The Incredible, Inevitable Adware Machine
Everyone's heard of computer viruses. You know, those nasty little programs written by even nastier people, programs that love to tear apart your computer's file structure in search of your credit card numbers. However, there's also a category of programs that, although less harmful than viruses, are arguably just as infuriating. The common name for these programs is Adware.
If browsing the internet is one of your favorite past times, then there's a good chance your computer has picked up a few hitch-hikers on its digital journey. Mine sure has. As a college student, browsing the internet for anything to stave homework off for a few more minutes is a common activity, as is searching the sketchiest of forums for textbook solution manuals. It was these activities that made me aware of the importance of a good firewall. If I had kept mine up to date last year, maybe my new computer wouldn't have been dragged into the dirt by adware.
If your computer is suddenly running at the speed of death, then there's a good chance you've picked up some adware. Worse, it could be spyware (stuff that not only throws pop-ups at you but spies on your every move. For the purpose of this article, it's all adware). The stuff I got--a mix of web tracking programs that were feeding advertisers information about my surfing habits and something that would occasionally redirect my browser to random web pages promoting lawn ornaments--was hogging system resources 24/7. I had been planning to reformat my computer anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. But, if I had prevented the stuff from latching on in the first place, life would have been a whole lot easier.
To keep your computer from turning into the Incredible Adware Machine, you only need to do two things. First, get a good firewall. Use the Windows firewall if you have to, it doesn't matter. Throwing a firewall up is a good way of keeping sneaky viruses, worms, and adware on the outside of your hard drive. Second, don't download anything from shady websites, unless you're feeling overly daring. You'll be lucky enough if you don't get a virus, and, if by some miracle you don't get adware too, you've probably used up your luck for the rest of the month.
For those of you with computers already suffering from adware's infernal grip, there is a solution. Big anti-virus companies like Norton have started to incorporate anti-adware and anti-spyware solutions into their products. Next time you go to get the latest version of your preferred anti-virus program, dig a little deeper and see if it comes with anti-adware capabilities. If not, there's a few software solutions dedicated solely to the eradication of adware, and they should do the trick.
by Christopher Benamati
Keyword : Inevitable Adware Machine
