Protect Your Computer From Adware & Spyware

Are you annoying of adware and spyware every time you open any websites? They have now reached epidemic proportions. They are every where in the cyber world. Here are four methods to remove or simply avoid adware and spyware without spending a dime on the latest "anti-virus" software.

1. Do not use Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is like Swiss cheese. It is open to the world by default. Microsoft is continually releasing patches to fix all the flaws in the Internet Explorer 6.X and lower versions of the browser. Although it can be "secured" by increasing the security it may loose much of its functionality once set to maximum security with certain exploitable features off.

2. It is highly recommended you should use Firefox. If you don't use the Internet much, than perhaps you don't know much about Firefox. All you need to know is that it is a browser that works REALLY well and has great security features.

3. Use a software or hardware firewall (not just Window XP Service Pack 2's firewall). This may sound expensive and hard to do but it is not. If you have a DSL or broadband cable connection your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have given you a DSL/Cable router with a firewall built in. All you have to do is turn it on. This may require you to take a few minutes to read the manual. If your ISP did not give you a DSL or Cable broadband router with a built in firewall you can spend anywhere from $20 - $60 (or sometimes even cheaper with a mail-in rebate) to get a router. If you have DSL you will need a DSL router. If you have Cable broadband ISP you will need a Cable Router. Brands such as Linksys have built in firewalls and a feature called NAT, Network Address Translation, which is very effective since it hides your real IP address from the Internet. All routers come with instruction on how to hook them up. If you want to keep you computer security free, just use a free software firewall.

4. Remove spyware/adware with free anti-spyware, anti-adware software. Other two excellent methods of cleaning your system for free are Lavasoft's Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy.

It is better to use all of the above methods. Being proactive by surfing with a decent browser and getting a firewall is important, but it also helps to know about a couple of good anti-adware/spyware applications. There are many great forums on the Internet dedicated to doing nothing but finding and cleaning such malware. Chances are if your system is infected with it, hundreds of others before you have been infected and have already figured out how to get rid of the malware.

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by: George Williams

The Top Ten Spyware And Adware Threats That Exists To Harm Your Computer

If you have a computer, then chances are you have either spyware or adware lurking on it somewhere. Estimates suggest that 90% of computers are infected with malicious software (malware) of some type. They take over your computer, infest it with pop-ups and other junk, or even worse, steal your private information. Although there are countless types of spyware and adware, these are the ones generally considered the biggest threats to your computer.

Gator - This adware is designed to track the sites you surf and so get a picture of your online interests. Once it has enough data, it starts to bombard you with everything from banner ads to pop-ups on similar subjects, hoping to grab your interest and attention. Generally your computer gets infected with Gator when you share files through Kazaa or other means, or when you download freeware.

n-Case - Another type of adware, which subjects you to an endless flood of pop-up ads. Downloading freeware from online sites is the way your computer usually gets infected with this malware.

PurtyScan - This is particularly sneaky adware. First it displays a pop-up ad on your computer offering to detect any pornographic content on your computer, with an offer to remove it. If you click on the ad, however, you end up a website which then infiltrates your computer with even more spyware and adware.

Transponder - Similar to Gator, in that it 'watches' your online behavior, then bombards you with ads that this malware decides are relevant.

CoolWebSearch - This malware is certainly not cool, but malicious. The first step is that it hijacks your Internet settings and web page, and then redirects you to another web page of its own. As you can imagine, that website is full of more adware and spyware, waiting to get into your computer.

Internet Optimizer - You could almost call this piece of malware a hacker. It takes control of your home page, and also any other web pages you visit. The final step is to pass you on to its own web page, so that it can download other malware onto your computer.

Perfect KeyLogger - This malware is a tool for hackers. It can record your keystrokes, which makes it simple to find out private information such as credit card numbers, passwords and other private details. These are then passed on to the hacker.

ISTbar/Aupdate - Although it pretends to be a toolbar, this is still malware. It's a form of spyware, and it operates by continually displaying pornographic images and pop-up ads on your computer, which is both embarrassing and annoying. It also takes control of your Internet settings and web page.

TIBS Dialer - If you access the Internet via a dial-up connection, this malware will hijack your phone modem and then transfer you to various websites full of pornography.

Keen Value - This malware starts out by tracking your online behavior, analyzing every website you visit. It also collects your personal information if you fill out any forms online, and then bombards with endless advertisements, many of which link through to websites full of dangerous malware.

This is why protection is always important even if you surf the next just once a week.

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by: Karl Smith

Spyware, Adware, And The Importance Of Cleaning The Registry

It is important to remove any trace of Spyware from the system registry. This can be achieved with the help of registry cleaner software.

