I thought at first that joining Kazaa was a good idea. Getting free music was pretty cool, but .Companion isn’t. I thought it was pretty creepy that the advertisements knew exactly what I was into. As it turns out, I found out that this companion program shares my information with someone I don’t even know so that they can send me personalized advertisements.
So yeah, it started with pop ups. Then my computer started getting clunky. Browsing the net got to be like watching snail races. Sometimes my browser would just give up and shut down. I didn’t know that it wasn’t a virus, so I was wondering why my antivirus didn’t get whatever was wrong. Then I learned about adware and spyware removal utilities.
After this discovery, I thought I’d search for the best from the word go. “Best” wasn’t specific enough, since apparently everyone is the best. I decided to go with 100% guaranteed removal, and found what honestly looks like the best thing. I found SpyZooka. Five star ratings and partnership with the Better Business Bureau? Oh, do tell me more about this…
They stay on top of spyware updates way better than anyone else. They also protect you from future infections; something that used to be a separate program. The scans take only 10-15 minutes! This program is just flat out incredible! I’ll never get another spyware removal program after this one!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
.FindSpy stole my wallpaper!
I’d like to think I’m kind of computer savvy. I guess if I was, I wouldn’t have caught .FindSpy. Then again, I was in the know enough to know I was infected with something when my computer’s wallpaper disappeared and was replaced with advertisements saying that I was infected with spyware and I needed to download some antispyware program I never heard of. I’ve never seen anything like this, but I figured it probably was the program I was infected with doing the advertising. The cartoon guy in the trench coat was kind of cute, though.
My computer had the other markers of being infected with adware. It ran slowly, VERY slowly. My internet browsers didn’t quite work right. Both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox would take forever to load, and sometimes they’d just blink out. Yep, this is pretty ugly. I knew also that there was a good chance that some hacker out there might be looking at my stuff, so I got right on to scanning. As it turns out, my free program didn’t work so well. It found it well enough, but it couldn’t remove it.
It had done this once before, so I decided it was time to buy a good program. After a little shopping around, I found SpyZooka. What really set it apart for me was that they stay up to date, instead of updating about every week or so. I downloaded it, ran it, and my problems were over. I wouldn’t dream of replacing it!
My computer had the other markers of being infected with adware. It ran slowly, VERY slowly. My internet browsers didn’t quite work right. Both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox would take forever to load, and sometimes they’d just blink out. Yep, this is pretty ugly. I knew also that there was a good chance that some hacker out there might be looking at my stuff, so I got right on to scanning. As it turns out, my free program didn’t work so well. It found it well enough, but it couldn’t remove it.
It had done this once before, so I decided it was time to buy a good program. After a little shopping around, I found SpyZooka. What really set it apart for me was that they stay up to date, instead of updating about every week or so. I downloaded it, ran it, and my problems were over. I wouldn’t dream of replacing it!
Monday, October 27, 2008
AdStatus – Adware You Need To Be Rid Of!
AdStatus is an adware program that usually comes bundled with other freeware, and could have easily been installed without your permission by another program. It brings you advertisements based on its monitoring of your web surfing habits. It can circumvent your popup protection, and render it ineffective. AdStatus installs a toolbar in Internet Explorer which results in the changing of your browser homepage and searches. It also places a startup key in your system so that it springs to life each time you boot up your computer.
AdStatus can not only monitor and pass on your web surfing habits, but it can and does install third-party software without your knowledge or permission that can do a heck of a lot more damage. It will eat up your available system resources to the point where your computer becomes very slow and nearly unusable for work or play. In short, AdStatus is the sort of friend you wish hadn't dropped by. Now getting rid of him is the problem!
Removing AdStatus by yourself can be tricky at best. There are quite a few places where AdStatus may have set up camp, and finding and deleting all of these is not something for the faint of heart. You most certainly will miss some, and AdStatus will keep you at this for some time. Also, if you happen to make a mistake, which is very easy to do, you could accidentally delete a file crucial to the efficient operation of your computer, and then you're pretty much sunk.
No you're much better off using a proven antispyware software solution like SpyZooka. It is fast and efficient, and comes with a 100% spyware removal guarantee. SpyZooka will have your computer clean and you back up to speed in no time at all!
