Spyware
 

For the past couple of weeks I have been battling the computer demons. My computer became so crippled that I thought I was going to have to buy a new one. I don't mean just to the point of annoyance, I mean inoperable. I use AOL with Windows XP.

By luck, I stumbled onto the word "Spyware" and did a search. I found that AOL had a Spy catcher program that you can download for free. It's called Ad-aware 6.0. I downloaded the program, and, after running it against my system, the program indicated that I had 450 files, folders, and executable programs that had been downloaded onto my hard drive from the internet without me knowing it! These programs were being launching right and left, most in an attempt to sell me something or gather information about my surfing habits, and creating chaos and crashing my system.

After running the above program I was amazed, it was like I had a new computer. Now I run the program every couple of days and it seems to find something new each time, kinda scary.

Check it out, there are probably other free programs for other systems. Do a search on "Spyware." I should note that the first program I found and downloaded did the search on my files and found all that stuff and then wanted $40 to take it off. Be careful about how they word things, a "free search" doesn't do you any good if it doesn't remove the junk. When I rejected the $40 offer I then had a heck of a time getting that program off my computer.

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't use AOL but I'll check into what else is available.

AOL has always lagged in providing software for Macs, so I use Aladdin's Internet Clean-up (with Spy Alert) [sounds like an SNL skit -- "It's a floor cleaner AND a dessert topping!!"] for the same purpose.

PCers not on AOL should immediately go to www.komando.com and do free downloads of programs to deal with spyware and adware. If you need a primer on spyware, use that as a search term on that site. Kim (Komando) has written many columns about it.

Mike's right, the huge amount of garbage that is eating up space on your hard disk, and slowing everything to a crawl, is mind-boggling. But even after you install the protective software, you have to exercise diligence and vigilance in running it with some frequency.

(For anyone not yet paranoid enough, spyware does lots of nasty little things, such as watching where you go on the net, which pages of a site you dwell on (that would be Miss July for some), and even the precise keystrokes you made during a session, so that all your emails, chat notes, and IMs are readable. If you can't believe such a thing could already be on your computer, it almost certainly is. But, then, it's always something.)

Mike,
Thanks for the good advice. The Ad-aware 6.0 program is not just for AOL users, but for anyone. It can be downloaded free from:
http://www.webattack.com/download/dladaware.html

I discovered the Ad-aware software about 6 months ago. The first scan yielded 79 spy-related files, mostly data miners. Later I bought Mail Washer Pro because of the spam problem I encountered after the introduction of my web site. With this program, I can bounce back spam to the sender before it is opened in my email program. It doesn't actually reduce spam but it gives you a good feeling bouncing back some of the crap these idiots belch out.

Despite my due diligence with these programs as well as frequently de-fragmenting the hard drive and running virus scans, I still encounter the same problem I've had for quite some time: suddenly getting hung up on line when trying to check email or visit a web site. I might be checking my email, for example, and then for some unknown reason I'm put in a holding pattern while the Windows 98 globe keeps spinning indefinitely. The only way to get back online is to reboot. This happens on average twice a day. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Scott,
There's the problem - you are running windows 98 (just kidding)...
The mailwasher program is great since it lets you bounce and delete mail from the server before it even gets to your inbox. You can even set it up to bounce and or delete mail from specific senders or entire domains automatically so you never have to even see them.

As for having your email on your site, readily available for the spambots to pick up, there is also a good little program called eCloaker that you can run, type in your email address and it will spit out encoded text for you to paste into your html page. The email address will look and funciton just like it did before to those who click on it to send you an email reply, but the address is hidden from those dang spambots. Here is the download URL for eCloaker:Download eCloaker

Also, if you want a really feel-good link on your site to fight those porn and pill puking spammers from putting garbage in your inbox, add this link to your site:
Fight Spam! Click Here.
Read the directions on the page. What this link will do (when the spambots go through your site, looking for links and email addresses) is send them to a page containing an endless loop of bogus email addresses for them to collect.
Ha - can you tell I HATE SPAM!!

Yes Heidi, I am picking up a slight undercurrent of hostility you harbor towards spammers. Thank you for the anti-spam tips.

Are you saying the problems I'm having are inherent in Windows 98--and there's nothing to be done about it? Perhaps then you could lend me one of your hammers and chisels, and I'll start to work on this stupid machine.