'Adware' is a term that is frequently used to describe software that downloads and resides in the system and displays 'pop-up' advertisements on the screen. There are many sites that allow users to download programs free of cost in return for permission for adware to installed on their system. This permission is, however, hidden somewhere in the 'terms and conditions' or 'agreement' the user agrees to at the time of downloading the software. Adware is also known as Spyware without the malicious streak. It just monitors the users activity on the Internet and the type of software the user uses on the computer. These non-malicious Spyware do, however, affect the smooth functioning of the computer by slowing down the system greatly and must be detected and removed. This can be done with the help of anti-Adware or anti-Spyware in addition the registry must also be cleaned of any entries of the software with the aid of free Spyware Adware removal software.

Spyware With Malicious Intent

Spyware is Adware with malicious content. They operate in much the same way. However, Spyware actually spy's on the user of a computer. Every time the user enters personal details such as credit card information or his username and password the Spyware will record the information and mail it to its masters. This information can be used to fraudulently cause financial damage to the user of the computer the Spyware is installed on. The registry of a computer proactively upgrades the information and data in its records. Every thing that happens on the computer is registered in the registry. This means that the Spyware is also entered in the registry as well and in hundreds of places too. These entries can only be removed effectively with free Spyware removal software such as free Microsoft Spyware Adware removal tool or the famous Yahoo Spyware Adware removal tool.

Spyware Removal Utility Is Not Enough

Spyware, being designed to covertly install and operate on a system makes it very difficult to detect. One of the main indicators of the presence of Spyware on the system is the slowing of the system or 'pop-up' advertisements. In order to collect data and send it to an email address through the Internet, Spyware must pause other programs already running. This is the reason the system slows. Removing Spyware using anti-Spyware tools is not enough because Spyware expects such action and so installs links in different parts of the registry as well. To remove these links from the registry one must use special Spyware removal programs. Many Free Spyware removal tools do a good job efficiently cleaning the registry and remove all traces of Spyware.

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by: Arvind Singh

Can Adware Be Badware?

Adware can so badly infect your system that that you have to end up reformatting the infected computer by literally wiping everything out and doing a fresh install. Use antispyware software or adware removal tool to remove the threatening adware.

Adware is major commercial business with lots of money in it. Sometimes you become so badly infected with malware adware that you have to end up reformatting the infected computer by literally wiping everything out and doing a fresh install.

Advertising is nothing new, and used responsibly and in the appropriate context, is useful and beneficial to the user. But in Internet advertising Adware is something we all have to be very careful about because of its dangerous activities once installed in our system, especially if we didn't consent to it. Any unauthorized program carries the risk of making our computers unstable. And if infected with adware, the system performs really slowly and crashes constantly.

Sometimes the system does not even boot up. On top of all this, when you try to clean up your badly adware infected system, you encounter serious problems. If there are too many adware items to remove your antispyware software or adware removal tool, your computer may not be able to handle the load. Moreover, after you remove the adware, it may have taken away the computer's ability to connect to the Internet.

Privacy And Security Risk

Adware acts like spyware, while threatening your privacy and security. It reports details about your browsing habits, every time you connect to the Internet, tracking what you type, what you search for and which advertisements interest you. When you surf the Web, a malware installation may very well alter your Internet Explorer security settings in such a way that it might show you treacherous sites as Trusted sites. You have the Trusted sites section so that you can be sure that these websites won't destroy your data or system. The problem about adware is that it adds deceitful sites to the trusted zone without our approval and knowledge.

If you use Windows XP and have Service Pack 2, you are supposed to be safe, but adware can be clever enough to exclude itself from list of popups to be blocked. It can even unblock itself from the Windows Firewall! Some adware use Trojan horses to conceal them so that antispyware software can't find them.

The concern with adware is even more severe when teenage kids are involved. They go to various sites to download lyrics and end up with a computer that becomes so infected with adware that it becomes a real challenge for an adware removal tool to tackle. Not only that, the adware keeps generating popups that are most unsuitable for the viewing of kids.

It is therefore, highly recommended that every computer must be installed with antispyware to ensure safety.

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by: Arvind Singh

Spyware Remover: Bursting Out The Spyware And Adware

Spyware Remover is evolved as the need to keep your privacy intact when you do computing or surfing the Internet. These programs do block the suspected entry and clean any malicious codes. How to burst off their presence on the computer? Simply read this.

