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removal, and other how do I questions.
detail on this whole adware spyware
thing because we talk about it so
often. Ninety-nine percent of what
goes wrong in an internet connected
PC is caused by spyware, right?
Wrong. Spyware gets a bad press.
It certainly deserves it, but the term
has become too generalized, and
this can be frustrating for both
technicians and end users alike.
Popups appear when you're not even connected to the Internet.
Strange toolbars appear on your browser that you did not install.
Your homepage has changed and you cannot change it back.
You system crashes or takes forever to load.
So I have Spyware. Now what?
Just about everyone gets spyware on their system at some time or another. The
question is, 'how do you get rid of it?' Depending on the severity of the infection,
reformatting and a clean install of the operating system may be the only sure way to
know it's gone.
We do this for several reasons, but the most important is that you know the spyware is
gone and prevention can be used to keep the system clean.
If reformatting and reinstalling isnt a desired option, then check out some of the free
spyware scanners such as adaware or error nuker. Personally I use Xoftspy which is
an excellent scanner at a very competitive price.
Free Software etc
Although there are many bonefide distributors of software there are also many
unscrupulous sites and programmers who attach viruses and or spyware to their 'free
programs.'
If you consistently install software from the internet without checking it out first then it is
only a matter of time before your system becomes infected with spyware and or
viruses.
You may have already experienced something along these lines. You come across a
free program that promises all sorts of benefits for you and its FREE! How can you
resist? You click on the download button and if your lucky and have SP2 installed then
you get the message asking you if you want to install the,' active x control,' that will
allow the software download.
This is where the trouble can begin. Active x controls without getting too geeky can of
course be good or bad and basically you are giving permission if you answer yes to
allow this active x control to do whatever it wants to your system.
If you use P2P file sharing programs then the chances of your system becoming
infected are substantially increased, in fact I would say it's inevitable.
Prevention PcRenew.net
The obvious answer to free downloads and P2P file sharing problems is not to use
these programs or download software that we are not familiar with the source. Will we
do this, I would doubt it. So what else can we do to prevent this from happening and
our systems becoming infected?
This is going to be painful, I know. But keeping your system free of spyware takes a
little effort coupled with some helpful tips.
Use a good firewall, anti-virus solution & spyware scanner. Never open email if you
don't recognize the sender. Install McAfee's free site advisor & spoofstick to prevent
phishing scams.
McAfee's site advisor is an excellent way to be alerted of potentially dangerous sites.
Its quick, it's free and it works. More and more sites are being submitted for testing
every day. Just type, 'Site advisor,' into Googles search engine to find the download.
Spoof stick will alert you with just a quick glance to any spoof (fake)websites. It will
also work when clicking on any links in an email etc. This should help you steer clear
of banking scams, identity theft etc. Again Google it for the free download.
Make sure you have your system set to automatically receive updates & patches. Scan
your system about once a week & remove any nasties that you may find. I also run
Kaspersky's free online scanner once a month as an extra precaution.
If you want to take your protection a step further then have a separate hard drive
installed in your system. Its quick, relatively cheap, offers extra protection and gives us
more space to store our data etc.
Once installed then simply make sure that anything you download is stored on the
extra hard drive, the one not containing your operating system.
Once you have it there then run right click your mouse and select scan with, 'the name
of your virus scanner,' and or spyware scanner and scan the file you just downloaded.
If the file comes up clean and you want to move the program to your system drive, the
one containing the operating system then you are as sure as you can be that it doesnt
contain any nasties thus virtually eliminating any threat to the drive containing your
operating system.
Of course you should run your spyware & virus scanners on this extra drive whilst
doing your weekly scans.
Hugh Duddy owns a PC repair company in The Netherlands. Hugh moved from
Scotland 7yrs ago to work for The United Nations & started his own company 3yrs ago.
Hugh contributes to many online publications & his specialty is Internet Security.
For how to videos etc. http://www.thedoc-experthelp.com
