How Do I Remove Spyware From My Computer

Writen by Steve McCormick

How do I get rid of pop-up adverts? and where do they come from?

This article is about Spyware. How you end up with Spyware on your computer, what affect it has and finally, and most importantly, how to get rid of it.

With the introduction of broadband and cable based 'always on' internet connections we are continually being infiltrated by unwanted programs that either maliciously or annoyingly affect the operation of our computer. The terms Virus and Spam are fairly well known in the computing world and as such there are many programs that exist to block and remove these products. However there are two more categories that affect most people at some time, namely Adware and Spyware.

So what are these programs and why should we worry about them?

To begin it is worth defining what Adware and Spyware are and how they differ.

Adware

Adware is normally linked to freeware or trial software. If a consumer does not want to pay for a software product they are sometimes offered a freeware version. This may have certain features blocked until you pay for the fully licensed version. But more commonly these days the products are fully enabled but are 'sponsored' freeware. During the running of the program sponsored adverts will appear either in the program itself or more commonly as a pop-up on the screen. When the freeware program stops then so should the ads. This is a legitimate use of adware as the consumer is informed of the fact during the installation process and as such has the option not to install. This is referred to as 'opting-in'. To stop the advertising the consumer can purchase the full product or a license key.

Spyware

Some adware products actually track your surfing habits and use them to display related adverts. When this intrusion is in place then this product is then referred to as Spyware. It spies on your actions which can have serious privacy and security implications.

As you can see there is a subtle difference between these two products. Also, to the normal user there is no visible difference as the covert action of spying on you is happening behind the scenes. It is for this reason that adware has now got a bad name and to most people adware and spyware are the same and the terms are used interchangeably. Spyware is normally installed unwittingly by the user when installing another product. Sometimes this fact is detailed in the terms and conditions as part of the installation program but most people do not read this and even those that do it can often be buried in the legal blurb and not obvious to the untrained eye.

Spyware runs as a separate program and as such can monitor what you are doing at anytime on the internet and send that information back to someone else. This can be search strings, form entry details including passwords and credit card details and email addresses. Not only can it monitor the user it can perform a number of other operations such as downloading and installing other programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the browser. All this information can be sent back to the spyware author who then uses it for marketing purposes or sells it on to a third party.

Apart from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware has another operational affect on the user's computer. In order to run and send back streams of information it steals from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.

So as you can see Spyware is the 'bad guy' and Adware is the approved version which does not attempt to do anything other than offer adverts to the user when using a certain program.

What next?

So now you know what Spyware (and Adware) is what can you do about it?

The first step is recognizing the fact that you may have spyware running on your computer

TOP TIPS ON HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE BEEN INFILTRATED BY SPYWARE!

• When you start your browser, the home page has mysteriously changed. You change it back manually, but before long you find that it has changed back again.
• You get pop-up advertisements when your browser is not running or when your system is not even connected to the Internet, or you get pop-up ads that address you by name
• You enter a search term in Internet Explorer's address bar and press Enter to start the search. Instead of your usual search site, an unfamiliar site handles the search.
• A new item appears in your Favourites' list without your putting it there. No matter how many times you delete it, the item always reappears later.
• Your system runs noticeably slower than it did before. If you're a Windows 2000/XP user, launching the Task Manager and clicking the Processes tab reveals that an unfamiliar process is using nearly 100 percent of available CPU cycles.
• At a time when you're not doing anything online, the send or receive lights on your dial-up or broadband modem blink just as wildly as when you're downloading a file or surfing the Web. Or the network/modem icon in your system tray flashes rapidly even when you're not using the connection.
• A search toolbar or other browser toolbar appears even though you didn't request or install it. Your attempts to remove it fail, or it comes back after removal.
• And the final sign is: Everything appears to be normal. The most devious spyware doesn't leave traces you'd notice, so scan your system anyway.

HOW TO GET RID OF SPYWARE!

The first thing is to scan your machine on a regular basis to check for and remove any detected spyware programs or settings. There are numerous Anti-Spyware software programs which will detect and remove any existing spyware programs that is recognises. They can detect know programs running, entries in the registry and files and folders and remove them. They rely on a database of known spyware products which is normally automatically updated by the anti-spyware program. As with anti-virus software it is the case that the spyware that exists before the recognition software so it is possible that some spyware is not detected immediately but if the anti-spyware product you use is a good one, they will update their databases on a regular basis.

SUMMARY

Spyware can affect anyone who runs a computer connected to the internet.

• To avoid being attacked you can install one of a number of software products and follow basic safety rules.
• Once you have been affected, or think you have, the solution is to install an Anti-Spyware detection program which will scan you computer, highlight the problems and allow them to be fixed.
• As with viruses, Spyware products will always exist so you will just have to accept that at sometime you will probably be affected by it. It's a bit like spam email, you just have to deal with it.

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