How to safely remove spyware
from your computer!
Recommended Free Anti Spyware & Adware
Removal Tools and Software
Many , and want additional information
on what spyware can do to their computer systems. If you are not
sure what spyware we hope that you will check out our page about
What
is Spyware & How Does Spyware Get Installed before you
read this section to get a full understanding about the problem.
(Skip right to Free Spyware-Adware removal
software programs info)
Since many spyware programs maintain a constant data stream leading
out from your computer to a wide range of marketing companies
it is vital for you to remove them to keep your personal data,
files and information secure. In addition these open data streams
leave your computer and personal information vulnerable to attacks
by hackers. It can be a very difficult task to eliminate
spyware once your computer has gotten infected.
Beware of spyware
removal clones!
There are a number deceptive & misleading programs claiming
to remove spyware!
See below for more information!
Not Sure if you're Computer is Infected?
Unfortunately, just about any one who surfs the internet has probably
been infected and unfortunately, most anti-virus
software can not search out or identify spyware on computer
systems. Furthermore, if you have downloaded freeware or shareware
programs from the internet check our list of Freeware
and Shareware programs known to include spyware components.
Unfortunately, new programs which incorporate spyware/adware features
are developed each and every day so it is impossible to include
them all. In addition, there are many additional forms of spyware
which can be installed on your computer while you surf the internet.
If you or your family members use "peer to peer" file
sharing applications that work with the Gnutella network be aware
that these programs are also infected with a number of spyware
programs since many of these programs depend on third party financing
from adware firms. Go!Zilla and LimeWire, iMesh, Kazza along with
most file-sharing apps, also install several adware applications
including TopText and Gator, Cydoor, and BonziBuddy. (For more
information on Gnutella type applications see our Help
Guide)
| **
Spyware & Adware Test Scanner **
If you are viewing this site with Internet
Explorer and see an alert displayed here then it is an indication
that your computer is infected with one or more spyware
programs that we can scan for. If you do not see any alert
displayed in the center of this notice then our scan did
not detect any of the 122 spyware programs we can scan for,
however, there are still many other programs out there that
we can not yet scan for.
Please note: Currently
we can scan for a 122 distinct spyware programs that can
effect PC users and the alert will only be display if a
specific targeted program is identified. Unfortunately,
we are limited to finding only certain types of spyware
and there are many other forms of spyware and adware that
we can not currently test for.
In addition, our test scan does not
work well with NetScape or other browsers, if you suspect
that you might have spyware on your computer please feel
free to check this page while using Internet Explorer. Also,
if you have a Personal FireWall installed it may interfere
with our ability to scan your computer for Parasite Adware
and Spyware. |
Additional Free On-Line Security Checks!
Our scan above is limited in the number of spyware programs that
it can find, if you would like to do a free extensive check of
the security of your actual hard drive Steve Gibson's Shields Up! has a tool that can quickly check the security
of your computer's connection to the Internet while you are on-line.
Trend
Micro's HouseCall can scan a users computer on line for free
and check for a wide range of viruses and often times can identify
several adware or spyware trojans and keyloggers. In addition,
McAfee also offers an online virus scan: Scan your PC for viruses now!
The Bad News!
Manual removal of these types of programs can be very difficult
since many of these software programs
go to great lengths to hide on a users system. Deleting the offending
shareware or spyware program with your uninstall features does
not always remove all the adware or spyware from your computer
and attempts can often cause system or interferance with internet
connections. Generally, the basic uninstall features can not remove
all the adware components. In many cases there are additional
components which can remain active on your hard drive which will
try to reinstall themselves and continue to send out information.
Removing these adware/shareware programs can be very difficult
and sometimes complicated to search out all the hidden components
and cookies and will require additional assistance. In addition,
since most adware programs are bundled & included with other
freeware or shareware programs removing the adware can disable
the parent freeware program making them inoperable so be prepared
to remove or replace the offending freeware program as well..
