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SPYWARE and ADWARE

What is SpyWare?

SpyWare are programs that hide on your computer and do a number of harmful and annoying things without your knowledge.

SpyWare programs are known to steal information from your computer such as credit card numbers, email addresses, addresses, surfing habits, and more.

What is AdWare?

AdWare is very similar to SpyWare but its only purpose is to advertise. AdWare will PopUp web browser ads very frequently, change banners on websites, change your Google and Yahoo search results with advertisments instead of your true results and place Windows icon advertisments on your Windows desktop, Windows Start Menu, and in your web browser Favorites and Bookmarks.

How did I get Spyware/AdWare on my computer?

Spyware is installed "piggy backed" along with popular programs such as KaZaA, GrokSter, iMesh, Opera and others. The reason they do this is because the Spyware companies pay Peer-2-Peer (or P2P) companies like KaZaA for every install of the Spyware onto a users computer. Spyware also uses Windows exploits by installing itself using a "drive-by-download," in which you are never notified of any installation while surfing the web.

There are three main ways SpyWare/AdWare get on your computer:

Free programs you downloaded are bundled with SpyWare in the install. This is common in the P2P file-sharing arena. Kazaa, iMesh, Grokster, and so on practice this method.

Many SpyWare parasites load using Internet Explorer's ActiveX installation option. This allows websites to automatically install SpyWare/AdWare on your machine the moment you visit their website without your knowledge

By exploiting bugs in Internet Explorer and Windows some websites load dozens of SpyWare parasites on your machine without your knowledge

Why does Spyware and Adware affect every internet user?

After you have Spyware or Adware on your computer, the following can happen:

All information you enter via the web can be intercepted

Unauthorized sites can add themselves to your desktop (icons)

Unauthorized sites can add themselves to your internet favorites

Your browsing activity can be tracked and monitored

Unwanted toolbars and search bars can attach themselves to your browser without your knowledge or approval

Your personal information can be sold to other parties without your knowledge or consent

Your default homepage and settings can be hijacked so you can't change them

These malicious components not only invade your PC so they can not be removed, but take up your hard drive space and slow down your PC!

Some examples of software that are known Spyware (many we have seen here in the district)?

WeatherBug	Precision Time	Bargain Buddy
Gator (very difficult to remove)	CoolWebSearch	MySearch or MyWebSearch
SaveNow	NewDotNet	ShopAtHomeSelect
SmartBrowser	SpyBlast (Pretends to be a spyware blocker, but instead injects spyware into the PC)	Wonderland
ZeroPopUp	IEDriver	SuperBar

How do I protect my computer?

Be careful where you navigate to while surfing the web!

Do not download software or other items that do not come from a valid source (i.e., www.microsoft.com, www.scholastic.com, etc)

For home, use a third party software such as AdAware SE available at www.lavasoftusa.com

If you think you have spyware on your district computer, you can submit a ticket in the computer request system. Some spyware embed themselves so deep in the files and registry, the easiest way to remove this spyware is to re-image your computer. Some that are not so bad, can be easily cleaned.

Use a pop-up blocker ( www.google.com offers a free one which is also spyware-free) so you won't be tempted to click on those little boxes that pop up on your screen other than to close them

Although we all like to have cute little smileys or icons in our email, when you see one of these smiley bars at the bottom of an email you receive,

resist the temptation to click!

Here's an example:

Additional Links for more information on Spyware/Adware!

Consumer Software Working Group