Spyware, also known as "Adware", is a nasty little security problem that has become increasingly serious over the last few years. Spyware is usually defined as software that gathers user information without the users knowledge and reports that information through the users Internet connection, often to the spyware author. Originally this information was gathered for advertising purposes but now some spyware programs actually report information on E-mail addresses, passwords and even credit card numbers. Thus some spyware programs are actually akin to Trojan Horse viruses. Because spyware programs generally exist as independent executable programs, some have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on your hard drive, snoop on other applications such as chat programs and word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies and change the default home page on your Internet browser. Worse yet, while these items are going on, the spyware program can be continuously relaying the gathered information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/ marketing purposes, other unknown purposes or sell it to some third party or parties. Spyware gets on to your computer in a number of different ways such as:

(1) It is often bundled with purchased software or with the software for new hardware products such as say a webcam. Thus when you install the software you also install the spyware. 2) It is often downloaded from the Internet embedded in music, pictures, videos or in free software programs such as the peer-to-peer file swapping programs. Examples of these are Kazaa® and Limewire® and they are readily available on the Internet. In these cases, you install the spyware when you install the downloaded software. Only download software from the companies that developed it or from major software downloading web sites like Tucows® and CNET®. (3) Cookies are often placed on your computer when you visit certain Internet web sites and some cookies are actually considered to be spyware. (4) One guaranteed way to become infected with spyware is to download a toolbar or a pop-up blocker. If you want these features for Internet Explorer, download and install the Google toolbar. It will solve both issues at once. A Google® toolbar for Firefox® is also available. All other third party toolbars are usually, in our experience, filled with spyware.

Apart from the issues of ethics and privacy, spyware also steals your computer memory resources and later bandwidth when it uploads the collected information to the spyware's home base. Likewise the nature of spyware software can often lead to system crashes and/ or general system instability. The best way to protect yourself from spyware is to install both of the following great little programs. They are free and easily downloaded from the Internet. Both are required if you want to find all the spyware on your computer and it is very important that you keep all the programs up to date. Ad-Aware 2007 Free ® will automatically install updates if you request an update with the software open and the Microsoft Defender® software will automatically update itself. (Some updates can be slow however so patience is required.)

The first is The Ad-Aware 2007 Free ® from Lavasoft®. (Windows XP  (Service pack 2 or later.),  Server 2003  (Service pack 1 or later) and Vista.) The second is Microsoft's® Windows Defender®. (Free with validation for Windows Server 2003  (Service Pack 1 or later), Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later.) and Windows 32 Bit Vista.)

We recommend that you run each of these programs, (after updating), say once a week and every time you install new software. Please note however that although these antispyware products are really quite good, they might not catch and remove all of the spyware. If you decide to purchase an antispyware product to be as safe as you can possibly get, we recommend Webroot Spy Sweeper® Finally, we recommend that you delete all cookies each time you exit your Internet browser. The best software for this is Karen Kenworthy's free program Cookie Viewer® which is really superb.

Advanced Tip

Try running the spyware programs after updating and then starting up in safe mode (Typically F5 or F8 during initial start up, depending on your computer.) just to see if there is any deeply hidden spyware.

Protect Yourself

If your web browser (particularly Internet Explorer®) isn't configured properly, some web sites can actually install spyware without asking your permission. To start with, Internet Explorer® version 6 has two options that must be disabled. (But Internet Explorer® version 5 and earlier versions will only have the first option.) To start with, bring up Internet Explorer® and select Tools | Internet Options. Then click on the Advanced tab and under Browsing there is long list of options. The two items to uncheck are Enable Install on Demand (Internet Explorer), and Enable Install on Demand (Other). Once that's done, just click the OK button and you're finished. Then, make sure you have the following free programs installed and updated on your computer:

(1) SpywareBlaster® which will be discussed below. (2) Windows Defender® Under Tools | Options make sure that the real time protection is checked and that a proper schedule is set up. Likewise make sure that the "Check for updates definitions before scanning" box is checked.

SpywareBlaster®

SpywareBlaster® is a free software package for Windows 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000, XP,  2003, and Vista that will:

- Prevent the installation of ActiveX®-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers and dialers. - Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer® and Mozilla Firefox®. - Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer®.

Install and update manually. Then press "Enable All Protection" Check once per week for updates and once manually updated, hit the "Enable All Protection" button again. Verify by keeping track of the number of items in the database and make sure there are no exceptions to the protection enabled software.