Anti Spyware Programs

Anti spyware programs are going to be the most effective and beneficial tool for you to use in your fight against all things spyware.  In most cases, it will remove most of the spyware and adware from your computer. 

Some types of spyware can pose a larger problem and often be difficult to remove.  Nevertheless, there are some excellent tools available to help most computer users to combat the threat of spyware.

Programs Available

There are many programs on the market that can be helpful in removing spyware.  While we are not advocating for any one program here, there are several that must be mentioned in order to learn what these are, what they can do and just where they came from.

One such program is that of OptOut.  This program was designed by Steve Gibson and really became one of the founding tools in the fight against spyware.  It was one of the first tools to do this and therefore was the foundation for other programs that were to come along.

Some of the most popular tools include Ad-Aware which was designed by Lavasoft.  Another program is that of Spybot-Search and Destroy which was created by Patrick Kolla. 

These programs have helped many to fight.  In fact, they not only removed spyware but they worked at helping to stop the download of them, too. 

You can also look at Microsoft for some help.  Just months ago, they began working on a program to help with this type of protection.  The program was for Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows 2003, and was a free downloadable program that expired in July in its beta version. It was called Windows AntiSpyware beta. 

The second version of this program is called Windows Defender and is a second beta test.  This one is available through the end of 2006.  While this program is available, it may be worth your time to use to protect your computer.  It is expected that a full version will be available in 2007 after the beta test has been completed.

Still, there are many more anti spyware programs available to fill your needs.  Which one is the right choice for you?  There’s still much to take into consideration.

How About A Free One?

One thing you may be tempted by is a free anti spyware program.  Free programs seem quite alluring after all, no one really wants to have to pay for protection if it is available without charge.

When considering free anti spyware products, take the time to truly unearth who they are, what they offer and what they put onto your computer.  There are some excellent free programs to consider. 

Yet, there are many more that are quite likely to contain spyware or adware themselves and be a simply ploy to get you to download them.  Therefore, unless you’ve done your research on the product, something we’ll talk more about in a few minutes, don’t download anything.

Anti Spyware And Virus Protection

One of the many things you’ll find today in spyware protection are those programs that are now coupling anti virus products with anti spyware products.  Each of them can be beneficial.

Some of the companies that have begun putting these together include McAfee, Symantec and Sophos.  These leading anti virus software protectors are now providing software that will handle spyware at the same time as virus protection.

But, did you know that not all of these programs were really interested in doing this?  While from a customer standpoint you can easily see how spyware is just as dangerous as viruses, from the business point, there was concern.

What if an anti spyware program labeled a company’s product as spyware?  Could they be sued for doing so?  These are real concerns to this day for these software developers as you can understand.

Most of them have simply labeled programs that they consider to be possible spyware programs with a term that is less offensive such as Symantec’s use of “extended threats” during a scan of your computer.

Should you purchase the combination of these two very important tools for your computer?  It is a personal decision which program you do use and/or purchase.  But the fact is that you must have something working for you to provide you with ultimate protection.

It’s understandable for most to be confused by which program is the right one to work with.  Some people seem to think more than one program is necessary.  Yet, an up to date program is the perfect choice.

How They’ll Aid You

No matter if you’ve actually gotten to the point of selecting a product yet or not, you do need to realize how they will work for you.  There are two concepts to understand in anti spyware programs.

First of all, just as a virus program would run a “scan” on your computer, a spyware program will do about the same.  It will run through the files on your computer, in most cases both obvious files and hidden files. 

When it spots something that has the potential of being spyware, it collects its location and details.  After the scan is complete, it will provide you with details on what was found, where it was located and what it is.

In some cases, you’ll be able to remove the program fully from your computer.  In other cases, it is necessary for you to just block the files from working as they’ve placed themselves in such a place or manner that they can’t be easily removed.

Most programs will run checks on these areas if not more while running a scan:

· Your Window’s registry
· Your operating system files
· Files that you’ve installed through programs

The second way in which anti spyware programs work is by providing protection to you.  Go back to your virus program.  It protects you by providing you with a real time protection. 

If a virus was to try and enter your computer while you are using it and you have a running anti virus program, it captures the virus and stops it from entering.

Anti spyware works in just about the same manner as anti virus does.  If a program attempts to download something to your computer and it doesn’t have the necessary allowance for doing so, your running, real time anti spyware program stops it and asks you if you wanted that program to be downloaded.  If you don’t you tell the program to stop it.  If you do, then you allow it.

During this process it will update you, providing you with the necessary information to make a decision about the program trying to get in.  It may give a full description of the program and give you advice as to what to do with it. 

It works quite simply by taking the time to scan through the incoming network data and disk files.  Before these are able to be fully downloaded, they get a full scan at the download time, before it hits your computer.

How does it know if a program is spyware?  In most cases, it will stop anything that looks suspicious.  In addition to this, most have a working list of “known to represent spyware” programs.  It doesn’t remove these from your system, but stops the download of something suspicious. 

At that point, you make the decision to continue with the program download or stop it.

One thing to consider in an anti spyware program is a program that allows the interception of programs that are trying to install start up items.  They may also offer protection from those programs that are trying to modify your browser settings in some way.  Using this is helpful as many spyware and adware programs take advantage of browser weaknesses. 

This software is often marketed as security software.  Don’t assume that your anti spyware program does this, though, as it is quite possible that it will not.

The combination of these two things allows your computer system to stay protected:  on going, real time protection and detection and removal programs.

What’s On The Market

A common misconception today is that any anti spyware and anti adware program on the market provides the same types of protection and constant coverage.  This is not the case, unfortunately.

Some programs are still just providing detection and removal applications to the user.  Javacool Software produced the first product that would offer coverage in real time protection. 

