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Adware |
Adware is
considered a legitimate alternative offered
to consumers who do not wish to pay for
software. Programs, games or utilities can
be designed and distributed as freeware.
Sometimes freeware blocks features and
functions of the software until you pay to
register it. Today we have a growing number
of software developers who offer their goods
as "sponsored" freeware until you pay to
register. Generally most or all features of
the freeware are enabled but you will be
viewing sponsored advertisements while the
software is being used. The advertisements
usually run in a small section of the
software interface or as a pop-up ad box on
your desktop. When you stop running the
software, the ads should disappear. This
allows consumers to try the software before
they buy and you always have the option of
disabling the ads by purchasing a
registration key.
In many cases, adware is a legitimate
revenue source for companies who offer their
software free to users. A perfect example of
this would be the popular e-mail program,
Eudora. You can choose to purchase Eudora or
run the software in sponsored mode. In
sponsored mode Eudora will display an ad
window in the program and up to three
sponsored toolbar links. Eudora adware is
not malicious; it reportedly doesn't track
your habits or provide information about you
to a third party. This type of adware is
simply serving up random paid ads within the
program. When you quit the program the ads
will stop running on your system. |
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Spyware |
Unfortunately, some freeware applications
which contain adware do track your surfing
habits in order to serve ads related to you.
When the adware becomes intrusive like this,
then we move it in the spyware category and
it then becomes something you should avoid
for privacy and security reasons. Due to its
invasive nature, spyware has really given
adware a bad name as many people do not know
the differences between the two, or use the
terms interchangeably.
Spyware is considered a malicious program
and is similar to a Trojan Horse in that
users unwittingly install the product when
they install something else. A common way to
become a victim of spyware is to download
certain peer-to-peer file swapping products
that are available today.
Spyware works like adware but is usually a
separate program that is installed
unknowingly when you install another
freeware type program or application. 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.
Because spyware exists as independent
executable programs, they have the
capability to monitor your keystrokes, scan
files on the hard drive, snoop other
applications, such as chat programs or word
processors, install other spyware programs,
read cookies, change the default home page
on the Web browser, while consistently
relaying this information back to the
spyware author who will either use it for
advertising and marketing purposes or sell
the information to another party.
Licensing agreements that accompany software
downloads sometimes warn the user that a
spyware program will be installed along with
the requested software, but the licensing
agreements are not always be read completely
by users because the notice of a spyware
installation is often couched in obtuse,
hard-to-read legal disclaimers.
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Combating
Spyware |
While one
may not realize they have installed spyware,
there are some signs that it exists on your
computer. If you notice any changes to your
Web browser that you did not make such as
extra toolbars or different homepage
settings, as well as changes to your
security settings and favorites list, you
could have spyware running on your system.
Other signs of a spyware infection include
pop-up ads which aren't related to a Web
site you're viewing; usually spyware
advertisements are adult content in nature
and are not displayed in the same fashion as
legitimate ads you would normally see on
your favorite Web sites. You may also see
advertisements when you're not browsing the
Web. Clicking hyperlinks which do not work
(or take you somewhere you didn't expect), a
sluggish system, or your system taking
longer to load the Windows desktop are all
signs that your computer may be infected
with spyware.
With the onset of spyware comes a plethora
of anti-spyware software packages to rid
your system of these unwanted and malicious
programs. Anti-spyware software works by
identifying any spyware installed on your
system and removing it. Since spyware is
installed like any other application on your
system it will leave traces of itself in the
system registry and in other places on your
computer. Anti-spyware software will look
for evidence of these files and delete them
if found.
It is important to remember that not all
companies who claim their software contains
adware are really offering adware. There is
always a chance that adware is spyware in
disguise so to speak, and that programs with
embedded spyware may not state its existence
at all. Always stay on the side of caution
and be sure to research privacy policies and
licensing agreements that come with
freeware. You should also become familiar
with Internet lists of companies reported to
be using spyware. Much like a firewall or
anti-virus program, anti-spyware software is
crucial to maintain optimal protection and
security on your computer and network.
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Prevention |
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As stated
above, there are many "Anti-Spyware"
programs. I use "Spybot Search and
Destroy". It's free, so you don't get
all the bells and whistles. You have
to manually update it, manually "immunize"
it, and manually run the scan. But
what the heck...it's FREE! Ask any
I.T. person, and they will recommend Spybot
Search and Destroy . You should also
be using Microsoft Windows Defender to guard
against spyware. Go to my
Cool Downloads page
for the link to both. |
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