To fill this gap, Symantec is now offering a free app called Norton Safety Minder. All of the usual parental control features are offered including online activity reports and the ability to block websites (via the default browser). These basic features can be used by anyone free of charge.

SMS/MMS and app monitoring is also available, making it possible to see who your child is texting and what they’re saying. Or, if you don’t want to be a creepy parent, you can proactively restrict your child’s ability to send text and media messages to certain contacts.

Only users with a Norton Online Family Premier account can access the SMS/MMS and app monitoring features. You’ll have to shell out $29.99 for the first year of your subscription and $49.99 every year after. Buying the subscription gives you access to Norton’s parental control software for PCs and Macs as well as the Android app, so the price is more reasonable than it sounds.

Norton Safety Minder is compatible with Android 2.2 and 2.3 and requires four megabytes of free storage.

Source: PC Magazine

However, let’s say that you did follow all those steps like a good person and you still ended up getting infected, as you probably noticed once an antivirus tool you never installed suddenly tells you your computer is about to self-destruct. Well, that’s just great. So how do you remove such a virus from your computer?

There’s hope and solutions on offer. So, read on.

Use Microsoft Safety Scanner

Microsoft offers a tool that can remove certain kinds of malicious software. That tool used to be the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, but recently Microsoft is offering the Microsoft Safety Scanner. This scanner is supposed to check your computer for any viruses, spyware, and other bad stuff and remove it.

There are plenty of other similar online scanners, but some may lead you to actually downloading more malware on your system rather than removing it. By using Microsoft’s tool, you can be sure that it genuinely wants to remove any malware from your system.

Install Antivirus Software

Although you probably should’ve had it installed before to make use of its real-time protection, it might be helpful to install an antivirus tool now to help remove the malware that is currently wreaking havoc on your system. An antivirus tool can also scan for any other files that have dormant viruses in them, waiting for you to activate them. There are plenty of free ones that are very effective, such as AVG, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Avast, just to name a few. These tools will hopefully be able to remove that pesky virus before it does too much harm.

Search the Internet For Possible Solutions

While it’s not recommended to use the internet when you know you’re infected with a virus (as the virus could potentially start sending out any information it’s finding on your system), you can use a clean system to go online and search for the virus that you may have (based on the symptoms your computer is experiencing) and how you can possibly remove it. With some luck, you might find a solution that has been tested and proven to work.

Reinstall Windows

Last but not least, if all else fails, reinstall Windows or move to any other operating system such as Linux. If the virus is really that pesky, it’s best to just help Windows destroy itself so that you can rebuild on the ashes. Before you begin with your reinstallation, don’t forget to backup your data. Please, scan all the files that you’re backing up so that you don’t accidentally save the virus you’re trying to get rid of and then reinfect yourself later. It’s a long and hard process and is therefore the ultimate last resort, but at least this method works every time.

Don’t Buy A New Computer!

I’ve come across enough people who think that if their computer gets infected with a virus, the world is going to end and they’ll need to dump the infected computer and buy a brand new one. This is absolutely not true, as the hardware is still perfectly in tact. Reinstalling Windows is like resetting the system, and gets rid of the virus in the process. There’s no need to go out and spend $400+ for a decent new computer just because you got infected with a virus.

Conclusion

Getting rid of a virus is sometimes easy and sometimes very tricky. Your level of success will vary depending on the bug you managed to catch. However, there is always one way or another to get rid of a virus. We just hope that it doesn’t have to be very destructive to your own data. Just remember, when it comes to viruses and protection, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

What’s the worst virus you’ve managed to catch? What other tips would you add to this article? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: AJC1

Whatever the reason may be, you might prefer to not have any antivirus software installed at all. In case you choose to go this route, here are some tips on keeping your computer virus-free without the protective software.

