If you surf the net unprotected, download software or otherwise participate in online activities then the chances are you will eventually pick up some form of spyware infection on your computer system. Even with protection, the makers of anti-spyware software are in a constant war with the spyware product creators who are always looking for ways around the spyware blocking tools. Protecting yourself from malware is essential to maintaining your online security, preventing identity theft and ultimately, the best way to save yourself a lot of headaches in the future.

Visit any of the computer troubleshooting forums you will constantly see comments like the following from people whose computers are acting in strange and annoying ways:

“Why is my computer running so slow these days? It’s only a few months old but just keeps getting slower and slower.”

“I keep getting pop up windows opening up all over the place even when I visit sites which I know shouldn’t have them. Sometimes I get pop ups when I’m not even surfing online!”

“My browser homepage has changed and I can not change it back again. What happened?”

“My stored browser favorites have adult porn links all over them and I know I didn’t put them there! How do I stop them coming back?”

“When I search in Google I get sent to some other search engine full of advertising links.”

“There’s toolbar on my browser which I didn’t put there. How do I remove it because it keeps coming back!”

“My computer keeps crashing and there programs running in the background which I can’t seem to remove”

and so on…

These are some of the annoying things which spyware can be the cause of although there are many more. Computer crashes and browser freezing are also something else which happen a lot on spyware infected computers as often these spyware programs are not very well written and do not play well with other programs you may have installed.

Solving these problems starts with getting rid of spyware. How can I get rid of spyware? Well, fortunately there are some great downloadable free spyware removal programs as well as free spyware scanning and detection tools online which will do just that job. Of course, blocking spyware in the first place is an even better idea and there are some good spyware blocker software programs which can help you do that too.

What Is The Definition Of Spyware

Spyware is actually a generic term which is used to accomodate a multitude of sinful programs and practices online.

Spyware can be as innocuous as a tracking cookie which does little more than allow advertising companies to follow your progress from website to website and target ads at your interests or something much more harmful like a keylogger which records the keystrokes on your computer, picking up information like usernames, passwords, banking and credit card details and transmitting them to some dirty thief sitting out there in cyberspace.

You can see then that ’spyware’ is a pretty broad term but consider the basic definition to be something along the lines of “a program which is installed against the users knowledge or wishes which performs actions of an undesirable nature”. I think that covers the general principle…basically, you don’t want spyware infecting your computer!

Types Of Spyware Defined

Here are the major types of spyware, what they do and why you might or might not need to be worried about them should you find one on your computer.

Tracking Cookies

Cookies in general are not evil, although some people get convinced they are because of misinformation floating around out there. Cookies are in fact a vital part of the internet, much of which could not work at all without your browser being able to read and store cookies on your computer. Logging in to a website stores a cookie on your computer which remembers your login information so you do not have to relog in on every page of a site. Cookies are also used in shopping carts, were they not to exist, online shopping would be a much more painful experience.

Cookies, however, usually keep their information to the one website. Tracking cookies are different in that they share information across multiple unrelated websites and usually come from the advertising agencies which are behind the banners you see on oh, let’s say, 99.9% of all websites out there. Tracking cookies combine anonymous browsing statistics which help these advertising agencies provide better targetted advertising to surfers.

Some people consider this an invasion of their privacy but ultimately, there are much more important privacy concerns to worry about online than tracking cookies which you’ll probably never even notice until an anti-spyware software makes you aware of them. Most spyware scanners will identify and find tracking cookies when they scan your system, in fact they’ll probably find more everytime you scan for spyware but they really aren’t something to freak out about.

Browser Hijackers

Some malware is written with the intention of taking over, or hijacking web browser functions. Browser hijacking software is usually created to do such things as:

* Change the homepage to another site, typically some kind of third party search engine or shopping mall which the spyware programmer hopes to make money off of in some way.

* Hijack Google, Yahoo, MSN Live and other major search engines and redirect any searches you perform on them to another search engine full of paid advertising which the spyware creator gets paid for each click-through on.

* Bombard you with additional pop-ups at random intervals or when certain sites or searches are performed which the creator gets paid for in one way or another. For example, a visit to Amazon might trigger a pop-up for Barnes & Noble or some other book store.

* Add unwanted links to your browser favourites which might lead to unsavoury porn sites and other undesirable websites.

Browser hijacking programs are often quite hard to get rid of too. Simply uninstalling them, changing your homepage back to what you want it to be, removing those nasty links from your favorites etc. rarely works as the software is often written to reinstall and replace everything the next time you reboot your computer.

Browser hijackers are not only annoying but can also lead to a lot of crashes, regular browser freezing and other issues are they are often written quite poorly and do not interact well with other programs.

Removing them will almost certainly require some kind of spyware deletion program and in some cases, like the very annoying Cool Web Search, specific software like CWShredder which was written specifically to remove that notorious piece of spyware.

Dialers

Dialers are a particularly nasty branch of spyware which can cost you a lot of money if you are not careful. Dialers automatically log on to the internet using your modem, dialing a premium rate telephone number rather than using your ISP to access the internet. Whilst you are connected to the internet with the dialer (which may happen while you are away from the computer) you will be billed per minute for premium rate or long distance phone calls which can rack up some hefty telephone bills whilst making a tidy profit for the dialer creators.

Keyloggers

Perhaps the most dangerous spyware type of all is the monitoring software which records your keystrokes, logs your private chat conversations, records passwords and can basically seriously invade your privacy and threaten the security of your bank account, credits cards etc. Key logging software is something you do not want on your computer.

Where Does Spyware Come From

So, you are probably wondering how your computer gets infected with spyware in the first place. After all, you think you are practicing safe browser habits and yet, there it is! Well, there are actually a number of way in which sypware gets on installed and they are all preventable.

