Combat Computer Spyware!
An AntiSpyware Program Isn’t Enough

By Jim Shutes
LapeerTechGroup.com

Spyware has become an epidemic on the Internet. A lot of computer users have Spyware and don’t even know they have it, much less how to get rid of it. If your computer has been taking you to websites that you don’t want to go to, or if you get pop-ups when you aren’t even on the Internet, or if your computer has been running extremely slowly lately, for no reason, you probably have Spyware.

So what, exactly, is Spyware? Spyware is a wide range of benign to malicious programs that get unknowingly downloaded and/or installed on your computer and perform various tasks. They are similar to viruses, but antivirus software doesn’t detect these little bugs. Spyware can be in many forms, from basic information-gathering applets to intelligent, self-protecting and controlling programs.

Primarily, the intent of Spyware is to collect information about your Internet-browsing habits and report that information back to the home base, where it is sold for advertising purposes. In doing so, some of your Internet connection bandwidth is taken up in constantly sending this information. And if you only have a dial-up connection, I have seen the entire dial-up connection used just for this purpose, leaving nothing for the paying customer with which to surf.

Still, other types of Spyware actually take over your Internet-browsing experience and force you to go to websites that advertise for the makers of the Spyware (or their customers), and no matter how many times you close the windows, they keep coming back. They are like pop-ups that won’t go away. And a lot of times, these windows can appear even before getting on the Internet. This should be illegal!

So what can be done about Spyware? Well, if it is caught in time, a user can install AntiSpyware software to get rid of the Spyware. And as a preventative measure, AntiSpyware software should be installed BEFORE getting Spyware and the computer should be scanned on a regular basis for Spyware.

On all of the computers that I setup, I install two different AntiSpyware programs: AdAware SE and SpyBot. These two programs are highly recommended by TechTV (G4) and other computer authorities (including my own research on Spyware) and work very well together. They compliment each other and catch Spyware that the other misses, but together, do a very good job.

SpyBot is not only a good program for getting rid of Spyware, but also as a preventative Spyware-catcher. It sits there and looks for known Spyware coming into your system, as well as suspicious-looking content. If you use the Tea-Timer feature, it can be a little annoying, but ANY suspicious-looking program, trying to be installed on your system, is flagged and your permission is asked for it to be installed (now and always). If you don’t have this program installed on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp Download all updates and run the Immunize option a couple of times (for preventative purposes). Scan with it every day if you can.

AdAware SE has a little better Spyware database in it, but is not setup as a preventative AntiSpyware program. It does do a good job when you keep up on the updates and manually scan your system with AdAware. If you don’t have this program on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp Download all updates and run the Smart Scan daily (if not, at least weekly).

If, after downloading and installing, updating, and running both of these AntiSpyware program, you still can’t get rid of your Spyware, you may need to enlist the services of a professional. Some Spyware is so intelligent that it looks to see if AntiSpyware programs delete the Spyware part of its programming and, if it’s gone, reinserts it back in place. This can be very frustrating for the user (and in some cases, even for the professional). There are stronger measures that can be t