Safe Browsing Habits

The most important tip, no matter if you have anti-virus software or not, is to try to maintain safe browsing habits. It is impossible to get a virus without being on the Internet or reading data from some other source. This means to only visit websites directly instead of clicking on links (especially in emails), not downloading any files unless you’re 100% sure the source is safe, not surfing around for prolonged periods of time on sketchy websites, and so on.

If you’re not very good at determining what’s good or not, this might help. If it looks different from what you’re used to or get offered something that seems too good to be true, you’re probably a click away from getting a virus. These tips should be followed even if you do have anti-virus software as such products aren’t perfect, and some viruses, especially zero-day threats, can pass right through the anti-virus software without so much as a warning.

Updated Software

The next step is to make sure that all your software, especially your browser, is up to date. Newer versions will fix security bugs that may be present in older versions, and updates could also bring support for new security technologies. That way, it will be much harder for a hacker or virus to exploit a security hole to compromise your system.

In Windows, go to Windows Update in your Start menu to check for essential updates.  With a lot of software, there is normally a “check for updates” option in one of the menus.  Just click through the menus until you find it.

Online Tools

Another option you have is to use online tools to check if a file contains a virus. There are plenty of anti-virus websites that will check files for you. I recommend using this site as it automatically sends it to a much larger collection of sites and compiles the results of each test. This way, you’ll have a higher chance of finding a hidden threat or determining if you have a false positive.

Use Web Interface Security Features

Additionally, email providers such as Gmail and Yahoo scan any attachments in an email when you open it, so you should be able to trust the results of those scans. Note that the email providers only scan the attachments when you open the email in their web interface. Therefore, this feature won’t be of much help to you if you use an email client.

Security-Focused Browser Extensions

Another great idea is to use browser extensions, where possible, that have a focus on security. A top extension for Firefox would be NoScript. This extension helps block any website scripts that could potentially cause problems on your system. While it takes a while to tell it what’s good and what’s bad, it will help block any scripts that might break into a security hole. You can find more Firefox security extensions here. For Chrome, you could try SaferChrome.

Use Linux

Last but not least, it might be helpful to run Linux instead of Windows if you don’t depend on certain software. While the above tips are definitely worth your time, you can dramatically reduce your risk of getting infected by a virus if you use Linux over Windows. This is because roughly 90% of viruses are for Windows, and 9.95% of the remainder are made for Mac OS X. In combination with the above tips, you can virtually eliminate the threat of viruses and enjoy a safe computing experiences without worries.

Conclusion

While I do recommend using some kind of anti-virus software if you’re using Windows (as there are plenty of decent free alternatives), these tips should definitely help to reduce your overall chances of getting infected. Just be smart with what you’re doing, and you should be doing just fine.

What tips can you add? Is anti-virus software even really necessary? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: AJC1

If you’re shopping for certain items, you may need to go elsewhere for the best selection and prices. That causes another problem, however. How can you trust smaller online businesses that you’ve never heard of?

Google It

Search is one of the best ways to arm yourself against potential scam websites. There are places set up for people to post if they feel they were ripped off, or given generally poor customer service. If you Google the name of the business, followed by the word “scam”, you’ll often find the complaints – if any – against it.

Please keep in mind that a single nasty report about a website may not be representative of a business, but when a illegitimate site appears, it rarely takes advantage of one person and then fades away forever. There will likely be many complaints from many sources. So keep things in perspective.

One issue with doing this, however, is time. If a site is new, there may not have been time for complaints to surface. That’s why you should use at least one other means of checking for a legitimate online business.

Use Retailer Search

Besides looking for scam reports, you can also use Google to check for general reviews through Google Shopping. A large number of retailers are found on this service, and users can rate their experiences. In addition, Google lists reviews from some major review sites.

Strangely, Google doesn’t seem to make any effort to organize these reviews, so you’ll usually have to find them by searching for the store’s name or by searching for an item the store sells, and then finding the merchant on the price comparison page.

