Spyware and Adware

Spyware consists of two types of software, surveillance software such as keystroke loggers (sometimes installed by paranoid corporate systems administrators or even spouses) and advertising software. Both are typically installed without the knowledge of the user. Advertising spyware is designed to harvest information from your computer. Much adware is relatively benign, it only tracks the websites you visit then transmits this information back to the advertiser to help them market you more effectively.

There are a number of spyware programs however, that harvest personal information, passwords and anything else they can locate on your hard drive. The major players in the spyware dissemination game are the popular peer-to-peer programs available today. Kazaa, Bearshare, Limewire, etc. although there are lots of other sources as well such as free software advertised on the web such or downloaded when you join a new ISP or Internet service of some kind.

The loss of privacy problem is annoying enough but many of these programs are also designed to present “targeted” marketing to you via pop-up ads. A number of the worst ones also take control of your browser to such a degree that it becomes unusable. In the worst cases you may have to reinstall your operating system and applications.
How do I know if I am infected with spyware?

The following symptoms may indicate that spyware is installed on your computer:

• Pop-up windows begin appearing even if you don't open a new page.
• When you select a favorite or type a URL in your browser you are redirected elsewhere.
• When you click "search" you get an unexpected search engine.
• New toolbars appear in your web browser.
• New, unexpected icons appear in the task tray at the bottom right of your desktop.
• Your browser home page suddenly changes.
• Your computer seems very slow when opening programs or processing tasks (saving files, etc.).
• Certain keys fail to work in your browser. For example, the Tab key no longer works when you are in a form.
• You begin getting Windows errors.

How do I get rid of Spyware or Adware?
There are several good spyware remover programs that are free. Two of the best known are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. Just like anti-virus programs, they are constantly updating their definitions files so be sure to check for updates frequently.

In some cases, you may have to make registry changes or run specialized software to try and resolve the problem.

How do I avoid getting reinfected with Spyware or Adware?
The best way to avoid reinfection is to clamp down on your browser security. Many say that moving to Mozilla's Firefox browser is enough but they are already finding security holes in that product as well.

These are basic steps to avoid possible infection.

• Don't click on buttons or links within pop-up windows - Because pop-up windows are often a product of spyware, clicking on the window may install spyware software on your computer. To close the pop-up window, click on the X icon in the title bar instead of a Close button or link within the window. Don't even use the Close or Cancel buttons in the pop-up.
• Be wary of free software downloads - Many sites that offer toolbars or other features that are designed to appeal to you. Never download programs from sites you don't trust. If you do, you may expose your computer to spyware by downloading some of these programs.
• Don't follow email links claiming to offer anti-spyware software - Like email viruses, the links may serve the opposite purpose and actually install the spyware it claims to be eliminating.
• Set your browser security to a high setting - If you are using Internet Explorer, this is easy. From the menu select Tools Internet Options and clink on the Security tab. Click on the icon for the Internet Zone to highlight it then move the sliding control to High and click the OK button. Some pages won't load very well because you have disabled running Active-X controls but, hey! Active-X is the same language used to run the bad stuff as well!

If you're more computer-savvy, you may want to make the following changes to your Internet Explorer instead.

1. From the menu select Tools Internet Options and clink on the Security tab.
2. Click on the icon for the Internet Zone to highlight it then click Custom Level.
3. Choose Medium from the drop-down box at the bottom.
4. Click the Reset button.
5. Click OK, then click Custom Level again.
6. In the Security Settings box, set your options as listed below:

NET Framework-reliant components

• Run components not signed with Authenticode (Disable)
• Run components signed with Authenticode (Prompt)

ActiveX controls and plug-ins

• Download signed ActiveX controls (Prompt)
• Download unsigned ActiveX controls (Disable)
• Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe (Disable)
• Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins (Enabled) (This actually refers to Java and Flash, not ActiveX)
• Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting (Prompt)

Download (This is optional based on whether or not you download files from the web in HTTP mode)

• File download (Enable)

Miscellaneous

• Access data sources across domains (Disable)
• Drag and drop or copy and paste files (Prompt)
• Installation of desktop items (Prompt)
• Launching programs and files in an IFRAME (Prompt)
• Navigate sub-frames across different domains (Prompt)
• Software channel permissions (High safety)
• Userdata persistance (Disable)

Scripting

• Allow paste operations via script (Prompt)
• Scripting of Java applets (Prompt)

Some stuff from sites won't load with your security locked down like this but that has more to do with the poor security-mindedness of many web designers than anything else.