How to avoid spyware effectively

By Carey Holzman

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What Is Spyware? Where Does It Come From?

By now you've probably heard a lot about different kinds of ware. There's hardware, which is any physical part of your computer or anything that plugs into it. Your monitor is hardware. So is your keyboard and mouse. Then there is software. Software is any program running on your computer, but it is often broken down into specific types of software. For example, there is freeware, a piece of software whose creator offers to anyone for free. There is shareware, where the author of the software is asking for, but not necessarily requiring, a payment in exchange for using the software.

Those are all good things.

Malware (malicious software) however, is not. Malware is often broken down into categories such as: virus, worm, Trojan, rootkit, backdoor, botnet, logger, dialer, stealware, spyware, adware, crimeware and many others. While anti-virus software should protect you from most malware, it may not be able to protect you from ALL malware, most notably, spyware and adware.

That's because the user (that's you) either knowingly or unknowingly installed it. Here's how it works: Some companies will pay programmers to write programs. Then those companies will pay to promote those programs, and then pay more to host huge Internet sites all to just give their software away, free of charge. How can they afford to do that? With a little twisted marketing logic, it’s simple. They include hidden programs within their program that monitor your Internet activity. Then their software (malware, in this case) uses your computer and your Internet connection to send this information back to them at regular intervals. They sell this collected information to other companies who can use it to determine what kinds of items you might be interested in purchasing based on the Web sites that you've visited. Unlike freeware, which has no strings attached, spyware is advertising-supported software. Hence, it may sometimes be referred to as adware.

Of course, the companies that create this software don't think they’re doing anything wrong. After all, the user (that’s still you!) agreed to the terms and conditions prior to downloading and installing the software. Those terms and conditions are called an End User License Agreement (EULA) and you must acknowledge that you read and understood them before you are allowed to download or install the software. Most people just click AGREE and then NEXT when prompted to do so while installing software. Most never read the EULA, and those who do usually have no idea what any of the legal mumbo-jumbo means any how.

But, hidden within that legal mumbo-jumbo of a spyware EULA, you are agreeing to let the company place tracking software on your computer and report back to them regularly, at your expense (it’s using your computer and your internet connection), in exchange for that free software. Because you agreed to the terms and conditions prior to downloading and installing the software, it is all considered legal.

Not all spyware is necessarily bad, and that is why your anti-virus software may not detect and remove it. Some spyware can actually be quite useful and may be worth the trade-off. However, many spyware programs cannot be uninstalled or do not completely uninstall, leaving the tracking pieces behind. As you install free software that you’ve downloaded over the Internet, instead of just having one or two programs spying on you, it’s quite common to find over 100 (or even a 1,000 or more!). The result is a computer taking longer to start up (also called ‘booting up’), poor computer performance overall, slow Internet response, reduced resources available to other legitimate programs, as well as system lock-ups and crashes, not to mention taking up valuable space on your hard disk. Oh, did I mention pop-ups?

Those Irksome Pop-Ups

I can hear you now: "But, I have installed a pop-up blocker!" The problem with that logic is that blocking pop-ups is not preventing the pop-ups from occurring. A pop-up blocker simply prevents you from seeing the pop-ups. Your computer is still receiving and processing them! If you sweep dirt under the rug, is the dirt really gone or just hidden from view?

No one should need pop-up blocker software. Prevent pop-ups from occurring by removing the spyware infection(s) from your computer that's causing them. I’ll tell you later in this article how to do this.

To make matters worse, some of these spyware companies attempt to trick you into downloading their spyware by displaying fake Windows error messages that appear quite genuine to fool you into clicking on them. These fake messages may say things like: "Your Computer is Currently Broadcasting an Internet IP Address," "Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized" or "Your Current Connection May Be Capable of Faster Speeds...." Once you click on one, you are whisked away to the spyware company's Web site.

All of the above images are completely fake. If you look closely, some of them say 'advertisement' in faded letters, lost in a corner of the graphic. I think of those as the honest thieves.