If you don’t want to do that, or you can’t find the merchant, try BizRate.com. This site is another online shopping search website, and it does offer you the chance to browse and search retailers to find what others thought of them. If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for you might also try Reseller Ratings, which unlike Google Shopping or BizRate, exists only to rate online retailers.

You can also try older organizations, like the BBB, or local and national consumer affairs websites. Sometimes they have useful data, but usually you can find information about a retailer far quicker from BizRate or ResellerRatings.

Install Web Of Trust

Web of Trust is one of the most useful extensions for any browser, and it is available for all the most popular options. It catalogs user experience data to develop a profile for a site, which is then shared with all WOT users, giving every user access to the experience of all users.

After you install the extension, you will be able to see the rating of a website in Google search and when directly visiting the site directly.The extension has a specific “Vendor Reliability” section, and also ratings for privacy. If anyone else in the extensive WOT network has had a problem, they’ll downrank the site, and that will show up in your browser.

Better still, you can open the scorecard for specific sites which, in turn, will give you specific details about how well the site ranks and provide you with any reviews that have been written about the site. All of this information helps you determine not just how reliable the business is, but also how long it’s been around. If it is a new site, it won’t have many WOT entries, which will show up in the extension and in the site’s scorecard.

Conclusion

If you use the tactics above, you should have no trouble verifying a legitimate online business. The only sites you may need to be wary of are those that are new, since few people will have used them. If a site is new, ask yourself what you’re really saving by using it. $5? $20? $100? And is that saving worth more than the risk?

As a general rule of thumb: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is – and this advice is well worth remembering.For extra peace of mind you can also do your own research and investigate the current threats yourself.

The more prepared you are, the easier you’ll be able to spot a scam and steer clear – so without further ado here are some resources to keep you, your friends and family wise to online fraud.

USA.gov – Consumer Frauds and Scams

Probably the best governmental resource for US citizens concerned about fraud, this section of the country’s main online political portal contains a bounty of information about scams in the wild. There is plenty of in-depth, easy-to-understand information on a huge variety of schemes designed to trick and steal.

News is provided courtesy of other sources at the foot the page, and while more regular updates would be nice, the service is a fantastic resource for anyone concerned that they have been hit with fraud. Detailed descriptions of known scams will also help you identify potential dishonesty.

LooksToGoodToBeTrue.com

The aptly named LooksToGoodToBeTrue.com tracks known scams and reports the findings in their Action Centre. The website comes recommended by several government portals (including USA.gov above) and contains more advice for those concerned about fraud.

On a very human level is the Victim Stories section which invites victims of fraud to share their experiences in the hope of raising awareness. The website also has a File A Complaint section which provides the links to several US government department including the FBI-run Internet Crime Complaint Centre.

419 Legal

Named after the 419 scams that once ran rampant online, 419 Legal is in fact a message board where the active community reports on scams, phishing and general fraudulent schemes. Due to the fact that it’s a community and not a news agency or government body, reports are a lot more frequent than on comparable sites.

As well as the Scam Alerts forum where users submit their own reports, there is a General News section, 419 News and archives of past scam email templates to help identify potential scam emails. 419 Legal is a fantastic site with a supportive community and years of archived scam identification techniques.

ActionFraud

ActionFraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, and contains plenty of information that resonates not just in the UK but all over the world. If it’s alerts you’re after then the News & Alerts section contains a run-down of the latest known threats.

As well as news, the rest of the site serves as a useful portal for anyone who has been hit by or is concerned about the dangers of online scams. As well as being able to report the fraud, victims can find out information about what to do next, who to contact and future prevention.

MillerSmiles.co.uk

Despite being a UK-based site, MillerSmiles is a definitive resource for phishing and email scams wherever you are in the world. As well as the latest reports of known scams the website conducts a weekly analysis of all reports submitted.

It is possible to subscribe to alerts via RSS, submit your own scams and search the database of past incidents. The website also organizes threats by company, so if you have received a dodgy looking email from your bank, PayPal or email provider it’s easy to check it against the list.

