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What Adware and Spyware is and Why your Anti-Virus Software doesn't Protect you from it Adware programs pop up ads depending on where you surf. For example, let's say that you are here looking for information about web hosts. The Adware program could pop up a window which shows an ad for a web host. I don't have pop ups on my sites so if you see a pop up while you're here it means you are infected. Spyware programs snoop on you, collect information about you and your surfing habits. Since adware and/or spyware is just installed on one computer at a time and doesn't spread it isn't considered a virus so your anti-virus program and firewall don't protect you against it. So, even if you have the best virus protection in the world you can still get infected. The two most common ways to get infected are by: 1. Drive By Installations. What this means is that just by surfing around the internet you can get infected if your computer settings aren't set to protect you. If you happen to surf to a site that has one of these on there then if you don't protect yourself the bad program could easily install itself on your computer. The result: lots of pop ups for you.To protect yourself from drive by installations, you should make sure your Active-X control is turned off. What does this mean? It means this: If you are using Internet Explorer, do the following:
This will prevent the bad guys from installing something on your computer without your permission. Once those are unchecked, when you surf the internet, from time to time you may see a box come up which asks if you want to install a program on your computer. Unless you know that you for sure want the file or are purposefully downloading a file onto your computer, MAKE SURE to click No. This will protect you from a lot of bad stuff. 2. Infection through Bundling. What this means is that by downloading a program you want, you are inadvertently downloading the bad program too. This is not something in your control. This is something that the person who you are getting from the software from is doing. They usually tell you buried deep in the terms and conditions that you have to agree to when you download the software you do want, but most people don't read them and just click yes. The most common applications that bundle adware and/or spyware with their software are: Music Downloading Software like Kazaa (if you download music from the internet, chances are you're infected), software which you install that provides you points or discounts such as Gator, and software that you install for a Free trial of something. To protect yourself from software that bundles spyware or adware with their programs: don't download software to your computer unless you are sure that it doesn't download bad stuff with it. Read the fine print. When in doubt, don't download it. Free Scan to See if Your Computer is Infected
If your computer is infected, you need to get rid of the software. You have to be careful with this because some of the software that says they will get rid of the bad stuff on your computer does, but then it replaces it with their own spyware / adware. Not nice, I know. If you have Gator, you probably also have GAIN which you need to uninstall also. Here are the free instructions for removing it. (Please note: he suggests you download RoboForm to replace Gator. Personally, I wouldn't do so.) Click here for Gator removal instructions. If you are infected by any other software, I recommend you get Ad-Aware. It's one of the top 5 rated downloads on the internet and is very popular. Make sure to follow all the instructions like it tells you too. It's compatible with Windows 98/98/ME/NT4, Windows 2000 + Windows XP. To download it, go here. Good luck and stay protected! * Please note - this advice is true and correct to the best of my knowledge but to protect myself I have to put in this legalese: I disclaim any and all liability that may result from you implementing any of the advice I suggest here. |
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