Malicious Thoughts About the Spyware Ills of My Pc

Introduction

Who would think I was capable of such revengeful thoughts about the parties responsible for inflicting my poor computer with spyware? Well, after the trauma of having gone through such an experience for the first time, I was sorely tempted by the occult section of curses and witchcraft at my local bookstore. Growl!

Basically, I am a normal person using a home computer to perform simple normal tasks such as word processing, writing emails, internet banking, and surfing the Internet for useful information. Ok, I also have a weakness for looking for bargains on good old eBay (sheepish grin) and Paypal is quite a handy option for easy purchasing. Problem:

Great dismay and panic hit when my pc started popping up strange windows or messages. With my limited IT knowledge, I ran a Norton virus scan which obviously revealed a number of problems. But the Symantec removal tool did not remove the spyware and I could not even log onto a couple of password protected sites. My beloved pc was infected with some malware or adware or trojan, among which, I believe was WinFixer and a Trojan Vundo. I did not know how to get rid of Vundo or how to remove WinFixer. (Or perhaps they were the one and same thing?). But at that point, I did not know any better, so began the laborious task of searching for information on how to get rid of the spyware.Research:

From my search, I found out that the Trojan Vundo is a trojan horse that causes popups advertising rogue antispyware programs. For example, the program called Sysprotect is advertised in many of the popup windows as seen from the screenshot below. Vundo infects a computer by creating a DLL file in the Windows system directory and writes registry entries causing Windows to inject the file into winlogon.exe.

WinFixer, on the other hand, has siblings as it is identical to WinAntiVirus and ErrorSafe. And these programs all claim to repair problems within your computer system. By installing the program on your computer, you will likely end up receiving false information about your computer. Naturally, this will confuse you into believing your PC is infected with viruses, spyware and/or other forms of malware.

The popups and forced downloads apparently mirror “marketing” strategies of many spyware programs. And at times, infected computers will reduce in their level of speed and performance. Well, this all explained what was probably happening to my pc, and I knew I had to figure out how to get rid of WinFixer and Vundo before they drove me mad. Research and solution:

In my initial panic, I reacted by downloading some recommended antispyware programs, namely CounterSpy by Sunbelt Software, XoftSpy by ParetoLogic and Spy Sweeper by Webroot Software Inc. I came to my senses by the third program and stopped myself from paying for another popular program, spyware spyware octor. But hey, all these programs did receive pretty good reviews from the experts at PCWorld, PCMag, CNet, Tucows and AdwareReport. So at the time, I did not feel that I had gone too much overboard ;)

Now, there are many sites listing all sorts of free and paid antispyware programs with a variety of reviews and user opinions on how to remove WinFixer and how to get rid of Vundo. Many of the commercial antispyware program homepages also list very detailed features of their products plus the latest research findings about current spyware hreats. Have a look at this webpage that lists some of these reliable programs. www.consumerstyle.com/antispyware

Anyway, an opinion and recommendation I had read when researching for the reliable anti spyware rograms made heaps sense in that software you pay for is more likely to offer benefits over freeware, i.e., better support, more frequent updates and better pro-active protection measures. One just has to be careful when selecting the programs. According to the comments in the forums and review articles I read, many recommend using at least two programs to be able to catch the latest spyware that either program might miss (that was when I stopped myself from my downloading frenzy). I have learnt much more about my pc now and wish to share and perhaps amuse you my muddled but finally effective measures to cleaning up my pc and removing the spyware My actions:

My initial Norton Antivirus can found but was not able to delete Vundo, even after rebooting. The Symantec removal tool did not help at all. I had disconnected from the Internet, disabled system restore, and ran the removal tool, regularly and in safe mode. After numerous startups, varying with safe mode, and disabling Antivirus I even tried to figure out how to remove Vundo manually without messing with the registry, etc. Please note that some people had success with the Symantec removal tools, and some others, like me, did not. Apart from the Trojan Vundo, I was getting quite frustrated at not being able to remove WinFixer for the many windows continually popping up started to slow my computer down, and even freeze it at times.

