Is your agency safe? If you use a Microsoft Windows PC and are connected to the internet, then this newsletter will be of interest to you.

Spy vs Spy
It has been reported by multiple studies that last year (2005) some 59 million people reported computer spyware infections. And, some 7 out of 10 people being affected by spyware like symptoms experienced these symptoms last year. And 98% of IT managers reported that at least one PC in their network was affected by Spyware/Adware.

Here are some types of spyware that fall under the broad spyware category -

1. Browser Hijacks - you home page gets changed and you get a whole bunch of popups, slowing your productivity.
2. Keyloggers - they log your keystrokes while you are logging into your bank account, for example.
3. Screen Shot Loggers - they record screenshots wile you work and send them out to spyware servers.

To the user or business owner, cleaning spyware is an expensive proposition. Here is a simple 5 step process that should clean most well known spyware infestations on your computer.

Note - See disclaimer and target audience notes below.

5 Simple Steps to remove spyware

1. Download Spybot S&D
   • Install it, download latest updates for all. Read the help files.
   • Run the program, if it finds spyware fix the problems.
   • If it says it need to reboot, please do so. It will startup and do a check again.
2. Reboot in safe mode -
   • If Windows XP is the only operating system installed on your computer, booting into Safe Mode with these instructions. If the computer is running, shut down Windows, and then turn off the power. Wait 30 seconds, and then turn the computer on.
   • Start tapping the F8 key. The Windows Advanced Options Menu appears. If you begin tapping the F8 key too soon, some computers display a "keyboard error" message. To resolve this, restart the computer and try again.
   • Ensure that the Safe mode option is selected.
     Press Enter. The computer then begins to start in Safe mode.
   • When you are finished with all troubleshooting, close all programs and restart the computer as you normally would.
3. Run Spybot S&D while in safe mode.
• Immunize your system (there is an immunize button in Spybot S&D)
4. Reboot in normal mode.
5. Run Spybot S&D again. You should be clean.

If you have explicitly installed any programs like Site Search or wwwsearch and Spybot has not detected and removed them, then you will need to remove them using Add or Remove programs. If you have tried these steps and are still having trouble, then call a trained professional. Be prepared to pay around $95 per hour to fix your machine.

Disclaimer - Follow these instructions at your own risk. These instructions are a guide developed by our engineers to help the average user. We recommend consulting a specialist to clean or restore your machine.

Target Audience - Microsoft Windows XP users.

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