Lioness Consulting offers patent law services including software patents, computer patents, internet patents, communications patents, and technology patents in Franklin, Massachusetts.
So, you just loaded some whiz-bang software, which does a million neat things, and you are thrilled. Better yet, you downloaded it free off the net. What could be better, right? Wrong. Many of those free software downloads come with a price of their own; Spyware
Spyware is software that gets loaded on your PC, unbeknownst to you, when you download that free software. Spyware is synonymous with Adware, but many consider the two to be different in the sense that Adware is up front about the information it collects, whereas Spyware is deceitfully collecting information about you.
Spyware can track your movements on the web, collect information about you, and even change your browser settings. Removing Spyware is not always so easy. It's not enough to remove these programs from your PC, using the Windows Add/Remove utility. Lots of fun registry changes can also be required to rid your PC of these pests.
So, what to do? First, find out if any of the free software you've downloaded, or are about to download is Spyware. You can type the name of the software in SpyChecker to see if it's Spyware. You can also check the Spyware lists at TomCat , Cexx.org , or download the free Spy Chaser tool (Ah! The irony!).
Next, if you find Spyware, there are several tools you can use to remove it. Lavasoft offers Ad-Aware , a Spyware removal utility which will scan your hard drive, memory and registry in search of Spyware. PCHell offers detailed instructions on how to remove some of the Spyware programs that are out there.
The final step? Prevention! Zone Alarm not only is a great firewall software, but can also detect Spyware.
Hope this helps! Feel free to email Lesley if you run into any problems.
Copyright 2001 - 2008, Lioness Consulting
