Dealing with Spyware and Adware
Two of the worst causes of problems in personal computers these days is the prevalence of spyware and adware. Spyware and adware are types of malicious software (AKA malware) that infect PCs. Unlike other malware like viruses and trojans, spyware and adware don’t exist to cause damage directly, but to collect information about a user’s surfing habits, purchasing preferences, etc. and send it to marketing agencies (spyware), or to serve advertisements to the user, often making them appear as if they are normal pop-ups encountered while surfing the web (adware). Both these types of malware consume CPU cycles, memory, and network bandwidth, causing degradation in system performance and stability. Severe infections can make surfing the internet impossible or even render the entire system unusable. On top of that, spyware serves as an invasion of privacy, because the data collected can be used not only to target you with unwanted advertising, but quite possibly with identity theft as well.
The source of these infections can be email attachments, or files downloaded from the internet disguised as (or embedded within) useful software. Some adware and spyware can also be picked up simply by surfing to certain websites.
Removal of this type of malware is usually accomplished with the aid of utilities written for this purpose. There are free and commercially products available, each with their own set of strengths. Spybot Search & Destroy (safer-networking.org) and Adaware (lavasoft.de) are two long-standing products which offer free versions for personal, home use. Running scans with both these products, one after the other, will allow you to effectively remove most malware. Some objects however embed themselves so deeply within the operating system that free tools cannot completely remove them. There are a number of other tools available for dealing with these nefarious objects, each customized for the particular type of infection they’re designed to combat. For example, CWShredder (us.trendmicro.com) was designed to remove a rather insidious form of web browser hijacker, which redirects your searches, changes your home page, and creates bookmarks to other sites. Another tool for combatting hijackers and other malware is hijackthis, also from TrendMicro. Both of these tools are for experienced, technical users. You have to know specifically what you’re looking for. This is especially true of hijackthis, which will happily let you remove components that are actually quite critical to your system.
For these infections that are harder to find and kill, or if you’re running in a corporate environment and want continuous updates and real-time protection, you should consider a commercial offering. Adaware Pro sells for $39.00. The cost of the corporate edition of Sypot S & D is not given on their website.
An ounce of Prevention
A strictly commercial product (with a free trial) is >SpyEraser 2 from Uniblue ($29.95, uniblue.com). In addition to the ability to remove most spyware and adware, it offers real-time, continuous protection against becoming infected in the first place, and automatic daily updates. A free scan of your system is available from their website, as is an award-winning process library that can help you identify potentially dangerous processes that are running invisibly on your system.
Whether you decide to collect a set of free utilities or take the plunge and purchase a product depends on your level of expertise, the amount of free time you have to investigate and learn to use the various tools, and if you want or need the technical support that comes with a commercial product. In any case, it should be clear that you have to do something to combat spyware and adware on a regular basis if you want to keep your system running efficiently.
