What is Spyware?
This can be confusing. Is it a virus? Not really- at least not in the sense that it can self replicate and embed itself into files on your computer. Spyware is basically an application that monitors what you are doing online and can perform several actions. It can monitor which websites you are surfing, create relentless pop-ups, and in the worst case scenario, actually record your keystrokes and send that information to a specified server across the net potentially giving someone access to your passwords.
What is Adware?
Adware is software which displays ads whether or not you choose to view them. Programs such as Bearshare or Kazaa display ads in lieu of charging customers. They derive income from how many times those ads are viewed, and you the consumer get to use their software for “free”. Some adware like Gator will install itself onto your machine when you visit a particular website causing very annoying pop-ups and browser redirects.
Note that many antivirus programs will not detect Adware or Spyware!
So how do they get on my machine?
The most common way spyware can infect a computer is pretty obvious, you install it. You know sometimes when you visit a website and a popup appears asking if you want to install a particular component? It looks like a system message, but it typically is not. Regardless of what it says, I would take 2 things into account before pressing that ‘OK’ button.
- First I would consider what website you are visiting. If you are on Microsoft.com then I wouldn’t worry. If you are on any site that is not an “official” site such as Adobe, Apple, Sony, or typically large organizations, I would be VERY careful what I allow them to install.
- Second I would look at the actual text. If it’s saying you need to install Flash to view a page that should be fine. If it says ‘install Gator now!’ or something else which you either don’t recognize or has questionable grammar, I would leave it alone and in fact leave that site immediately. Unfortunately, many Spyware applications are now installed through supposed internet security software bundles! So my final advice here is, don’t install ANYTHINGif you are unsure of the source without consulting someone you know who is computer and internet savvy.
Alright, how do I get these things off of my computer?
This is the fun part. In the past you had to spend hours looking through the Windows Registry and manually delete any keys which pointed towards questionable applications as well as the applications themselves if you could find them. Now there is anti-spyware software! Keeping your system clean is a 3 step process:
- Download and install the anti-spyware application (I will list the ones I recommend below.)
- Before you do anything, launch the newly installed application and UPDATE it. Most of these applications will prompt you at launch to update, but even if they don’t you should force it to update its definitions.
- Once updated, run a complete system scan and let it clean your computer. I recommend a reboot after it’s complete and if you were infected by pop-ups and so on, I would run it again just to be safe. Spyware scans are typically much faster than antivirus scans so it shouldn’t take long.
So my system is clean, what now?
This is perhaps the most important advice I can give in this article. Whatever you do now, make sure the anti-spyware software you have installed has REAL TIME protection. What this means is that it will monitor your system as you surf the web and detect anything that looks out of the ordinary. If you surf to a particular site which has a spyware application ready to install on any unsuspecting surfers machine, your real time protection will intercept it and block it from ever touching your computer.
What software do I recommend?
In the past I used to run two anti-spyware applications as well as an antivirus program. I would run Adaware SE (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) as well as Ewido (http://www.ewido.net) and Trend Micro as my antivirus. Both Adaware SE and Ewido are superb anti-spyware applications. It was a pain to have several applications installed though basically doing the same thing, and you have to pay for real time protection with both of them, but I felt like I needed both as they seemed to catch different things trying to infect my computer. Now I use Trend Micro’s, PC-cillin Internet Security. This suite contains everything you could possibly need for keeping your computer and home network secure:
- What I feel is the best Anti-virus software out there
- Anti-spyware with real time protection
- A firewall which is both easy to install and configure. A window will prompt you whenever an application tries to connect to the internet and you can select to block it or allow it, simple! You don’t have to really know anything about firewalls or networking in order to be protected.
Regardless of which software you choose, make sure it has real time protection and don’t forget if you only have an anti-spyware program installed, you still need to buy and install an antivirus application as well.
