Fear, thy name is spyware-Spyware Horror Story

[amaderbangladesh]

Fear, the name is spyware

A coworker of mine invited me to her house to see if I could figure out what was wrong with her PC. She was constantly getting pop-up ads, and her system was running slower than usual. I figured it would be a simple spyware removal, so I agreed to help. The horrors that awaited me when I started up her computer are indescribable.

I am an antispyware fanatic (my wife only allows me to download security software on a one-in, one-out basis), and I literally cringed when I saw that my coworker had downloaded Kazaa, some other P2P software, 3D screensavers, and just about every "search assistant" toolbar available. The worst part was that she wasn't running any antivirus, firewall, or anti-spyware software. When I admonished her, she told me she was OK... she had Virtual Bouncer! I knew I had a long day ahead of me.

To start, I opened msconfig and turned off everything that wasn't absolutely necessary, before popping in my handy "utility belt," which is a disc consisting of Ad-Aware SE, Spybot - Search & Destroy, HijackThis, AVG Free, Kerio Personal Firewall, CCleaner, Spyware Blaster, FireFox, Windows Defender, CWShredder, Attack Shield WS, McAfee SiteAdvisor, and TweakNow Registry Cleaner (I think there's more, but those are the programs I can remember off the top of my head).

After many installations (and inevitable rebooting), I was locked, loaded, and ready to go. I rebooted in Safe Mode to begin my antispyware assault. An Ad-Aware scan in Safe Mode revealed a whopping 1,756 infections! Once those were removed, I ran a SpyBot scan and found a couple more troubling objects. I rebooted the system in Safe Mode again and reran the scans to make sure that no stragglers were left behind. Once I was positive that I had reached the limits of those two programs, it was time to witness poetry in motion as HijackThis hunted down the remnants of Kazaa. Confident that I had removed the offending software, I then ran CCleaner and TweakNow to tie up the loose ends.

The final and most important step of this ordeal was training my coworker on Internet security, and how to use the tools from my "utility belt," including scanning, spyware removal, and prevention techniques. Since then she's been a model student, running daily scans and keeping her antivirus definitions and firewall up to date. Thankfully, my four hours of toil gave her enough of a wake-up call that she now takes much better care of her system.

-Jake
Holland, Michigan

link: http://www.download.com/Spyware-Horr...ml?tag=bubbl_s

[Merchant]

There is a problem with second link. I think you directly copied and pasted Correct it pls.

[startcat7516]

nice story. your anti virus collection is also fine. i think all people need to collect them.

[Merchant]

Also thanks for the link + rep added..

[Integral]

thanks for sharing that
betlik is always gettin better

[Drew]

Thanks for the link!
Good article.

[ahsan16]

Good article. Thanks my Bangladeshi dost......I am from Bangladesh too......

[CrEaToR]

Well nice article.. Tanks a lot...

[flawless]

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[bunnys2007]

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