Manual Removal
To manually remove spyware and adware can be a very intricate
process. Each spyware program has it's own list of files you will
need to search out and remove from your hard drives system. To
find out additional information and as well as manual removal
instructions on each type of spyware please see our Help
Menu which can provide you with manual removal instructions
for a wide range of spyware programs. Click
Here For additional information on how to manually remove spyware/adware
programs
Recommended Free Anti Spyware & Adware Removal Programs
for PCs
The easiest and safest way to remove these types of programs
is with specific spyware removal software programs which are designed
to do so safely. These programs are very similar to Anti-Virus
software which, unfortunatly, currently do not protect consumers
from adware or spyware.
The two most respected anti spyware software
programs for spyware removal are Ad-Aware and Spybot. Almost
all adware/spyware programs can be safely removed from your computer
with the assistance free programs such as Ad-Aware from Lavasoftusa.com or
Spybot both of which currently have free
versions. Using one or both of these utilities is by far the easiest
and safest way to remove all spyware and adware from your computer.
Click Here if you
need more information about what these types of programs are designed
to do. We recommend that users try to run both programs for added
protection. These two programs still offer free versions.
Updated 1/16/06
Here are two new programs which can help remove and protect your
computer against spyware are Spy
Sweeper from WebRoot and another program is called X-Cleaner
by Xblock Xblock is ideal for people who might use public
computers. It can fit on a floppy and check for spyware programs
and tracking cookies quickly and erase your history using the
public computer. Both of these programs provide excellent protection
and come highly recommended and tested by spywareinfo.com.
Due to the high number of unscrupulous programs that have
hit the internet in the past few years these are the first additional
anti-spyware programs we have added for recommendation since we
came on line.We generally recommend that people use a combination
of anti-spyware programs as an added precaution. Download
our Zip file of all these anti spyware programs
Since new forms of adware and spyware are developed daily (just
like viruses) we recommend that our viewers to update these programs
regularly.
Unfortunately, there are a number deceptive & misleading
programs claiming to remove spyware. During recent months a number
of spyware removal clones have been developed which consumers
need to be on the alert for since they do not always do the job
that they claim to do, and worst yet, often times can even install
additional adware and spyware on computer systems.
See our list of misleading spyware programs
for more information!
Special Alert!
The Anti-spyware program Ad-Aware by LavaSoft can be automatically
removed by the multimedia player RadLight! Any programs that include
the RadLight player will automatically delete Ad-Aware off your
system. RadLight is also included with many P2P file programs.
If you have an older version Ad-Aware please up date your version
of Ad-Aware on your system!
Info for Mac Users
Unfortunately, we have limited up to date information on spyware
developed for Mac users. Since this industry seems to be focusing
primarily on the PC market it does not appear that Mac users are
as deeply effected as PC users. But we have not forgotten you
if you are a Mac user we have compiled some information and resources
which we hope you will find helpful. Please Click here for More Information.
How to keep your computer clean of Spyware
There are a number of steps you can take
to insure the protection of your computer from being infested
or reinfected with spyware programs. Once you have made
sure that your computer is spyware free or have taken steps to
remove any spyware programs that might have infected your computer
it is important that you take additional steps to keep it clean
and prevent additional infestations. . We recommend that
users keep these programs updated frequently just like they would
an antivirus program. In addition, since many adware programs
can install themselves while you surf the internet we recommend
that you permanently protect your computer with a personal firewall
such as Download
ZoneAlarm Pro
or
McAfee Personal Firewall
These programs will alert
you to any attempts to access your computer while you are surfing
on line as well let you know if any program on your computer that
might be attempting to send data out from your computer without
your knowledge. These are the most highly recommended firewall
programs around. It is also advised that you use a good Anti-Virus
program and keep it updated regularly. (
Click here for infomation
about what a firewall does.)
| Beware
of Spyware/Adware Removal Clones
During the past several months the internet appears to
be flooded with a number of programs claiming to offer
protection and removal of spyware and adware programs
however, many of these are just cheap knock offs who have
"stolen" code of either LavaSoft or Spybot to
cash in on the concerns of innocent consumers. Worse yet,
some of these newer spyware utility programs have been developed
by the very same people who have developed the spyware and
adware programs in the first place. Many times these programs
will eliminate some of their competitors spyware while secretly
installing and replacing it with some of their own spyware
programs.
