Spyware

Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge or explicit permission. Spyware transmits user information via the Internet to advertisers.

Spyware may be found:

• Bundled inside of shareware or freeware applications

• In free versions of otherwise licensed applications

• In peer-to-peer (P2P) and other file sharing programs

Some applications that include Spyware, are: Xupiter, Gator, SaveNow, NewDotNet, BDE Projector, HotBar, Bonzai Buddy, Comet Cursor, Morpheus, WebHancer, WinMX, Kazaa and Wild Tangent.

The following are links to free software that helps remove unwanted Spyware from your pc:

Spybot Search & Destroy - A free tool for detecting and removing spyware and other types of code that are known to invade privacy. It has an Immunize function that can protect Microsoft Internet Explorer from common Javascript exploits found on many malformed web pages.

Ad-aware Standard Edition - "...THE award winning, free*, multicomponent detection and removal utility that consistently leads the industry in safety, user satisfaction, support and reliability"

HijackThis - Trend Micro HijackThis is a free utility that generates an in-depth report of registry and file settings from your computer. HijackThis makes no separation between safe and unsafe settings in its scan results giving you the ability to selectively remove items from your machine. In addition to this scan and remove capability HijackThis comes with several tools useful in manually removing malware from a computer.

Transaction Guard - Transaction Guard is free software that protects you against spyware while performing sensitive online tasks on a public computer, like Internet banking or other financial transactions. Transaction Guard has two components: Spyware Monitor – Monitors for spyware and notifies you of any intrusions. Secret Keyboard – Provides an on-screen keyboard for entering usernames and passwords.

TrendProtect - A free browser plug-in that helps you avoid Web pages with unwanted content and hidden threats. TrendProtect rates the current page and pages listed in Google, MSN, and Yahoo search results. You can use the rating to decide if you want to visit or avoid a given Web page. To rate Web pages, TrendProtect refers to an extensive database that covers the following information for billions of Web pages.

HouseCall - A free Web-based tool designed to scan your PC for a wide range of Internet security threats including viruses, worms, Trojans, and spyware. It also detects system vulnerabilities and provides a link so you can easily download missing security patches. After each scan, HouseCall delivers a detailed report, which identifies security threats detected on your computer.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&DisplayLang=en Windows Defender - Microsoft Windows Defender for Windows XP and 2003 is currently available from Microsoft free of charge, subject to their verifying that your computer is running a legal version of XP.

A2Free a2 Free is an anti-trojan, anti-malware, anti-dialer and anti-worm scanning software. You use it to manually scan your system for malicious software like trojans, dialers, worms, backdoors, denial of service (DOS) tools, keyloggers, sniffers, and the like. It does a scan of processes in memory and the programs stored on your hard disk.

Abtrusion Protector Personal Edition - Abtrusion Protector tracks the software that you have installed, and only allows those software to run. If some other software (eg, a trojan) somehow creeps into your system (eg, via email attachments), Abtrusion Protector will not allow it to run (unless you give permission). As such, it serves as a complement to your existing antivirus and anti-trojan programs.

Spyware Blaster - This nifty program prevents spyware ActiveX controls from being installed on your computer by adjusting your system so that these malicious controls are prevented from being installed or run. For the technically inclined, it sets the "kill bit" for these controls, causing IE to refuse to run them. It also blocks cookies from certain websites or companies that are known to use these cookies to track a user's surfing habits.

Spyware Guard - SpywareGuard runs behind the scenes to block spyware from being downloaded or run on your computer. It also has the ability to prevent browser hijacking (whether it is your start page or your ability to search using a search engine or otherwise).