Spyware, also
known as adware or malware, is becoming more and more of a
problem to internet users.
Spyware is
usually a program or application that is installed onto your
pc, often without your knowledge or permission. It may
display ads, monitor your Web surfing patterns, steal your
passwords or become responsible for a whole range of bad
stuff.
Where does spyware come
from? What does it do?
These programs/applications can come from Web sites that
download music or offer free software, or even from certain
popup ads if you click anywhere inside the ad instead of
hitting the X button to get rid of it.
Cookies are almost inevitable (most websites use them, and
some won’t even work without them), and rarely a problem as
they are very easy to clean up or even not accept, but the
threat posed by key loggers, diallers and Trojans is much
greater.
A key logger can record anything you type, including your
passwords, e-mail messages, credit card numbers, and even
your online chats. Diallers will secretly hang up your
Internet connection and redial premium services that can run
up your long-distance bill. Trojans can embed programs
which will open "backdoors" into your computer to allow
hackers to steal data or make your pc unusable.
These types of spyware can prove very costly to people
unaware of them.
How do you know if your pc
is infected with spyware?
Well, for definite, if you’ve
never checked before, you can bet your bottom dollar that
you WILL have some spyware on your computer.
Here are some common traits:
1. Changed Internet Explorer favourites.
2. Homepage changes without you changing it.
3. Popup ads popping up even when you’re offline.
4. New desktop icons appear for programs you did not
knowingly install.
5. Some Trojans will cause changes to the icons of
your normal programs.
6. Prolonged System start-up after a reboot (takes a
long time to load user
settings).
7. You have to refresh a webpage multiple times before
you can see the
content.
8. Your pc may seem uncommonly slow or sluggish.
9. A program may not operate correctly. Some examples
of this are... Windows
Media Player will not work.
Notepad will not work, Task Manager, MSConfig or
Regedit may
close immediately after opening.
10. Unexplained loss of internet access (worst case
scenario).
To eliminate spyware you should keep it from being installed
on your computer in the first place. You could always
just never install anything and never visit websites, but
then you might as well throw away your internet connection
altogether, huh?
A better option
might be to turn OFF the install on demand option in
windows. This can be done by following these steps:
1. Open a new
browser window.
2. Click on tools.
3. Click on internet options.
4. Click on advanced.
5. Scroll down through the list of advanced options and
UNCHECK "Enable install on demand".
6. Click OK.
You can also
make sure you can still download things that you WANT to
download by following these steps:
1. Open a new browser window.
2. Click on tools.
3. Click on internet options.
4. Click on security
5. Click on custom
6. Scroll down until you find "Installation of desktop
items" and set to "prompt"
7. Click OK
Remember, if your Internet security controls aren't properly
set, just visiting a Web site or clicking on a Web ad can
install an application. Please note that if any of
your programs are set to auto-update, you will need the
install on demand option enabled.
How do you get rid of
spyware?
Before running spyware removal tools, clean up your pc a
little by hand first, that way the scan won't take as long.
1. Open a browser window.
2. Click on tools.
3. Click on internet options.
4. Choose delete cookies --> ok
5. Choose delete files --> delete all offline content -->
ok
The
two most commonly recommended spyware removers are:
Ad-Aware SE Personal available
at
LavasoftUSA and
Spybot
Search & Destroy at
Safer-Networking.
Both of
these are free, and they don’t pressure you into paying for
a full version.
A good place to find help with computer problems is
http://forums.techguy.org
"HijackThis" is a general homepage hijackers detector and
remover. It does not target specific programs/URLs, just the
methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites.
As a result, false positives are imminent and unless you are
sure what you're doing, you should always consult with
knowledgeable folks before deleting anything. You can
get HijackThis for free at
Spychecker.com.
Make it a part of your regular maintenance routine to scan
your system for spyware, and remember that NO spyware
blockers will be fully effective unless you keep them up to
date, so check for updates often.
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