How to remove spyware

Spyware removal has become a tedious job. As the spyware threat has worsened, various techniques have emerged to counter it. Among these are:

* Programs designed to remove or block unwanted programs

* Educate users in such a way that they can prevent bad programs from infecting their computer

* User practices that reduce the chance of any software sneaking onto your computer.

Information gathering software remains a costly problem even with all the new technologies used to combat it. If a large number of spyware programs have infected a Windows computer, the only way to save the computer may be to back up user data and completely reinstall the operating system.

antispyware programs

Adwarealert, one of the most popular programs on the market, will help you find and ultimately remove unwanted software from your computer.

Many developers and some commercial firms have released products designed to remove or block spyware. Steve Gibson’s OptOut practically invented a growing category. Programs like,

* Adwarealert * Ad-Aware SE by Lavasoft * Spybot by Patrick Kolla – Search and Destroy

It quickly gained popularity as effective tools for removing and, in some cases, intercepting badly behaved programs.

Microsoft recently purchased the GIANT Anti-Spyware software, renamed it Windows AntiSpyware beta, and released it as a free download for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 users. The renamed software now exists as a beta trial product for a limited time. which will expire at the end of July 2006. Microsoft is continually developing and updating this product.

Protection and removal

Major antivirus firms like Symantec, McAfee, and Sophos have later come to the table, adding anti-spyware features to their existing antivirus products.

At first, antivirus companies did not want to add features that were connected to other forms of threats besides viruses, citing lawsuits filed by software authors against the authors of websites and programs that described their products as “spyware.”

However, recent versions of these major companies’ home and commercial antivirus products include antispyware features. However, malware or adware-type software is treated differently from viruses.

Symantec Anti-Virus, for example, classifies all types of malware as “widespread threats” and now offers real-time protection against them (just like it does with viruses). The drawback of these programs is that they are very complex and, in many cases, create more obstacles to overcome than you actually need as a user.

All protection software requires a frequently updated threat database. As new threats are released, protection software developers discover and evaluate them, making “signatures” or “definitions” that allow the software to detect and remove offending software.

If a threatening program doesn’t get blocked and manages to install, it may resist attempts to terminate or uninstall it. Some programs work together: when one threat scanner (or the user) kills a running process, the other starts the dead program again, making it virtually impossible to clean the computer.

Some malware will detect attempts to delete registry keys during spyware removal and immediately add them back. Generally, starting the infected computer in safe mode gives an anti-spyware program a better chance of removing stubborn programs.

The most extreme form of cleaning is to move the hard drive to another computer, boot into the normal boot disk that computer has, and then clean the infected disk. You can also mount the infected drive on the local network and scan and clean it to remove as much spyware as possible.

It doesn’t matter which way you choose to clean your computer, but using a good malware removal program will make your life much easier…