Protecting Your Windows Computer – Free Resources Support

These days, running a computer that's connected to the internet is more likely to end in tears than doing splits naked over a live lobster, especially if you've got broadband. Worms, Trojans, Viruses, script kiddies – there's loads of dangers that can inconvenience you, or even worse – wreck your computer and damage your livelihood. And it's not just protecting your computer from attacks; there's also the problem of protecting your privacy from spy-ware etc.

This free article looks at free programs which help protect against pop-up windows, spyware, tracking cookies, viruses, unauthorised connections to the web and external intrusion attempts.

Spyware removal

What is "Spyware"?

Spyware is a generic term for programs which you've chosen to install but which have an unwanted facility to "phone home" with information about what you use the program for. There's various sub-types; hijackers change your default search page-not-found page, Trojans allow other programs in that can do malign things like use your computer as a spam relay, and the infamous dialers hijack your modem so that looking at certain sites (often porn or casino sites) goes through their own premium rate phone lines. Even nastier than this are dialers that use a premium phone line (sometimes up to $5/ minute) for *all* web access! What these programs all have in common is that you choose to install them.

The least malignant of these is often known by the loaded term "adware". They're not always bad; for example, the Google toolbar can contact Google and tell it where you've been surfing – not identifying you by name, but giving aggregate data to help them improve their ranking software. Many users don't mind this. With other applications, however, the fact that the software will phone home is buried deep within the terms and conditions and is actually the only reason for the manufacturers to make the software, as they can sell the information they collect to marketing firms, or else tailor search results to go to sites that they control and make percentage on.

The list of spyware applications is enormous; most "fun" apps that plug into your email client or browser to give you animated gifs, smileys, groovy cursors are actually phoning home about where you visit when you surf the web. For example, the Hotbar software's terms and conditions states:

"HOTBAR COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW AND THE DATA YOU ENTER IN SEARCH ENGINE SEARCH FIELDS WHILE USING THE SOFTWARE. HOTBAR USES THIS INFORMATION TO DETERMINE WHICH ADS AND BUTTONS TO DISPLAY ON YOUR HOTBAR TOOLBARS AND WHICH ADS TO SHOW YOUR BROWSER." - http://www.hotbar.com/

Other such applications are found in the Kazaa peer-to-peer file "sharing" client, (but not Kazaa Lite). The applications mentioned above (and many other adware applications) are perfectly legal; you choose to install them, you accept the terms and conditions, so it's all above board. Some are less benign; some hijack your browser's "web site cannot connect" message or search engine; these are always confined to Internet Explorer, as that's the dominant browser.

Getting rid of installed Spyware is not always easy. My two favourite programs are AdAware from LavaSoft and Spybot search and destroy (there's more, but I haven't tried them). Each of my recommended applications find spyware that the other doesn't (I guess because of their update cycles). Both of these free programs, when run, scan through your system and registry looking for spyware, dialers etc and report at the end, allowing you to delete them, much like commercial anti-virus programs. In addition to spyware, they will detect marketing cookies (more of these later).

NB: AdAware makes a noise when it finishes its scan. It makes me jump out of my skin every time, if I forget to turn the computer sound down!