It seems that everywhere I turn I have some one coming to me and asking about all the “pop ups” on their PC. Of course its spyware. Its everywhere and it is insidious. I have run across everything, The notorious Gator, Bonzia Buddy, 2020 search, WhenUSearch, and on and on it goes. One was devious that when you rebooted the PC it left a hidden registry entry that searched to make sure its files where there, if anything was missing it directed the PC to its install files on the internet and re-installed itself.

This is outrageous. This is very much virus and worm type behavior, but the Anti-Virus companies have been very hands off with these. Only now are they offering a solution, but it is not included with the AV Client. And the part that makes me the most angry: people most be buying junk from those pop up ads. Otherwise these companies would give up.
How do I deal with them? First of all, I don’t download crap from the internet except from reputable sources. (If have to download something from a site I do not trust, I don’t do it on my work PC or the main PC at my house.) Second, I am aware of the way my PC should behave. As soon as it does something unexpected, I drop everything and look into it. I am amazed at how many people keep using their PC’s and just shrug off changes. “I don’t know why my home page changed to that.” “I’m not sure when that toolbar first showed up in the browser.” Finally, I use AdAware and Spybot S+D to fix any thing that does slip in.

The real answer to this problem is that people must be educated as to what they are doing and the consequences of their actions. We have all this great technology at everyone’s fingertips. And its all very easy to use. So people just go out and don’t consider that maybe some of the stuff on the internet may be harmful or malicious. You read about cases of phishing nearly everyday. Uneducated computer users are just victims of waiting to happen. I hope that these trends slow down and users realize that it is in their interest to learn more about what’s going on. So till then I’ll keep educating who I can.