Is Your Computer as Slow as molasses in the snow? Suspect you'll detect SPYWARE!

If this describes your computer speed perfectly - or even is an understatement then chances are your baby is infected. Not necessarily with a virus, although that is a possibility, but a more likely explanation is that there is a tricky little program running in the background tracking your movements on the web and reporting back to "someone". SPYWARE

But what is it and how did it get there? Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it was an inside job. Someone with access to your computer, probably you, did the deed!

Spyware runs in the background on your computer, many times you can find it in your windows task manager processes if you know what to look for but like most people, you probably don't know what is supposed to be there and what isn't. (Tasklist.org let's you look up processes and find out what they are! Very useful)

The internet is just popping up with opportunities to add fun or useful little programs to your list of downloads. Smilies to add to your email, a lovely waterfall desktop wallpaper, a little program that remembers all your user names and passwords for you and even fills in your information on those incessant forms, a little program that promises to sync your clock with atomic time, a little blue gorilla that talks to you and offers suggestions of sites to look at, and, of course, the P2P programs that let you download music.

Fun? Probably. Useful? Many are... at first. But how much use is there in a program that keeps your clock working so that you can count the minutes go by while you wait for your computer to respond to your commands?

The first defence is a good offence.. read the fine print before you install any of that free stuff on the internet - somewhere in there you might just find something about how "affiliate programs" will be installed to help keep the software free. Those "affiliate programs" are probably not named but you can bet your mouse button that it will be a new toolbar in your browser or a hidden process tracking your movements.

If you really can't wade through all that fine print then do a simple internet search .... try typing in "gator spyware" in your favourite search engine and you wont even have to go to a page to see that it is one of the worst offenders!

Finally get a good spyware checker and run it regularly - at least once a week! But a caution... there are actually programs professing to rid you of the dreaded spyware when in fact they are installing their own! (see a list of reputable sources at the bottom of this page)

Following is a Short list of spyware (there are many many more);

180 Search Assistant
2020Search
Absolute Yukon Solitaire
AceNotes Free
ActiveSearch
Adblaster
AdBlock
AdBreak
AdDestroyer
AdGoblin
AdLogix
AdRotator
Adult Chat Dialer
Adult-Links
Antivirus-Gold
Aristotles
AroundWeb toolbar
ATGames
BargainBuddy
begin2search
Best Phrases
BonziBuddy
Bookmark Express
BrowserAcclerator
Cashback
CasinoOnline
CasinoOnNet
CasinoRewards
Click Till U Win
ClockSync
Date Manager
DealHelper

Delfin Media Viewer
DialerPlatform
Dope Wars
Download Plus
DownloadCoach
DownloadReceiver
Easy Messenger
EasyInstall
EasySearchBar
eMusicEnergyPlugin
eXactSearch
Excite Search Bar
Fast Search Bar
FastFind
FindWhateverNow
FlashGet
FreeScratchAndWin
FunBuddyIcons
GameBar
Games toolbar
GameSpy Arcade
Gator
My Daily Horoscope
MyCoolScreen
MyQuickSearch Search Assistant
N-Case
Need2Find
Neo Toolbar
Netguarder Web Cleaner
NetPal
NetworkEssentials
NetZany

NewtonKnows
Shorty
Sidefind
SimilarSingles
Smart Finder
Smartpopups
SpamBlockerUtility
SpecialOffers
Spyblast
SpywareNo!
TOPicks
TryToFind
TurboDownload
TV Media Display
Twain-Tech
Wazam
Weatherbug
WeatherScope
Webcrawler
WebSecureAlert
WhenUSearch PriceBandit
WhenUSearch Toolbar
Windupdates
WinFavorites
Xhrmy
Xlocator/Winlocator
Xrenoder
Xtractor Plus 3.6
Xupiter
YellowPages

Spyware removal programs (The clean up crew):

Lavasoft Ad-Aware® SE Personal Edition: A free (for personal use) program that checks for updates, allows you to undo what you did if you remove something you didn't want to loose and overall is my personal favourite.

Microsoft Windows Anti Spyware Tool (beta): This is also a free download and I use this in conjunction with Ad-Aware because neither of them seems to find everything (run back to back they will both find something!) It's a nice program, allows a scheduled run and does an automatic clean up as well as advising you of program changes that are happening and allowing you to block suspected harmful changes. The downside is that you have to be using Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP and before you can download the program it makes you run another product to ensure that you are using a "genuine microsoft product"

Other Resources: Destroy Adware

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