If you’re surfing online and you get a pop-up warning you that you may have spyware on your computer and offering to remove it or protect you from spyware, it’s most likely bogus. Most of those types of pop-ups are actually spyware themselves. DO NOT download anything or click in these windows requesting more information. Close them.
If you do not have a pop-up stopper, either press alt+F4 or control+W, which closes the current window, or press the escape button which stops the page from loading. Some of the pop-ups are very persistent. If worse comes to worse, give it the three finger salute – press control+alt+delete simultaneously to bring up your task manager and close the window that way.
If you’re not familiar with a program you want to try, run a google search for spyware. Type the name of the program followed by the word spyware and check the results that come up. Never open files from people you don’t know and scan the file with an anti-virus program even if you do know who sent it to you. There are links below to free anti-virus programs if you can’t afford one. You need to keep yourself protected, use common sense and don’t panic.
Please note: I use the term spyware to categorize these types of parasites. There are actually several different types of spyware, such as adware, malware, trojans, worms, etc. Listed below are links to help you learn about spyware…what it is and how to prevent it, as well as links to numerous free programs to help keep your computer clean of spyware and to remove it if you’re already infected.
Spyware information and resource sites, links to programs and tools to fight spyware including Anti-phishing toolbars and Identity theft and fraud aid and resources
Microsoft Safety & Security Center – http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx
Spyware Warrior – Rogue/Suspect Anti-spyware products and websites – http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm – Excellent spyware information site with lots of information and programs to fight spyware
IC3 – Internet Crime Complaint Center – http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Look in my pc – Free PC Profile, Audit, and Diagnostic Report Utility – An awesome tool for getting information from your computer – http://www.lookinmypc.com/ – from the the creators of CyberSitter
Anti-Spyware Products Compared – http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm
Lavasoft – Protect your privacy – http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ – AdAware SE Personal – free for personal use
Spybot Search & Destroy (Spybot S&D) – http://www.safer-networking.org/ – Freeware/donationware
StopBadware.org – regaining control of our computers – (from the site) Badware is a term we use to encompass the broad range of malicious software that is sneaking onto people’s computers, including spyware and deceptive adware – http://www.stopbadware.org/
SiteAdvisor.com – SiteAdvisor helps protect you from all kinds of Web-based security threats including spyware, adware, spam, viruses, browser-based attacks, phishing, online fraud and identity theft from McAfee – http://www.siteadvisor.com/final/index.html
Get net wise – information on keeping yourself safe online – http://www.getnetwise.org/
Doxdesk.com: Parasite – http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/
Center for Democracy & Technology – http://www.cdt.org/
W32.blackmal@mm virus removal tool from Symantec (makers of Norton Anti-Virus) – http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2006-011712-3235-99
Spyware Killer: Stop personal identity theft – http://www.spywarekiller.net/spyware_chart.html
Threat Track Security from Sunbelt Security – http://www.sunbeltsecurity.com/
Spyware information from Answers.com – http://www.answers.com/topic/spyware
Counterexploitation (cexx.org) – A site devoted to fighting spam and adware – http://www.cexx.org/
Adware, Spyware and Advertising Trojans – Info & Removal Procedures – http://cexx.org/adware.htm
Anti Spam Software & Internet Filters Blog – Securence – http://securence.blogs.com/1/spyware/
Spycop.com Spyware Information – http://www.spycop.com/Spyware-Information.html
University of New Hampshire Computing and Information Services – http://www.unh.edu/helpdesk/ad_index.html
In Controls MSConfig CleanUp utility – free – remove disabled items from MSConfig – http://www.get-in-control.com/msconfig-cleanup/
US-CERT Cyber Security Tip ST04-016 – Recognizing and avoiding spyware – http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-016.html
Malware: what it is and how to prevent it: Page 1 – http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/malware.ars
Spyware News – http://www.topix.net/tech/spyware
Anti-Spy: Find spyware and trojans – http://www.anti-spy.info/
Sysinternals.com – some of the best free programs for helping identify and remove spyware and loads of excellent information. Free programs include: Autoruns – identify applications that have configured themselves to start at login and see where autostart applications might be in your system; Process Explorer – shows information about which handles and DLL processes are opened or loaded, and stop or remove them, and; RootKitRevealer – can reveal rootkits and hidden software used by hackers and crooks. Definitely worth checking out – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals
Home PC Firewall guide – http://www.firewallguide.com/
Microsoft Safety & Security Center – http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx
A-squared software – http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/ – free programs include a-squared free and a-squared HiJackFree. Paid version of a-squared Anti-Malware personal edition includes real-time monitoring and IDS (intrusion detection software). Malware scanners for trojans, worms, dialers, and spyware/adware.
