Removing Spyware

There are essentially four different kinds of software: Freeware, Shareware, retail software, and Spyware.

Note: We use the term software’ as a generic term used to describe all computer programs. The word hardware’ is a generic term used to describe all computer parts.

Freeware is typically created from a hobbyist programmer who enjoys programming and offers his creations to others for free, with no strings attached.

Shareware is typically a program which is partially functional, or fully functional for a limited period of time. The idea is that you get the opportunity to try the software out first before committing to purchasing it. By making the software only partially functional, or by disabling the software after a certain period of time elapses, this motivates you to purchase the product should you find it useful.

Retail software is just as the name implies. Software you must purchase first in order to acquire it. This may be online or at a retail store.

Spyware’ (sometimes called Ad-ware) is the newest form of software. We currently live in an unusual economy. Software companies will pay programmers to write programs, promote those programs, host huge internet sites and give the software away for free. How can they afford to do that? With a little twisted marketing logic, it’s easy. They include hidden programs within their program that monitor your internet activity. Then it uses your computer and your internet connection to send this information back to them at regular intervals. They can then sell this information to companies who can use it to determine what kinds of items you might be interested in based on the websites that interest you. In short, Spyware is advertising supported software.

Of course the companies that create this software think they’re not doing anything wrong. After all, the user (that’s you!) agreed to the terms and conditions prior to downloading and installing the software. These terms and conditions are typically called an End User License Agreement (EULA) and you must acknowledge that you read and understood them before you are allowed to download or install the software. Most people never read the EULA, and those who do usually have no idea what any of the legal mumbo-jumbo means any how.

Windows XP has a 28 page EULA that, in part, reads “You specifically agree not to export or re-export the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (or portions thereof): (i) to any country subject to a U.S. embargo or trade restriction; (ii) to any person or entity who you know or have reason to know will utilize the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (or portions thereof) in the design, development or production of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons”

As if anyone who would actually do this sort of thing would say “Oh, I’m not allowed to do this? I guess I can’t install the software. My plans are thwarted again! Darn you, Microsoft!”

But, hidden within the legal mumbo-jumbo of a Spyware EULA, you are agreeing to allow the company to place tracking software on your computer and report back to them regularly at your expense (it’s using your computer and your internet connection) in exchange for some free software. Because you agreed to the terms and conditions prior to downloading and installing the software, this is all considered legal.

Not all Spyware is bad. Some Spyware can actually be quite useful and it’s worth the tradeoff. However, many Spyware programs cannot be uninstalled or do not completely uninstall, leaving the tracking pieces behind. As you install free software that you’ve downloaded over the internet, instead of just having one or two programs spying on you, it’s quite common to find over 100! This typically results in your computer taking longer to start up (also called booting’), poor computer performance overall, reduced resources available to other legitimate programs, as well as system lock-ups and crashes, not to mention taking up valuable space on your hard disk.

To make matters worse, some of these Spyware companies attempt to trick you into downloading their Spyware by displaying fake Windows error messages that appear quite genuine, and fool you into clicking on them. These fake messages may say things like: “Your Computer is Currently Broadcasting an Internet IP Address,” “Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized” or “Your Current Connection May Be Capable of Faster Speeds….” Once you click on one, you are whisked away to the Spyware companies website.

NOTE: Windows is considered to be a Graphical User Interface,’ also known as a GUI (pronounced Gooey). It uses pictures (graphics) to communicate (interface) with you (the user). A new term was coined for describing the fake error messages described above as a Fake User Interface,’ or FUI (pronounced Fooey).

Some people are more concerned about their privacy then others, but what should concern you is that you have no way or knowing or controlling what information is being sent out from your computer. Sure, the Spyware companies claim they are not collecting any sensitive or identifiable data, but how do you know that for a fact? The only way to know for sure is to remove any trace of it from your computer!

Once you detect and remove the Spyware, be warned that the program that the Spyware belonged to will usually stop working. At this point, you have two choices: 1) Go back to the companies’ website and re-download and re-install the software knowing it will place some Spyware back on your computer, or 2) Learn to live without that piece of software.

There are numerous Freeware and Shareware utilities designed to help rid you of Spyware. Currently, there are two that stand out as better then the rest. One is called Ad-aware and one is called Spybot Search & Destroy. You can download and install them both and decide for yourself which one you like better.

NOTE: You will need an internet connection to acquire this software. If you do not have (and have never had) an internet connection, you can safely skip this section.

