Monday, July 05, 2004
Protect Your Computer!
This is going to be my first coy attempt at giving some advice through this blog. But because the country I live in seems to be in love with lawsuits, I'm going to forward this post with a disclaimer. Whatever I post here (and in all my other entries) are my opinions, with which you can agree or not. Anything you do after reading this is at your own risk, and you absolve me from any responsibility. Blah, blah, blah. Ugh, I hate disclaimers.
Anyway, after my nightmare with spyware, adware, torjans, and all other sorts of virtual nasties taking over my computer, I had to spend over a day trying to clean up my computer from all traces of these hard-drive polluters. In the hope that other people won't have to go through what I did, and in the hope of empowering people not to become powerless to the evil that is spyware, here are my findings...
First of all, don't assume you're safe just because you have an antivirus program. I have one, but my internet still went caput. In fact, spyware and the like aren't necessarily classified as viruses. They're bad, but they don't always actively destroy your computer. They can track your web activity. Some can record key-strokes, thereby recording passwords to your various accounts. Many are responsible for those nasty pop-ups that severely impair your websurfing experience, and some can actually change your computer settings (like your browser's homepage, etc.).
The first thing I did, which initially revealed the seriousness of the situation to me, was to start downloading software that searches for spyware on your computer. I downloaded and ran Spybot Search & Destroy, which turned up some 30+ spyware programs on my computer. The program can automatically delete them. I thought that was the end of it. But in reality that didn't solve my problems. I quickly realized that some spyware programs could automatically replant themselves after deletion...
I searched for and ran several other programs (like Bazooka Spyware Scanner and Lavasoft Ad-aware 6) to search and destroy all the spyware on my computer. That was a good idea, because each program turned up stuff that other programs didn't. The final solution, however, did not come from downloading zillions of programs.
I ended up going to the Microsoft website. I figured that since security compromises in their software were part the reason I got into this mess in the first place, they might have some suggestions to get me out of this mess... They did. This Microsoft website referred me to another website called Pest Patrol. Pest Patrol can scan your computer for free and then will actually show you the location of malignant files on your computer. They want you to purchase their software in order to remove those files, but if you have the patience, you can look up the files they found and delete them on your own... It takes forever to do, but that's what finally got rid of all the junk in my computer's trunk.
I hope this helps a bit. I know it's a lot of info. I wish I could simplify it, but the honest truth is that it took me at least five hours to figure this all out and solve the problem, which shows how out of control this can get. If anything, I'd suggest that you download some free program that will scan your computer for spyware and then destroy it. That's my advice. Take it or leave it, but either way, for the sake of your sanity, protect your computer!
Anyway, after my nightmare with spyware, adware, torjans, and all other sorts of virtual nasties taking over my computer, I had to spend over a day trying to clean up my computer from all traces of these hard-drive polluters. In the hope that other people won't have to go through what I did, and in the hope of empowering people not to become powerless to the evil that is spyware, here are my findings...
First of all, don't assume you're safe just because you have an antivirus program. I have one, but my internet still went caput. In fact, spyware and the like aren't necessarily classified as viruses. They're bad, but they don't always actively destroy your computer. They can track your web activity. Some can record key-strokes, thereby recording passwords to your various accounts. Many are responsible for those nasty pop-ups that severely impair your websurfing experience, and some can actually change your computer settings (like your browser's homepage, etc.).
The first thing I did, which initially revealed the seriousness of the situation to me, was to start downloading software that searches for spyware on your computer. I downloaded and ran Spybot Search & Destroy, which turned up some 30+ spyware programs on my computer. The program can automatically delete them. I thought that was the end of it. But in reality that didn't solve my problems. I quickly realized that some spyware programs could automatically replant themselves after deletion...
I searched for and ran several other programs (like Bazooka Spyware Scanner and Lavasoft Ad-aware 6) to search and destroy all the spyware on my computer. That was a good idea, because each program turned up stuff that other programs didn't. The final solution, however, did not come from downloading zillions of programs.
I ended up going to the Microsoft website. I figured that since security compromises in their software were part the reason I got into this mess in the first place, they might have some suggestions to get me out of this mess... They did. This Microsoft website referred me to another website called Pest Patrol. Pest Patrol can scan your computer for free and then will actually show you the location of malignant files on your computer. They want you to purchase their software in order to remove those files, but if you have the patience, you can look up the files they found and delete them on your own... It takes forever to do, but that's what finally got rid of all the junk in my computer's trunk.
I hope this helps a bit. I know it's a lot of info. I wish I could simplify it, but the honest truth is that it took me at least five hours to figure this all out and solve the problem, which shows how out of control this can get. If anything, I'd suggest that you download some free program that will scan your computer for spyware and then destroy it. That's my advice. Take it or leave it, but either way, for the sake of your sanity, protect your computer!
