FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING SPYWARE
In general, it's any program installed on your PC that would send information (such as your browsing, and shopping habits, or personal data) from your computer to someone else's without your knowledge and/or your permission.
It is often referred to as 'Adware' that tries to tailor the ads you see in web sites with your browsing habits. 'Foistware' is software running on your computer that hijacks the ad window from one web site and replaces the intended ads with its own. Sometimes (typically inadvertantly), you agree to install one of these programs either by being told that it must be installed for a web page to be displayed correctly, by agreeing to a prompt you don't understand, and in some cases by installing a program that you wanted/intended to download which installs the spyware as a secondary process. By doing so, you are agreeing to let someone else use your computer's idle processing power for their own purposes. Overall, these things are perpetrated by people/companies who take advantage of the following:
- Code or script that manipulates Internet or browser processes.
- Most people's lack of knowledge concerning Spy-ware and Adware technology.
- The fact that we seldom read Terms and Conditions of software we download/install.
It usually happens when you visit a web site, and are prompted to download something that is said to be "necessary" to view or use features of that web site. Also, you might want or download a program that has some nice features, but also installs program code that can send information out without your knowledge.
A lot of these programs automatically load into memory when you boot your computer. If you get enough of these running, the computer's available resources get lower, and your system's performance will suffer. Another thing to be concerned about is that these programs use the bandwidth that you pay your hard-earned money for as they send information about your browsing and shopping habits to companies or other entities associated with the spyware. There could also be conflicts with other programs, decreased performance browsing the internet, or total inability to browse the web. The most damage that can come from this is damage to your privacy.
Most of the time, you're unaware that one of these programs is on your system, or you didn't realize that a program performed spyware functions (Most common are various file-sharing programs). Some of these programs will be listed in Add/Remove Programs, in your control panel. Others, however will not show as being installed on the machine, and thus, you need specific software designed to detect and/or remove programs and processes like this (Discussed in the next section).
Some programs, like Comet Cursor or Gator, can be removed via the standard 'Uninstall' process under Control Panel|Add/Remove Programs. The problem with others is that 'Spyware' programs can "piggy-back" in with another program's installation, and uninstalling one thing could leave the Spyware on your computer. Some anti-Spyware web sites will also have the names of various files that would be present on your system if Spyware is installed. Using the Windows 'Find' (or 'Search') option, you can easily see if those files are present. It is not recommended that you delete these files yourself as, unfortunately, there are hoaxes out there that might be telling you to delete necessary files from your computer. While this is generally done via e-mail, you may well run across these types of malicious hoaxes posted online.
For removal, we recommend a few things... If you feel confident in doing the removal yourself, there are programs that can help you. Try the following:
- Spybot Search & Destroy: An extremely useful tool for spyware removal. Get it from download.com.
- Ad-aware: Is another great tool for the removal of spyware. It can be downloaded from download.com
- Spyware Blaster: A great add-on for Spybot, this program will keep most spyware from even loading onto your computer. The user interface is fast, friendly, and very easy to use. Get it here: SpywareBlaster 3.1.
- Google Toolbar: Google's Toolbar is a great little utility. Not only can you use it to search the web but they also offer one of the best pop-up stoppers out there and it's FREE! Recommended for all users.
Disclaimer: If you do not feel comfortable in removing these programs on your own, contact someone who does windows-based troubleshooting for help. It is important to remember that some of these programs can be extremely difficult to remove from your system, and in some cases, doing so can cause your computer to malfunction or crash completely. Because of this risk, it is strongly recommended that you back up your personal files (or have someone else back them up for/with you) before removing the spyware programs. We are not responsible for lost data, lost time, or lost wages resulting from any of the advice, programs, or processes listed herein.