ScamWatch.gov.au

The final resource on this list comes all the way from Australasia and is a joint effort between the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The ScamWatch Radar keeps track of known threats down-under and it is even possible to subscribe via email for alerts in your inbox.

The rest of the site is packed with helpful advice regarding every kind of scam you can think of, and there is an area to report local scams.

Conclusion

Even if the sites on this list aren’t specific to your locale they can still help identify known scams, phishing attempts and other fraudulent correspondence. If you do receive a suspicious email requesting personal or financial information then alarm bells should always ring. Your bank won’t ask for that information in an email, and if they do then you should always contact a local branch first. Bargains at unbelievable prices usually aren’t bargains and if you use online dating sites then never hand over money to someone you hardly know, no matter how nice they seem to be.

Good luck out there, it’s a big bad Internet!

Have you been scammed, defrauded or had information stolen? Do you know any other good websites that cover the latest frauds and scams? Share your links and experiences in the comments section!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The great risk that comes with all portable devices is theft. Not only do you risk losing an expensive piece of hardware, a stolen laptop also contains private and potentially confidential data, for example photos, personal data, work emails, and passwords. In this article I have summarized ways how you can protect your laptop from getting stolen or how to prepare it for a case of theft.

Use Locks for Laptop Theft Protection

The first line of defense to prevent unsolicited access to your data is a lock. You are probably reminded of the Kensington Security Slot and Lock and that is indeed something I recommend you to use. However, there are several other ways to lock your laptop, for example using a USB flash drive and software. These locks can trigger an alarm when someone tries to break them, for example by removing the flash drive or by entering a wrong password.

We have covered several such tools in depth. I recommend consulting the following articles:

• LAlarm Laptop Makes Your Laptop Scream When Stolen
• Protect And Track Your Laptop In Case Of Theft with LaptopLock
• How To Set Up An Anti-Theft Alarm On Your Mac Laptop

The setup procedure for Predator, another tool you can use to lock your PC, is described in The Office Worker’s Guide to a USB Thumb Drive.

Password Protect All User Accounts

The second line of defense are passwords. Whether you’re running Windows, Linux, or OS X, create a password for your user account. Also make sure there are no hidden accounts that remain unprotected, for example the Administrator account on Windows. The following article explains which passwords you need and it will refer you to further material on how to create safe passwords: 3 Default Passwords You Must Change & Why

I realize it is very convenient to store passwords on your laptop and enable the auto login for desktop clients and online accounts. However, I recommend not to store passwords for any accounts that hold sensitive or confidential information, such as bank or email accounts. I also recommend you to use a password-protected password manager to help you mange safe passwords. We have covered the following on MakeUseOf:

• 4 Open Source Password Managers To Keep Your Passwords Safe
• Password Manager Battle Royale: Who Will End Up On Top?
• KeePassX – Secure Password Management For Linux & OS X
• Securely Synchronize Your Browser Passwords With LastPass

Encrypt Sensitive Data

User account passwords are easy to crack. In fact, it’s not even necessary to crack them. Someone who has physical access to your laptop can just remove the hard drive and read it externally from another computer. Any data stored on your hard drive is easily accessible, regardless of how strong your user password is. Hence, your best bet is to encrypt data stored on your laptop.

For Windows users I recommend TrueCrypt, a free, open source, and easy to use disk encryption software. Also have a look at the following tools:

• Sync, Backup & Encrypt Your Files With Toucan [Windows & Linux with Wine]
• How To Secure & Encrypt Your Information If Your Laptop Gets Stolen [Mac]

Backup Your Data

Yes, I keep telling you this and it’s a mantra worthwhile. Whether or not your laptop gets stolen or your hard drive breaks, it will give you peace of mind. And if the worst happens, it will save you a lot of trouble.