Javacool Software – http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/ – programs include spyware blaster and spyware guard as well as a couple of other excellent programs – freeware/donationware
Free online Trojan Scanner – Scan your system for Trojans – http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/
The Honeynet Project – http://www.honeynet.org/ – from the site – To learn the tools, tactics and motives involved in computer and network attacks and share the lessons learned
Trend Micro, Incorporated – Security Intelligence – Internet Threat Research and Security News – http://www.trendmicro.com/us/security-intelligence/index.html
Free Removal Tools – BitDefender (AVX – AntiVirus eXpert) Antivirus Suite – http://www.bitdefender.com/free-virus-removal/
BrowserSpy – http://browserspy.dk/ – Tells you detailed information about your browser
Spychecker – download spyware removal and Internet privacy tools – http://www.spychecker.com/
Prevention guide: detecting and removing rootkits in Windows – http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/tip/Prevention-Guide-Detecting-and-removing-rootkits-in-Windows
Senderbase.org – http://www.senderbase.org/ – email traffic monitoring network – obtain information about the owners of the networks carrying spam and links to abuse discussion groups, etc.
CAUCE – http://www.cauce.org/ – The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
McAfee Foundstone Professional Services – http://www.foundstone.com/ – Free security tools.
BitDefender.com – http://www.bitdefender.com/ – free and paid antivirus tools
LSPFix – http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm – A tool to help repair winsock 2 settings (similar to WinsockXPFix)
Auditmypc.com – Firewall Test, Port Scan and Internet Security made easy – Spy Ware Audit and Tools – http://www.auditmypc.com/
SecurityFocus Home Page – Symantec Connect – A technical community for Symantec customers, end-users, developer, and partners – http://www.securityfocus.com/
Shields UP! – Internet Vulnerability Profiling – https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
Topix.net – Computer security news – http://www.topix.net/tech/computer-security
Who@ – working to halt online abuse – http://www.haltabuse.org/
Electronics Privacy Information Center – https://epic.org/
Electronic Frontier Foundation – https://www.eff.org/
Mailinator – a no sign-up instant anti-spam service – Free – http://www.mailinator.com/
HijackThis – http://www.whatthetech.com/hijackthis/
Malware Help.org – Spyware Removal and Prevention help – http://www.malwarehelp.org/
Free Keylogger Detector – Freeware – Windows 2000 and later – http://dewasoft.com/privacy/kldetector.htm
SANS – Internet storm center – cooperative cyber threat monitor and alert system – http://isc.sans.org/
Free anonymous surfing, free surfing through a proxy (from thefreecountry.com) – http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/anonymous.shtml
SuperAntiSpyware from SuperAntiSpyware.com – AntiAdware, AntiSpyware, AntiMalware – (from the site) the most thorough scanner on the market. Our Multi-Dimensional Scanning and Process Interrogation Technology will detect spyware that other products miss! SUPERAntiSpyware will remove ALL the Spyware, NOT just the easy ones – http://www.superantispyware.com/index.html
RootKit Hook Analyzer from Resplendence Software – free – Windows 2000, XP and 2003 Server (32 bit editions only) – http://www.resplendence.com/hookanalyzer
X-rayPC Spyware Remover Process Analyzer from XBlock Systems – free for personal use – http://www.x-raypc.com/
LinkScanner from AVG Threat Labs – keep your surfing safe – type in the url you want to check out and LinkScanner will inspect it in real-time to see if there is any malicious code – http://www.avgthreatlabs.com/website-safety-reports/
MPS Online Registration (for those in the UK) – Mailing Preference Service – (from the site) a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from or added to lists used by the industry – http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/mps_choosetype.html
A desktop version of the vURL webpage dissector listed above – http://support.it-mate.co.uk/?mode=Products&p=vurldesktopedition
Sophos Anti-Rootkit – a free tool to help detect rootkits – http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.aspx
Proxify – a web-based anonymous proxy service which allows anyone to surf the web privately and securely – https://proxify.com/
SpamCop.net – a free online tool to help prevent and report spam – https://www.spamcop.net/
Sandboxie – run programs safely on your computer – http://www.sandboxie.com/
Security Tests from WindowsSecurity.com – http://www.windowsecurity.com/securitytests/
Tor – a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the internet – https://www.torproject.org/
IECacheList lite – a freeware tool to display the contents of Internet Explorer’s index.dat files, including lost and hidden content from exodusdev.com – more free tools are also available – http://exodusdev.com/products/internet-explorer-cache-lister
PhishTank – join the fight against phishing – report or read about bogus sites or check out all the available resources – http://www.phishtank.com/index.php
Make Password – an easy online password generator that can generate a single random password or lists of hundreds of random passwords – free – http://www.maord.com/
