Questions tagged [spyware]

Spyware is a computer program which collects information about the user such as habits on the Internet and transmits that information to an external entity on the Internet without user knowledge or consent.

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Downloading software without bloatware

From time to time, I find myself needing a piece of software to perform a specific task. Download.com (CNET) used to be a good site. But now, I find that they bundle a lot of "evilware", i.e. ...
Ola Eldøy's user avatar
  • 1,247
60 votes
7 answers
25k views

My webcam just came on "out of the blue"

I have a Microsoft LifeCam HD sitting atop my monitor. Today, completely out of the blue, its light came on -- I was simply browsing the web (in Chrome) when it happened. After about 5 minutes the ...
AngryHacker's user avatar
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24 votes
1 answer
14k views

Unable to disable Compatibility Telemetry in Windows 10

Methods Failed to disable Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry: Method 1: Use O&O ShutUp10 Used latest version released on 7-Mar-'17 Method 2 (CMD commands) mentioned here : sc delete DiagTrack sc ...
Omar's user avatar
  • 1,763
19 votes
11 answers
903 views

What are some things to avoid if you want to keep your computer adware/spyware free?

I recently reinstalled the OS (Windows XP Home) on a friend's heavily spyware/adware infected machine. It appears as though his kids (7 and 11 years I believe) were visiting sites that offered ...
John Rasch's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
4k views

An unrelated program (Clash for Windows) links to FFmpeg libraries. Can it be spyware?

Update: today I found some decisive evidence on its misbehaviour. Sandbox analysis from VirusTotal on its installer reports video capturing capability using webcam. See the link to its analysis here. ...
Guanyuming He's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
1k views

Is it possible to safely contain a virus - not letting it spread?

I need to run a program, but I don't trust the author. I think it is infected with spyware, viruses, or malicious files. I scanned it and didn't find anything, but I'm still not feeling good about it. ...
Lynob's user avatar
  • 5,360
8 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to scan and detect spying software

I have a friend who caught his landlord in his apartment using his laptop (he moved out afterward). The next time he tried to log in, his password was changed. I fixed the password problem but I got ...
Mister Tea's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
6k views

How does the "Steam" platform work? Is it DRM? Can I trust "Steam"-powered software? [closed]

UPDATE: This question lives on at gaming.stackexchange.com. So – I just bought the new game Supreme Commander 2. This question is not about the game, but about the online software ...
Chris W. Rea's user avatar
  • 10.8k
8 votes
2 answers
20k views

How can I find out which processes on my computer are accessing the microphone?

After reading this interesting Lifehacker post and reading the comments on the page, one person was wondering if it would be possible to use the Physical Device Object Names of other hardware such as ...
Vinayak's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
1k views

What is the difference between a Virus and Spyware?

Is the distinction largely semantic? (I.e., Spyware collects information and incidentally slow your computer down, Viruses are designed to malicious?
Clay Nichols's user avatar
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6 votes
6 answers
114k views

MacKeeper has hijacked my Safari Browser

MacKeeper (http:// mackeeperapp.zeobit.com) has hijacked my Safari browser. I have had to open Firefox, in order to get to the internet. I would rather use Safari, since that is where my bookmarks ...
Devonviolet's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
15k views

How do I configure helpd on OSX so that it doesn't periodically call home to application sites?

Little Snitch, an outgoing network traffic blocker, notifies me when an application is attempting to establish a connection. Many applications that I've installed have apparently registered ...
Michael Prescott's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
31k views

Removing FLEXnet Connect Update Manager

Do you know how can I remove this unwanted software? Status line says copyright Acresso Software and or InstallShield. From the folder in ProgramData I understand it is version 11.
antonio's user avatar
  • 937
6 votes
3 answers
4k views

How do I tell if there are unwanted remote guests on my computer? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What to do if my computer is infected by a virus or a malware? Why do I always find the strangest programs and the strangest text files all the time? All kinds of weird things ...
WckdMsftsGrl's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
3k views

Is it possible for virus in windows to infect ubuntu?