So I first tried Xoftspy, which was the fastest when scanning my computer. I was pleased to have fewer pop ups, was able to remove WinFixer, and ended with a much faster internet connection.

Then with my next program, Spy Sweeper, I ran it twice and then did a full system scan. Lo and behold, Vundo was gone, no more popups and adware annoyances. I guess this might not work for everyone but it is worth a shot to download Spy Sweeper.

Being still paranoid about the health of my pc, I finally ran the the free two-week trial version of CounterSpy, for extra assurance. Now I was quite impressed as it also included a scheduler, secure file shredder, and a history cleaner that made it simple to set up weekly scans. And there are frequent definition file updates for CounterSpy’s publisher. The company seems to run a well-staffed spyware research department. After a scan, CounterSpy can delete, quarantine, or remove spyware I was advised not to install Microsoft AntiSpyware alongside older versions of CounterSpy (version 1.5 and below). And it is recommended to get CounterSpy to check for online updates of definitions and program files manually.Conclusion:

To sum it all, XoftSpy was able to delete WinFixer as the program was able to uninstall WinFixer within fifteen minutes requiring a couple of restarts. As for Spy Sweeper, it managed to remove Vundo with ease. And I have no doubt that CounterSpy has done a great job of keeping my pc free of spyware. I cannot say that I have taken the best approach to solving my problems, but my pc is now running faster than ever and I have been free of WinFixer and Vundo ever since. I just have to remember to be more careful and scan my pc regularly.

One thing is for sure, there are many reliable and popular anti spyware rograms out there, and many helpful forum chat folk who can lend a hand with plenty of technical advice. You just have to sort out what advice and which steps to take by increasing your own awareness and understanding of your pc and the nasty world of spyware lurking around these days.

Jess Ong is a contributor/author on Security Systems for Consumerstyle.com. Consumerstyle.com looks at the online trends and styles. The security section sniffs around one of the current buzzes in the world of IT and consumers. It provides information and personal reviews about some popular software programs.www.consumerstyle.com/antispyware
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Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Sunday 24 January 2010 at 2:57 pm

Paramount Tool for the Removal of Spyware

It is a fact that most of us ignore, every time we use internet there is a probability that our system affected by ad ware or spyware causing security problems. Most of us take spyware lightly with a feeling that it is not going to affect you. Some may be of the opinion that possession of strong antivirus software which is upgraded at regular intervals keeps your computer safe and secure. But the reality is that though antivirus software protects your system from virus it is not effective in tackling spyware. You will need an anti spyware oftware. Suppose one doesn?t have an anti spyware software one should have spyware removal tool to prevent your computer from getting infected by spyware or ad ware.

With technological advancement and growing number of internet users the problem is a bit more serious coming to the issue of ad wares and spyware, Trojans etc. opening your internet sites exposes your computer to a no. of spyware. The spyware can extract your personal info like user id, passwords etc .and other confidential files if any. It can even handle your transaction details or make use of your money transaction paths. Now you might have got an idea of how serious the problem is. You may not even know when you are infected. Therefore, it is essential to download and install spyware removal tool in computer.

Searching for a good spyware program in the internet itself may drag you in to troubles sometimes. Do not fall into the false promises of the companies that offer spyware without enquiring the authenticity of the sites offer spyware downloads. Rule out the possibility of these anti spyware programs to become the real spyware before you download one into your computer. It is always good to check out the reliability of the company before you decide which spyware s to be installed in your computer. If possible always go for the brand spyware to avoid complications that are caused by the duplicate anti spyware programs.

After zeroing in you will have to locate it and buy. You can have an online purchase using their link if you have credit card or other online transaction facility. Otherwise just visit the store nearby and purchase. You may get other off versions in other sites. It may not work well. Even if you install such versions, they may not detect the spyware and it continues affecting your system. It is better to have credible version though it may cost some extra bugs.