The following list of programs have been deemed questionable
by Andrew Clover of DoxDesk.com
- TrekBlue
offers a spyware removal program called Spyware Nuker,
which is being heavily advertised through junk e-mail
from its affiliates and misleading fake-dialogue-box web
advertising. TrekBlue are the same company as e-mail marketers
‘TrekData’ and ‘Blue Haven Media’,
who control the 'InContext' spyware and distribute this
and other spyware through ActiveX drive-by-download on
web pages. (They also used to work for Lions Pride Enterprises,
who made and controlled the ‘wnad’ spyware.
Incidentally SpywareNuker also refuses to install more
than once (so if you reinstall your system you can't use
it any more), and does not handle LSP removal properly
(resulting in broken network connections).
- WarNet
offers software including an adware remover. However,
WarNet is owned and run by the same people who own and
run C2 Media, producers of the infamous lop
parasite.
- SpywareLabs
produce a parasite detection program called Virtual Bouncer,
with a removal option requiring payment. It is distributed
by the same bundling and drive-by download techniques
as the parasites it claims to remove, so definitely qualifies
as unsolicited commercial software in itself. It also
has an update feature that can download and execute arbitrary
code.
- RedV
offers an adware remover called AdProtector. However,
the installer used to download this and the other RedV
‘Protector’ applications is itself adware,
and RedV are the same company as Web3000, one of the earliest
large spyware makers. http://www.isp-planet.com/services/2003/redv.html
(In addition, RedV has developed affliate relationships
with ISP service providers and a wide range of web sites
http://www.redv.net/
)
- Bulletproof Soft offer a commercial Spyware
Remover; OnlinePCFix offer a utility called
SpyFerret;
Ideal World Online offer SpyGone.
All have copied Spybot Search and Destroy’s definitions
database without permission or attribution; additionally,
SpyFerret includes actual program code taken from Spybot,
and SpyGone is an unlicensed copy of SpyRemover.
- Razor Media offers a free scanner-only promotion for
their software 'SpyAssault'. Since the scanner itself
installs the commercial trojan FavoriteMan/Ss32
their credibility is somewhat questionable.
- SpyBan has been identified as a potential source of
unwanted spyware--notably a program listed by many spyware
cleaners as Look2Me. "Look2Me is a spyware program
that monitors visited Web sites and submits the logged
information to a server,"
- SpyWiper (aka SpyDeleter)
- SpyKiller Pro (not same as 'SpyKiller'?)
- SoftDD offer a free ‘trial version’ of ‘Spy
Guardian Pro’, which always tells you you have spyware
installed (even on a completely clean machine), but won’t
tell you where, asking you to buy the full version to
find out.
Update June 7th 2004
We are adding a number of additional suspected anti-spyware
programs. The following programs are not recommended because
they install spyware themselves, just aren't any good at
fixing spyware, or somewhere in between. (per Spyware
Warrior)
- AdwareHunter (adwarehunter.com/browser-page.com)
- AdWareRemoverGold (adwareremovergold.com)
- BPS Spyware & Adware Remover (bulletproofsoft.com)
-- AdAware knockoff,
- InternetAntiSpy (internetantispy.com)
- NoAdware (noadware.net/netpalnow.com)
- Online PC-Fix SpyFerret
- PurityScan (purityscan.com/puritysweep.com)
- Real AdWareRemoverGold (adwareremovergold.com/sg08.biz)
- Spybouncer (spybouncer.com)
- SpyBan (spyban.net) -- noadware clone
- SpyBlast (spyblast.com/advertising.com)
- Spyblocs/eBlocs.com (eblocs.com)
- SpyDeleter (spydeleter.com/209.50.251.182)
- SpyEliminator (securetactics.com) -- dead?
