February 25, 2005

Spyware update

Do you know what programs are loaded on your computer?

By Rick Dexter
Special to the Times

One of the most annoying and dangerous things in the online world today is a Web site installing software on your computer without your consent. These “spyware” program pop ads up relentlessly, or silently run on your computer to collect things you type like passwords and credit card numbers, and track every Web site you visit and online purchase you make. Keeping your computer spyware-free is an essential component of preventing identity theft and financial fraud. In this article, I am going to cover some recent developments in anti-spyware technology.

I recommend regularly running one or more anti-spyware programs. I once was a strong supporter of a free program called Spybot. I still use it regularly, but mainly only for cleaning heavily infected systems. The powerful parts of it are not very user friendly and it isn’t updated regularly enough.

In addition to Spybot, I regularly use two other free software tools. My favorite one is called Adaware SE, available for download at www.lavasoft.com. This tool is user friendly and does a decent job of cleaning infected systems.

Microsoft has also released a beta version of its newly acquired anti-spyware tool, and it can be downloaded for free at www.microsoft.com. MS Anti-spyware is a very user-friendly program, and what I like most is that it installs real-time protection similar to anti-virus programs. Microsoft has announced that they will continue to provide this software for free after the beta testing period is completed. MS Anti-spyware doesn’t seem to be quite as good as Adaware SE at cleaning heavily infected computers, but it still does a respectable job.

McAfee has a product called McAfee Anti-spyware, available on a paid subscription basis. It is fairly good at cleaning systems, and has real-time protection similar to MS Anti-spyware. At this point, Symantec (Norton) is not addressing the spyware problem effectively. Of all of these options, I am currently the most optimistic about the MS offering.

I generally like to use more than one scanning tool on a computer. One anti-spyware program can say your system is clean and another will find additional spyware. I recommend checking your system weekly with a couple of different tools. If something seems to keep coming back every time you scan, you should probably seek technical help in removing it. Some spyware programs need to be removed manually.

Many people believe that running a non-Microsoft browser like Firefox prevents you from getting spyware. My experience is that staying away from Internet Explorer only helps slightly, and I’ve still seen Firefox systems riddled with spyware. Also, my faith in Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been shattered recently as I have watched large amounts of spyware go right through SP2’s security. Using Firefox and installing SP2 can certainly help, but neither really seems to solve the problem.

Finally, never respond to a pop-up window from a Web site that says you have spyware and asks you to install a program or put in a credit card number. This is a very popular scam. Only download software from known sources or purchase it from a computer store.

Rick Dexter, founder and CEO of NDYNAMICS Network Professionals in Campbell, lives in Almaden. Dexter has over 25 years of experience designing and supporting computer networks, particularly for small businesses and startups seeking reliable and scalable IT infrastructure. If you have a computer question that you would like to have answered in a future column, e-mail it to computerconnection@ndynamics.com.