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Spyware Detection and Removal Software

Note: some "adware" software, such as Go!Zilla, will not function if the spyware is removed.
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Optout: Spyware detection and removal by GRC. Ver .99 28k
Detects and removes spyware tracking files from your system. Also cleans regisrty entires of said files. For a fast system check this one is best. I Recommand both packages.

Note: some "adware" software, such as Go!Zilla, will not function if the spyware is removed.

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AdAware by Lavasoft: Spyware detection and removal Ver 4.01 593k
Detects and removes spyware tracking files from your system. Also cleans regisrty entires of said files. A more complete, though a little slower, package than Optout. Off Site Download.

Links to information about Spyware:

Articles:
| www.cnn.com | www.usnews.com | techtv.com |saratoga-ca |

In the interest of fairness, a story from the "other side" about.com

Sites:
| privacy.net | infoforce.qc.ca | zonelabs.com | spychecker.com |

Discussion Board: spychecker.com/boards

spychecker.com also has an excellent newsletter on the latest news & spyware on the web. To sign up go to spychecker.com

Search Results on Spyware:
mc4.metacrawler

This is an excellent article by ZDNet on Spyware: it also exposes what kind of scum produces this stuff

I Call It Spyware. So Sue Me!
By Jim Louderback
March 30, 2000

Let's face it, journalists are cynical, skeptical, and extremely
suspicious by nature. When someone tries to muzzle me, my "spider senses"
start tingling.

After my recent column about Radiate's spyware Trojan horse program, which
has been secretly installed on over 22 million Windows computers,
Radiate's reaction was somewhat extreme. They called our head of Public
Relations and demanded to talk to the boss so they could get me fired.
When they found out that, as Editorial Director, I was unlikely to fire
myself, they threatened hail, brimstone, and a lawsuit.

Talk about an extreme reaction. What are they trying to hide? Usually when
I get a vendor mad, they at least try to talk to me directly. But I still
haven't received an email from these guys, nor have I had any phone calls.

And the story continues to develop. In short, Radiate develops spyware
that gets downloaded along with advertiser-supported freeware like Gozilla
and CuteFTP. That software maintains a constantly updated flow of ads
between Radiate's Internet servers and your computer and communicates back
to that server information about your actions and demographics.

It does this all without you knowing it. More than 22 million computers
have downloaded and are probably still running the Radiate spyware. Even
after uninstalling the original host application, the Radiate spyware
remains, silently tracking your behavior.

According to Radiate, they do not keep an ongoing database of your surfing
habits. But they do monitor your behavior, because they keep track of what
ads you viewed and how long you view them. In addition, they do track
demographic data and combine that with your ad viewing statistics.

What would you call a hidden program that's secretly downloaded to your
system and remains even after the host application has been deleted? I
call it a Trojan Horse Spyware application. Think about it. If you brought
a strange dog into your house, covered with fleas, and then booted it out
the back door, that would be bad enough. But if the fleas stayed and
silently took over your house, that would be a true parasitic infection.

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