Is is Adware or Not?

Many computer users download extra items from the net and then experience negative side effects from that software. One of the most common complaints is system sluggishness. Another is inability to connect to any internet site other than the one  where you have to spend money to get hijacked. Let me help clear up some confusion about what is and isn't adware.

Adware is unwanted advertisements that are delivered to your desktop. Here's what adware does:

• unwanted pop ups
• system performance decrease
• browser hijacks
• embeds itself deep into the registry (inner kernal of the operating system) so that total removal is complicated
• sends private information to other computers for malicious use

How do you know what is and isn't adware? Googling is a good first step, but users often look to the wrong sources for their information. The "company" that manufactures the software isn't a good place to obtain your information. Tech sites are a more reliable source, but you also have to get antivirus manufacturer opinions and look at dates on the pages too. McAfee site advisor can tell you if a website has problems, but not the software that you may download from it.

Let's take Smiley Central as our example to look at. If we go to the smileycentral.com home page we see that they are offering a free product (smileys). We won't talk about how annoying these smileys are to our customers, but what they do your system.  If you run Hijack This program, you will see all the "hooks" that this program puts into your computer. Even on a new computer, you can notice some sluggishness after installing it. If you are very familiar with Windows processes, you can pull up task manager and examine the amount of memory the process eats up.

Tech recommendations are also a good way to find out if a software is harmful to your computer or not. Tech websites and antivirus software websites are a good way to check out a program. General user sites and recommendations are not good places to check for recommendations. Reading that it's ok in a friend's blog isn't ok. Wikipedia isn't an OK source.

Stay safe.