KeyScrambler personal (free) from QFX software – KeyScrambler, a web browser plugin, encrypts your keystrokes to protect your important personal information from keyloggers – for Internet Explorer and FireFox (note: doesn’t work against hardware keyloggers) – http://www.qfxsoftware.com/ks-windows/which-keyscrambler.htm
Arovax Shield – (from the site) detects and notifies you about all major online threats trying to penetrate your system, isolates & blocks them – http://www.arovaxshield.com/
Spammer alert – (from the site) a friendly community where we can alert each other of the latest spam threats – http://www.spammeralert.com/
ParentalControl bar – (from the site) a simple, powerful tool to help shield your children from explicit websites – http://www.parentalcontrolbar.org/
Wotsit.org – (from the site) the programmer’s file and data format resource. This site contains information on hundreds of different file types, data types, hardware interface details and all sorts of other useful programming information; algorithms, source code, specifications, etc. – http://www.wotsit.org/
What to do about complaints from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – (from the site) file a complaint (spam) or provide us with tips on potential securities law violations – http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
ContentWatch – Internet Filtering Solutions for Business – http://www.contentwatch.com/
NoVirusThanks.org – a free service that scans suspicious files for the possible presence of viruses, worms, trojans and other kinds of malware using several anti-virus engines – http://www.novirusthanks.org/
Malware Bytes Anti-Malware – free – a good anti-spyware and trojan scanner – http://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/
Bothunter – free – a passive network monitoring tool designed to recognize the communication patterns of malware-infected computers within your network – uses an advanced infection-dialog-based event correlation engine – http://www.bothunter.net/
IdentityTheft.gov from the Federal Trade Commission – Recovering from identity theft is easier with a plan –https://www.identitytheft.gov/
How to prevent and remove ransomware help and information from Comparitech – https://www.comparitech.com/antivirus/guides/how-to-prevent-and-remove-ransomware/
Identity Fraud Protection: How to Safeguard Your Personal Credit Information from Experian – http://www.experian.com/credit-education/identity-fraud-index.html
Instantly test your website speed in real browsers from 23 locations worldwide from Dotcom-Monitor – https://www.dotcom-tools.com/website-speed-test.aspx
Fighting Ransomware with Trend Micro Security 10 and the Trend Micro Anti-Ransomware Tool article and download info from the Simply Security blog from Trend Micro – http://blog.trendmicro.com/fighting-ransomware-with-trend-micro-security-10-and-the-trend-micro-anti-ransomware-tool/
Eight Ways You Can Hide Your Online Identity information from About Tech – http://websearch.about.com/od/webprivacytips/ss/Eight-Ways-You-Can-Hide-Your-Online-Identity.htm
How Confident Are You That You Are Safe Online? article from About Tech – http://websearch.about.com/od/anonymoussurfingsafety/fl/How-Confident-Are-You-That-You-Are-Safe-Online.htm#showall
How to Properly Scan Your Computer for Malware information from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/properly-scan-your-computer-for-viruses-and-other-malware-2624526
How to Test a Suspicious Link Without Clicking information from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-test-a-suspicious-link-without-clicking-it-2487171
So, You Want to See Some Strong Passwords? information from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/strong-password-examples-2483118
Help! My Computer’s Screen Has Been Locked by Ransomware! article from Life Wire – what to do, including keep back ups, if your computer falls victim to a ransomware attack – https://www.lifewire.com/my-computers-screen-has-been-locked-by-ransomware-2487188
The 11 Best Free Spyware Removal Tools article from Life Wire – some very good free programs to help fight and remove spyware – https://www.lifewire.com/best-free-spyware-removal-4151293
10 Free Firewall Programs information from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/free-firewall-programs-4129270
Is Your Smart Device Spying on You? article from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/is-your-smart-device-spying-on-you-4141166
How to Test a Suspicious Link Without Clicking It – safe ways to see if a link is dangerous – information from Life Wire – https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-test-a-suspicious-link-without-clicking-it-2487171
How to remove spyware for free and which tools to use from Comparitech – https://www.comparitech.com/vpn/remove-spyware-free-tools/
How To Fix https://olpair.com & openload.co/pair Error Kodi 17.6 – lots of useful information for fighting the listed malware and a lot of others from VPN Vanguard – https://vpnvanguard.com/how-to-fix-https-olpair-com-openload-co-pair-error-kodi/
Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft & Fraud – helpful information for avoiding identity theft and fraud and learning how to deal with it from Totally Money – https://www.totallymoney.com/identity-theft-protection-guide/
If there is something you’d like to see added or would like more information, you can contact me here.