What is Adware?

Adware is a form of spyware that collects information about the user in order to display advertisements in the Web browser based on the information it collects from the user's browsing patterns.
It’s software that is given to the user with advertisements already embedded in the application.

What is Spyware?

Spyware is any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Spyware is similar to a Trojan Horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today.

Aside from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware’s home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.

Because spyware exists as independent executable programs, they have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party.

Licensing agreements that accompany software downloads sometimes warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested software, but the licensing agreements may not always be read completely because the notice of a spyware installation is often couched in obtuse, hard-to-read legal disclaimers.

Text from
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/adware.html
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/spyware.html



Why have I been sent to this wiki?

If you have been sent to this wiki, then I suspect you have a browser imbued with spyware and adware, but I will yield to the experts, of course ;-)

In the meantime, please consider these shareware downloads (I use them in tandem):

Spybot:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Ad-Aware (this is the freeware version):
http://free.lavasoft.com/products_o.aspx (Hit free download link.)



What do I do now?

Seems to me like your browser has a special search added to it when it gets an incorrect URL. Anything from viruses, worms, spyware, or adware can do that. Most likely adware and spyware though. You can also specify that option and a preferred search engine yourself.

Go here and download the free version of Ad-Aware:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Also, go here and download the free version of the very powerful AVG Anti-virus program:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php

If you are totally unable to get to the grisoft.com website for the AVG Anti-virus program then you have a virus that is blocking the site from you, which sucks.



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