Getting rid of spyware

Before we discuss spyware further (as promised last week), we must point you to the URL for Click Bot, a utility recently discussed in Gearhead.

Many people couldn't find the software's Web site, so here's the location: blake.prohosting.com/clickbot/.

Spyware, also called adware, is frighteningly common. The list of spyware software is a long one and includes Adware, Alexa, Aureate, Comet Cursor, Cydoor, Doubleclick, DSSAgent, EverAd, Flycast, Gator, Gratisware, OnFlow, SaveNow, Flyswat, TimeSink, HotBar, Web3000 and Webhancer.

You can find these subsystems embedded in more than 800 programs and utilities (including, much to our disappointment, CuteFTP and Surf Saver, previously recommended by Gearhead).

We need to be clear on what spyware does, doesn't, and could do. To our knowledge, no major or most common spyware sends personally identifiable information about you back to some collection point. What these tools do - as far as we know - is log your exposure to advertising and report what you see, as well as when and for how long.

But what spyware could do is limited only by your imagination. Any time anyone plants hidden functionality on our computers that sends information of any type out of our systems without our knowledge, we get cranky.

To find out what spyware might be on your systems, download a free utility called Ad-Aware from German firm Lavasoft. Ad-Aware is a relatively small Windows application that scans your memory, registry and file system looking for known spyware. It is fast, easy to use and free.

Ad-Aware can be configured to run at system start-up. We immediately ran it on one of our workhorse PCs and my, my, my. Spyware everywhere!

We had all the leading spyware installed, although most of it was inactive (much of the spyware out there is poorly coded). Ad-Aware lists all suspicious findings and lets you select which should be sent to the bit bucket. Neat.

The only problem we encountered was that the program aborted unexpectedly in low-memory conditions and couldn't remove the Webhancer software in Surf Saver, a utility that integrates with Internet Explorer. But the bottom line was that Ad-Aware removed almost all spyware it found and told us what it couldn't remove without running by itself on a newly booted system.

For $12 you can purchase Ad-Aware Plus, which includes a utility called Ad-Watch. Ad-Watch runs in the background monitoring for spyware trying to install itself. When spyware is detected, Ad-Watch blocks the installation, runs Ad-Aware and alerts you.

We award Ad-Aware nine gear teeth out of 10 and kudos for being free.

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