To learn more about backing up your Windows 7 data, I recommend reading the PDF guide Stuff Happens: The Backup & Restore Guide.

Install Applications to Track Down Your Laptop

Despite all protection in form of locks, passwords, encryption, and backed up data, your laptop can get stolen. Even if all you are losing is a piece of hardware, wouldn’t it be great if you could track it down and get it back? To make this possible, you need to prepare your laptop beforehand by installing tools to access the device once the thief uses it to go online.

The following articles will walk you through the process for the respective applications:

• Track Down and Recover Your Stolen Laptop with Prey
• Use LocatePC to Secure and Find Stolen PC for Free

And here are two more tools listed in our Directory:

• LockitTight: Helps to Locate Your Stolen Laptop
• FireFound: Locate Your Stolen Computer (Firefox only)

Customize Your Laptop Data and Record Information

Another way of protecting your laptop from accidental removal or theft, is to customize it. Add stickers to the backside of the screen, engrave your laptop, or get a custom paint job. This will make it unique enough to avoid an accidental mix-up and it might also make it difficult to sell and thus less likely to be stolen.

In addition, take photos of your laptop, record any identifiable features, including damage, and note down the serial number. In case your laptop does get stolen, this information can be very valuable in retrieving it.

In a follow-up article due to be published tomorrow, I will share what you can do in case your laptop does get stolen.

Have you ever had a laptop stolen and did you use any of the tracking apps recommended above? Was the police of any help?

Image Credits: bodhihillillustration, Sven Hoppe, Vladru, mmaxer, Matthias Pahl, igorlale

The application is in beta and is being offered as a free product at least for the time being as a promotion. They hope that beta users will help them to improve the service for everyone.

“Until now, there has been no way of knowing whether a Facebook link takes you to a legitimate website – or to something that has been set up by the criminals.” – F-Secure.

ShareSafe also offers an aspect of social gaming in that it rewards users for scanning and sharing links via ShareSafe. Users collect badges and points for usage, but most importantly they are offered premium products when their friends like or click on links users have shared with ShareSafe. Extra points are earned when friends accept a user’s invitation to start using ShareSafe. Points can be exchanged for copies of F-Secure Internet Security, F-Secure Online Backup, and F-Secure Mobile Security at the moment, with more products planned for the future.

Check out F-Secure’s full promotional video on ShareSafe via YouTube.

Source: ZDNet

Still, there are some disadvantages. You never know who you’re going to end up meeting, and sometimes your match isn’t who you thought they were. Many people are wary about giving out phone numbers as well, although that’s not a bad way to plan a date. These four extensions for Chrome will solve these problems, and more.

Photo Zoom

For whatever reason, dating sites love thumbnails. A bit too much, some might say. Sure, it’s a great way to pack a lot of face in a webpage, but often each image is difficult to make out.

Enter Photo Zoom, an extension that will automatically up-scale a thumbnail image. This works on most dating sites, the notable exception being PlentyOfFish, which seems to have broken this feature recently. A similar app, focused exclusively on that site, called PlentyOfPics, also stopped working recently.

On the sites where it does work (most of them), you merely need to hover your cursor over an image and a larger version will appear. Presto! Now you can feed your vanity by admiring mugs before clicking on profiles.

BetterCupid / QuickCupid

OKCupid is, in my opinion, one of the better online dating sites. It’s free, so anyone can join, but people tend to put a fair amount of effort into their profiles. The site is also rather easy to navigate by default, but these extensions make it even better.

BetterCupid applies some custom styling to the website, adding more images and some additional settings, such as filters to your view or recent visitors. QuickCupid, on the other hand, makes it possible to browse match photos from the search page – without it, you have to navigate to the profile and then to the photos section to see them all.

Babble.ly

The phone is an important tool for dating. A quick call to firm up a date by either party can reduce the chance of a no-show, and might make one or both people feel more comfortable. Still, phone calls usually aren’t used because they require that each person reveal their number, and no one really wants to do that with someone they don’t yet know.

