TruthScape.com  9  The Truth About RuneScape Account and Password Scamming and “Hacking”       9  How to Improve Your Account Security

Ensure That Your Operating System and Browser are Up-to-Date The Truth About Luring in RuneScape

In the topic on malware, I briefly described malicious software programs called viruses and worms. These programs can wreak havoc on your computer, doing anything from slowing down programs to deleting data. Even worse, as the names “virus” and “worm” suggest, they can spread from an infected computer to others over networks or the Internet.

These nasty “computer bugs” take advantage of vulnerabilities in operating systems, browsers, email clients and other essential software that uses the Internet. Typically, what happens is that a hacker will discover a flaw, and then write a virus or worm to exploit it. The program will then be “released” and will spread over the Internet. Software developers will then work to correct the flaw that allows the virus/worm to spread. It is for this reason that one key to an overall defense against this problem is keeping your operating system and browser up to date.

As an additional security measure, you may also wish to use an anti-virus program. These tools are written specifically to search your computer's memory and hard disk for viruses and worms and eliminate them. They can also be set to scan all your incoming email to detect viruses and worms that may try to spread through email attachments.

There are several good antivirus programs around. Two of the most commonly used pay products, both of which have been around for many years and have excellent reputations, are Norton Antivirus by Symantec and McAfee VirusScan Plus; the latter includes a firewall as well. If you do not want to purchase a package, you might wish to try AVG Anti-Virus Free.

Be sure to keep your virus definition files up to date for the best protection.

Due to the risk of RuneScape players getting keyloggers on their computers, I consider anti-spyware software to be essential. These programs can not only be used if you do suspect that you have a keylogger, but also to detect and eliminate other threats to your privacy such as tracking cookies and annoying adware. For example, if you find pop-up windows appearing when you go to the RuneScape site, you probably have adware on your computer, because Jagex doesn't use pop-ups.

The two most widely used anti-spyware programs are Spybot Search & Destroy (see Figure 116) and Ad-Aware Personal Edition, both of which are free. As with antivirus programs, anti-spyware software must be kept up to date in order to protect you from the latest threats.

Ensure That Your Operating System and Browser are Up-to-Date The Truth About Luring in RuneScape