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Has your computer slowed down significantly?
Do you have Excessive Pop-ups? It may be Spyware.
By Dave Peiser, Peiser Solutions
May 3, 2004
Have
you noticed a significant slowdown of your computer system lately? Or, do
multiple pop-ups come onto your screen when visiting websites, or even when
you're not web surfing. Or, does your web home page keep changing to
something you didn't choose?
If
you're suffering from any of these maladies, and your antivirus software is
up-to-date, they're most likely caused by spyware or adware, and there is
something you can do about it.
Spyware, Adware, how did I get infected?
The
most common method of getting infected with spyware is by installing
downloaded "useful" programs off the internet. Many legitimate products have
terms in their license agreements stating that as an installer of their
product, you agree that it's OK to install three or four other programs,
and, by the way, track all your internet surfing and send that info back to
us everyday. Nice, huh?
It's
estimated that 80% of PCs are infected with spyware as of April, 2004,
according to Webroot Software, a maker of anti-spyware products. If you've
installed file-sharing software such as Kazaa or Grokster, spyware is an
invisible gift that comes along as your "payment" for the "free" software.
You can also get infected by simply visiting certain websites or opening an
HTML email. I recommend shutting off the preview pane in Microsoft Outlook
to lessen this risk.
What is Spyware?
There
are several major categories of spyware:
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Adware - Tracks your web browsing habits and delivers banner and pop-up
ads to your web browser that you'd most likely be interested in |
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Key loggers - Record all your keystrokes, including passwords, credit
card numbers and other personal info, and then save this data to a file
on your PC or on a PC located somewhere else |
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Trojan Horses - Open up access to your PC so outsiders can access your
files and data |
A
little scary??
So
how do you get rid of spyware?
Luckily, there are a couple free programs that do a great job of removing
this junk from your computer, or, if you want real-time protection, spending
$30.00 or more will buy you decent protection. You need to be aware though,
that no product currently available will find all the spyware on your PC.
You must use at least two products to feel assured that you have a clean
system. My recommendations:
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Go to download.com
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Search for, download, and install the following two products:
- Ad Aware (from Lavasoft)
- Spybot Search + Destroy
(PepiMK Software)
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Run one program at a time. Make sure to use the update feature in each
program before scanning. Note that Spybot's update can be a little slow.
Use the default setting when scanning. Once scanning is complete, look
at all the items that were found. I have had no problems so far
selecting remove/fix for all the items found, but when you run the scan,
deselect items if you are unsure if removing them will cause harm to
your system.
What if it still seems like I have a problem?
I've
found it is sometimes necessary to run these scans in Windows "Safe Mode" in
order to completely remove everything. Here is a link to instructions for
starting Windows in safe:
Safe Mode
What next?
My
recommendation is to do the following:
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Run a scan with both of these programs at least once per month
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Avoid installing unnecessary programs and utilities
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Shut off the preview pane in Microsoft Outlook
Is
it necessary to buy a real-time protection product?
If
you can follow my three recommendations, then at this point I would not
bother spending the money. If you are interested, Symantec includes a
spyware blocker in Norton Internet Security 2004, and McAfee includes a
spyware blocker in their McAfee Internet Security Suite 6.0.
What about Popup blockers?
I
personally don't like using popup blockers because they end up blocking
useful pop-ups as well as the mischievous ones. My recommendation is to
regularly run spyware scans to take care of the cause of the problem rather
than a symptom. If you do want a pop-up blocker, Google offers a free one
with their toolbar – as long as you don’t mind them tracking your web
surfing so they can use that info in their site rankings!
About the Author:
Dave
Peiser is principal and owner of Peiser Solutions.
Peiser Solutions works with businesses
that want the best technical solutions and computer support. Dave has over
19 years of technology and business experience working for large, midsize
and small companies. He has extensive experience with the application of
technology in serving business needs, while working in technical and
management roles. For more information, you can visit the Peiser Solutions
website at
http://www.peisersolutions.com or call 760-632-0068.
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