|
|
|
|
||||||
|
The most common ways parasites are loaded are with freeware programs, Internet Explorer's ActiveX installation option (which will be part of next week's column), and Web sites or pop-up ads. Some freeware programs come with unsolicited commercial software that is loaded at the same time as the freeware. If you read the fine print when you install some types of freeware, it will tell you they are there and you can tell it not to load the commercial software. A lot of parasites load using Internet Explorer's ActiveX installation option. When a Web page has a link to an ActiveX program, a window will pop up asking you if you want to execute it. If you click Yes or if your Internet Explorer's security settings are set so low that it doesn't ask, the software runs and can do anything it wants, like loading parasites. What will they do? Adware parasites will hound you with advertising. Spyware watches everything you do online and sends information to marketing companies. There is also scumware that adds advertising links to Web pages, and the author of the Web page doesn't even get paid for it. There are home page hijackers that set your browser's home page and search settings to point to specific sites they want you to see. And dialers make your modem, analog or ISDN call premium-rate phone numbers for which you get charged. They also degrade your computer's performance and can cause errors because they are poorly written. There is not an uninstall feature, and they put code in unexpected places to make it hard to get rid of. Why doesn't your anti-virus software find them? Some anti-virus programs will detect a few parasites, but not even close to all of them. The reason is a parasite isn't a virus. It doesn't spread from one computer to another. Here are a few free anti-parasite software packages. • Spybot Search & Destroy at www.safer-networking.org • SpywareBlaster at www. javacoolsoftware.com/ spywareblaster.html You may need to download and run more than one of these to rid your computer of all the parasites you have. So uninstall Spyware Doctor, call them back and tell them you don't need the Spyware patch because Spybot Search & Destroy and/or SpywareBlaster works just fine. As with anti-virus software, this will need to be updated to keep up with new parasites.
|
