January 28, 2005

Internet Resources

By Korky Koroluk

Spyware taking toll

It has to be two years or more since I first wrote about spyware, which, at the time was simply a nuisance that could slow down your system.

When I first ran a little free utility called Ad-Aware to remove spyware from my system, it found five or six dozen of these little files and zapped them for me. Impressed by their numbers, though, I began running Ad-Aware monthly, and sure enough, every time it would find perhaps a dozen more items to get rid of.

Along the way I discovered Spybot Search & Destroy, which I liked better. It was also free, and had quickly become the most popular such utility around. Monthly use found a few more pieces of spyware every time until, finally, I began doing a weekly scan. Now instead of a dozen a month, I’m finding a dozen or more every week.

Spyware has a growing presence, and it has lately taken an ugly turn. It used to be that spyware mostly just allowed companies to pop up ad after ad on your screen. Now, though, there are spyware Trojans — little programs that let outsiders make changes to a user’s computer, including loading other spyware. The changes can result in everything from simply allowing massive numbers of pop-ups to installing “back doors” which pave the way for third parties to gain access to your computer then to launch a whole variety of malicious activities.

Spyware (now often called malware), can cause your computer to run much more slowly. It can destabilize your operating system. It’s nasty.

And along the way, it has changed from a problem that affected mostly unprotected home or small-office computers, to one that is hitting business networks.

Indeed, some IT professionals who ride herd on corporate networks have elevated spyware to the status of Public Enemy No. 1. It is so serious that Microsoft has launched some anti-spyware tools of its own.

Last year’s release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP contained a pop-up blocker for the company’s Internet Explorer Web browser. And it has unveiled the beta version of Windows AntiSpyware, which works with Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003.

There have been some problems with the user interface, but it is a beta version after all, so those are likely to be fixed. It will be free until July, when the full commercial version is to be launched. After that there will be a charge.

I’ve long since stopped trusting Microsoft in security matters, so I’m not much interested in AntiSpyware. But if you are heavily committed to Microsoft products and are running Windows 2000 or XP, you may want to have a look at the AntiSpyware beta. To download a copy go to www.microsoft.com/downloads. But Ad-Aware and Spybot remain the most popular spyware zappers by far. Ad-Aware has more than 103 million copies in use. Spybot is No. 2 with about 47 million copies.

Ad-Aware has gone from being a simple little free utility to a full application with a lot of bells and whistles.

There is still a free version, and it is justifiably popular. The so-called professional version adds tools and flexibility that an IT professional might want. At about $40 (U.S.), it’s cheap enough and good enough that it has become the industry’s best seller.

If you think that Ad-Aware in one of its versions might be right for you, can find the version you want at www.lavasoftusa.com. Spybot has remained free and, as far as I can determine, there are no plans to make it a commercial product. It was written by a student in Europe several years ago and he still controls the product. It’s a little geeky for some people and the “advanced mode” introduced a little more than a year ago is even geekier. I imagine that scares off some would-be users.

Still, it works well. And if you feel at all guilty about getting such a good utility free, there is a button you can click on to make a donation if you wish. Its long history of working well keeps me on board as a faithful user.

It you want to have a look at it, you can find a copy at www.spybot.info.

You’re always welcome to comment on anything you see in this column, or suggest topics for discussion. You can reach me at korkykoroluk@rogers.com.

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