Ducktoes Spyware Blog

Another type of spyware, less dangerous than keyloggers but still annoying, is a hijacker. It hijacks or forces your browser (your Internet Explorer or Firefox, for instance) to use a different home page than the one you picked. Instead you get some bogus home page you don’t want. Sometimes it makes you use a different search engine that doesn’t work so hot. Coolwebsearch is one example of this. Try as you might it won’t let you go to Google or Yahoo. Sometimes you get some weird toolbars that stick to your browser like super glue.

The solution is to download and run anti-spyware. See how here.

Ducktoes to the rescue!!

One really bad type of spyware is called a keylogger. It records everything you type, including bank account numbers, passwords, and credit card numbers and then sends off the information to people who try to use your money or credit card.

The solution is to download and run anti-spyware. See how here. Ducktoes to the rescue!!

Spyware seems to be a rolling snowball of a term gathering other terms as it grows. It’s getting huge. The term spyware now includes not only spyware but also adware, malware, and trojan horses.

Adware is advertising in the form of pop-ups and toolbars that come bundled with free software. The adware pop-ups cover your browser window when you are trying to look at the website underneath. The toolbars clutter your Web browser or desktop. I’ve seen browsers with so many toolbars the browser window itself was tiny. It was hard to see the web page with the space that remained, there were so many toolbars glommed on to the top. These programs slow your computer down. You may not realize why your computer is working so slowly. It’s because each adware program is running processes in the background, and they take up the computer’s resourses. The computer is so busy running unwanted programs, it can’t handle the programs you are trying to use.

Adware becomes spyware when it gathers information about you and sends it to some database on the internet. If you visit skiing sites, for instance, or traveling to Europe sites, or recipe sites or on-line games it will store that information and send it out somewhere to a server on the internet. Then that server will send you ads based upon those interests and activities online. You get personalized ads. Aren’t you thrilled about getting more ads into your life?

Spyware becomes malware when it interferes with the normal functioning of your computer or victimizes you by stealing your credit card or bank account numbers. Sometimes malware will force your browser to go to a particular website or search engine. And sometimes it will turn your computer into a zombie and use it for purposes of a botnet or illegal network to serve porn or some other illicit activity.

Yet all of this can be prevented with good virus software and adware prevention and removal services. Ducktoes can help.

I use two anti-spyware. They both seem to catch a lot of spyware, and each catches some the other misses. And they are both free. Lavasoft Ad Aware has a free version and Spybot is free–although I strongly recommend giving a donation to Spybot so we can all keep using it. I even bought the Spybot t-shirt.

Here’s a link to an article that rates the anti-spyware.

Spyware is software that runs on your computer without your permission. Or knowledge. It can slow down your computer to a standstill by running a lot of processes in the background. And you pick it up it by just surfing the internet. At best it invades your privacy by recording your internet habits. At worst it steals your credit card numbers or dials expensive calls on your telephone line or leaves a huge back entrance for hackers to get into your computer.
Spyware can slow down your computer to the point it is no longer viable. Often people have to get their operating system reinstalled to get rid of them and lose all their data and files in the process.

Ducktoes can prevent this. Call 403-483-0105.