Anti Spyware and Adware Solutions

Is your PC infected?

Symptoms:

Slow PC & Slow Internet Speeds.
Unknown errors keep appearing, forcing you to boot your PC.
Unexplained software errors.
Browser gets reset to unknown home page (mostly pornographic in nature).
Nasty Popup ads open up in multiple windows.
The favorite list has been changed.
You receive a large number of unsolicited emails.
Unknown errors force you to reboot your machine .
Internet browsing speed are down to a crawl.

Causes:
Adware / Spy ware has infected system …

Possibly because:

You downloaded an executable file from unknown source. Many free .exe files and programs have adware bundled into them . That is what makes them free in the first place!
Clicking on unknown links ( many unsavoury websites and free downloads cause this problem) may lead to adware installation .
Some anti spy ware programs are rogue in nature . They infect instead of cure . Watch out for them. An example is spy sheriff which may infect and destroy a PC .
Sometimes if you type an incorrect URL address of a well known site , you may get redirected and your PC gets infected . An example is the website of well known antivirus provider Symantec . If you spell the URL incorrectly , with an “ i” instead of “e” , your PC is likely to be infected by winfix, which is very difficult to get rid of.
Opening emails from unknown sources can also cause this problem.

Why bother?

Ad ware may not be malicious , in that it may simply show some POP up ads when you least expect them . The problem arises when these programs ( spy wares) , transmit your personal data to unknown untrustworthy individuals. A keylogger for example will record your keystrokes and send data pertaining to your passwords outside the system . This can be a problem especially if you use online banking or shop online. The other problem is that too many ad ware infections can dramatically slow down your PC and curtail internet speeds. Some ad ware programs are known to destroy files from the operating system and render PC useless , although these ,may be better categorized as viruses.
POP up ads can turn out to be very embarrassing especially , if they are unsavoury in nature. So watch out!

Some well known nasty ad ware/Spy ware programs are CoolWebSearch(CWS), Bargain Buddy , ISTBar, Gator, Navi Search, CashBack Buddy, Bulls Eye Network. .They have number of variants and new malicious spy ware keeps getting invented and put up on the net . Some of them are very difficult to get rid off , as they infect and amend registry files and take on aliases which are very difficult to detect and destroy. Many popular anti spy ware soft wares cannot destroy them completely and provide only temporary relief.

Anti Virus software VS Anti Spy ware software.

Most popular anti virus software cannot even detect spy ware so they are useless when it comes to trying to destroy them. You need to install an anti Spy ware software on your PC to continuously detect and destroy suspicious activity. Some popular and trusted software are : Ad-Aware , Spy Sweeper, Spybot – Search & Destroy , HijackThis , System Mechanic, Stinger, Microsoft windows anti spyware, Spyware blaster, Spyware Doctor ( The list is not comprehensive and is for guidance only).

Infected ? What to do ??

Use any popular anti spyware software to run a scan. Some of the ad ware and spy ware will be detected and destroyed in the first attempt itself. But this is not the final solution for many spyware. Do run at least 3 different anti spyware software simultaneously to try and kill the infection. Many spyware infections are not cured completely by one anti spyware software. You may have to use specialized software like cwshredder for CWS and its variants etc. Some ad ware is easily detected by a software which will detect running processes on your PC . Newer versions of Windows have tools which will help you detect unknown processes. Identify and quarantine these processes for relief.


I suggest every PC user scan his PC for spy ware and key loggers routinely. Make use of the free scan offers from various scan engines and you may be surprised to find hidden cookies and sometimes malicious code on your hard drive.

Check the latest bulletin boards on the net for solutions. Many other people are similarly infected and have already found a solution, which they will share with you for free!
If nothing works, you may need to format your HDD and reload windows. This is unfortunate so try to avoid the infection in the first place.

How to avoid infection?

Use common sense . Download from trusted sites only. There is no free stuff on the net . You have to pay a price if not in cash then in ad wares or spy wares.
Avoid unsavoury sites . Easier said than done for a majority of users. So keep an anti spyware software active and monitoring processes.


Keep your Windows program updated with the latest service packs . This helps as the newer Microsoft fixes do not allow automatic downloads and infections. You get better control.
Avoid closing POP up windows by pressing the ‘YES ‘ or ‘NO’ tabs as they may be reverse engineered . Use CTR+ALT+DEL to close unknown window pop ups.
Avoid clicking on unknown emails and do not run .exe files of unknown origin.

Play safe on the net and keep your PC alive and well …