There are many anti-spyware programs that are actually spyware in disguise. In fact, I reckon there are more fake anti-spyware programs than real ones! The fake, also called 'rogue,' anti-spyware programs alert you about being infected with spyware, when in fact, you are not infected at all (unless you include having their software on your system.) They'll tell you (over and over and over again) that, for $19.95, they will remove the infection(s). After giving them your hard earned money, they'll claim your computer is all clean, when they really did nothing at all to any files on your PC. Then in a few weeks, the process starts all over. Trying to remove this fake anti-spyware can often be a challenge.

Fake error messages, such as the one pictured above, can be easily detected by poor use of the English language and misspellings. Notice the word 'balloon' above is misspelled, among other grammatical errors. This spyware originated in Russia and is not only annoying, but also most likely supports the Russian Mafia.

While some people are more concerned about their privacy then others, consider you have no way of knowing or controlling what information is being sent out from your computer. Sure, many spyware programs claim they are not collecting any sensitive or identifiable data, but how do you know that for a fact? The only way to know for sure is to prevent them from sending anything, ever, by removing any trace of all spyware from your computer!

Once you detect and remove the spyware, be warned that the software program you actually wanted and downloaded (and caused the spyware infection) will usually stop working. So it's best to weigh the decision of whether you really want that software before removing its spyware companion. No software you paid cash for will be affected by the removal of all spyware from your PC, except that it might run faster and more reliably.

There are numerous freeware and shareware utilities (search on either term in Google: shareware means that the software is free but the author asks people to make a small donation if they find it useful) designed to help rid you of spyware, and we recommend and instruct you how to properly use them in this article about removing spyware infections.

Prevention Saves Time And Aggravation

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so we're going to focus on what you can do to prevent getting infected with spyware.

First, learn to surf the web safely. Stay away from sites that offer questionable content, such as pirated software, serial numbers and other sites of questionable legality. Also, be very wary of 'free' software or online offers to fix your computer. Not all free software is dangerous, but be skeptical. Any free software we recommend has been tested and is completely safe.

File sharing is also a popular means by which spyware and viruses are spread. Programs such as WinMX, Kazaa and LimeWire are well known to be dangerous and are often used to steal copyrighted music. If you are not familiar with these programs, you have nothing to be worried about. However, if these titles are in your start menu or on your desktop, it is highly recommended that you uninstall them.

Pornographic Web sites are some of the worst spyware offenders. Like everything else, there are legitimate pornographic sites, however, telling them apart can be difficult. In fact, any site that insists you install something on your computer before you can see their content should be avoided unless they are a well respected Web site. For example, if CNN.com insists you must download their player to see clips of the news, it will most likely be safe. However, if the Web site is not a name you recognize, be skeptical and find the content you are looking for somewhere else.

One great thing about the Internet is that many Web sites offer the same or similar content. If one Web site has something you want, but doesn't work properly or insists you install something on your computer before you can access it, more than likely there are a dozen (or more) other sites just like it without all the hassles. That's why search engines, such as Google, are so important.

A great free utility you can use is called SpywareBlaster. The folks over at SpywareBlaster maintain a list of Web sites that are known for distributing dangerous content (spyware, viruses, etc…). Should you visit any of the black-listed Web sites, many 'features' of the site will be disabled and you will restricted with what you can do there. SpywareBlaster is free; however, you must check for updates manually (updates are released about twice a month) unless you pay $10, in which case updates will install automatically when they become available. If you want to learn more about SpywareBlaster, you can read more about it here.

Microsoft offers a free anti- spyware application called Windows Defender. It comes included with Windows Vista, but Windows XP users can download it free here.

Another easy and free way to prevent becoming infected with spyware is to download and use an alternate browser. The browser you most likely use is called Internet Explorer and it's included with all versions of Microsoft Windows. As a result, hundreds of millions of people use it everyday. Because so many people use Internet Explorer, it becomes a target for the spyware writers. After all, they want to affect the most people possible, so they'll try to exploit any browser that is most popular.

Firefox and Opera are two alternatives to Internet Explorer. They work in much the same way, but offer more features and protection. Because they are not as popular, they are not often targeted by spyware writers and, as a result, are safer to surf the Internet with.

Finally, be sure to keep your Windows up to date by visiting Microsoft's WindowsUpdate Web site at least once a month and make sure you have all critical updates installed.

Removing viruses and spyware can be very time consuming and expensive. By taking a few preventive measures and learning to surf safely, you can drastically reduce your chances of ever becoming infected.