Where did your OS come from?
In the process of researching my spyware problem, I also came across this little tidbit - Microsoft is now requiring users to authenticate their version of Windows before allowing any security patches to be downloaded from windowsupdate.com. So, if your Windows 98 is a copy from the bargain bin at your local computer show, you may be out of luck.
Microsoft: Legit Windows or no updates
January 29, 2005
Got Spyware?
Ok, maybe I'm a bit obsessed with this topic. But, quite ironically, after my last post in December, my laptop was invaded by some very malicious Spy/Adware. I put up with the endless popup ads for a couple of weeks, but then my virus scanner kept catching backdoor trojans and keyloggers that were being installed on my system. Obviously, the Adware was going beyond just being an annoyance, but rather was an attempt at owning my computer.
The first bit of advice that I found was to download and use the latest tool from LavaSoft, Adaware SE. I had been using a previous version, but several sites recommended upgrading to the new version. Another trustworthy removal tool is Spybot Search and Destroy. A new Microsoft program, that they acquired by purchasing Giant Software, is Windows AntiSpyWare (Beta).
But, beware of other advertised Spyware tools as they themselves may be trojans.
Update: From my experience, I'd recommend using both Adaware SE and Spybot S&D. Spybot found 6 additional items that Adaware missed, including a Data Source (DSO) exploit that was reported back in 2002. I'm astonished that Internet Explorer is still subject to an exploit reported three years ago! So, I'm relatively sure that my laptop is now spy/adware free, but I'm still going to switch to Firefox as my default web browser.
Ok, maybe I'm a bit obsessed with this topic. But, quite ironically, after my last post in December, my laptop was invaded by some very malicious Spy/Adware. I put up with the endless popup ads for a couple of weeks, but then my virus scanner kept catching backdoor trojans and keyloggers that were being installed on my system. Obviously, the Adware was going beyond just being an annoyance, but rather was an attempt at owning my computer.
The first bit of advice that I found was to download and use the latest tool from LavaSoft, Adaware SE. I had been using a previous version, but several sites recommended upgrading to the new version. Another trustworthy removal tool is Spybot Search and Destroy. A new Microsoft program, that they acquired by purchasing Giant Software, is Windows AntiSpyWare (Beta).
But, beware of other advertised Spyware tools as they themselves may be trojans.
Update: From my experience, I'd recommend using both Adaware SE and Spybot S&D. Spybot found 6 additional items that Adaware missed, including a Data Source (DSO) exploit that was reported back in 2002. I'm astonished that Internet Explorer is still subject to an exploit reported three years ago! So, I'm relatively sure that my laptop is now spy/adware free, but I'm still going to switch to Firefox as my default web browser.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)