Thursday, July 13, 2006
Spyware 101
Spyware is any software placed on a computer without the user’s knowledge or permission for the purpose of employing the user’s Internet connection to collect information. Most of it is downloaded unwittingly with”free” ad supported software programs. Some of the most notorious are Gator’s eWallet, Netsonic, and GoZilla.The primary purpose of most of these programs is to send information back to the “mothership” that sent them out to track surfing habits of a user. This information may be sold to commercial interests or it is used to prove to advertisers that their ads are being viewed and that they should pay for the “views” recorded. In short, most of it is benign, except that it is using your bandwidth to transmit information while you are trying to use your connection, too. An effect is slowing your computing and connection.
Some spyware is more malignant. It may cause you to receive targeted ads or pop up ads. It may be used for identity theft in the worst cases. Occasionally, it is the source of computer crashes, because it conflicts with normal programs.
There are software programs designed to detect and remove spyware. For there effective use they have to be used routinely and frequently. They have to be kept up to date so that they can recognize new spyware that is introduced almost daily. No single anti-Spyware program detects and removes all known Spyware, so it is appropriate to use more than one.
One of the best is Ad Aware 7.0. It is available as a free download and can be found easily using Google. Running this once or twice a week will find the malware deposited on your hard drive and remove it more effectively than you can by using Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programs or by trying to track it down manually in the Registry.
Some removers can also eliminate key loggers, some Trojan horse viruses, and browser hijackers. SpywareBlaster is a special program that filters out Spyware before it ever gets onto your hard drive. All of the others are used to root out malware that has already been placed onto your PC. To be effect, its list of current Spyware has to be updated at least weekly.
Computer Guys Live is currently offering a special online spyware scan and removal. If security is important to you, we also recommend downloading and installing Trend Micro's spyware remover. Just visit us at computerguyslive.com for complete spyware removal and protection.
![[Valid RSS]](http://computerguyslive.com/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")