Make sure your computer has the basic requirements to install this tool. After installing run it and get your system cleaned from the spyware and ad ware menace. After deleting the spyware and infected files install suitable anti spyware software for future protection.

Isaiah Henry is a spyware removal guru at RemoveSpywareandAdware.com, he enjoys providing useful information for users to their privacy online. He has written reviews on software like spyware eviews/stopzilla.html" rel="nofollow">STOPzilla.
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Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 2:47 pm

Virus Protection Guide – Free Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Firewall List

Anti-virus , anti- spyware nd firewall are three software crucial in protecting your PC and you cannot go online without them. Did you know that you can get infected within 8 seconds after you go online?

Yes, 8 seconds is the time needed for Sasser, the fastest worm in the internet, to infect your PC and after that, the rest is history. Malicious software can get into your system if you didn’t provide sufficient protection for your PC.

In this article, I will tell you how you can get free anti-virus, anti- spyware spyware and firewall.

There is one software that provides both spyware and virus removal software. It’s called Spyware Terminator. This software has a built-in anti-virus, the ClamAV. The ClamAV is an open source software and it’s free.

Other than the ClamAV, you can also try the Avast! Antivirus AVG and Avira Antivir Personal. These are not built-in into the Spyware Terminator. However, you need to remember that one computer can only install one these or it will conflict with each other.

For anti- spyware oftware, you can try to use the SUPERAnti spyware Ad-Aware Pro, and Spybot Search and Destroy. Different with anti-virus, you can have more than one of these installed in your system.

Firewall is another software that you need in your system. It’s a software that monitors the ingoing and outgoing traffic from your PC. I recommend you to install either the Comodo Firewall Pro or ZoneAlarm Firewall.

All of these protection software are crucial in protecting yourself but, knowledge is the most important thing in fighting online threats. I saw people who have protection software but remove spyware from their PC every week due to the lack of knowledge on how to prevent their computer from getting infected by malicious software.

This shows that this people don’t have the knowledge on how they can get infected and therefore, they will get infected every week. So, learn what you can and try to avoid getting infected by online threats.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips – Want to know the secret of securing your PC from dangerous spyware, adware, and malware programs that can ruin your PC, your finances, and your sanity?! Join my 5-days PC Security E-Course for info on virus protection
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Posted under Remove Personal Antivirus by greatyd on Thursday 24 December 2009 at 5:08 am

The Xp Antivirus Program: Is It Legitimate?

The temptation to buy XP Antivirus an be very high when you are fearful of a spyware nfection. Don’t give in so quickly though! Make sure that you know what you are getting into, or rather what you are getting your computer into, before you purchase XP Antivirus as the bubble at the bottom of your screen is prompting you to do.

 

Defining XP Antivirus

Have you heard of rogue anti-spyware programs? XP Antivirus is one of them. In the vein of others like AntiVirGear and VirusHeat, this program shows the computer user fake security alert pop-ups and false system scans. The system scans show high numbers of spyware programs than are really on your computer. The goal of the fak e security alerts and false system scans like these is to frighten you into buying the full version of XP Antivirus Unfortunately, making that purchase could only lead to further problems.

 

 

A variety of symptoms are evident after XP Antivirus s downloaded on your computer. An individual who uses his or her computer on a regular basis will notice the symptoms much sooner than the person who rarely uses it. However, the time that it takes to notice the symptoms will not make any difference in the long run.

 

The first symptom you may notice is that your computer may be much slower than normal during all processes. It may be slow to boot up, slow to find your wireless connection, and slow load, open, or switch between programs.

 

In addition to the sluggish performance, you may be bombarded with automatic scans as well as pop-ups while you are working on your computer. The continual pop-ups can appear while you are online and offline. The automatic ‘scans’ will suggest that you have several dangerous infections and a high number of spyware programs on your computer, all of which are fake results. The whole idea is give you many reasons to buy the XP Antivirus software program.