- SpyHunter (enigmasoftwaregroup.com\spywareremove.com\spybot-spyware.com\
- SpyKiller (spykiller.com/maxionsoftware.com/spykiller.com/spykillerdownload.com/
- SpyKillerPro (spykillerpro.com)
- Spyware Annihilator (solidlabs.com)
- SpywareBeGone (spywarebegone.com\freespywarescan.org)
- SpywareCleaner (»www.checkforspyware.com/ - »www.spw2a.com/sc/)
- SpywareCrusher (spywarecrusher.com)
- SpywareInfoooo.com
- SpywareKilla (spywarekilla.com)
- SpywareThis (spywarethis.com)
- SpywareZapper (spywarezapper.com) -- looks like it
may be TZ Spyware Adware Remover
- SpyWiper (mailwiper.com)
- ssppyy pro (ssppyy.com)
- TZ Spyware Adware Remover (trackzapper.com)
- VBouncer/AdDestroyer (spywarelabs.com/virtualbouncer.com)
- XoftSpy (download-spybot.com/paretologic.com/downloadspybot.com/no-spybot.com)
- this may be a SpyHunter clone
- ZeroSpyware (zerospyware.com/zeroads.com)
- Suspect -- Spyware X Terminator
If you have used any of the above products please rescan
your computer with either LavaSoft and/or Spybot.
LavaSoft & Spybot have been leaders in the field of
spyware removal utilities programs with time tested proven
track records and are therefore the only two programs that
we currently recommend and trust. (Both of these programs
still offer free versions of their programs)
We will update this section as more information becomes
available.
Spyware cures may cause more harm than good
Last modified: February 4, 2004, 1:21 PM PST
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Web surfers battling "spyware" face a new problem:
so-called spyware-killing programs that install the same
kind of unwanted advertising software they promise to erase.
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5153485.html
Anti-spyware 'deceiving consumers'
John Borland
CNET News.com
February 12, 2004, 12:20 GMT
Some companies offering anti-spyware are 'hijacking' browsers
to scare consumers into paying for their products, according
to an Internet interest group
Some anti-spyware companies are using deceptive practices
and "hijacked" Web browsers to scare Net consumers
into buying their products, a leading Internet public interest
group told federal regulators on Wednesday. In a complaint
filed with the Federal Trade Commission, the Centre for
Democracy and Technology (CDT) said software developer Mail
Wiper and its marketing affiliate Seismic Entertainment
Productions have misled consumers in promotions for anti-spyware
software.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39146150,00.htm |
Additional ways to keep your computer clean of Spyware
| Adjusting your Security
Settings
A added security measure that can offer
protection against spyware installation is to adjust your
internet connection settings. Once your computer
has been cleaned off we highly recommend that you adjust
the security settings of your browser to disable ActiveX
controls and raise your security settings.
This is very important, especially if you surf the net
using Internet Explorer.
To adjust Internet Security settings for ActiveX controls
and plug-ins on Internet Explorer, open Internet Explorer,
click on "Tools" menu and select "Internet
Options..."
Then select "Security" tab and make sure that
it is set for medium or higher then click on "Custom
Level..." button on the bottom.
Adjust the following options for ActiveX controls and plug-ins:
- Download
signed ActiveX controls - Prompt
- Download
unsigned ActiveX controls - Disable
- Initialize
and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe - Disable
- Run ActiveX
controls and plug-ins - Promt
- Script ActiveX
controls marked safe for scripting – Promt
Click on “OK” button to apply new settings.
You can also adjust your settings for accepting cookies
if you want.
|
|
Adjusting your Browsers Cookie Settings
First, let me explain that not all cookies are bad, many serve
an important function for you on web sites (i.e. by remembering
your login information or keeping track of your on line shopping
cart). However, some cookies can monitor your on line surfing
and transmit a wide range of personal data about you to giant
marketing companies and violate your on-line privacy. You can
adjust your browser cookies setting to limit the cookies that
you accept. Many people disable all cookies, this is not always
advisable since many web sites require a session cookie to fully
function. Session cookies are generally safe because they expire
as soon as you leave the web site. We recommend that users accept
session cookies and adjust their settings to be prompted for others,
however this could lead to your getting bombarded by cookie promts
where ever you surf. To adjust your cookies follow the directions
above for adjusting ActiveX controls. To find out what cookies
can do
Click Here.
