Asadoorian Consulting - Spyware and Malicious Software tips and guide

With the continued havoc caused by adware and spyware, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to protect a computer from these malicious programs. These new threats can be installed on your computer without your knowledge and in the long term will break your computer and/or the internet connection. In addition, some collect personal information and web surfing habits. From our experience at Asadoorian Consulting, such software can cause extensive damage that may be un repairable. Windows may have to be reinstalled. Below, you will find some links and information for going about dealing with these problems.

- If your homepage keeps changing or if you are getting various toolbars and search engines that you never asked for, try using ToolbarCop to remove/eliminate them. With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2, Internet Explorer contains a similar feature with Add-On Manager.

- Generally speaking, you should be using a spyware scanner/remover on your computer. The current forms of anti-virus software do not protect you from spyware. The two most popular tools are Ad-Aware and Spybot. Both come with free versions. Make sure to keep your definitions up-to-date (just like anti-virus software) and schedule scans (including startup scans). We personally recommend Microsoft's Windows Antispyware. This product was actually made by a company Microsoft acquired, called Giant. Although Microsoft refers to it as a beta, the software works great. Currently the product is free as long as the Windows installation is valid. We highly recommend this product based on our experience.

- Most spyware/adware applications run in the system's memory and cannot be deleted while Windows is running. If you're trying to remove them, try following the steps below:

1. Uninstall any strange or unknown applications from Add/Remove Programs
2. Restart Windows
3. Verify the applications have been removed from the Add/Remove Programs
4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode with Networking Support
5. Install/update your adware/spyware tools
6. Run the tools
7. Restart the computer and see if it works any better

You can reach Asadoorian Consulting by either phone or email. Due to the high volume of calls, you may have to leave a message. We promise that your call will be returned as soon as possible.