Enter Babble.ly. Now offering a Chrome extension, this service can create a link with your phone number, and allow someone to call you by clicking it. In doing so they don’t reveal your phone number or theirs, keeping the whole experience anonymous.

The downside? Babble.ly restricts calls to 10 minutes, though that should be more than enough to firm up a date. If you’d like to talk for longer, but don’t want to reveal your number, consider purchasing a virtual number from Skype or using a Google Voice number. They’re easy to throw away in the event of some e-stalker badness.

Conclusion

It should be noted that there are a lot of internet dating services online with Chrome apps available, but I didn’t go into them here because they’re easy to locate (just search for dating) and they’re what you’d expect.

These extensions and services present some creative ways to improve your online dating, but I’d like to hear from you about ways you’ve made creative use of apps, extensions, and services to improve or safeguard your online dating experience. Let us know in the comments!

In Scandinavian folklore, a ‘troll’ is a supernatural creature that lives in the caves and mountains. On the web, a troll is nothing but a pest who thrives in the anonymity that it provides. The Urban Dictionary has quite a few definitions lined up. But – one who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument – is the most point blank.

So, how do you take the war to the Internet trolls? First, by reading the pugmarks and recognizing a troll from a guy who just wants to start a one-off flame war.

Putting A Troll In The Crosshairs

Fortunately, it’s easy to spot an Internet troll from a distance. They have their own sets of socially unacceptable behaviors.

• Trolls generally use provocative and confrontational language. A clever one will mix it up with relevant and friendly posts.
• Trolls hardly ever stick to the topic; they beat around the bush with the intention to confuse the reader.
• Trolls of the subtle variety flag off their attack with innocent questions. You will often find them dressed up as new members of forums and chat rooms.
• Trolls lack understanding of a topic. They will not respond with a proper answer to a proper question.

• Trolls (especially the clever variants) use catch phrases to win sympathy. For instance, they may portray themselves as victims or specially challenged.
• Trolls use web addresses or fictitious online identities that lead to dead ends.
• Trolls may make desperate efforts to make themselves liked. Sugar coated responses or overt-flattering comments are signature troll moves.

There are different types of trolls. Most are hit-and-miss and are far easier to deal with. Some are more strategic in the way they embed themselves online so as to cause maximum mayhem with minimum fuss. Identifying an internet troll is half the battle one. You can only count on your experience to get one early before you are baited by them. Now, comes the relatively easy part of dealing with these internet trolls.

Surefire Ways Of Dealing With Internet Trolls

Thankfully, you don’t have to call 911 to deal with Internet trolls. No destruction of property has been reported yet. Effective troll management calls for equal parts of caution and common sense. Here are a few guideposts to follow.

Avoidance is the best policy: If you can catch them shooting their mouths off, totally ignore remarks left by trolls. Don’t feed the trolls should be stuck up on a yellow sticky always.

Avoid arguments: If you do get on a one-to-one with someone you suspect to be a troll, keep your remarks to an absolute minimum. State your facts and move on. Put the ball in their court. By the second remark or so, a troll would have identified himself.

Don’t let them flatter to deceive: There is a high chance that a troll will pay a compliment or two to ingratiate himself before he starts his attack. This is a tough one as there are many real admirers who do sugar coat their comments.

Ask For Supporting Data: To net a troll in the anti-spam net, you can ask for data that can quickly verified like an email address or domain name. Genuine commentators usually have an online persona to back themselves.

The power of the webmaster: You can use blacklists and whitelists to separate the bad from the good. IP addresses can be tracked and persistent attacks from an IP or a range of IPs can be effectively blocked.

Did Einstein know a few trolls when he said – “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I am not sure about the universe.”