Drive By Spyware Downloads

One of the easiest ways, at least in the past, for spyware to infect a computer was by a process which got dubbed as the “drive by download”. Basically, what this term refers to, is a website which has some kind of script installed directly into its web page(s) which finds, and exploits holes in your web browser’s security. Internet Explorer was particularly vulnerable to drive by spyware downloads and attack by malicious scripts because it had a number of security issues which is one of the main reasons savvy internet users recommended people switch to supposedly more secure browsers like Mozilla’s Firefox which dealt better with blocking spyware being installed by a malicious script hunting for a security hole.

Spyware Installed By Piggybacking On Shareware and Free Software Downloads

When is freeware not really free software? When it come with spyware bundled as part of its installation! Most people are not going to willing install something which has no value to them and the potential to cause them problems so they get duped into doing so by installing other desirable programs instead and getting the undesirable spware software against their will and without their knowledge as part of the installation.

Many free software downloads and shareware products, especially those which err on the side of illegal activity in the first place, like peer 2 peer download clients for the illegal sharing of music, video etc. and Warez often come bundled with software you do not want which then gets installed without your knowledge. The software creator or distributor isn’t actually providing a free service, they’re making money off of the spyware installations which will amount to a few cents per installation for them and a potential major headache for you.

Spyware Masquerading As Useful Software Utilities

Some spyware pretends to be a useful software program when in fact it is actually anything but. You’ve probably run across pop up ads claiming to be free internet accelerators which will speed up your browsing for free, or block pop ups or a number of other programs which initially sound great (hey, it’s free after all) but ultimately once installed turn out to be anything but. To give one example, BonziBuddy was a purple animated gorilla which was supposedly aimed at making the internet fun for children…but which was actually an adware agent which would reset your homepage and cause popups and collect browsing information. Fun.

In a not-too-surprising twist, some supposed shareware anti-spyware utilities are actually spyware products themselves, whilst other fake spyware spyware utility programs display a lot of false positives during the free scan to encourage you into buying their software! Always look for some trustworthy recommendations for anti-spyware software before buying or downloading it.

Masked User Prompted Downloading

A final way in which spywear gets installed is by tricking the user into activating a download. A pop up window appears asking whether you want something with the usual “yes” or “no” buttons (or “cancel” or something along those lines) and no matter which box is clicked, the dialog box will initiate a spyware download. More modern browsers offer additional protection again this having closed many of the security holes this particular form of spyware distribution used, but it is still something to be wary of.

How Do I Remove Spyware From My Computer?

It is good online security practice to check and scan your computer regularly to make sure your do not have spyware installed anywhere on your system by using a good spyware checker. Fortunately, there are some great free spyware checking tools out there which offer basic free spyware detection and removeal functions. You are well advised however to upgrade to a full fledged anti-spyware program as these offer better functionality like the ability to block spyware and prevent it coming back - a much better solution than having to find and eliminate spyware after it has caused you a problem!

The following are some recommended spyware removel and detection programs including some of the best free spyware removal tools:

McAfee Virus Scan Plus - My personal choice for internet security also protects against viruses as well. McAfee Virus Scan Plus prevents spyware and viruses from ever reaching your computer, kills, quarantines and deletes spyware and viruses it finds already there and generally keeps the nasties at bay. I switched to McAfee after Norton Anti-Virus failed to prevent two intrusions onto my system and have been a happy camper ever since (around 3 years of use and no nasties made it through so far!). Highly recommended.

Adaware 2008 - The world’s most popular anti-spyware product offers a freeware spyware scanner version which will detect and remove adware, malware, spyware and malicious software of the spyware variety from your computer system. The upgraded version will block spyware from ever getting installed with real time protection as well as offering a host of other features.

Spybot Search and Destroy - Whilst it is known not to detect ALL spyware out there (benchmark tests say it gets around 95% of them) the price of this free spyware removal software is something your definitely can not argue with. Oh and ‘free’ really does mean free here too! If you are not willing to spend your hard earned cash on spyware prevention software then Spybot is a good better than nothing alternative.

CA Anti-Spyware 2009 formerly known as Pest Patrol, this site offers a free online spyware scanning tool which can detect known spyware, adware threats currently found on your computer. The anti spyware scanner can find spyware but not remove it, so if you find a problem, you need to find another program (or buy theirs) to delete spyware it discovers.

How Do I Prevent and Stop Spyware Reinfection?

Sure you can delete spyware but isn’t it going to keep coming back? Well, yes actually….unless you take action to stop it doing so! A spyware deleter is great but a spyware catcher is even better. Here are some steps to take…

* Get yourself some GOOD anti-spyware software and block spyware before your computer gets infected. A good spyware blocker, like the paid version of Ad-Aware, or better still, the security suite from McAfee will prevent spyware from being installed and save you a lot of headaches in the long run. Both are well worth the money they cost for the peace of mind they provide in keeping hackers, adware and malicious software off of your computer system.

* Change internet browsers. Yes, Internet Explorer is still the most exploited and exploitable browser out there and since it is the browser of choice for most internet users, it is the browser most spyware writers target. Changing to Mozilla Firefox will do wonders for improving your online security.

* Install all security updates and patches. Many of these are aimed at fixing known security holes which spyware exploits so plug the holes when given the chance.

* Get smart. The internet is packed full of spyware prevention information, ways to increase your internet security, protect yourself against spyware, adware, hackers etc. so read around and know your enemy. Avoiding regular problem programs like P2P clients and other advertising supported software downloads is a great start too.

In Conclusion

I hope this somewhat lengthy guide has been of some use in helping to understand spyware and how you can protect yourself against it. I will probably be adding additional resources at regular intervals so feel free to make suggestions or add comments below.