Sometimes even an experienced user will not realise that a computer is infected with a virus. This is because viruses can hide among regular files, or camoflage themselves as standard files. This section contains a detailed discussion of the symptoms of virus infection, how to recover data after a virus attack and how to prevent data from being corrupted by malware.

The ASC [Anti-Spyware Coalition] drafted a definition of "spyware" in August 2005. The ASC defines "spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies" as those that "impair users' control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy, or system security; use of their system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or collection, use, and distribution of their personal or otherwise sensitive information."

Spam is the equivalent of physical junk mail and unsolicited telemarketing phone calls. It has become one of the largest nuisances to computer users for both home and business users. Over the last few years, the use of and delivery of spam has evolved. Initially, spam was sent directly to computer users. In fact, spammers didn't even need to disguise the sender information. This early spam was easy enough to block - if you blacklisted specific sender or IP addresses, you were safe. In response, spammers began creating mock sender addresses and forging other technical information.

The term "hacker" used to carry with it a somewhat honorable distinction. A hacker is a person who has the innate ability to use or exploit an object in its existing state (in this case a computer's Operating System) to be used for something other than its original purpose. Due to the overabundance of PC crimes today the term hacker is more commonly associated with a person who uses his or her computer to maliciously attack another unsuspecting person's computer.

The term "virus" is often loosely used in reference to any type of malicious program, or it is used to describe any negative event that a malicious program causes to a host system. In the simplest terms, a virus is defined as program code that replicates from one host file to another. This simple definition leaves room for further sub-division, which has become necessary due to the evolution of malicious code over the last two decades.

Crimeware is still in its infancy with regard to the evolution of malware, and does not have an official definition. However, as its name implies, crimeware is malicious software used to initiate a crime that is typically Internet-based. During the past two years, crimeware attacks have increased at a far greater rate than the normal virus. International gangs of virus writers, hackers and spammers are joining forces to steal information and collect huge profits illegally.

If you are using ESET Remote Administrator 2.0.29 and have created an install package containing a primary and secondary profile, please review the information contained in this article. The information in this article does not apply to earlier or later versions of ESET Remote Administrator.

If you use Microsoft Windows Vista and Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro 2008 and experience problems with your system after installing ESET NOD32 Antivirus 3.0, please review the following notes.

If you suspect that your computer is infected (slow or abnormal behavior), an On-demand computer scan should be performed to examine your computer for infiltrations. We recommend that an On-demand scan be run at least twice a month, or more frequently for high-risk computers, as part of routine security measures. Regular scanning can protect your computer against: Threats which were already present on your computer before your ESET solution was installed. Dormant, potentially harmful files on your system which may have been undetectable by older virus defintions. Infections which occured while the real-time scanner was disabled (possible only if turned off by the user).

ESET Remote Administrator requires that a license file (nod32.lic) be uploaded to the server in order to activate the Mirror feature and communicate with more than two client workstations. The license file stores several pieces of important information such as the owner of the license, the number of client workstations, and the expiration date of the license. If you have received your new ERA license file and want to upload it to the server using the ESET Remote Administrator Console (ERAC), perform the following steps