PC Security Doctor

The users of the Internet today face a huge threat and lots of risk is involved just browsing the web because there are so many spyware and adware programs that could attack your PC from the web. Whenever you visit any new page or open a new website link, you are not sure whether the site is authentic or if it’s a trap to hack or steal your important information. As web surfers we like to click on catchy and flashy links with promising rewards but be careful as such interesting links can lead towards a crash of your computer.

Today the threat of Spyware programs is creating lot of headache to the cyber world with some hundreds of new threats being introduced monthly on the Internet in the last few years. The damage caused can be major. There are some seriously dangerous spyware programs that attack computer systems and can lead to database hacking or paralysing the normal functions of the computer that may require costly repair work or formatting of the entire system. There are huge chances of loosing all the important data stored in the system.

Most of the Spyware threats have their own way of getting installed and a particular effect on your PC. One such program that is known is the Cool Web Search program. It is a small program, which attacks or takes control of Microsoft Internet Explorer. This spy ware program directs a lot of your browsing to websites that have advertisements including directing the home page to cool websearch.com. The characteristics of this spy ware program are shown in the form of Pop-up ads depending on the websites you visit. Changing the infected computer’s hosts file and redirecting error pages are some of the features of this particular spy ware program.

Active X security holes lead to installation of several spyware problems. Keep your system up to date and remember, installation of one-spy ware program leads to installation of another.

If you are careful while browsing and remember to use a quality antispyware solution, then surely you can protect your system and your valuable information from being attacked by external programs. You should always ensure that your PC and data is protected. The loss of your data or information cannot be retrieved once it is lost.

Spyware is one of the most dangerous threats for all Internet users. It is hard to detect and infection can be very costly, in terms of time and money. Every PC user is at risk if they are not using anti-spyware software. On a global scale, this problem affects almost everyone, and thus the development of the anti-spyware industry. These anti spyware software products remove or disable existing spyware on your computer.

New spyware threats are appearing every day, but some are more dangerous than others. A few of most dangerous spyware threats are described here.

Vundo, also known as the Vundo Trojan, Virtumonde, Virtumondo and MS Juan is a Trojan horse that will show popups and advertising on your computer. It often advertises fake antispyware software, prompting you to pay for a license with your credit card. Sometimes it can cause your PC to slow down and websites to stop working correctly.

PurityScan works by displaying pop-up advertisements on your computer when you are online and it encourages you to install it by claiming to find and delete pornographic images. It does do what is says in a basic way but it also installs “OIN client software” which will make ads appear on your desktop.

N-CASE is another spyware, which is basically an adware program delivering targeted pop-up advertisements to web page and then to your computer. It contains freeware applications.

Contraviro is another fake anti-spyware program that uses false “security alerts” and scan results to make you think that your computer is infected with spyware, adware and viruses. It seems that this rogue software was created by the same people who created Unvirex, another rogue spyware remover.

Perfect Keylogger is a monitoring instrument recording all visited web sites, keystrokes and mouse clicks. So all your secret information like passwords, account numbers is collected bythem.

CoolWebSearch hijacks your web searches, home page, and the Internet explorer settings, there have many changes in this spyware which uses HTML applications or security flaws and then invade your computer.

Transponder is an IE Browser Helper Object that monitors the web pages you are visiting and data entered into online forms and then delivers targeted advertisements.

ISTbar/AUpdate is a toolbar used for searching pornographic web sites and displays pornographic pop-ups and hijacks the home page and Internet searches.

KeenValue is a dangerous spyware that collects personal information and delivers advertisements to your computer.

Bargain Buddy sends targeted pop-up advertisements to the computer based on key words that you enter while surfing the Web. It also takes control of the error pages and redirects them to its own webserver.

Gator is an adware program that will show banner advertisements based on the habits of your web surfing. It is packaged with many free software programs, like the popular file-sharing program Kazaa.

Spyware generates data regarding the habits of Internet users and are sold to spammers and are misused. So be careful about these spyware and protect yourself using a good antispyware solution.

Spyware is often difficult to remove

This software is installed in the background and wants to live on your computer without you knowing about it. It does not like to be removed easily and the authors often make it quite difficult to remove.

It can be removed manually

If you are good with computers and have technical knowledge you can sometimes remove spyware. It is often slow and takes a lot of time. There are many technical steps and if you are not careful you could damage your PC.

Using HijackThis

If you want to try to do it yourself HijackThis is a common tool used for diagnosing spyware problems. It is mainly for helping computer technicians find and remove spyware. It even comes with a warning:

Hijack This is for advanced users. If you are not familiar with running processes on your computer as well as anything ever installed that could tie into your web browser, it will not be much help to you.

Anti-Spyware software is the best way

With the great range of anti-spyware software available, doing it yourself is not worth the time and hassle. You can download and scan your PC in a few minutes. If spyware is detected it will be removed very quickly and the cost of a good anti-spyware program is quite low.

Our reviews guide you on the best product

I have reviewed some of the top anti-spyware solutions. So please click here to read the review and download one that suits your needs.

What is it?

Spyware is a type of software that is installed onto your computer without you knowing about it. It hides in the background and spies on your computer usage looking for information about you and your family. There are many different types of spyware, some watch the websites that you visit, some look for usernames and passwords and others popup ads onto your desktop.

Spyware Problems

Spyware can also change the settings on your computer, making your internet slower, changing your browser home page, prevent other programs from working correctly and sometimes cause the internet to stop working altogether.

How did I get it?

Most spyware is installed without you knowing about it. It is sometimes installed along with another program as a part of the setup process. Other types install through loopholes in a web browser or by looking like a useful toolbar or helper program.

With other software

Spyware can also come as a part of a shareware program or other software downloaded from the internet. You could download a program then install it, and the installer installs the spyware as an extra. Although the main program itself might not do any harm, the spyware does. In some cases, spyware authors have paid shareware authors to add spyware to their software. Other times, spyware authors have repackaged useful freeware with installers that slipstream spyware.

Anti-Spyware Software

As spyware became more of a threat many companies have developed anti-spyware software that can scan your computer and remove any rogue spyware programs that are found. Purchasing and using anti-spyware software has become a normal thing for home computer security, especially those using Microsoft Windows.