Adware & spyware

On February 1, 2005, SCS Facilities will begin installing Spy Sweeper on all Windows computers in the SCS environment. See our Spy Sweeper documentation to learn how Spy Sweeper will automatically protect your computer from spyware and adware.

On this page:

What are adware & spyware?
How can you help prevent the installation of adware or spyware on your PC?
How do you tell if your PC has adware or spyware installed on it?
How to remove adware & spyware
Additional information (off-site links about adware/spyware)

What are adware & spyware?

Adware:: Software whose main purpose is to generate unwanted advertising (pop-up ads, redirecting your browser to particular web sites, etc.) on your PC.
Spyware:: Software whose purpose is to monitor your actions (web sites you visit, etc.) and report these actions to a third party. A particularly malicious form of Spyware is software that monitors keystrokes or gathers sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

Adware & spyware can get installed on your PC in a variety of ways:

This type of software could be included with other software that you install. For example, the installer for a game or other software that you download from the internet could also install adware or spyware.
Via permissive browser security settings or browser security holes if you visit a malicious web page.
Through opening a malicious attachment.
An intruder may exploit a security hole in your operating system or an application you are running and use that hole to install adware/spyware.

How can you help prevent the installation of adware or spyware on your PC?

Be careful when installing software that you've downloaded from the internet, since it may include adware or spyware. For example, some file sharing programs are well-known for including such software. Also, be extremely wary when your browser prompts you to run an Active X control (if you are running Internet Explorer).
Don't open e-mail attachments unless you know the person sending the attachment and you are expecting an attachment from them.
Keep your system and any software you run up-to-date with respect to patches.
If you are running Internet Explorer as your browser, at a minimum you should use a "Medium" security level for the internet zone. To set your security level, go to the Internet Explorer menu item Tools | Internet Options..., then click on the Security tab. Select the Internet zone and and adjust the slider. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to completely secure Internet Explorer without disabling functionality that is used by many web sites. You may wish to consider an alternative browser, such as Firefox (off-site link, will open in a new window).

How do you tell if your PC has adware or spyware installed on it?

Spyware can be very difficult to detect. Adware, by its very nature, usually makes itself known in some manner. Some symptoms that your PC may be infected with spyware or adware are:

Your PC seems unexpectedly slow.
Your browser is unable to connect to various web sites, or URLs don't work correctly (for example, attempts to visit Google are directed to another site, your home page is changed, etc.).
Pop-up ads appear on your PC even when you are not browsing or it is disconnected from the network.

It is possible to be infected with spyware without your PC showing any noticable symptoms. Anti-virus programs do not detect or remove many types of adware & spyware.

How to remove adware and spyware

If your PC is supported by SCS Facilities, you can contact us for help in removing adware & spyware on your PC. If your PC is not supported by SCS Facilities, or you wish to attempt to detect or remove such software yourself, the following tools may be of use:

An anti-virus program: As mentioned above, anti-virus programs do not detect many types of adware and spyware. However, some types are detected, and scanning your PC with an up-to-date anti-virus program is the first step you should take if you suspect that your PC is infected with malicious software.
Ad-aware (off-site link, will open in a new window): Ad-aware is software that will scan your PC for adware, datamining software, tracking cookies, and other such software components, and remove them. A free version of this software is available for download.
Spybot Search & Destroy (off-site link, will open in a new window): Excellent free anti-spyware program.

The three tools listed above complement one another nicely, and each one will detect and remove problem software that the others do not. There are many other tools available on the internet for dealing with adware/spyware, but be careful when downloading such tools, since some of them install adware/spyware themselves.

If you believe that your PC is still infected after using the above tools, contact us or see our documentation on dealing with Windows break-ins for pointers to additional tools and methods for cleaning up PCs that are infected with malware.

Additional information

The following off-site links will open in a new browser window:

Parasite Programs; Adware, Spyware, and Stealth Networks: A nice overview of some of the specific types of malicious software that can infect your PC, along with pointers on how to deal with them
Counterexploitation info on adware/spyware: Descriptions of various specific adware/spyware programs along with instructions on how to remove them (Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy have built-in removal tools for many of these programs).
Doxdesk anti-parasite page: Information about adware/spyware along with pointers to tools.