 

Another symptom of XP Antivirus has to do with your internet settings and shortcuts. Your start page might be changed, and your default start page may now be blocked. As a result, you may not be able to change back to the start page you originally set for your browser. The new shortcuts, you will notice, are all for XP Antivirus or similar programs.

 

Once you detect XP Antivirus on your PC, you can take the necessary precautions to remove it. A lot of people choose to put forth the effort to delete XP Antivirus manually in Windows.

 

If you choose to delete XP Antivirus manually, begin by going to the Start menu. Scroll up to the Search button. Then click on “All Files and Folders”. A bubble will ask what you want to search for. Type the file name into the search box and click on, “Search”, and delete the files when found. Keep in mind, though, that you must eliminate all of the files, as the program does have the ability to reinstall itself.

 

You can also get rid of XP Antivirus by erasing it from the registry for your computer. However, be very careful if you decide to take care of the problem this way. Erasing anything from the registry of your computer can be dangerous and can royally mess up your computer if anything were to go wrong.

 

You can also install a trustworthy anti- spyware rogram in order to get rid of XP Antivirus. There are a variety of reliable anti-spyware software programs to choose from. If you are overwhelmed by your choices, you can read the reviews on all of them on the internet. If you have a fairly large social group, then you can talk to people you know about the anti-spyware program that they use. Chances are that you will hear several good recommendations on a specific program and that will help you make your decision.

 

You can also hire someone to erase XP Antivirus for you. There are many computer gurus who help people like you everyday with their computers. Just be sure that you don’t hand your computer over to an inexperienced user. You want to make sure that they are reputable and that they are really going to fix your computer as promised, especially since you are going to be paying them.

 

By Mindy Matter for <a href="adware .com.au/" rel="nofollow">http://www.removeadware.com.au/” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.removeadware.com.au/ – Here you’ll learn about online privacy and how to remove rogue antivirus programs: <a href="adware .com.au/" rel="nofollow">http://www.removeadware.com.au/” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.remove adware .com.au/ – Please link to this site when using this article.
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Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Monday 21 December 2009 at 3:40 pm

5 Easy Steps To Protect Your Small Business From Spyware

If your computers are in any way connected the Internet, they are being regularly bombarded with spyware, viruses and other malware. Here are 5 easy steps you can follow to block these programs, or at least detect and remove spyware from your firm’s networks and computer systems.What are these sneaky little programs up to?
The more benign spyware nd adware simply watches the pages you visit on the web so that companies can fine-tune their marketing based on profiling. However, malicious spyware goes beyond tracking, monitoring keystrokes, capturing passwords and other functions which pose a definite security risk to your business.Be Careful Where You Download
Unscrupulous programs often come from unscrupulous sites. If you are looking for a freeware or shareware program for a specific purpose, try searching reputable sites like tucows.com or download.com.Actually Read the EULA
That’s an End User License Agreement. It’s all of the legal mumbo-jumbo in that box above the radio buttons that say “No, I do not accept” or “Yes, I accept these terms”. Most people click “yes” so fast you’d think they were playing a computer game. Keep in mind that the EULA is a legal agreement you are making with the software vendor–and you may be agreeing to install spyware or allow a variety of other changes to your system. Evaluate whether it’s worth it first.Read that Pop-Up Window
Windows that pop up on websites are sometimes useful. But sometimes clicking the button or link will start to install harmful software. Like the EULA, many users will click “yes” or “ok” without stopping to read the text just to make it go away. Maybe it said “Would you like to install our spyware program?” Ok, admittedly they don’t come out and say it directly, but that is all the more reason to pause and actually read those messages before you accept.Fight Back with Antivirus Software
Viruses are just a small part of the what you need software to protect you from. Antivirus software has expanded to include fighting worms, trojans, vulnerability exploits, jokes, hoaxes and even spyware nd adware. Check that your business’s Antivirus ystem will detect and block spyware. You can try a product like AdAware Pro, which will protect your system from spyware r adware in real time.Scan Your Networks
Even with antivirus software, firewalls and other protective measures some spyware r adware may eventually make it through the network to individual computers. While a product like AdAware Pro mentioned previously will monitor your systems in real time, your business must pay licensing fees in order to install AdAware Pro system-wide. Evaluating and using the strongest solution is worth it when you consider the IT expense of fixing systems and the time lost by employees, not to mention the frustration. However, AdAware is the free alternative for personal use provided by Lavasoft, the makers of AdAware Pro. AdAware will not monitor in real time, but you can scan your system manually to detect and remove spyware. Another excellent choice is Spybot Search & Destroy, also free.Follow these five steps and you’ll proactively protect your computers from spyware and detect and remove any harmful code that does infiltrate. Take care of it today!

Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Wednesday 16 December 2009 at 3:42 pm

Spyware Antivirus – How it affects and what is at Risk

What is spyware r Spyware Anti-virus , and why it is important to have your computer scanned and updated with spyware Antivirus oftware. With the rise of internet more and more users came on internet and gave rise to e-commerce benefiting users and commerce industry. With this it created problems related to user profiling and in some cases malicious attempts to intercept login and passwords for financial institutions. The word Spyware surfaced in mid 1990, right before dot com boom, it saw its use only when dot com boom created tons of companies on net and millions of user got hooked to internet.

As said in the beginning, the purpose ranges from recording users liking for sites, where he shops, on which site he spends more time. All these parameters will help Internet marketers in targeting ads to his/her interest. Worst of all such information can be used or accessed by phishing people, who are after people’s financial details, either they sell information to third parties or simply use themselves. This is the most dangerous attempt on your computer you can have.

To spare users from onslaught of advertising agency and phisers, lot of companies have come up with Spyware Antivirus or Spyware Anti-Virus products protecting them from malicious attack. Infect there is whole Spyware Antivirus industry operating for internet users.

What Damage spyware an Cause? – Symptoms

How your computer or your privacy gets affected?

Read more on Spyware and how to remove and protect your precious dat & information … spyware tivirus.info/"> spyware Antivirus a>

 

Freelance consultant with interest in many subjects.
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Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Wednesday 16 December 2009 at 4:29 am

Personal Antivirus for best Computer Security

Are you frustrated by the false security alerts and pending analysis and dispose of the personal anti-virus? Unfortunately a number of people lose much time and effort trying to erase this bad and harmful spyware spyware n your PC’s gross instead of taking the process much easier because of their lack of knowledge.Personal Anti-virus is one of the most damaging anti-spyware consumption, which is installed and downloaded to your PC without your knowledge or consent. Once installed impedes every action with a popup alert and movements and the false security of constant exploration. It also attempts to steal all your valuable information such as your bank account or credit card clearing your browsing habit s and keystrokes.The process of eliminating this safety manual raw can be extremely difficult, you are not computer literate will be much harder for you, as long random entries and files on your PC, and these files are quite difficult to find.In this article we have tried an easy way to eliminate the latter dangerous raw security. If you want to delete this harsh anti-spyware on your PC has to choose an advanced spyware spyware emover, which will be able to regularly update its database of consumer espionage detection to detect and delete random files immediately.Selection of an advanced spy remover consumption may cost a few dollars, but this expenditure is justified as it will be able to protect your computer get effected by another nasty spy ware in the future. As the personal anti-virus keeps a song in your personal information and can put all your valuable assets at risk to use advanced spyware emoval of consumer protection. If your computer is infected with the virus and anti-personnel you want to remove as soon as possible, you should not waste much time trying to remove virus manually or by using any regular spyware emover software. You should update with the most advanced tool to protect your computer from spyware in the future.

K.P.Pandey is online Antivirus tml" rel="nofollow">antivirus support specialist for iYogi, a leading IT support company Headquartered in India, iYogi provides computer support via phone and remote access for home and small business users globally. Live 24/7 Antivirus tml" rel="nofollow">install antivirus service from India.
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Posted under personal anti virus by greatyd on Monday 7 December 2009 at 5:03 am