phishing and keyloggers focus on stealing your information; autodialers, joke
programs, and adware aim to waste your time and money. Protecting you from
these programs is what Anti-Spy is designed to do.
Anti-Spy includes the following modules:
•
The
Anti-Phishing
component protects you against phishing.
Phishing generally consists of emails from supposed financial institutions,
that contain links to their websites. The message text convinces the
reader to click a link and enter confidential information into a web page,
for example, a credit card number, or a login and password for an real
Internet banking site.
A common example of phishing is an email purporting to come from your
bank, with a link to the official site. By clicking the link, you go to an exact
copy of the bank's website and can even see the address in the browser’s
address bar, but are looking at page of a counterfeit site. From this point
forward all actions which you take on the site are tracked and can be
used to steal your money.
You might receive a link to a phishing site via email, or through an instant
messenger program. Anti-Phishing tracks attempts to open phishing sites
and blocks them.
The Kaspersky Internet Security threat signatures include the addresses
of all phishing sites currently known. Kaspersky Lab specialists populate
the list with addresses obtained from the Anti-Phishing Working Group, an
international organization. Sites are added to the list by updating threat
signatures.
