My on-board computer was infected with a bad spy ware and that caused me to flip!

Anti-virus software does not commonly protect you from spyware. Spyware, sometimes referred to as adware, consists of programs placed on your computer and used to do any or all of the following:

• Track your visits to various websites, cause advertisements to pop up on your screen, or use your computer’s processor to process data for third parties.
• Change your web browser’s default home page or even make it impossible to visit certain web sites.
• In extreme cases, spyware may render your computer so slow or "hangs" or events that it is virtually unusable.

Mac Users: The good news is that the majority of the adware & spyware industry is focused on developing their "malware" to target Microsoft Windows PC users through ActiveX controls and DLLs that only work on Windows based computers. Here is a listing of additional resources for Mac Security:

• Secure Mac
• Macintosh Security
• MacSecurity.org

Bad Spy Ware Infected System

In March 2004, a big internet access provider scanned 237,200 PCs. An a found 7.1 million pieces of spyware found on these computers. That averaged 30 pieces of spyware per PC, according to the report. In a statement that follows, they urged "Consumers should be aware of the applications and files residing and running on their machines."

Millions of computers have been infected by either Spyware or Adware. With popularity of shareware and freeware on the internet, the speed of spreading out spyware and adware has never been easier. In addition to peer-to-peer file sharing networks like Kazaa, iMesh & Morpheus, spyware/adware threats has already overwhelmed virus infections. Since users has granted the right to download and install the programs, spyware/adware could easily escape detection from firewalls and anti-virus protection software.

This is one of the worst attack of spy-ware I have came across in a couple of my client office computers. After I fire up the browser software, windows starts popping up all over, automatically accessing all sorts of gaming and pronographic sites. Leaving all those nice ladies at that office blashing...

After detailed studies of the registry and "Add/Remove" Software section of control panel, I found installed on them, the following "Bad" software:

• CSS
• Golden Palace Casino NEW
• KBD
• XXXToolbar
• Web Helper
• Web Tools by Hotbar
• SafeSurfing
• Search Assistance
• Inerstitial Ad Delivery by n-CASE

Regedit - search of the "run" key, and remove the following "bad" entries:

• C:\WINDOWS\DRJTBOZGR.exe
• C:\WINDOWS\System32\ageiyosr.exe
• c:\windows\system32\mscnt.exe /noconnect
• C:\WINDOWS\MSMGT.exe
• C:\WINDOWS\ltnqufge.exe
• C:\Program Files\Power Scan\powerscan.exe
• C:\WINDOWS\ydlzbhcj.exe
• C:\WINDOWS\SMINST\RECGUARD.EXE
• C:\Program Files\SafeSurfing\SSUpdate.exe
• C:\Program Files\Sqwire\uc.exe
• C:\Program Files\Sqwire\cc.exe

Clear unwanted entries from Add/Remove Programs

To remove an entry, do the following:

Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE). Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall.

One hard to remove is MS T-Media Display, Total Velocity Hijacker

Manual removal:

• Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove Total Velocity Hijacker manually.
• You should first uninstall Memory Meter if it is installed on your system.
• Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
• Browse to the key:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run
• In the right pane, delete the value called MSMGT, if it exists.
• Browse to the key:
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall
• In the right pane, delete the value called MSMGT, if it exists.
• Exit the registry editor.
• Restart your computer.
• Delete %WinDir%\MSMGT.exe and %WinDir%\TINYINSTALLER.exe.

Note: %WinDir% is a variable. By default, this is C:\Windows (Windows 95/98/Me/XP) or C:\WINNT (Windows NT/2000).

How Does Spyware Get On The Computer? Spyware can get on a computer in one several ways:

• Spyware may be downloaded and installed silently through security vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system or web browser. This may happen because the Windows’ critical security updates are not current.
• Spyware may be installed when you install other software, especially free games, free screensavers, free file-sharing programs, even free utilities that claim to protect you against spyware or ad pop-ups. Such software is often “free” to download only because of the spyware that is included with the program.
• Some spyware already on the computer may silently download and install other spyware onto your computer.