New Computers

Spyware and Adware Problems

The suggestions on this pages are suggestions for your home computer and NOT for the network or workstation you use at work. If you believe you might have spyware/adware problems with the network or workstation, please call MicroNet at 920 262-9393 and we will have one of our techs come by to look at your network or workstation.

Do you have a problem with multiple pop-ups when you are using your home computer? Are you constantly interrupted with screens filled with explicit photos or links to gambling or adult sites when you are surfing the Web? If so, your computer could be infected with programs called Adware or Spyware. It is estimated that anywhere from 60 to 80% of all home computers connected to the Internet have some kind of spyware or adware installed and the majority of computer owners have no idea how the stuff got there in the first place.

When computer owners recognize they have this problem, they generally ask two questions "How do I get rid of it?" and "How do I prevent it from getting on my computer in the first place?" Hopefully these pages will offer some helpful hints on answering those two questions. But first, let's define a few things...

What is Spyware/Adware? Adware can be classified as any program on your computer that connects to the Internet and uses your computer to host advertisements and maybe even transmit advertisements to other computers. The adware program may cause endless pop-ups to occur on your computer every time you use it.

Spyware can be classified as any program that tracks your computer use in some manner, including the files you download or usernames and passwords for websites or programs, and is often installed without your knowledge or through deceptive means.

How is Spyware/Adware Different from Computer Viruses? Spyware and adware are often confused with viruses, because each changes the behavior of your computer. Spyware/adware is generally not destructive as a computer virus might be. While spyware/adware may keep track of your Internet usage or cause dozens of pop-up ads on your computer, generally they do not send endless emails to everyone you know or delete critical computer files. Some spyware/adware can greatly slow your computer down, cause significant performance problems and can be a constant nuisance by creating never-ending pop-up ads.

How did I get Spyware/Adware on my computer in the first place? There are many ways this can happen. Spyware/adware may install itself when you were installing another type of program from the Internet, or by clicking a dialogue box in your Internet browser that authorized it to install the spyware/adware. Adware/Spyware is commonly bundled with many free programs, including Kazaa, Morpheus, Gator, GAIN, BargainBuddy, BDE, and Bonzi Buddy. The spyware/adware may have been installed without your knowledge while you were installing another program you wanted on your home computer. Others exploit security holes, similar to viruses, to install themselves when you visit Internet site.

How Do I Remove Spyware/Adware? Because spyware/adware are not viruses, antivirus software like Panda, McAfee and Norton's will not detect or remove spyware/adware. Removing spyware/adware can be extremely tricky and time consuming. At this time there is not any one single program that can detect or delete all forms of spyware/adware so you generally have to have multiple programs to protect your computer from this fairly new, but expanding, threat.

Another problem that is unique to this type of program is the fact that there are some anti-spyware/adware programs that claim to remove spyware/adware from your computer but in reality they are programs that install their own type of spyware/adware while removing their competitors spyware/adware programs. So finding reliable software to remove spyware/adware is another problem.
We will make a few suggestions on how to combat spyware/adware programs on your home computer