if it has ever happend to you, or if you are just nervous reading horror stories by others---here is the straight dope about spyware..read as much as you can understand and have patience for. There is information about what CAN happen, how tricky it is to fight, and what can be done, including prevention. One of the major points is that protection is made much easier if you do not use the IE browser, as "Active-X" controls are one of the major ways this crap gets installed. (The 3rd item is the most 'interesting' perhaps, but is also the longest--if you don't read it in detail, scan it for the salient points)

Comments to the FTC

Junkware: A New Name for Spyware
(21 kb)


The Anatomy of a Drive-by-Download (952 kb)