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New Ways to Block
Annoying Software
PC Makers Hone Products To Fight Pop-Ups, Spyware;
Where to Find Free Fixes
By RYAN CHITTUM Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 12/10/03
Debbie Spradlin had an uninvited guest on her computer. When the mother of
three would log on to check her e-mail, "Vanessa" would pop up on her
screen, unannounced. Worse, there was no way to get rid of the scantily
clad intruder. "You had to click 'OK,' and then it took you to a Web page
with small pictures of porn," says Ms. Spradlin.
For many people, the daily act of turning on their computer has become
something to dread. Web surfers are under mounting assault from disruptive
software known as spyware. At times, people feel as if their computers
have been hijacked. And in many ways, they have.
Spyware and a related variety called adware enter your computer via the
Internet -- often without your knowledge -- and plant themselves on the
hard drive. Adware can unleash torrents of pop-up ads. Spyware does that
and more: It can reset the home page from, say, Google to a porn site. And
a particularly insidious version monitors a computer's activity, scouring
PCs for personal, credit-card or banking information.
Though there are more lethal intruders such as the "I Love You" virus that
can cripple PCs, adware and spyware are still a serious, persistent
nuisance for many casual computer users and office workers. Fourteen of
the top 20 "threats" to computer usability tracked by McAfee Security over
the past seven days are adware programs. McAfee, which sells antivirus
software, says that number has been growing over the holiday shopping
season, as advertisers flood consumers with pitches.
The software industry is racing to hone products that can help people
combat spyware and adware. In August, McAfee, the Santa Clara, Calif.,
subsidiary of Network Associates Inc., added anti-spyware capabilities to
its Windows security-software suite. It reports strong demand for the
beefed-up product and says it has already detected a quarter of a million
infected machines.
Microsoft Corp. recently decided to make changes to its next Windows
security-pack update that will stop some of the most-annoying pop-ups: the
official-looking little Windows Messenger screens. (Ironically, these
pop-ups often are advertisements to sell you software to stop the
pop-ups.) Brian Arbogast, Microsoft vice president of personal services,
says an increasing portion of calls to Microsoft's customer-support line
is from callers complaining about spyware or adware installed on their
computers.
But you don't have to wait for an upgrade to get rid of these pop-ups. AOL
has already fixed it for its millions of users, and it's easy to turn off
Windows Messenger on your own.
PREVENTING POP UPS
For Windows users, here's how to prevent those annoying official looking
Windows messenger pop ups on your home computer:
1: Click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, then Administrative
Tools, then Services.
2: Scroll and highlight "Messenger."
3: Right-click it and choose Properties.
4: Click the STOP button.
5: Select "disable" or "manual" in the Startup Type scroll bar.
6: Click OK.
Not surprisingly, the most effective protection comes at a price. The best
software has antivirus, firewall, spam protection and privacy software
rolled into one package. Two choices include Norton's Internet Security
2004 for $69.95 and McAfee's Internet Security suite for $69.99. Both
include all the above features, plus they can block pop-up ads. Trend
Micro Inc. just released a similar product called PC-Cillin Internet
Services for $49.95.
If you don't want to pay up for security, another option is Spybot Search
& Destroy by PepiMK and Ad-Aware by Lavasoft, both available at
download.com. These programs can "immunize" computers against the
more-frequently found spyware and adware programs, though we found
Ad-Aware to be more reliable.
The easiest way to keep a computer's defenses current is to set up Windows
to automatically download security patches. Methods vary by operating
system, but the goal is to click the box in Windows Update in the Control
Panel that says "Keep my computer up to date." Then, when you're online,
Windows will send a red-flag alert to your taskbar if a patch is
available. Click the alert to install the patch. This can help prevent a
site from downloading adware unbeknownst to you, though it can't get rid
of existing adware.
Some experts recommend using Web browsers other than Internet Explorer
because they aren't integrated into Windows and are less-susceptible to
threats. Some of the best alternatives include Opera, Mozilla and
SlimBrowser. These can be downloaded free at download.com, opera.com or
mozilla.org.
And if you've been having a problem with spyware, adware, viruses or
worms, there is one big -- though rather expensive way -- to avoid it
completely: Apple Computer Inc.'s Macs have yet to see a virus or worm
since the company unveiled its open-source OS X, which is less attractive
to spyware and adware in part because fewer people use it.
If you don't want to pay up for security, another option is Spybot Search
& Destroy by PepiMK and Ad-Aware by Lavasoft, both available at
download.com. These programs can "immunize" computers against the
more-frequently found spyware and adware programs, though we found
Ad-Aware to be more reliable.
The easiest way to keep a computer's defenses current is to set up Windows
to automatically download security patches. Methods vary by operating
system, but the goal is to click the box in Windows Update in the Control
Panel that says "Keep my computer up to date." Then, when you're online,
Windows will send a red-flag alert to your taskbar if a patch is
available. Click the alert to install the patch. This can help prevent a
site from downloading adware unbeknownst to you, though it can't get rid
of existing adware.
Some experts recommend using Web browsers other than Internet Explorer
because they aren't integrated into Windows and are less-susceptible to
threats. Some of the best alternatives include Opera, Mozilla and
SlimBrowser. These can be downloaded free at download.com, opera.com or
mozilla.org.
And if you've been having a problem with spyware, adware, viruses or
worms, there is one big -- though rather expensive way -- to avoid it
completely: Apple Computer Inc.'s Macs have yet to see a virus or worm
since the company unveiled its open-source OS X, which is less attractive
to spyware and adware in part because fewer people use it.
The adware explosion means that Web surfers must be extremely watchful
these days. People can pick up adware or spyware by clicking on links
contained in spam e-mail or downloading a file from spam. Some Web sites
exploit flaws in aspects of your browser and install themselves without
your permission. But often, users bring it on themselves by heedlessly
clicking "ok" when a dialog box pops up on a site.
The most frequent spreaders are "peer-to-peer" file-sharing programs, such
as Kazaa and Grokster. When you install these programs, they install
adware programs with them. The "piggy-backing" of advertising programs
isn't illegal because the P2P companies often bury notification in the
terms-and-conditions form each user must agree to. Most computer users,
however, don't wade through the legalese and never know they have these
programs on their computers
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