Ad-aware:

Our first stop will be at Ad-aware. To download and run Ad-ware, follow these steps (Because web-pages and software can change quite frequently over time, these instructions will be written using the current version of the web-page and software that were available during the writing of this book):

1. Click Start, click Run and in the window that appears, type www.lavasoftusa.com and then click OK.
2. On the page that appears, locate and click on Download.
3. Next, choose to download a full install’ copy of the current version of Ad-aware by clicking on one of the Ad-aware links. The Ad-aware software is stored in several locations throughout the Internet in case one site goes down or another gets extremely busy. This is why you will see it listed several times. Choose any one of the links to start your download. If the download does not start for any reason, try again using a different link.
4. You will be asked if you want to Open or Save the file you are about to download. I suggest you click Open. When the download completes, the software will automatically start to install.
5. When prompted, click Next and the EULA will be displayed. As always, satisfy yourself that the EULA doesn’t contain anything that you feel can cause you distress. Click Next to continue the installation. The destination folder of where the software will install itself is displayed, click Next here as well and then click Next once more to begin the installation. When the install completes, click Finish and close any open windows, but keep your internet connection on.
6. On your desktop, you should now have an Ad-aware icon. Double-click on it. Before scanning your computer, you want to first check to see if any updates are available. On the screen, locate and click the option to Check for updates now, and then press the Connect button. If an update is available, accept it by clicking OK, and once the update is complete, click Finish.
7. The Ad-aware software has its own Start button, and that’s what you’ll click to start the Spyware scanning process. Go ahead and do that now and then choose Use default scanning options and click Next. This process may take awhile depending on the speed of your computer and the size of your hard disk. Please be patient and allow it to complete. The computer will buzz (if you have speakers and they are turned on) and the top of the Ad-aware window will say Scan Complete when it has finished scanning your hard disk for Spyware.
8. Click Next to see what it found. Each item in the list should have a check in the box next to it. You may take a moment, if you so choose, to scroll through the list and see if any of the items it found look familiar to you. It is my recommendation to never uncheck any of the boxes, however, if there are any items you recognize that you do not wish to remove, you may choose uncheck the box next to it. Click Next and when asked if you want to continue, click OK. All of the Spyware will be deactivated and placed into a quarantine file on your hard disk in case you want to re-activate any of it.

The Ad-aware program has some very useful and informative built-in help, which you can access at any time by clicking the Help button.

9. You can now close the Ad-aware program.

Spybot Search & Destroy:

The second program you will want to download and run is Spybot Search & Destroy. To install and run this program, follow these steps (Because web-pages and software can change quite frequently over time, these instructions will be written using the current version of the web-page and software that were available during the writing of this book):

1. Click Start, click Run and in the window that appears, type
   http://spybot.safer-networking.de and then click OK.
2. On the page that appears, locate and click on Download.
3. Next, choose to download the current version of Spybot Search & Destroy by clicking on one of the links offered. The Spybot Search & Destroy software is stored in several locations throughout the Internet in case one site goes down or another gets extremely busy. This is why you will see it listed several times. The links offered here may contain other software as well, so to prevent confusion, choose one of the links that says “direct download.” If a direct download link is not available, then you will have to look through a list of available software that appears when clicking on one of the links and locate Spybot Search & Destroy yourself in order to begin your download. If the download does not start for any reason, try again using a different link.
4. You will be asked if you want to Open or Save the file you are about to download. I suggest you click Open. When the download completes, the software will automatically start to install.
5. When prompted if you want to continue to install Spybot Search & Destroy, click Yes. The welcome screen will appear, click Next and the EULA will be displayed. As always, satisfy yourself that the EULA doesn’t contain anything that you feel can cause you distress. Select I accept the agreement and click Next to continue the installation. The destination folder of where the software will install itself is displayed, click Next here as well and then click Install to begin the installation. When the install completes, click Finish and close any open windows, but keep your internet connection on.
6. On your desktop, you should now have a Spybot Search & Destroy icon. Double-click on it and select the language you would like the program to be displayed in. A warning message will appear that explains some programs that require Spyware will no longer run once you remove the Spyware portion. Click OK. Before scanning your computer, you want to first check to see if any updates are available and you are reminded of this on the next screen that appears. Click OK. The next screen that appears simply asks if you would like to remove the Spybot Search & Destroy icon from your desktop, or if you would like to have Spybot Search & Destroy start automatically when your computer starts. These choices are entirely up to you. Click Next and then click Search for updates and click Download all available updates if it is offered to you.

If there are updates, the software will apply them and then restart itself. Once you are at the main program screen, click File and click Check for problems. When the check is complete, click Fix selected problems to eliminate all recognized Spyware from your hard disk.

The Spybot Search & Destroy program has some very useful and informative built-in help, which you can access at any time by clicking the Help option at the top of the window.

7. You can now close the Spybot Search & Destroy program.

Excerpted from Carey Holzman’s upcoming book, The Healthy PC.