Prior to a recent new install of Win XP Pro I rarely had any spyware on my system. I ran Adaware once in a while and it turned up nothing. Since this new install Adaware and Spybot turn up 10-15 instances of Spyware daily! Btw I am connected to the internet via cable modem / Dlink router. Any suggestions? Should I wipe out all of my cookies? Set my securtiy settings higher? Before I start to mess with it I thought I'd ask for opinons? Thx Gary

Click Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab. Click the Advanced button. Set it to accept first party cookies and block third party. You won't get as many 'tracking' cookies.

A frequently heard question is "how on earth did I get infected with all that spyware in the first place?"

I hate when they move posts. A frequently heard question is "how on earth did I get infected with all that spyware in the first place?" It usually happens because of lax security settings. Here are a number of recommendations that will help tighten them, and which will contribute to making you a less likely victim: 1) Watch what you download! Many freeware programs, and P2P programs like Grokster, Kazaa and others, are amongst the most notorious, come with an enormous amount of bundled spyware that will eat system resources, slow down your system, clash with other installed software, or just plain crash your browser or even Windows itself. 2) Go to IE > Tools > Windows Update > Product Updates, and install ALL Security Updates listed. It's important to always keep current with the latest security fixes from Microsoft. Install those patches for Internet Explorer, and make sure your installation of Java VM is up-to-date. There are some well known security bugs with Microsoft Java VM which are exploited regularly by browser hijackers. 3) Go to Internet Options/Security/Internet, press 'default level', then OK. Now press "Custom Level." In the ActiveX section, set the first two options ("Download signed and unsigned ActiveX controls) to 'prompt', and 'Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe" to 'disable'. Now you will be asked whether you want ActiveX objects to be executed and whether you want software to be installed. Sites that you know for sure are above suspicion can be moved to the Trusted Zone in Internet Option/security. So why is activex so dangerous that you have to increase the security for it? When your browser runs an activex control, it is running an executable program. It's no different from doubleclicking an exe file on your hard drive. Would you run just any random file downloaded off a web site without knowing what it is and what it does? And some more advice: 4) Install Javacool's SpywareBlaster It will protect you from all spy/foistware in it's database by blocking installation of their ActiveX objects. Download and install, download the latest updates, and you'll see a list of all spyware programs covered by the program (NOTE: this is NOT spyware found on your computer) Press "select all", then "kill all checked", and you're done. The spyware that you told Spywareblaster to set the "kill bit" for wont be a hazard to you any longer. Don't forget to check for updates every week or so. There's a small board at Wilderssecurity as well. It won't protect you from every form of spyware known to man, but it is a very potent extra layer of protection. Let's also not forget that SpyBot Search and Destroy has the Immunize feature which works roughly the same way. It can't hurt to use both. Edited by TonyKlein on June 06 2003,21:15

Thanks for the info! Gary

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