Norton, Ad-Aware, SpyBot 1-2-3 punch against scumware

You think viruses are a problem? You think spam˜s a problem? Today˜s real problem is scumware. That˜s not to say viruses aren˜t harmful to computers, it˜s just that they˜re so easy to control. I˜ve been running anti-virus software on my computers for a long time, so viruses really don˜t bother me. As for spam, it˜s a huge nuisance, but — unless it˜s carrying some kind of virus and you˜re not running anti-virus software — it˜s not a real threat to your computer.

Scumware, however, is a totally different matter. The term covers things such as adware and spyware, but it˜s more descriptive … because the people creating these programs are scum.

Have you noticed recently that ads pop up in small browser windows even when you˜re not surfing the Web? Has your browser˜s home page somehow been replaced with some kind of search page?

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When you mistype a URL, or use a URL for a server that˜s down, does some kind of new search page appear in your browser? Have you noticed various little programs have appeared on your computer recently, perhaps placing new icons on the Windows taskbar˜s system tray, such as weather monitors or clocks?

These are all symptoms of scumware, but there are more serious problems. Scumware can slow your system down, often making using your browser painfully slow. In some cases it will pass personal information across the Web, and you˜ never know it˜s happening. It can even cause your computer to grind to a halt — you may have to reinstall Windows. These are not remote risks. Most Internet-connected computers are now infected by scumware.

But how does it happen? How do these things get onto your computer? In some cases they are loaded openly, in other cases they sneak their way in through one method or another. For instance, when I loaded DivX recently, a video player, the installation program showed me this message:

"This version of DivX Pro is available to you at no cost because it is supported by advertising delivered via the Gator Advertising and Information Network."

This network˜s ads and messages are selected for display based on how you surf the Web. They include the GAIN name and/or logo, so you˜ know they˜re delivered by this network — not by any Web site.

Sneaky ways
Of course many people may just skip the message without reading, but still, it can˜t be much clearer. Other programs sneak their way in by hiding such messages deep in the "small print" of the software license, or even load themselves automatically when you enter a Web site.

How, then, do you get rid of them? I˜ve finally found a way to deal with them, and my system has been more or less scumware-free for a couple of months now. Here˜s how I did it.

My first line of defense is a firewall and virus checker, Norton Internet Security. You can˜t simply use the same virus checker you˜ve been using for the last five years, though; you need to upgrade to one of the more recent versions, as they now contain scumware filters. I had to pay for this software of course, but it˜s essential; if you use the Internet and you don˜t use some kind of virus checker, your system will eventually be poisoned. So you might as well use a program that protects against both viruses and scumware.

Norton Internet Security does a really good job, stopping most things that load themselves automatically. But it won˜t stop any piece of scumware, adware or spyware loaded by an installation program because it assumes you chose to install it. So you need to use something else. In fact I use two systems, both free. Each time my computer boots, Ad-Aware scans my system looking for scumware. For instance, it will find adware programs that have been loaded by some other kind of program that I installed. Ad-Aware is free, and you can find it at www.lavasoft.de.

Because none of these systems seem to catch everything, I occasionally scan my system using SpyBot, another free program available at www.safer-networking.org. SpyBot can also show me all the programs that are loaded each time I start my system, which I review periodically to remove unnecessary utilities or any spyware that has slipped through (look under the Tools tab).
New forms of scumware appear every day, so make sure you update all these programs periodically, and you, too, can have a scumware-free computer.

Peter Kent is the author of Search Engine Optimization for Dummies and many other computer- and Internet-related books. For more information, see www.iChannelServices.com.