Bugs in the Machine
By Parrish Reinoehl, Pathfinder Networks
October 2006
We’ve all heard it before- you need to keep your computer free of viruses. As any PC user with a broadband connection can attest to, it is an absolute necessity that your PC has a working and current antivirus program installed. Even so, having just an antivirus program on your PC may not be enough to protect you from all the nasties that are trolling the Internet. There are other undesirable programs (called malware) besides viruses- and some of these can be very dangerous and harmful.
Spyware and adware are programs that are surreptitiously installed on your PC and are designed to carry out various functions such as gathering information about your Internet browsing habits, serving pop-up ads, redirecting your Internet browser to different websites, and other undesirable functions such as stealing your personal information. These programs are primarily used by Internet advertising companies to inundate your PC with unwanted marketing material. However, spyware can also be used by hackers and criminals to monitor your PC usage and steal information such as credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, or other high-risk data. Some spyware and adware programs can also download and install more spyware, adware, and viruses on to your PC when you are connected to the Internet- compounding the problem further.
PC’s infected with malware programs like these are fairly easy to recognize. If you are seeing popup ads every time you connect to the Internet, your Internet connection is slower than normal (or no longer works), or your PC seems to slow to a crawl and/or crashes consistently, you are probably a victim of spyware or adware. I have seen many PC’s that are infected with such an abundance (literally hundreds!) of these programs that the PC is essentially rendered useless.
You may wonder how these programs find their way on to your PC in the first place. Most “free” programs are free because they contain adware. The developers of these “free” programs earn an income from the marketing companies that are able to push ads to your PC. Programs such as Weatherbug, Kazaa, WildTagent, BonziBuddy, Hotbar, Comet Cursor, AIM, and many, many others all install some form of adware or spyware. Even visiting some websites can cause adware or spyware to be installed. Many of these websites include pornography sites, game cheat code sites, and warez (illegal programs) sites. Realistically, you can safely assume that more than 90% of the “free” software on the Internet is free because it contains adware or spyware. Even many pay programs contain malware such as this. Mattel came under fire for including the adware program “Broadcast” in many of its children games a few years ago. Sony was caught late in 2005 when it was discovered many of their audio CD’s installed the malware programs Extended Copy Protection (XCP) and MediaMax CD-3 on users PC’s.
What can you do to protect yourself? First and foremost, be very diligent about what programs you allow to be installed to your PC and what sites are visited from your PC. Try to stay away from downloading and installing free software utilities that claim to enhance your Internet usage. Especially stay away from the music sharing programs such as Kazaa, Bearshare, Limewire, etc. These programs install numerous adware and spyware programs to your PC. Always keep in mind that if the software is free, there is probably a hidden reason why it is free for you to install. Stay away from programs that offer to give you fancy mouse pointers or that say they will enhance your emails with graphics and sound. Try to stay away from pornography sites, game cheat code sites (these are a favorite for kids that play video games), and warez software sites (sites that allow you to download pay software for free).
Second, you should periodically scan your PC with a good adware/spyware removal tool. I personally recommend using both Lavasoft’s AdAware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and Patrick Kolla’s Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/). There is no reason to buy a commercial adware removal program, as both AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy are both free for private use and are excellent programs (and are some of the few free programs that do not contain spyware or adware!). In fact, there are many commercial spyware/adware removal programs that install more malware than they claim to remove.
Don’t be surprised if you find that your PC has a few hundred files detected by these programs. I have seen cases where there were literally thousands of adware/spyware files on a single PC. You will want to allow AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy to remove all files they find- do not worry about causing damage to your system as they will only remove files that are known to be infected.
You should continually maintain your Windows Operating System by staying current with Windows Updates. You should also use a firewall to protect your PC. Many antivirus programs now include a firewall as part of the package. If your antivirus does not have its own firewall I highly recommend that you enable the built-in Windows XP firewall.
Lastly, you should always be sure your PC has an antivirus program installed with an active subscription for updates. Many antivirus vendors, such as Panda Antivirus (www.pandasoftware.com) now include spyware and adware detection in their products. Antivirus software such as this will help to prevent spyware or adware from being installed to your PC. We highly recommend Panda Titanium or Platinum. Both products offer a superb antivirus engine as well as an outstanding ability to find and eliminate spyware and adware. In fact, we use Panda Antivirus to clean up virus and spyware infested machines on a daily basis.
As always, feel free to contact the technicians at Pathfinder Networks should you need expert advice or help in dealing with the adware/spyware epidemic. We will be glad to help!
About the Author:
Parrish Reinoehl is President of Pathfinder Networks; a Niles based technology consulting firm specializing in providing affordable computer services to small businesses and home users including networks, PC support, sales, and service. Pathfinder Networks can be reached at 269-684-7696 or via email at parrish@pathfindernetworks.com
Pathfinder Networks website is http://www.PathfinderNetworks.com
Visit our retail location at 1920 S. 11th St., Niles, MI (in Belle Plaza).
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