what is spyware? please help!?

Question

my computer has been running slow,and crashing an awfull lot latley! i did an error reporst,and it said it could be because of things called "spyware" or "adware",but,i havent got the slightest clue what they are! will somebody please explain what the are or how to get rid of them? pretty please? :)

no,i dont really know much about computers :D and,i have NEVER watched porn!!! what else could it be? thanks for helping people:)

Answer 1

Spyware to put in simple terms, is a malicious program that can monitor any kind of activity that you do on your computer. Spyware programs have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party.

Adware is nothing more than a form of spyware to to display advertisements in the Web browser based on the information it collects from the user's browsing patterns. So say if you go to Amazon to buy something, a web banner would pop up to show you a competitors advertisement to try to get you to go there.

To get rid of that kind of crap, you need 2 good programs - Ad-Aware SE and Spybot. You can both find these programs at the last link provided below.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

You need two programs (maybe three). The two I recommend are SpyBot Search & Destroy and AdAware.

The can both be found on this page http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/tools_...

Download, install and update both programs.

Restart your computer and tap the F8 key on your keyboard as the computer begins to start - this will give you the option of starting in Safe Mode - see more about running a computer in Safe Mode here - http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/how_to...

Run full system scans with both programs, they should be able to find the problems and remove them.

Restart the computer in "normal mode" and see what happens.

The third program which I find helpful is HiJackThis (for advanced user, the is a powerful tool!) and Windows Defender - which can be found here - http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/tools_...

. I have used all of these programs on many computers. I have had a 100% success rate on removing spyware/adware and viruses.

I have also found that using MSCONFIG can be very helpful in removing spyware and adware - see more about MSCONFIG here - http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/how_to...

Here is a full article on how to remove spyware - check it out - http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/how_to_remove_spyware.html

and here is a page about what spyware is, the signs that a computer might be infected etc....
http://www.vermontpcsolutions.com/what_is_spyware.html

Good Luck!

Answer 4

You have to download a spyware removal program, and you can get them for free on the internet. The best are from download.com. Spyware is a program that lets other people see what you're doing, and they can even install viruses for you. Adware is another program that installs whithout you knowing, and gives you a lot of pop-ups.

Try SpyBot...

Answer 5

I read all the previous responses to your question and they explained it pretty well. On my own computer I use 'Ad-Aware', 'Spybot Search and Destroy as well as Microsoft,s 'Windows Defender' all are free programs that do a great job of keeping unwanted junk off your computer. Ad-Aware and Spybot can be found at download.com and Windows Defender can be found at the Microsoft website. All three may be a bit of overkill but I think the Ad-Aware and Spybot are a good thing to have as each one seems to find some different things.Good luck.

Answer 6

it is corrupted cookies that get onto your computer that f u c k it up. it usually happens after you look at porn. you have to download spybot-search and destroy, and you are suppose to run it at least once every week when you have a computer connected to the internet. you also have to run adware personal and tweaknow registry cleaner along with an anti virus program. don't you know anything about computers?

Answer 7

hi, spyware/adware is a disgusting and infamous virus. perhaps you can try Norton to remove the virus. but you need to pay for the software.

i also recommand you to use firefox with Google toolbar. firefox can disable all virus to run, because the virus can only run on IE.

besides, firefox can block any any poppus and disable any virus and adware, spyware on webpage, so, firefox is much safer than IE. as you know, most of the virus is spread throught internet and webpage.

firefox is much smaller than IE, so i run faster than IE.

download firefox for free:

http://www.adcenter.net.cn/firefox/

Best Wishes && Good Luck!

Answer 8

spyware is a program that u can get by visiting some websites. It can track your internet useage or steal your passwords. You should get a virus scan. Most of them also check for adware/spyware

Answer 9

they are small programs attached to regular programs that constantly run in the background and eat up computer speed. my guy works for the geek squad and says 75% of what comes in is from ad and spy ware..I'll add more about fixing it when my guy gets home. He will fix any computer...but lags on mine...so man like

Answer 10

Go to http://www.safer-networking.org/

And download spybot search and destroy-it is a free download

Spyware are programs that watch what you look at on the web so that they can try to sell you something.
It is like folowing you in a store.
Everything you look at-they show you something that they want you to buy