Spyware Remover is evolved as the need to keep your privacy intact when you do computing or surfing the Internet. This program can block Spyware and their suspected entries and even clean any malicious codes. To effectively remove Spyware Adware from the system, the Spyware remover proceeds on full scan with some intricate areas like system files and registries. Collecting the required matches, the files are marked and presented on for removal.

As we all know that there are many companies who wish to increase their customer base are misusing this Spyware to gain the access to the computer using patterns. Even if these Spyware programs can harm to the computers, it doesn't matter at all to such companies. All they expect an advertisement show to us. These advertisement reminding and pseudo-search service are dealt very strictly.

The Spyware also work is dual mode by tricking the security settings and modifying the system registries. Some of them install two components simultaneously if one is removed another one reinstalls it. Well, if this is case then also no worry. As we now have Spyware removers! These Spyware removal tools not only chase these but it also helps us by tracking the events and blocks the program tree execution.

To stop Spyware or to block Spyware on your system, these Spyware removers have improved signature definition and are available with the latest updates. To remove Adware Spyware from your system, many anti-Spyware software companies have taken some serious steps in their offering, as you can evaluate their offering by the free versions downloads. Moreover, some free anti-Spyware may have some better-added advantages like combo action of detection, cleaning and prevention, which is often carried out with installation of the frequent updates and feed backs.

To stop Spyware or such types getting installed on your computer just look up at forums, discussions boards, search engines, and various software communities. You are sure to get correct information about some reliable Spyware removers. Don't forget that if any of the above techniques will not work effectively on the privacy intruders like your favorite Spyware, then don't hesitate to ask people for a better help on all those forum sites that you browse most of the time whenever you are in a hunt for getting information. Now when all of you have understood the concept and working efficiency of spyware removers, than get it installed right now!

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by: Arvind Singh

What You MUST Know Before You Sign Up For Any Spyware/Adware Removal Site

With so many Spyware/Adware removal website's on the internet, many consumers are turning to review sites for vital information about which offers are "right for them" or the "best." Some review sites are scams designed and marketed by companies to sell their internet offers or by individuals known as "affiliates" who are selling products for other companies.
Cosumers-Reviews.net have teamed up to help put an end to scamming.

What is Spyware/Adware - Spyware is software that has been created to track and report what you do on the computer! Some of the "worst" spyware will actually search your hard drive for personal information, credit card numbers, bank accounts, passwords, and other confidential information. Adware or Adaware is software that turns your computer into a "billboard" constantly loading ads onto your screen.

Why Do I Need to Remove Spyware/Adware - Spyware and adware, malware has been specifically designed to be difficult to remove. Once you have spyware or adware on your computer, many virus removal programs and few firewalls will not be able to "touch" or "remove" it. Spyware has become the number one threat to all internet users world wide. It is possible that 9 out of every 10 computers are infected. Spyware/ Adware will destroy your pc and your internet experience and can also result in identity theft.

If your computer is not running the way it did when you first purchased it, you most likely have spyware, adware and errors in your system registry. Statistics show that over 98.3% of pc's have spyware and corrupted registries.

How to Protect Your Computer from Spyware and Adware

As if spam, viruses, and worms aren't bad enough. Adware and spyware are here to sap the remaining life out of your productivity and privacy. Cookies are harmless in comparison!

Adware is software that displays advertisements on your computer. These are ads that inexplicably pop up on your display screen, even if you're not browsing the Internet. Some companies provide "free" software in exchange for advertising on your display. It's how they make their money.

Spyware is software that sends your personal information to a third party without your permission or knowledge. This can include information about Web sites you visit or something more sensitive like your user name and password. Unscrupulous companies often use this data to send you unsolicited targeted advertisements.

Is Your PC Affected by Spyware?

The main problem that most people notice with either kind of program is that they cause performance issues with their computers. For example, Internet Explorer might not work properly any more, your computer might hang more frequently, or your computer might slow down significantly. Removing spyware successfully is difficult enough to make preventing it in the first place a priority.

Unauthorized adware and spyware usually install on your computer covertly by using one of two methods:

• Tricking you into clicking a link that installs it. Links to spyware can be deceptive. For example, a Web site that's trying to push spyware onto your computer might open a window that looks like a Windows dialog box, and then trick you by installing when you click a Cancel button to close the dialog box. Sometimes, spyware pushers will put a fake title bar in an empty window, and then install spyware when you try closing the window.

• Installing freeware that includes it. For example, you might install a free file-sharing program that surreptitiously installs spyware on your computer. File-sharing programs can be a major conveyor of adware.

Once installed, spyware can transmit your personal information and download advertisements 24 hours a day. It can also hijack your browser settings, such as your home page or search page.

