Guarding_Against_Spyware_Grayware
There are many ways to prevent the installation of spyware/grayware to a computer. Trend Micro suggests adhering to the following standard practices:
Configure all types of scans (Manual Scan, Real-time Scan, Scheduled Scan, and Scan Now) to scan for and remove spyware/grayware files and applications. See Scan Types for more information.
Educate client users to do the following:
Read the End User License Agreement (EULA) and included documentation of applications they download and install on their computers.
Click No to any message asking for authorization to download and install software unless client users are certain both the creator of the software and the Web site they view are trustworthy.
Disregard unsolicited commercial email (spam), especially if the spam asks users to click a button or hyperlink.
Configure Web browser settings that ensure a strict level of security. Configure Web browsers to prompt users before installing ActiveX controls. To increase the security level for Internet Explorer™, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security and move the slider to a higher level. If this setting causes problems with Web sites you want to visit, click Sites..., and add the sites you want to visit to the trusted sites list.
If using Microsoft Outlook, configure the security settings so that Outlook does not automatically download HTML items, such as pictures sent in spam messages.
Do not allow the use of peer-to-peer file-sharing services. Spyware and other grayware applications may be masked as other types of files that users may want to download, such as MP3 music files.
Periodically examine the installed software on client computers and look for applications that may be spyware or other grayware. If you find an application or file that OfficeScan cannot detect as grayware but you think is a type of grayware, send it to Trend Micro at:
http://subwiz.trendmicro.com/SubWiz
TrendLabs will analyze the files and applications you submit.
Keep Windows operating systems updated with the latest patches from Microsoft. See the Microsoft Web site for details.
See also: