what is spyware and adware? how and where to get antispyware and antiadware?

Question

in one of the tray icons a warning is displayed " ur computer is in danger. windows security center has detected spyware and adware infection! it is strongly recommended to use antispyware tools to prevent data loss. click here to install the latest protection tool."clicking the icon doesnot display anything.

Answer 1

In the field of computing, the term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner.

In simpler terms, spyware is a type of program that watches what users do with their computer and then sends that information over the internet. Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user. More benign programs can attempt to track what types of websites a user visits and send this information to an advertisement agency. More malicious versions can try to record what a user types to try to intercept passwords or credit card numbers. Yet other versions simply launch popup advertisements.

where as Adware is type of a spyware....

The term adware frequently refers to any software which displays advertisements, whether or not it does so with the user's consent
Adware is any software package with the sole purpose to automatically play, display, or download advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it. This should not be confused with advertising-supported software which is not malicious, but displays ads within its windows while the program is being used.It is usually seen by the programmer as a way to recover programming development costs, and in some cases it may allow the program to be provided to the user free of charge or at a reduced price. The advertising income may allow or motivate the programmer to continue to write, maintain and upgrade the software product.

*As you can see friends have already said all those links..

yes most of them are useful* specialy u can get any of antispyware&adware at www.download.com and also try this ..

online and free :(very cool)
http://safety.live.com/site/en-us/center...
http://safety.live.com/site/en-us/center...
but don't forget that it needs internet explorer.


hope this would help you out!! have fun! :)

Answer 2

spyware is a broad category of mallicious software designed to intercept or take partial control over the computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner.its a software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party.its a program that watches what user's do with their computer and then sends that informatio over net.

adware is software that displays advertising on your computer. Often spyware and adware are part of the same program. Adware is, in theory, harmless on its own; some programs are free because they show adverts which pay for the developer's time. By clicking 'I agree' when installing these you are often agreeing to see the adverts in return for the free software. But when the software starts silently spying on you, it stops being harmless.
how to remove them?

Before you protect your computer from spyware and adware you need to remove any that may already be on your machine. There are lots of programs which claim to remove spyware and adware, but the most effective are Ad-aware, Spybot Search & Destroy and Spyware Blaster. All three are free.

Once you've installed these, the first thing to do is download the latest updates. These are crucial as they detail the latest spyware and adware programs. You need to update these whenever you use the software, but this is easily done by clicking the 'update' button in each program.

Run each program in turn and they will scan your computer, removing any spyware and adware they find. You can also turn on any immunisation options to protect your computer in the future. Instructions with each program will show you how to carry out these tasks

Answer 3

For a good explanation of the different types of spyware and adware you can visit this link:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial41.html

Unfortunately, everyone is listing programs that you should get, but not one person realized that you are infected with a smitfraud infection as described by the icon in your taskbar and the message you are receiving. These are fake alerts that you are receiving caused by a Trojan installed on your computer. To remove this infection please follow the instructions here:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic17258.html

The above fix is a generic fix for these types of infections so do not be concerned if you do not show all of the symptoms. Just follow the steps to run smitfraudfix and you should be clean afterwards. Once clean you can follow these instructions which contain information on how to stay safe on the Internet:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial82.html

Answer 4

Spyware is software that is capable of performing certain operations on your computer without your consent, such as displaying advertisements, collecting your personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer.

Adware is software that displays advertisements. This does not mean that any software that provides advertisements or tracks your on-line activities is adware. For example, you may install a free ad-supported version of software, and you "pay" for the service by agreeing to receive targeted advertisements. If you understand the terms and agree to them, you may have decided that it is a fair tradeoff. You may also have agreed to let the company track your online activities to determine which advertisements to show you. To avoid installing adware if you do not wish to "pay" for the service by receiving targeted advertisements, we recommend that you carefully read the software’s Terms of Use and End User License Agreement.

For anti-spyware software, Ad-Aware by lavasoft, Spybot search and destroy, and Spyware Terminator by Crawler are recommended. These are freeware.

Answer 5

I don't exactly know what are spyware or adware; they are sneaky and nasty programs like virus. Antispyware are available both as freeware and shareware over the net. Shareware gives you a better protection but you can extract the same by using 2 or 3 freeware.
Here are some good ones(freeware):

1.Ewido:
http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/ewido-setup_4.0.0.172c.exe
2.AdAware SE:- http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5
3.Advanced Spyware Terminator: http://www.innovative-sol.com/spyware_remover/
4.SpyBoot Search and Destroy: http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1

Moreover, if you have genuine Windows, you can download Microsoft Anti-Spyware for free. Its the best. You neednot even get the above mentioned ones.

Answer 6

For your anti-spyware needs:
Here you are:

Pick and choose at least 2 from the list below. New spywares are created literally hourly, so no single anti-spyware can really detect all malware. Have at least 2 on hand and alternate scanning with each every few days or so. All are free. All can remove as well as detect.

Spybot Search and Destroy:

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Ewido:

http://www.ewido.net/en/download/

Adaware SE:

http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

A-Squared:

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

Windows Defender (Beta 2):

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Unfortunately, many "paid for" anti-spyware products are in fact either of limited usefulness or downright scams. When in doubt, look at the list of rogue anti-spyware solutions listed here:

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm


And to protect your computer from ever getting infected with spyware in the first place, you can use these 2 freebies:

SpywareBlaster:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

SiteAdvisor:

http://www.siteadvisor.com/

................................

For your anti-virus needs:

Here is a list of all the major free anti-virus programs:

Avast:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Anti-Vir:
http://www.free-av.com/

AOL AntiVirusShield:
http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?

AVG:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

BitDefender 8: (on-demand only, no real-time protection)
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

Clamwin: (on-demand only, no real-time protection)
http://www.clamwin.com/


All are fairly mediocue compared to some of the top rated (paid) anti-virus programs such as Kaspersky (KAV) or Eset NOD-32. But you can't beat the price.

Answer 7

jibbarjabbar has a good list to choose from. I recommend you read this site. It will give you a good understanding of what Viruses, Spyware etc.

http://www.internetinspiration.co.uk/computer_privacy_and_security.htm

Answer 8

install spyware doctor 3.0. the best antispyware in the world.........and u have microsofts antispyware beta(Trial).......this works if u have windows Orginal OS

Answer 9

Spybot Search & Destroy will clear junk from your machine, and the resident function will block many known bad addresses completely. Learn about it and download here.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Answer 10

Here is a list of free scans you use to remove spyware.
I like ewido the best.Spybots search and Destroy http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html?tag=pao
adaware se> http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1
http://www.webroot.com/land/freescan.php
a-squared Free> http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_frame.asp
http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/
X -Cleaner Micro Edition scan http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
Spywareguard too.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/
Get free anti virus for free click here.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
http://avast.comt.