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Help Desk
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Spyware, such as trojan horses, are small programs included with free
software from the Internet, such as BonziBuddy. They are installed on
computers most often without the users knowing that they are there.
Spyware, as you can guess from its name, can often intrude on the users'
privacy. While the user is surfing the Internet, the spyware may be
recording the websites they visit and are known to keep details on
shopping purchases.
Ad-Aware SE Personal is program
that I recommend to remove spyware from your computer. Here's how to
obtain it, install it and use it!
Obtaining and installing Ad-Aware SE Personal
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Download Ad-Aware SE
Personal from one of the locations listed at
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download and follow the prompts to
download the file. |
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When the file has
completed downloading, run “aawsepersonal.exe”, the Ad-aware setup
program. Follow the prompts using the default settings given. |
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Ad-aware will commence
installation on your computer. When it has completed, click Finish >
to close setup. |
Using Ad-Aware SE Personal
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Double-click the
Ad-Aware SE Personal icon from the desktop to run the program. |
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Please note: If
you have not run and/or updated Ad-Aware SE Personal for some time, you
will be asked “Your definitions are [number] days old. Would you like to
check for updates now?”. Click OK. A “Performing WebUpdate”
screen will appear. Click Connect. Then, click OK to
download and install the updates. Once the WebUpdate has completed click
Finish. |
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The Ad-aware program
will open and bring you to the status screen. |
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Click the Start
button (located on the bottom right-hand side). |
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When asked for the scan
mode, click the box titled “Perform smart system scan” and click Next. |
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Ad-Aware SE Personal
will then scan your computer for spyware. Once the scan is complete, a
summary will be displayed, letting you know how many objects were found.
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Click Next > to
see the spyware that Ad-aware has found. |
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A list of spyware found
on your computer will be listed along with the number of critical
objects (spyware that should be removed). |
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Click the Scan
Summary tab. |
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Select the checkboxes
of target families of spyware that you wish to remove (I suggest
removing all of them for privacy's sake!) and click Next >. |
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A message box will
appear confirming to remove the objects from your system. Click OK. |
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You're done! You are
finished using Ad-Aware SE Personal to remove your spyware. |
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