Common Spyware Symptoms           

More people today are becoming aware of the menace of spyware. Spyware is a major threat to security and privacy since it monitors your computer activity without you being aware of it and relays that information to someone who wants to use this information for commercial purposes.
      
Unfortunately, although people are aware of the potential problems caused by spyware, most do not really know how to recognize the early symptoms of spyware infection. This means that most people today are unable to stop spyware from initially damaging their system.

               

Here are some common spyware symptoms you should watch out for:

> Online symptoms <

Change of your web browser's default home page

One of the oldest spyware tricks is to automatically change your Web browser's default or start-up home page. This is the Web page that appears when you start your browser or click the "home" button. Even if you adjust these settings, you might find that they revert back every time you restart your computer.

New favorites (bookmarks)

Spyware will often add "favorites" of its own to your browser's favorites' folder. If you notice an unusual number of new favorites and are not sure how they got there, spyware may be to blame.

New Toolbars or shortcuts

Spyware and other unwanted software can add toolbars to your Web browser that you don't want or need. Even if you remove these toolbars, they might return each time you restart your computer. Some spyware programs will add new shortcuts on your desktop.

Unwanted Search Results

Computer hijackers can change the results of your web search and suggest websites the hijacker wants you to see instead of what you actually searched for.

You end up in a same strange site, whenever you perform a search.

When a web page isn't found, you are redirected to a strange site instead of HTTP 404 error page.

Pop-Up Advertisements

Some unwanted software will bombard you with pop-up ads that aren't related to a particular Web site you're visiting. These ads are often for adult or other Web sites you may find objectionable. If you see pop-up ads as soon as you turn on your computer or when you're not even browsing the Web, you might have spyware or other unwanted software on your computer.

Pop-up ads from spyware software are designed to look like they've been served up by the legitimate Web site you're visiting. As a result, you may not recognize them as a symptom of infection. There's no way to be sure, but if the contents of the ads seem strange or if you're getting pop-up ads when you're not even surfing the Internet it's very likely that they are being served up by spyware software. 

> E-Mail Symptoms <

If you're getting a lot of bounced back mail and see evidence of e-mails being sent without your knowledge, then it's possible that trojan spamware has found its way onto your computer. Spamware is a trojan that can turn your computer into a spam launching pad and create headaches for unknowing computer users, especially if a virus is sent. Even if your computer is not being used to send spam, trojans can steal a copy of your e-mail address book and send it back to a spammer. 

> Offline Symptoms <

A sudden change in how your computer is running could be a sign of spyware or adware. Spyware and other unwanted software are not designed to be efficient. The resources these programs use to track your activities and deliver advertisements can slow down your computer and errors in the software can make your computer crash. If you are getting a lot of program crashes, your computer is slower than normal at performing routine tasks, or your hard drive whirls away when you're not doing anything you may have spyware on your machine.

You find new programs in the add/remove programs of your control panel which you don't ever remember installing.

You see something unusual in your processes/tasks list.

You suddenly have more crashes than ever before.

Keyboard loggers can capture passwords and user names, so if the bank, brokerage or credit card accounts you access online appear to have been tampered with, your computer may be a place to start looking for clues. User names and passwords to e-mail and Web-based applications are also vulnerable.

CD drives opening and shutting, or programs opening and closing. 

Is there an unknown icon in your Windows system tray (lower right corner of your screen)?

If you have an external modem, there may be lights indicating data tranfers blinking when you're not doing anything online; a sign a program may be up to no good in the background.

Your phone company charges you for '1-900' phone calls you didn't make. Some programs will hang-up your normal Internet connection and instruct your computer to dial a 1-900 number -- silently.

Your firewall and antivirus programs are frequently turned off automatically.

Your network connection's activity lights blink a lot, when you are not actively doing anything on the internet.

You get frequent alerts from your firewall about an unknown program or process trying to access the internet.

When you try to open spyware eradicating programs like Spybot S&D, Adaware or windows programs like Task manager, Regedit and Msconfig, they just pop up on your screen momentarily and disappear.

The Java console appears in your task bar when you haven't run any Java software recently.

Unusual messages or displays on your monitor.

Unusual sounds or music played at random times.

Your system has less available memory than it should.

A disk or volume name has been changed.

Programs or files are suddenly missing.

Unknown programs or files have been created.

Some of your files become corrupted or suddenly don't work properly.

Your computer screen flips upside down or inverts.

Your wall paper or background settings change by themselves.

Documents or messages print on your printer by themselves.

Your windows color settings change by themselves.

Your screen saver settings change by themselves.

Your right and left mouse buttons reverse their functions.

Your mouse pointer disappears.

Your mouse moves by itself.

Your mouse starts leaving trails.

Your Windows Start button disappears.

Your computer starts reading the contents of your computer clipboard.

Your Task bar disappears.

Your computer shuts down and powers off by itself.

> Removing Spyware <

Once infected, spyware removal is not easy and quite risky. Protect your computer. Install an antispyware solution that finds and removes all spyware and adware cleanly. Below are some resources to help you decide and find the right solution for you:

Considerations when purchasing commercial security software

Commercial Security Software Reviews

Free Security Software

Safe Computing Best Practices