The Trouble with Spyware
Posted on March 19, 2004
Filed Under Internet, Security |
If popup ads are plaguing you while you surf the net and your computer has slowed to a steady crawl, you may have inadvertently installed Spyware aka Adware.
Spyware is software that is often installed without your knowledge or consent. Its purpose is to gather information about how you use your computer, the web sites you visit, and so on. This information is sent back to a central collection point and is often used in advertising.
In addition, spyware will often target you for unwanted advertising and cause popup ads to seemingly come from nowhere. The number and voracity of these ads can make computing miserable and the resources they use to launch ads and call home with your demographics can make the computer slow to a crawl.
Spyware is often installed on a computer along with another software package or by allowing a web page to install software when prompted. Some of the free file sharing programs have been known to install spyware along with themselves without the users’ knowledge. Spyware can also be installed along with programs installed from CD or floppy disk.
There are plenty of free software utilities to remove spyware available on the Internet and there are also many that must be purchased. Beware however there have been programs present themselves as spyware removal tools when in fact they install spyware themselves.
Two of the most popular spyware removal tools are Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft’s Adaware. Both programs can be quite effective in finding and eliminating spyware. Spybot Search and Destroy can be found at http://www.safer-networking.org/ and Adaware at http://www.lavasoftusa.com.
Spybot is offered to the Intenet community free of charge under a public license. The author does accept donations however and if you find the program useful you might want to consider contributing to the project.
Spybot features an “immunization” feature that once installed, can prevent certain types of spyware from installing in the first place. If you manage a number of computers in a network environment, the Spybot installer and main executable provide command line options that can help you provide protection for your entire network.
Adaware comes in three versions. The Standard version is free of charge for personal or non-commercial use. The “Plus” version offers a real-time monitoring element that can proactively monitor for spyware activity and the Professional Edition provides network administrators with the tools to configure the product to their needs and deploy it network-wide. Both the Plus and Professional versions are commercial products and are licensed for use at a cost per computer.
Spyware can be a true menace and in many ways can be as insidious as comoputer viruses. It is not uncommon to find it installed on systems that are showing no symptoms of spyware at all. Catching it early can save a great deal of frustration and prevent your information from being sent to someone without your knowledge or approval.
If you suspect that you’re computer has fallen pray to spyware, download and install one of these superb products. Even if you have no such suspicion, you may be surprised by what you find.
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