I have a triple boot, windows 7 , 8 and ubuntu. Is it possible that any spyware or virus in windows will also harm ubuntu or spy during ubuntu session ?
John Watson's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
9k views

Getting redirected to www.website-unavailable.com

When ever I type a wrong URL in to my URL bar, it redirects me to: www.website-unavailable.com How do I stop this from happening? I would much rather just get redirected to Google. This happens in ...
Petah's user avatar
  • 1,816
5 votes
4 answers
32k views

"Ads not by this site" displayed by ads injected into certain web pages

I'm having ads injected into random pages in Firefox, such as Youtube, Wikipedia and Facebook. I know Wikipedia doesn't serve ads, so this must be some kind of adware. Below the ad appears the text "...
afkbowflexin's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
248 views

How can I figure out where this tracking stuff is coming from?

I noticed an SE page was communicating with a load of tracking sites, as in, a load. I did some experiments. I am using Chrome, latest, on Windows 7. I have been using Ghostery and adblock since ...
fredley's user avatar
  • 3,417
5 votes
1 answer
6k views

Which File Did Microsoft Safety Scanner Fix?

Microsoft Safety Scanner says it partially fixed a file. How do I find out which file it fixed?
Nelson's user avatar
  • 51
4 votes
18 answers
1k views

Is free security software as good as paid security software? [closed]

I mostly use free security solutions to protect my home PC, but I wonder if I would get better protection from a paid solution. I prefer the free software, since I can have multiple applications ...
4 votes
9 answers
14k views

Does reformatting the drive really removes spywares and viruses

I've recently read that the data that you deleted in windows using shift+del doesn't actually get deleted it is just made to be overwritable by other data that will soon be stored in your hard drive. ...
Wern Ancheta's user avatar
  • 6,542
4 votes
7 answers
6k views

How to clean a computer with multiple accounts infected with spyware, viruses? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What to do if my computer is infected by a virus or a malware? What's the best way to clean a computer with multiple accounts infected with spyware, viruses and malware? ...
user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
580 views

How to rid my computer of spyware and adware

I have a bit of a spyware problem. I tried using How to Clean up a Windows Spyware Infestation to help get rid of the spyware/adware on my computer. I have autoruns and process explorer and got rid ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
4k views

Difference Between Microsoft's Safety Scanner and Software Removal Tool

What's the difference between the MSS and MSRT?
kenneth's user avatar
  • 41
3 votes
5 answers
9k views

How do I find out if my employer has installed spyware on my computer?

In my office yesterday, we had a power blip and all of our computers restarted. Upon restarting, I had a dialog box that an application was installed and my computer required a restart. I mentioned ...
Fred Wilson's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
5k views

Curly braces in a URL

Often I have came across URLS like the following: http://www.isthisahacker.com/{7B643FB915-845C-4A76-A071-677D62157FE07D}.htm Do the curly braces in the URL above indicate some kind of attempt to ...
lipton's user avatar
  • 899
3 votes
4 answers
6k views

Spyware used my gmail account to send thousands of spam e-mails to all my trusted contacts, what should I do?

I just logged in to my gmail and was shocked by the amount of automatic responses I got in my inbox. I then looked at my sent messages folder and noticed that apparently, thousands of spam e-mails ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 278
3 votes
8 answers
4k views

How to stop spyware/adware popups? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What to do if my computer is infected by a virus or a malware? I think my brother got a case of adware on his Windows XP PC, since he gets occasional pop-ups out of nowhere (...
dsims's user avatar
  • 131
3 votes
3 answers
312 views

Spyware from reputable websites?

I think I remember reading somewhere recently online that a surprisingly high percentage of spyware on computers is spread from reputable websites; you don't have to visit the Internet's "rough ...
Mr. Jefferson's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
15k views

my.freeze.com netassistant

Does anyone knows how to get rid of my.freeze.com netassistant? I tried one million things, but this annoying spyware just won't go way....
user avatar
3 votes
6 answers
4k views

Is GMABooster real? Is it spyware?

I just found out about GMABooster for OSX which supposedly boosts performance for the Intel GMA 950 in my Mac mini. As anyone used this? Is it spyware? The site seems real but at the same time seems a ...
3 votes
2 answers
794 views

Is something wrong when the force close screen shows as empty when shutting down Windows 7?