AdStatus can not only monitor and pass on your web surfing habits, but it can and does install third-party software without your knowledge or permission that can do a heck of a lot more damage. It will eat up your available system resources to the point where your computer becomes very slow and nearly unusable for work or play. In short, AdStatus is the sort of friend you wish hadn't dropped by. Now getting rid of him is the problem!
Removing AdStatus by yourself can be tricky at best. There are quite a few places where AdStatus may have set up camp, and finding and deleting all of these is not something for the faint of heart. You most certainly will miss some, and AdStatus will keep you at this for some time. Also, if you happen to make a mistake, which is very easy to do, you could accidentally delete a file crucial to the efficient operation of your computer, and then you're pretty much sunk.
No you're much better off using a proven antispyware software solution like SpyZooka. It is fast and efficient, and comes with a 100% spyware removal guarantee. SpyZooka will have your computer clean and you back up to speed in no time at all!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
.Companion Is Adware With A Multifaceted Approach
Especially dangerous to your computer, .Companion is a bug that will attack you from several angles. It can be loaded on your computer from a number of sources, particularly Kazaa and other peer-to-peer, or P2P, file sharing groups, and as part of the Gator user ID/password storage software. File sharing groups are notorious for enabling the spread of internet parasites including viruses and adware. Simply put, when you download a file from one of these sites, you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get, so definitely user beware.
Though never a safe program, Gator is almost completely obsolete these days, since most internet browsers have user ID and password storage built in. Incidentally, if you’re in the habit of storing your user IDs and passwords on your browser, it’s in your best interest to quit now. This practice can leave you open to exploitation by hackers. Your identity can be stolen this way very easily, so it’s much safer to have this information written somewhere or remembered by yourself.
So what does .Companion do? Well, in terms of what adware does, nearly everything. It monitors your browsing activity to deliver it to an outside server. It displays pop up advertising. It also changes your browser settings and resets your home page, which is a more polite way of saying “hijacking.” The monitoring feature is where it’s possible that your login information can be exploited. While it may not be important in the case of blogs and membership only sites, it can be deadly serious when it comes to bank accounts and credit card information. Again, user beware!
Assuming that information from your accounts isn’t being exploited, there are still major problems with adware. For one thing, the pop up (pop under, banner, etc.) advertisements are annoying, if not potentially embarrassing. For another, and this is especially true with this program, all this activity of pop ups, browser monitoring, changing browser settings, communication back and forth with people you don’t know, all without your knowledge and consent, costs your computer’s performance by sapping its resources. It takes your computer’s memory to run these programs. Also, your computer’s memory is directly related to how much bandwidth your internet connection has, which also gets drained by these programs. So, adware is a double-whammy on use of your computer’s resources.
The next thing you know, your programs and internet connections slow down to a crawl. Some of your larger programs may not run at all, and display error messages. Your computer itself may freeze up and display its own error messages. In this case, if you’re working on a project, you will in all likelihood lose that information when you have to reboot your computer.
Though never a safe program, Gator is almost completely obsolete these days, since most internet browsers have user ID and password storage built in. Incidentally, if you’re in the habit of storing your user IDs and passwords on your browser, it’s in your best interest to quit now. This practice can leave you open to exploitation by hackers. Your identity can be stolen this way very easily, so it’s much safer to have this information written somewhere or remembered by yourself.
So what does .Companion do? Well, in terms of what adware does, nearly everything. It monitors your browsing activity to deliver it to an outside server. It displays pop up advertising. It also changes your browser settings and resets your home page, which is a more polite way of saying “hijacking.” The monitoring feature is where it’s possible that your login information can be exploited. While it may not be important in the case of blogs and membership only sites, it can be deadly serious when it comes to bank accounts and credit card information. Again, user beware!
Assuming that information from your accounts isn’t being exploited, there are still major problems with adware. For one thing, the pop up (pop under, banner, etc.) advertisements are annoying, if not potentially embarrassing. For another, and this is especially true with this program, all this activity of pop ups, browser monitoring, changing browser settings, communication back and forth with people you don’t know, all without your knowledge and consent, costs your computer’s performance by sapping its resources. It takes your computer’s memory to run these programs. Also, your computer’s memory is directly related to how much bandwidth your internet connection has, which also gets drained by these programs. So, adware is a double-whammy on use of your computer’s resources.