Protect against Spyware and Adware

Without help, you have no way to prevent adware or spyware. Old antivirus programs don't even prevent adware, since they didn't consider them viruses or worms. First, you usually give permission to install adware, although you do so unwittingly because adware and spyware pushers are deceptive. Second, adware doesn't behave like a typical virus or worm. They don't usually do actual damage to your computer, other than wrecking its performance, and they don't spread themselves using your address book. (Although some kinds of adware can break your anti-spyware tools.)

Things are changing for the better, though. Most popular antivirus products now include adware and spyware scanning. For example, the latest versions of McAfee VirusScan, Norton AntiVirus 2004, and Trend Micro PC-Cillin 2004 now scan for some adware and spyware.

Also, some Internet service providers (ISPs) are introducing protection from adware and spyware. For example, America Online (AOL) announced in January spyware protection as an enhancement for AOL 9.0 Optimized. EarthLink also provides adware and spyware protection through the latest version of its software. Of course, to take advantage of the built-in protection that antivirus products and ISPs provide, you have to update to the latest versions, and keep the anti-spyware/adware signatures current.

Prevent Unwanted Installation

Companies pushing adware and spyware are relying on two things: your desire for free software and your gullibility. I've had two friends bring me their computers after they were seriously infected with adware. In one case, the culprit was my friend's craving for free file-sharing software. His desktop was a mess with countless icons for programs that he downloaded from the Internet. I was aghast. What he didn't realize is that he gave implicit permission to install adware. He knows better now.

My other friend isn't a freeware glutton. Instead, she has a habit of clicking the Yes or OK buttons on every dialog box she sees. Even suspicious-looking dialog boxes that don't pass close scrutiny. Of course, when a dialog box pops up asking if it's OK to install a new program, she clicks the Yes button.

The lesson that you can learn from my friends will help you prevent the installation of most adware and spyware:

• Make sure the programs you install don't contain adware. Many freeware programs do include adware. It's how the publishers make their money. If you're not sure, read the license agreement carefully (these are usually shown directly or through links as part of the installation process). Also, check the publisher's Web site very carefully. If you're still not sure, search Google Groups for the name of the program and the keywords adware or spyware. If you don't find any postings about it, then you're probably OK.

• Install a pop-up blocker to prevent adware and spyware pop-up windows. Much spyware installs after you click a deceptive link in a pop-up browser window. Install a pop-up blocker, and you won't even be tempted to click those links. My two favorite pop-up blockers are completely free. The first is the new MSN Toolbar. The second is the Google Toolbar. Pop-up windows are annoying time wasters anyway, so you'll thank yourself later. If you're a Windows XP user, look for a service pack this summer (Service Pack 2) that will include a number of great security features, as well as a pop-up blocker for Internet Explorer.

• Don't unwittingly install adware or software. If you do click what seems like a innocuous link, and then you see a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 1, don't click the Yes button to install the software. In this example, I was expecting to install a program from Microsoft so I feel safe. If in doubt, however, do not proceed. This dialog box is your last line of defense, and you should only install programs from the Internet that you chose to install. This is akin to giving someone your credit card number who calls you at home. It's a different story if you called them. Installing Windows XP SP 2 (when it's available later this summer) will also provide some help by suppressing unsolicited downloads of ActiveX controls (a popular vehicle for spyware).

Check Your Computer
If you're even thinking about scanning your computer for adware and spyware, then you're probably experiencing some of the symptoms I described earlier in this article. Those include instability, performance problems, or possibly a hijacked Web browser.

There is software specifically designed for detecting spyware and adware, and helping you remove it. The one with which I'm most familiar is Ad-aware from Lavasoft. This is the program that I recommend to most of my friends. A freeware version is available for use by individuals at home. A commercial version is also available for use in corporate environments. A program like Ad-aware finds adware and spyware on your computer and then removes them.

You can find more adware and spyware removal tools at the Spyware Protection and Removal guide. This Web page includes links to popular spyware removal programs, as well as a number of useful articles. If you're not going to use a popular program like Ad-aware, however, search Google Groups for the name of the program you do choose. Some spyware removal software can cause as many problems as it fixes, and you want to find out about these problems before using unproven software.

Tip: Malke, a Microsoft MVP, offers this tip in the Windows XP Newsgroups: "It's best to run antivirus and spyware removal tools in Safe Mode." This is because removal tools sometimes can't remove spyware from your computer while it's running.

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By Jerry Honeycutt

More Security Wares Lined up For Vista

ESET Software will release NOD32 2.7 of its antivirus software on Friday, November 17, expanding its capabilities in malware (define) and adding support for Windows Vista.