Their product is called SpywareBlaster.  In fact, they were the first to successfully provide help for the spyware program known as ActiveX based spyware, a large threat.  Today, this program offers comprehensive coverage in the realm of protection and prevention.

Yet, it can be much more beneficial to find a program that will offer you both real time protection as well as removal and detection tools.  Look for a anti spyware program that pulls these resources together to provide the most complete coverage against spyware programs and adware programs alike.

Installing Isn’t Enough

Once you’ve found and installed your program, you’re done, right?

You can’t just download your program and forget all about it, assuming that it is protecting you.  Like virus programs, anti spyware and anti adware programs also need to be updated.

Just as your virus protection requires updating because the world of viruses change, so does the world of spyware.  Without an up to date definition of the program, you are still just as exposed as when you didn’t have any anti spyware software.

Why do you need to do this?  It’s simple.  Spyware developers, good or bad as they are, are constantly looking for a new way to present their software in order to work, rather than becoming trapped in an anti spyware product.  They are looking at how they can get around it, so to speak.

The good thing is that anti spyware program designers are doing the same thing.  When a new type of strain of spyware becomes evident to them, they develop tools to stop it through the software programs they have in place. 

The program is discovered and then evaluated.  Once it is fully understood, the developer creates a unique signature or definition for that specific new threat. 

Once this update has been added to your computer’s anti spyware protection through an update, your computer is once again, fully protected.  Without these, your computer is still quite at risk for further or future spyware and adware invasions.

How To Get Updated Protection

To get this up to date protection, you’ll need to know just how your anti spyware protection works.  Each program is a bit different.  Yours might be one of these types of programs or another. does

· If the program is a subscription, that is paid for in order to get services over a period of time, these programs are often updated throughout that time period of subscription.

· If the program is a one time download or scan, you’ll need to manually make the update happen.  That may mean downloaded a new scan for each time you use it. 

In most cases, the updates will come as part of the price of the subscription to the anti spyware, anti adware program.  In fact, this is the best choice as it will provide the most frequent updates.  Most of the time, these can be set up to do this type of updating automatically whenever the computer is connected to the internet and there is an update available.

If this is not the case, a schedule of updates may be followed.  During this type of situation, a schedule is set in which during certain intervals the updates will be downloaded automatically from the anti spyware provider. 

If you are visiting a website and doing a scan that is manual, the program will look for and provide any updates before the scan is actually run. 

Finally, some programs require manual updating.  That means you’ll need to visit the website, download the updates and then run a scan after doing so to remove anything and everything that was covered in the update.

Want No Updates?

There are programs available that don’t require actual updates.  Instead, they will use historical observation as their method of defining and stopping spyware.  These programs can do this fully or partially.  To work, they’ll monitor specific configuration parameters.  This includes areas of your Window’s registry and your browser.

When there is any change to these aspects of your computer, it will alert you to it.  As the user, you can then decide if the change is supposed to happen, or if it is wanted. 

At that point, you, as the user has to make a decision about whether or not this is the right program for you to delete or one that you should have. 

The good thing about them is that you don’t have to worry about getting updates for this software.  Instead of relying on that, it relys on what’s on your computer currently and changes that are made.

The problem with this type of anti spyware and anti adware program is that most don’t know which files and downloads are potentially harmful and which are innocent enough.  The program doesn’t offer any type of recommendation to you, nor does it offer any type of judgment to contain the file change.

With some of these programs, you can use a community based resource available to you.  With that, you can determine what the right action is by visiting the community, finding out what others did and their success and then making your decision based on this information provided. 

This type of set up is also quite useful to those that are monitoring and analyzing spyware as they can see what potential problems are flowing throughout the web at any given time and with what type of frequency it is happening.

The Un-Removable

Even with some of the best anti spyware and anti adware programs, it is quite possible that some spyware on your computer won’t come off.  There are several types of programs that keep themselves in the loop.

· This type of spyware often resists your attempts to find, uninstall or destroy it.

· It can often work with another program (two spyware programs that are separate but often downloaded at the same time.)  When it does this, you’ll attempt to destroy it but the other spyware program kicks in when this happens and re-spawns the other spyware, causing it to be fully functional.

· It may also work with its own programming.  When it figures out that the anti spyware program has removed registry keys, it may quick reinstall them.

So, how can you safely and complete get rid of these seemingly impossible to remove spyware programs?

One solution is to load the computer in safe mode.  Doing this, and then running your anti spyware program will allow for more success.  .

Even still, there are additional problems that can still be resisting.  For example, a somewhat new type of spyware is working so well at hiding inside your systems critical process.  These programs can often run even when you boot your computer in safe mode.  These are difficult to removal as well as detect.

Even worse, some spyware and adware programs are so well designed that they don’t leave any type of on disk signature on your computer, making them near impossible to locate.

One program, known as Gromozon, is a spyware program that has the capability of even blocking anti spyware programs from being installed into your computer or allowing them to run there. 

It is also possible that the spyware will need to be tackled by a professional team that has complex methods of detecting and removing spyware and adware that is resisting other methods of removal.  This is especially true when quite a bit of spyware is found on a computer.

As mentioned earlier, there are some computers that are so infected or that have nearly impossible spyware or adware programs running in it that the entire operating system will need to be reinstalled.  Although this is rare, it is still a possible need you may have.

All of this information about anti spyware programs is critical for you to fully understand.  Because there are so many beneficial programs out there, it is essential for you to know which the best possible product is for you. 

It is also important to realize that not all programs offered are the best possible choice.  In fact, some programs are anything but. 

Finding an anti spyware and anti adware program for your use should be a well researched project.  You’ll need to take the time to fully learn about the product.

In the next chapter, we will reveal some of the worst case scenarios.