Spyware?

Jay Lee’s Patented Spyare Removal System
A comprehensive “how to” based on the experiences of Jay Lee, host of Technology Bytes Radio

Updated 2/3/2008

First of all, there is no “sure fire” way to explain in a document how to rid yourself of all spyware and browser hijacks. Depending on the level of infestation this process will either eliminate it all or, at the very least, most of the problems you might be experiencing as a result of this epidemic. In some cases the infestation is so deep and so pervasive that a skilled technician is required to sit down at the troubled PC and duke it out using all the skills he has to literally rip the infection out and still maintain the functionality of the computer.

In this document I will outline the method I use to remove spyware from computers that I encounter.

The first thing you want are the tools. There are numerous companies offering programs that claim to remove spyware from your computer. Some are legitimate and others are not. Some are free and others are not. My experience has led me to several free and extremely effective software applications. The first step will be for you to download and install these program onto the computer you are working with.

Windows Defender. Microsoft’s anti-spyware tool. Requires XP SP2 or Windows 2000 with all the latest service packs. Pre-installed on systems running Microsoft Vista

Adaware 2007 You can download the free version here. Adaware has come a long, long way and is very effective in detecting and removing spyware.

Spybot Search and Destroy. Written by Patrick Kolla, this program is one of the original tools for the removal of spyware. At this time the current version is 1.5.2 If you are using version 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 you must download the latest version to be up to date. The internal update feature of this application will not update the program version. Download version 1.5.2 from the Spybot home page.

AVG Antispyware Originally created by Ewido, this product is now maintained and distributed by AVG. It is an effective addition to any anti-spyware arsenal.

The reason I mention all four of these tools is that my experience has shown that while none of them remove it all, the four used together seem to get the majority of the infestation cleaned up.

Download these programs. If the infected computer cannot access these downloads then download them to another PC and burn them to CD or put them on a portable USB drive so that you can then bring them to the infested computer.

After installing the applications on the infested computer it is important to update the programs. Since spyware is changing daily the makers of these programs offer updated definition files much like anti-virus programs do.

Each program has an update option. Locate the menu and run the update.

Once all the programs are installed and updated you will want to begin the scanning of your system. I recommend closing all applications and rebooting into Safe Mode prior to performing the scan.

In my experience it is safe to remove anything these scans find.

Another step I suggest is checking the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. Sometimes certain adware and spyware program will have an uninstall option. They are not always obvious. If you don’t recognize the installed program try searching for it on Google.

One of the tricks that the makers of spyware and adware will employ is a complicated uninstall process. They might ask you if you are really sure, others make it where you have to type in a code and others use confusing wording that can lead to no uninstall at all if you are not paying attention.

This next section is more for advanced users.

Advanced Removal Tools

For more advanced spyware removal there is a tool called Hijack This. Be careful with this tool. It will show you all the things that load when you start your PC and allow you to remove them. This tools shows the good and the bad and makes NO distinction between the two.

One more advanced tool you might want to have on hand is LSPFIX. Some adware and spyware programs install a wedge between the system and the TCP/IP stack. TCP/IP is how your computer communicates with the Internet. I have had experiences where the removal of the spyware will actually cause the computer to no longer have the ability to access the Internet.

LSPFIX is a tool that will remove the wedge. This tool is NOT intuitive. It will make an effort to correct the TCP/IP problem and should ONLY be used in default mode and ONLY if your computer can no longer access the Internet at all after the removal of spyware.

For information on what spyware is I refer you to this article written by Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle.