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Spy ware Nightmare

Spy ware or Adware?

If your PC is feeling sluggish or your browser recently acquired a mysterious new toolbar, you may be a victim of Spy ware! Are there new programs showing up in your system tray? Do advertising windows pop up even when you're not browsing the Web?

All of these are sure signs that your computer is infested with adware, Spy ware, or other malicious software you don't want and don't need. Like viruses, these programs often sneak onto your PC by piggybacking on a downloaded program, e-mail message, or Web site. Though not as dangerous as viruses, adware, Spy ware, and other unsolicited software can slow your PC, bog down your Internet connection, reduce your productivity, and jeopardize your personal privacy.

You can avoid installing unwanted software by being choosy about the free programs you download, and by understanding your browser's security settings. Removing adware and Spy ware can be hard, but several free utilities detect and remove hundreds of known nasties.

Adware is any kind of software that, once installed on your PC, pops up browser windows containing advertisements. The software may also track your Web browsing and use the information to send targeted advertising related to your browsing habits. While this is fairly innocuous behavior, you are still paying for these ads to be displayed by donating your machine's processor time and your Internet connection's bandwidth.

Spy ware is like adware, except that it has gone completely over to the dark side, scanning your hard drive for personal information or attempting to link your surfing habits to your name or e-mail address. Once Spy ware has discovered your e-mail address, an onslaught of spam can't be far behind. More insidious than either adware or Spy ware are dialers, which high jack your Internet connection and silently route you through toll numbers that can cost several dollars per minute. Dialers often piggyback on the porn spam that plagues most e-mail in-boxes. Simply previewing the e-mail message can, in some cases, install the dialer.

Most adware and Spy ware come bundled with popular free programs, notably the popular peer-to-peer file-sharing programs like Kazaa, IMesh, and BearShare used for downloading MP3s and other software. Installing one of these can dump dozens of additional programs on your PC. The makers of the host programs try not to advertise their programs' hidden payloads. Reading the licensing agreement (carefully) during installation may reveal embedded licenses for the piggybacking adware. Look for notorious adware and Spy ware names like CommonName, FavoriteMan, GAIN, New.net, and "nCase." For an extensive catalog of the many varieties of adware and Spy ware currently in circulation, follow the link from our web site at http://www.zylo-net.com/Spy ware

You may, in some cases, be able to opt out of installing adware or Spy ware elements by unchecking a box during installation. Often, this will allow you to install the free program you do want, without installing the undesirables. Frequently, however, bundled adware or Spy ware installs silently, and offers no uninstall link or tool.

To clear your computer of adware, Spy ware, and many other pesky programs, use a free anti-spy ware utility like PepiMK Software's Spybot Search & Destroy or Lavasoft's Ad-aware 6.0. In fact, you may have the best results if you use both, since neither is likely to catch every malicious application installed on your PC. Neither program detects or removes viruses, so you'll still need to use a good antivirus program, such as Symantec's Norton AntiVirus ($50; $15 annual renewal fee).

And be forewarned that many programs that include Spy ware or adware won't work after the Spy ware is removed. In such cases, you'll need to find a (spy ware-free) replacement.

Once you rid your PC of unwanted programs, you can keep it clean by avoiding spy ware-laden downloads and by upping your browser's security settings to avoid "drive-by" installations. Internet Explorer is the main target of most of these, and its default setting (Medium) will prevent automatic installations of most Web-based adware and Spy ware

To check your browser's settings in Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options, click the Security tab, and choose the Internet zone. Make sure that the security level setting is at Medium or higher. In AOL 8.0, which uses IE to display pages, choose Settings, Preferences, click the Internet Properties (WWW) link, then select the Security tab, and choose the Internet zone to access the same settings options as IE.

With your Medium (or higher) setting, however, you'll still be prompted to install software that may appear safe. As a rule, don't accept any downloads from sites you don't know and trust completely.

There's no sure way to know if a program contains Spy ware Reviews, the maker's Web site, close examination of the installer and license agreements, and the experiences of other users are your best bets for solid information; try Google for a fast way to find all of these. If you think a program may be safe, go ahead and install it, but be sure to scan your PC afterward with an up-to-date anti-spy ware utility, or even two. You can't be too cautious.

For links to the Spy ware and Adware removal tools mentioned, please visit our web site in the downloads section.