Computers & Hardware

Before I begin telling you about WinHound I need to tell you a bit about myself so that you will feel secure that the knowledge I impart to you is legitimate. I am a computer professional. I have worked with computers for over 20 years. I started off programming, then moved to building and repair, then did some tech support, and now am doing IT. I am Microsoft Certified. I spend some time every day trying to keep up with the dangers to computers mainly for my own knowledge, but also so I can impart knowledge in hopes of saving someone the time and effort of dealing with some of the nastier things you can become infected with.

That brings us to WinHound. WinHound is a rouge anti-spyware program. Rogue as in fake. The infection starts when a trojan makes its way onto your computer. Your Internet Explorer settings will change, and so will your wall paper. Your new wall paper warns you of a spyware infection and asks you to down load and install WinHound. If you follow that advice you will find a “free scan” that you can run and “find” any infections on your computer that WinHound would rid you of. If you run this scan you will be given fake scan results, in the results there will be legitimate Windows files listed as infections. Not only that but you have just infected your computer with the spyware. At this point you will be asked to pay for the program so it will remove the “threats.” You give your credit card and personal information and in exchange you get more spyware, adware, and malware.

It gets worse from there. WinHound is what is called a rootkit. That term means that the program worms its way into the root of your operating system, the registry, and takes root. WinHound will hide what it is doing and the processes it is running. Your computer will be used in ways you would never give your permission for without your knowledge or permission. Your computer will spam people and take part in denial of service attacks. Not only that but your computer itself will start running slower and slower, you will have pop ups (sometimes of the sexually explicit nature), and your computer will give you errors till eventually you start getting the “Blue Screen of Death.”

We have the Innovagest group to thank for WinHound. The Innovagest group is a group of hackers who get their jollies from infecting people’s computers, using them in spam and denial of service attacks, and taking your money while you are at it. The Innovagest group has many programs out there and most act just like WinHound.

To protect yourself just avoid a few activities. Don’t go to porn sites, be careful what you download, and don’t open files enclosed in spam or emails that have been forwarded a lot. It really is that simple. Also if you get a pop up saying you are infected and to click on it for a free scan, close the window immediately and don’t let the scan happen.

Carl runs a site devoted to helping you rid your computer from all sorts of spyware and malware at http://www.spyzooka.com/

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Winhound – What a Scam