Where do you fall on the Internet troll scale? Check out this infographic for a light-hearted look at internet arguments. Cracked.com has its own list of ways to deal effectively with internet trolls. There are quite a few other resources if you ever fall short of advice on how to tackle this cyber-menace. Like the ones in our Geeky Fun section:

• Guide to trolling
• Typical Internet Troll
• The 4 Levels Of Internet Trolling
• Troll Your Facebook Friends
• Epic Troll Video

How do you deal with trolls? Do you have a magic potion to use against them? Do you think they are a menace or do you believe that it’s all harmless fun? Tell us (but don’t troll) in the comments.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons; xkcd; Flickr(openfly)

I’m going to be honest with you in that I didn’t download any of these at all, and this was done for two reasons – they aren’t free, and I don’t trust them.

Just know that the first purpose of this article is to let you know that this enemy actually exists, and the second purpose is to help you know your enemy by name.

Spector Pro [Snow Leopard]

As a product of SpectorSoft, Spector Pro markets itself as a way to check in on the kids or make sure that your employees are staying on task. It even prides itself with its ability to block websites and specific contacts on instant messaging. However, we all know that this doesn’t mean people wouldn’t use it for malicious reasons. (As a note, the website also has some sketchy user testimonials anyway.)

Besides its basic run-of-the-mill keylogging methods, Spector Pro forwards all emails, transferred files, and screenshots to its primary operator (read: stalker). Also, like most keyloggers, the software will likely run in stealth mode if it is being used on you, so just keep that in mind. However, at the price of $99, the perpetrator would likely use it only if they had serious intentions.

SniperSpy [Snow Leopard]

SniperSpy is one of three spy-related pieces of software produced by Retina-X Studios. Once again, we have the typical explanation of “Watch your children!” and “Watch your employees!”. However, in addition to its basic functions of screenshot capturing, location mapping (based on the current IP) and keylogging, SniperSpy allows its operator to view everything that you are doing totally live in a VNC-like fashion.

Basically, as you are typing out your romantic messages to your hypothetical forbidden lover, your spouse could be watching you as it happens. Another feature allows for operators to send the computer user an onscreen message – perhaps something classic like, “All your base are belong to us.”

Aobo Keylogger [Snow Leopard & Lion]

Aobo claims that you can use the software to “spy and discover the truth” and “get back a stolen Mac”. This is perfectly fine and seemingly honest, but there is always the chance someone might have ulterior motives while using it. The website for this software is a little iffy, so just keep in mind its users could be equally so.

The software comes in two varieties – standard and pro – and both of them collect the standard information that any keylogger would. However, the professional version is noted for its ability to record passwords that are typed in-browser, and it claims to have been the first keylogger for Mac to do so. All logs (including screenshots, keystrokes, and websites) can be sent to the operator’s email or FTP.

Amac KeyLogger [Snow Leopard & Lion]

Much like the other monitoring programs mentioned in this article, Amac Keylogger requires the operator to install the software on the actual computer itself. Granted, this could always possibly be done remotely by a well-versed operator, but in the meantime, just reconsider who regularly plugs flash drives into your computer.

Amac Keylogger functions just as you would expect it would – it watches you do whatever you do, sending information of your activities to the mystery man behind another screen. Although it displays itself as employee monitoring software, it is easily exploitable. If you download it once, it monitors all user accounts on the Mac in question, and it always will open up in stealth mode on the user’s computer. Also, much like Aobo, the professional version of this software can record passwords.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that Apple does subtly protect its users from these Internet demons anyway, but if you want a basic method to combat keyloggers yourself, you should take a look at this MUO article – 4 Ways To Protect Yourself Against Keyloggers. Besides this, remember to always update your OS to prevent unintentional installation, and don’t be surprised that some people do not. Take this example – a close friend of mine who works primarily with Macs once knew someone who hadn’t done so since the day that they bought it!

Have you ever encountered an attack on your Mac? Do you have any further knowledge about the ones mentioned here? Share with us in the comments.