How many spyware items are infecting your computer?

 I had merely an Intelligent Explorer plugin attached to my browser by mistake. What a horror! What a nightmare! I've got another piece on this subject, one that makes a point. Spyware or adware items are always machines that infect. Most PCs don't have any security against them. The frequency of them is quite disturbing. From the website of InfosecWriters, "According to a 2004 survey conducted by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 91% of the surveyed users were aware of the word spyware. Only 53% thought their computers were infected, but a scan discovered that 80% of their PCs had some form of spyware "Thought on them." Talled on them. He continues to claim, "...The average number of components of spyware per computer was 93 and one computer over a thousand."

What is Spyware?

Butte College offers that definition (www.bctv.butte.edu/support/spyware.html):

"The term 'spyware' is widely defined as any application that enters your computer without permission and hides behind it while making undesirable modifications to your user experience.
Usually, spyware is not aimed to damage your computer. The damage it produces is more a by-product of its core task, which is to provide you with targeted ads or to display certain websites or results for your browser.
Currently, most malware targets just the Windows (Internet Explorer) operating system."

For fairness, spyware can be innocent, such as tracking cookies. While such things violate your privacy, they do not do anything harmful. But others are really deadly.

So what are you doing?

No spyware application seems to achieve everything, but several decent solutions can aid. Here is a list of some of the leading spyware tools:


1) Try LavaSoft Ad-Aware 6.0 Professional (there is also a free version with less functionality)

2) PepiMK Software Spybot Search & Destroy


3) Pareto Logic Xoftspy shape

5) Javacool Software Spyware Guard is a free software

4) Pesticides (now part of Computer Associates by acquisition)

5) Anti-Spyware McAfee

One thing is certain: spyware must be taken seriously. Too many people believe that anti-virus technologies are the ultimate solution. They are not. They are not.

And, when everything else fails?

Finally, as extreme as it appears, if your computer has been infected with many spyware applications, the only remedy you can have is to back-up your data and reinstall the operating system completely.