The next thing you know, your programs and internet connections slow down to a crawl. Some of your larger programs may not run at all, and display error messages. Your computer itself may freeze up and display its own error messages. In this case, if you’re working on a project, you will in all likelihood lose that information when you have to reboot your computer.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
.Broadcap - Talk About Bogging Things Down
You know, I think I’ll just quit Grokster altogether. I got this stupid pop up video when I downloaded their software. I don’t have a super-fast computer anyway, and to have random videos pop up and fill my screen every now and then is just irritating. After I got a workable adware killer, I found out that what I had was called .Broadcap. Admittedly, I’m pretty new to this whole internet thing. It took me a while to figure out that this video pop up was not only something I didn’t want, but also something I didn’t have to live with.
I’d never heard of adware before. If I did, I apparently didn’t hear enough about it to think there was anything wrong with it. Of course, I’d heard all about viruses. After I complained to a friend about this Grokster thing, he laughed. Then he explained to me what happened. I had gotten some adware from Grokster, which is pretty well known for doing that. He then explained that I should get rid of it, because it was probably collecting information from my computer. In fact, it was collecting my browsing history so that it could send me video promotions that I might go for. Well, that’s just dandy, it’s spying on me, too. Who knows what Grokster has of mine now?
So I asked him what I should do next. He said that I should get a good antivirus and anti-adware program. He also gave me a quick tutorial on how to Google search, and what to look for. I think I may have done him a one-up. Instead of using #1 or “Best” as search terms, I decided to go all the way and see if there was one that had a 100% guarantee. I also looked for approval ratings. I figured it couldn’t hurt. There it was, my 100% guarantee, five star ratings and membership with the Better Business Bureau. I had no idea that they had anything to do with internet businesses, but that must mean this is the best thing, right?
I’d never heard of adware before. If I did, I apparently didn’t hear enough about it to think there was anything wrong with it. Of course, I’d heard all about viruses. After I complained to a friend about this Grokster thing, he laughed. Then he explained to me what happened. I had gotten some adware from Grokster, which is pretty well known for doing that. He then explained that I should get rid of it, because it was probably collecting information from my computer. In fact, it was collecting my browsing history so that it could send me video promotions that I might go for. Well, that’s just dandy, it’s spying on me, too. Who knows what Grokster has of mine now?
So I asked him what I should do next. He said that I should get a good antivirus and anti-adware program. He also gave me a quick tutorial on how to Google search, and what to look for. I think I may have done him a one-up. Instead of using #1 or “Best” as search terms, I decided to go all the way and see if there was one that had a 100% guarantee. I also looked for approval ratings. I figured it couldn’t hurt. There it was, my 100% guarantee, five star ratings and membership with the Better Business Bureau. I had no idea that they had anything to do with internet businesses, but that must mean this is the best thing, right?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Antivirus 2009 Can Re-Install Itself
Antivirus 2009 and many of its variants are constantly evolving, and they do a good job of it. One of its major "accomplishments" is that it can install itself on several places on your hard drive. Even when you think you've got it beat, it will replicate itself from a file you may have missed.
It's no fault of your own if you miss something. This is a sneaky, insidious program. It can store itself in several places on your computer. You may wipe out the obvious files, only to miss one. Then, it will replicate itself once again, as soon as you reboot!
There's a program out there called Spyzooka. You can use it on your computer, then upload its report to the anti-virus center which will tell you if you need to do anything else.
It's the only program I know of that gives 100% of your money back, if it can't completely clean out all infections--even Antivirus 2009!
It's no fault of your own if you miss something. This is a sneaky, insidious program. It can store itself in several places on your computer. You may wipe out the obvious files, only to miss one. Then, it will replicate itself once again, as soon as you reboot!
There's a program out there called Spyzooka. You can use it on your computer, then upload its report to the anti-virus center which will tell you if you need to do anything else.
It's the only program I know of that gives 100% of your money back, if it can't completely clean out all infections--even Antivirus 2009!
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