The new release, posted to the ESET home page on Tuesday, has broadened its coverage to include unwanted and nuisance software, but not necessarily dangerous programs, like adware, code for keystroke loggers, and the most dangerous of malware, rookits.

The Vista support covers both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Despite Microsoft's touting of Vista's security, ESET said it's only a matter of time before malware shows its ugly face on Vista.

"Out of the box, Vista's going to be more secure than Windows XP or anything else Microsoft has released," said Randy Abrams, director of technical education at ESET. "But like any OS out of the box, users can do a tremendous amount of damage if they want to."

Entire categories of malware will be shut down on Vista, since it uses kernel-level hooking and the PatchGuard kernel protection in Vista that has Symantec and McAfee crying that it will lock their software out. "So right off the bat you have a much smaller pool of malicious software that can run on Vista," said Abrams.

NOD32 has offered rootkit (define) detection before it gets into a computer, but hasn't really had the technology in place to effectively deal one once it is in the computer's system. With version 2.7, ESET has added the technology to automatically remove a rootkit that has already taken hold of a system.

For reasons of clarity, not to mention legal coverage, ESET defines its newest area of coverage as "unwanted applications." This covers things like keystroke loggers and ad popup software, or applications that install themselves and don't uninstall easily.

Despite adding on new functionality, NOD32 retains the same small memory footprint that has distinguished the product. The price remains the same, at $39 for a single user license and a one-year subscription which provides the user with daily virus definition updates.

ESET isn't the first vendor to jump on board the Vista security bandwagon, despite repeated assurances from Microsoft of its safety and security. GRISOFT, developer of the free AVG security software, has announced its AVG Anti-Virus 7.5 software is available on the Microsoft Windows Security Center for Windows Vista

AVG Anti-Virus has received its share of kudos from reviewers and its price is hard to beat (free). It detects things like viruses, Trojans, adware, dialers, keyloggers and worms, but like NOD32, doesn't have spyware detection.

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By Andy Patrizio

March of The Trojans

450 million users report that Trojans Horse attacks are increasing. Should we be afraid?

Millennia ago, the blind poet Homer described the first Trojan Horse, which led to the downfall of the ancient city of Troy. In modern times, the digital Trojan Horse may be becoming as potent as its predecessor -- with Microsoft reporting a 300 percent increase in Trojan infections in the second half of 2007.

The revelation comes from Microsoft's latest Security Intelligence Report (SIR), which pulls data from a massive pool of approximately 450 million computers running the company's software, including the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT).

As a result, the SIR has one of the broadest survey bases of any publicly available security research report.

The SIR study found that the second half of the year saw a nearly 67 percent increase in unwanted software detections, totaling a staggering 129.5 million pieces of software across the Microsoft user base.

Even with all those detections, there could be even more unwanted malware going undetected on users' computers, according to researcher Doug Camplejohn, CEO of security firm Mi5 Networks.

"Based on the number of Trojans Mi5 sees in organizations with one or more desktop defenses in place, no vendor has got Trojan detection completely nailed," Camplejohn told InternetNews.com. "Security is a journey, not a destination, so a single point of protection or even a suite from a single vendor can never match a best-of-breed combination from multiple vendors."

In terms of the growth of Trojans as an infection route, the latest SIR report continues following a trend that stretches as far back as 2006, when Microsoft began warning about increasing numbers of Trojan infections.

Camplejohn said he suspects the ballooning numbers of Trojans during the second half of 2007 is related to the rise of botnets like Storm, which use Trojans as their primary infection method.

Though the rate of Trojan growth may well be alarming, Microsoft's report is not all doom and gloom. For one thing, the SIR study actually showed a decline of 15 percent for reported security vulnerabilities during the second half of the year.

"The decline in vulnerability disclosures was the first since 2003, when a half-year period declined ever so slightly from its previous period," Jimmy Kuo, principal architect of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) told InternetNews.com. "We've had a continual trend of increases since, and thus the decline was somewhat unexpected."

Kuo explained that the decline in new vulnerability disclosures can likely be attributed to a number of factors. One factor could be simply just a general flattening of vulnerability discoveries.

The disclosure increases observed in 2006 also could have been an atypical spike, with the 2007 numbers more representative of the overall trends.

"Additionally, as exploitation of vulnerabilities for monetary gain increases, discoverers may have a financial incentive to remain silent on new vulnerabilities," Kuo added.

Microsoft isn't the only one seeing a decline in new vulnerabilities in 2007. In a November 2007 report, the SANS Institute also noted that for the first time in years, zero-day exploits were decreasing in number.

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By Sean Michael Kerner
internetnews.com