Opting Out of the Major Ad Cookies
There are currently several main advertising networks that utilize
cookies to track web usage. One of the biggest on line advertising
company is DoubleClick which has an extensively used cookie which
is installed on your computer with out your knowledge to develop
an extensive user profile about you. DoubleClick delivers a large
amount on online advertising. In the course of serving advertisements
or providing other marketing services, DoubleClick places a unique,
cookie in your browser that can be accessed by a wide variety
of web sites. You can optout of accepting DoubleClick
cookies at this location: http://optout.doubleclick.net/cgi-bin/dclk/optout.pl.
When you OptOut your computer will then be given an OptOut cookie.
This OptOut cookie will replace their active cookie that can monitor
your surfing.
Another major advertising network which use cookies is Atlas
DMT (formerly Avenue A, Inc.). Atlas is a member of the aQuantive,
Inc. family which includes Avenue A, an interactive advertising
agency, and iFRONTIER, a full service interactive agency. Atlas
DMT, the creator of the Atlas™ Digital Marketing Suite,
provides digital marketing technologies for online advertising
agencies. You can optout of accepting Atlas/AvenueA cookies
by clicking this link http://www.atlasdmt.com/privacy/opting.asp.
This link will check to see if you have an active cookie
and switch it out for an OptOut cookie which will therefore no
longer track your surfing.
Yet another large advertising network that uses cookies is ValueClick.
To optout of accepting ValueClick Cookeis by following
the directions at http://www.valueclick.com/privacy.html
this link will privide you with an OptOut cookie.
24/7 Real Media provides only an email address to optout 24/7
Real Media, Inc. If you would like to opt-out, please email privacy@247realmedia.com,
however we do not understand how emailing them will provide you
with a way of blocking their tracking cookies. Acxiom is another
on line advertiser that uses cookies, however, as of this writing
they do not appear to offer any optout option and the only statement
that they offer is that they regulate themselves.
Cookie Utilities
There are a number of utility programs that are available to
assist web surfers in managing which cookies they accept.
http://www.kburra.com/
Cookie Pal
Cookie Pal is a complete Internet cookie management system for
Windows 95 and NT 4.0. It lets you automatically accept and
reject Internet cookies from all sites or just from sites you
specify, without having to click on the Web browser's annoying
"Cookie Alert" messages all the time. Cookie Pal gives
you complete and transparent control over the cookies that are
accepted by and stored on your system. You can also view and
delete existing cookies on your system.
http://www.kburra.com/cp1setup.exe
http://www.thelimitsoft.com/
Cookie Crusher v2.6
Cookie Crusher automates refusals of 'cookies' when using Netscape
Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Although both browsers
have settings to ask before accepting and saving these files
that are generated by Web sites and saved to your hard drive,
you must manually refuse each one. In some cases, a single site
might include multiple cookies and require continual manual
intervention on your part. Cookie Crusher automatically and
silently rejects cookies so that they are not saved to your
hard drive, eliminating potential privacy and security violations.
ftp://ftp.thelimitsoft.com/pub/ccrusher.exe
Please take a moment to write to your
congressmen about protecting your privacy and passing stronger
anti-spam laws!
There are number of new laws pending without your support they
will not get passed. Let your congressmen know that we want stronger
privacy protections. For more information see our legal
section.
Additional Precautions!
Internet Filters
There are a number of filtering products on the internet. Many
of the most popular parental-control filtering products, including
Net Nanny, Cyber Patrol and Cyber Snoop, are designed to target
sex-related Web sites and are not effective in blocking access
to pornography on peer-to-peer software programs, the report found.
America Online's parental controls worked only on dial-up connections,
not on high-speed connections such cable or a DSL line.
Of the seven filtering products tested, only Internet Guard Dog automatically blocked
access to pornographic files, though access to music files also
was prevented, the report found. Two others, Cyber Sitter and Norton Internet Security 2001, also could
be adjusted by parents to prevent file sharing. None could be
set up to block file sharing only of pornography.
