Adware/Spyware

Adware

While not necessarily malware, adware is considered to go beyond the reasonable advertising that one might expect from freeware or shareware. Typically a separate program that is installed at the same time as a shareware or similar program, adware will usually continue to generate advertising even when the user is not running the originally desired program. Not all adware products are spyware but the majority are. There are also products that do display advertising but do not install any tracking mechanism on your system.

Any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running is called Adware. Any software that sends data back to a third party - without the user knowledge is Spyware.

Spyware

A type of malware that reports on the contents, status, or operation of the computer to a remote system or user. While they are sometimes sinister, like a remote control program used by a hacker, software companies have been known to use spyware to gather data about customers. The practise is generally frowned upon.

Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Spyware is regarded by those in the know as one of the most despicable things on the Internet, reporting back information from your computer to faceless organizations, spyware is becoming an increasingly common problem for most PC owners, and if left unchecked can have an almost crippling effect on a system's performance. Spyware gets information from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.

There are also many PC surveillance tools that allow a user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging and others. It then relays this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party.

How do you minimize the chance of getting adware/spyware?

• Do not download any files from strangers.
• When downloading files from the Internet. Ensure that the source is a legitimate and reputable one. If you are unsure, download the file to a removable disk and test it with your own anti-virus software.

How do you protect your computer from adware/spyware?

Use one of the followings software. Spybot is completely free for home and commercial use (donations are appreciated), whereas as Ad Aware is free for home use only. The program will scan your system for unwanted programs.

Ad Aware 6
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Spybot
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?lang=en∓page=download

Once downloaded, install and run the programs, the program then scan your system for unwanted program. Use the built-in update features to make sure you have the latest information. The program will detect and remove Spyware nasties before scanning your system for spyware entries.