WinFix -SpyWare

Links:

History:

The internet isn't free. Most web sites turn to advertising to generate the money needed to stay on the internet. Many programs have been made to include advertisements to support the people who created them. As this evolved, advertisers became more and more devious as to how they delivered their ads. Now some larger companies attempt to track your use of the internet, and create programs where the main, if not only, objective is to load your computer up with advertising. Many times these programs are secretly installed to your computer while you are, or think you are, installing a program of use.

Known Problems:

Large amounts of spyware can cause the computer to be significantly slowed.
Some programs are poorly made and can cause the computer to crash all together.
Unwanted advertisements seem to come out of nowhere.
Oftentimes, pornographic images can be shown on the computer. This is undesirable for many folks, especially those with children who use the computer.

How to fix it:

The most important rule is avoidance. Do not open programs you did not request.
Many times these programs do not have a way to be removed easily. Programs such as SpyBot S&D and AdAware can help to keep your computer free from these programs.
Search with your favorite search engine (example: google.com) for spyware removal tools.
Microsoft says this about these programs.

<- Back

This page has been viewed 1884 times since 5/7/2004 at 2:30 AM MST