PopUp Filters
PanicWare has a an outstanding free Pop-Up Stopper. It provides
basic Ad Blocking for Internet Explorer and Netscape! Their Pop-Up
Stopper is not adware or spyware supported and is free for personal
use - no registration required! Important: Pop-Up Stopper FREE
features basic pop-up and pop-under ad blocking technology. They
also have a Cookie Manager and Web Firewall programs.
http://www.panicware.com/
Guidescope is a highly recommended advert filter that collaboratively
shares a database of blocked adverts. Easy user interface from
within your browser allows you to notify the database of new adverts
to block. Recommended by Junkbuster. Runs on Windows, Linux and
Solaris. Free for non commercial use, and the source code likely
to be released under the GPL in the future.
http://www.guidescope.com/
WebWasher is a sophisticated advert remover. Companies use it
to remove adverts, reduce bandwidth and filter other undesirable
content. For Windows, Mac and Linux. Free for home and educational
use.
http://www.webwasher.com/
It is important to note that ad filtering programs are utilities
to simply limit or restrict the number of pop-up ads you might
view -- they are not programs for computer security. Filtering
programs primarily address the communication between the site
you are visiting and your browser. They do not monitor or restrict
any back channel communications that might take place from hidden
adware and spyware software programs that might also reside on
your computer.
Beware of Installing RadLight Media Player
By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes.
Calling the tactic "malware at its worst," Lavasoft
said its privacy
software is being silently deleted when users install a third-party
multimedia player. Newsbytes has confirmed that installing RadLight
version 3.03 deletes Lavasoft's Ad-Aware program, as promised
in a warning
in the software's 1,100-word license agreement.
http://www.computeruser.com/news/02/04/24/news9.html
Alert your viewers about spyware
with our spyware detection script!
Help us raise awareness of the problems of spyware by alerting
your website visitors if they have spyware installed on
their computers. If we can alert consumers to this problem
it will benefit all of us as a whole. Only through awareness
will it be possible to eventually stop these unethical marketing
practices. If you would like to help us simply add the following
remote script to your web site which will alert your viewers
and visitors if they have spyware installed on their computers.
<script language="JavaScript"
src="http://www.unwantedlinks.com/parasite/parasite3.js">
</script>
This script can be placed anywhere in the body of your
site and remains totally invisible unless it detects at
least one of several browser based spyware plug-ins (including
TopText). Therefore, the spyware alert will only be viewable
to those viewers who have at least one of the identified
spyware programs installed at which point it will display
an simple text alert letting them know about it. Our script
can currently identify 124 different spyware programs. (
For more information
and to see a sample click here!)
Or feel free to use a copy of our spyware quotes script
to help raise awareness which appears in our left panel
<script language="JavaScript"
src="http://www.unwantedlinks.com/spywarequotes-feed.js"
type="text/JavaScript"></script>
This script will feed one quote at the exact location it
is placed within your site. It rotates a total of 30 random
spyware quotes. (This script will display additional random
quotes if it is included more than once) You can enclose
it in font tags to match your site text.
Here is a sample of how it looks.
|
Check out our article:
Spyware: Do You Know Who’s Watching
You?
This is an indepth & documented Research Paper from California
Polytechnic State University & Computer Professionals
for Social Responsibility which demonstrates how the Radiate
spyware module can get installed without a users knowledge.
Authors: Rom Yatziv and Clark S. Turner, J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Computer Science
California Polytechnic State University
Abstract: Radiate, like many other companies since the creation
of the Internet, is relying on advertising and user information
for its income. In this particular case, however, it is possible
that users’ rights are being circumvented, and Radiate may
be poking its nose in private places without proper authorization.
This paper looks at Radiate and its software module, and attempts
to determine whether it is spyware, based on the ACM Software
Engineering Code of Ethics.
For your convenience since this article is quite long we are also
including this article as a downloadable PDF file Spyware-Radiate.pdf
In addition, we also are including the following PDF file as
a source of additional documentation regarding Radiate/Aureate
instillation practices. Although dated Feb 2000 it demonstrates
the process that Radiate uses without notification to the user
during normal instillation processes.
Aureate Press Statement.pdf
WebMasters & Web Site Owners
Many of these new forms of spyware have found ways to steal your
web traffic. Don't forget to check out our WebMaster
Info to find out how to protect your web sites from these
new advertising threats!
Links to Additional Information
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on our Supporters page and help us raise awareness by displaying
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