What those bad things are and how to get rid of them
Downloading software has gotten pretty dangerous these days. You have to worry if you got a virus, a worm or other "bad things." I hope that everyone is running an anti-virus program, perhaps supplemented by a firewall. The purpose of this article is to discuss some of those other "bad things," to tell you what they are and to suggest what you can do about them.
Lets start off with some quick definitions. A virus is defined as “…a program which makes a copy of itself in such a way as to ‘infect’ parts of the operating system and/or application programs.” Left unchecked, it will occupy the entire space available on your system, wiping out all other data. A worm is similiar to a virus (perhaps this is an oversimplification, but from an end-user perspective) but will spread from system to system, via network or internet connection. There are plenty of good anti-virus programs out there. Here is a review of four (http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,113462,tk,wb122403x,00.asp) and I can personally recommend AVG from Grisoft. I have not used Avast from Alwil, but it may be even better. If you don't have one GET ONE NOW! Was I clear about that? One of the reasons that we have so much trouble today is that people don't do the simplest things. Being on the Internet is like driving a car. If you don't maintain it, you are a danger to both yourself and others.
Here is a similiar list of free firewall programs: http://www.free-firewall.org/ Why do you need one? Because people can still access your computer through your network connection. And yes, an internet connection is a type of network connection.
Okay enough about that. Lets assume that you have an anti-virus program and have supplemented it with a firewall. So, now you're safe right? Wrong. There is a third class of "bad things" out there called "malware." Malware is the term used for programs that are considered MALicious softWARE. It includes viruses and worms, but also includes Spyware and Adware. We can go further into definitions, but the usual distinction between Spyware and Adware is that Spyware is a "surprise" and Adware politely asks if it can come in before invading your computer. In other words, you go to install a program, say a screensaver. The installation dialogue asks if you also want say Gator, a famous (infamous) adware program. You don't know what it does and unthinkingly you say "yes." That is adware. If it doesn't ask, just goes ahead and installs it, that is spyware. Either way, you end up with crap- uh, I mean "bad stuff"- on your computer.
The original rationale behind Adware was to generate revenue for software developers. But in general, it has gone beyond that legitimate mission.Let me quote form Webroots definitions: "Adware is advertising-supported software that displays pop-up advertisements whenever the program is running. The software is usually available via free download from the Internet, and it is the advertisements that create revenue for the company. Although seemingly harmless (aside from intrusiveness and annoyance of pop-up ads), adware can install components onto your computer that track personal information (including your age, gender, location, buying preferences, surfing habits, etc.). Most advertising supported software doesn't inform you that it installs adware on your system, other than via buried reference in a license agreement. In many cases the software will not function without the adware component. Some Adware can install itself on your computer even if you decline the offer."
Then we come to Spyware. Basically the same as Adware, but the authors didn't bother to even include a notice in the fine print. It doesn't replicate itself, so its not a virus. It doesn't spread from computer to computer by itself, so its not a worm. What does it do? Some of the functions are to track your web browsing, display ads that are refreshed from a home site, monitor what you have downloaded, gather and collect personal information about you, and hi-jack your browser. Hi-jacking your browser can mean taking you to a site that sells a product when you were intending just to research.
The amazing thing about this is that not only is it legal, but companies that imbed this code are prospering. A lot of the companies that provide this "content" are publicly traded, "legitamate" corporations. See http://home.earthlink.net/~doniteli/index73.htm#list for a partial list. I can tell you, there are plenty more. Not to pick one out as being any worse than the others, but Doubleclick is traded on the NASDAQ as DCLK. Regardless, I don't want it on my computer.
Not only are these programs an invasion of privacy, but they can substantially degrade performance and create vulnerabilites that leave your PC exposed.
So, what can you do? Lavasoft makes one of the best-known anti-spyware solutions, Adaware. You can visit them at http://www.lavasoft.de/. Spybot S&D (Search and Destroy) is also highly rated. See http://www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions available. Both ask for donations and frankly, if people donated to freeware authors the rationale for software developers to bundle Spyware would go away. (Editorial comment.)
But I am going to recommend a different product, again based on my personal experience. I use Pest Patrol, an anti-spyware program. Not only have I found it effective, but there is a free internet-based scan available from http://www.pestscan.com/ Feel free to give it a try.