Bits'n'Bytes

As heard on CJCD

Episode 7

Good morning, and welcome to this week's installment of Bits 'n' Bytes - brought to you by Bowco Computer Services.

For quite a while now, computer people have been warning you about spyware and adware, but has anyone ever explained to you what it is and how you got stuck with it? Adware and spyware are two names for a category of malware, or malicious software. The two types of program are really similar in what they do, so the names are often interchanged by techie-guys. Basically, they're programs that monitor your computer. They monitor what internet sites you go to and what kind of stuff you do searches for on Google or Yahoo. Then, they report this information to a third party and download advertisements based on this information. Spyware, being slightly worse than adware, might also change settings on your computer, like changing your homepage or your default search page. I'm sure many of you have been stuck with the about:blank homepage at some point.

As I mentioned last week, these programs often come bundled with supposedly free programs you can download off the Internet, but they can also be installed by clicking on certain links on malicious web sites. Instead of just taking you to the next page, the link exploits weak security settings on your browser and installs a program you don't really want. If you need help tightening the security on your browser, check out our web site or give us a call.

There's lots of good programs on the market to help you get rid of a lot of these malware programs, but so far not one of these programs can remove all the different types of malware that are out there. There's nothing more annoying than spending a lot of time removing a malware program only to have it come back the next time you reboot. Sometimes a manual check of everything is needed to get rid of the installer files and put your registry back to the way it was.

Stay tuned next week for tips on how to keep your wireless router secure.

I’m Computer Dave, thanks for your time.

Supplement

As I was reading this and preparing it for the web, I realized I'd missed one important point about adware and spyware - and that's the effect it can have on your computer system itself. Adware and spyware are programs, just like everything else that runs on your computer. As a program, they will require resources to run - the main one being RAM, or memory. A single adware program will not really use enough RAM to affect your system, but adware has a few attributes that can change that.
First of all, adware is notorious for going out onto the web and finding more adware to be installed on your system. So now you may have a half dozen or more of these little critters running on your system.
Also, the same adware program may run more than once on your machine. I once found an adware program that had opened itself 27 times! If your machine was bought with the minimum recommended amount of RAM, this is going to take a big chunk of your computing power. Your machine will take what seems like forever to boot, will run really slowly compared to when you don't have adware programs running, and may "freeze up" or go to the "Blue Screen of Death" - also known as BSD. BSDs mean you have a serious problem with your machine and you'd best get it checked out really soon.
Finally, all the online activity created by these programs increases how much of your download and upload limit you will use. If you're on a home cable internet package in Yellowknife, you're allowed only 5 Gigabytes of data transfer per month. I've seen just a handful of adware programs double this in a month. At about 10 dollars per Gigabyte over your limit, that's an extra 50 bucks per month. There's also the possibility your internet provider cuts you off until you can prove you're not infected any more.

All in all, adware and spyware programs are just plain bad. You don't want them, and if you get them, you want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. To help yourself, download a few of the free adware killers and run them all from time to time. They may not keep everything out of your machine, but between them, they'll get most of it. If you'd like to know which ones I like, give me a call at 920-4418.

Dave