adware prevention

Programs have been developed in order to detect, quarantine, and remove spyware. As there are many examples of adware software that are also spyware or malware , many of these detection programs have been developed to detect, quarantine, and remove adware as well. Among the more prominent of these applications are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy . These programs are designed specifically for spyware detection and will not detect viruses, although some commercial anti-virus programs can also detect adware and spyware.

Best practices for general security on the Internet, especially when browsing the World Wide Web (where a large portion of adware is installed from via security holes and social engineering), include the following:

• Do not install excessive additional toolbars to your browser, as they may slow down the browser or become a source of adware or spyware.
• Keeping up-to-date with security patches and operating system updates (in the case of Microsoft Windows , from Windows Update )
• Set Internet Explorer versions 6 or lower to prompt for ActiveX installation (this is turned on by default in version 7).
• Install a hosts file such as the one provided by www.mvps.org (MVPS Hosts File) from ( http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm )
• Using an alternative Web browser to Internet Explorer (e.g. Opera , Mozilla Firefox , Safari , etc.)
• Install ad-blocking software ( Trend Micro Internet Security and Norton Internet Security both support this feature.
  • For users of Firefox, there is the Adblock extension, which can prevent harmful or annoying ads displayed on websites, while users of Opera have this functionality built into the browser. The NoScript extension to Firefox can also help in blocking JavaScript , which is involved in drive-by downloads. Internet Explorer users can download the free IE7 Pro extension that has ad blocking capabilities.
  • Other options include ad-blocking proxy software such as Privoxy , which is free and runs on Windows , Linux and other systems.
• Use free alternatives of software from software that includes adware.
• Use other alternatives of operating systems to Microsoft Windows (eg. Linux , Mac OS X ).

Take a look at our top Anti-Spyware products to see how you can stay protected, or visit www.icomparer.com and read their reviews on the top Anti-Syware/Adware Software. They provide editor and user reviews describing in detail how each Anti-Syware/Adware product will protect you, the functionality they each provide, along with screenshots and statistics.

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