Whenever you attempt to shut down, log off or restart windows 7 and there are some applications still working and windows can not close them nicely, Windows 7 will show a black screen that asks you if ...
user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
6k views

Is spywarehelpcenter.com a reliable resource for malware removal?

I am looking for a good resource for removing a spyware program Security Shield. I know that many resources claiming to offer help are actually just proponents of additional spyware. The article I ...
smartcaveman's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
416 views

Commercial Spyware Programs

I was reading an article based on these products and came up one question I need clarification on. According the author most antivirus software would not be able to detect the presence of a spyware or ...
vbNewbie's user avatar
  • 143
3 votes
2 answers
946 views

Is "Relevant Knowledge" spyware?

I am an advanced user, using Windows 7 with Avast! antivirus running. Today I started browsing and faced some weird popup. Upon investigation I found that "Relevant Knowledge" was running in my system....
Usman Masood's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
17k views

How can I safely close this window and forever avoid seeing similar pop-ups from Mackeeper Zeobit's malware and spyware?

The attached image shows a window that just popped up and the only button available is the OK button. I could Force quit Safari, but I've got several sites open right now and don't want to try and ...
Michael Prescott's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

How can I permanently remove a seemingly stealthy ad-ware installer?

For the past one month, there seems to have a stealth installer lingering in my computer that will automatically install malicious plugins to all my browsers. I'm not sure what installer is that and I ...
xenon's user avatar
  • 524
3 votes
1 answer
999 views

Some program itself starts and stops in a fraction of seconds.. whats that

Some program itself starts and stops in a fraction of seconds.. Yes and it happens so quickly that i am never able to see the name or even the icon of the program.. it is visible only in the taskbar,...
Hari Om's user avatar
  • 37
3 votes
1 answer
741 views

How can I configure Adobe Help so it doesn't chatter so much with Adobe's domain?

Adobe Help that came with Creative Suite 5 and/or Flash Builder Pro is constantly creating network traffic with an Adobe site, www.wip4.adobe.com In the Adobe Help application Preferences, I find ...
Michael Prescott's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
555 views

OS X rootkit/spyware scanners?

For OS X, I have discovered Rootkit Hunter recently and liked the functionality. What other rootkit/spyware scanners for OS X have been developed that are available for use?
Troggy's user avatar
  • 10.2k
3 votes
0 answers
69 views

Unknown top level window

After several months (years?) of bending myself backwards and almost going crazy I fall back to the only place I believe there could be and answer... I've had the following top level window showing ...
method's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
3 answers
15k views

Uninstall all spying updates in Windows 8.1

This page recommends to stay away from the following updates: KB2876229 # SKYPE, If you want Skype then install it. KB2923545 # RDP KB2970228 KB3035583 KB2990214 KB3021917 KB3068708 # Telemetry ...
rubo77's user avatar
  • 4,900
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Does Messenger Plus! contain any spyware?

Does anyone know if Messenger Plus contains any spyware? Is it relatively safe to install at work? Edit: For those people that are telling me to ask the IT department: I am the IT department. Some ...
7wp's user avatar
  • 1,490
2 votes
5 answers
2k views

Can I trust these programs? Are they safe? What are they really?

I found a couple programs on the desktop of my computer after another person used it. I have done some googling, but have no idea who or what I can and cannot trust. The programs in question are ...
eleven81's user avatar
  • 15.6k
2 votes
6 answers
2k views

some strange services in task manager and in msconfig/startup that I cannot close

I was trying to fix a friend's computer because it was really slow, it was working but after some 20 minutes it was starting go really slow or just freeze and I've formatted the hard drive, installed ...
Omu's user avatar
  • 855
2 votes
4 answers
788 views

Is the Ask.com toolbar installed with Java considered spyware? [closed]

I was wondering if the Ask.com toolbar is spyware. I play a game called Minecraft and it requires Java. The Java installer also installed the Ask.com toolbar. I want to play one of my favorite games ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
134 views

I gave full access to a webmaster (freelance) how do i check for malicious scripts/viruses that he could have left?

How to be sure that the website's security isn't under any risk after he has done his job? (I'm a beginner, I use Ubuntu-16.04-PHP). Thank you!
Knowledge Knight's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
425 views

How did a Malware get past Avira when it was detected by it?

I have Avira installed on my other PC. It detected a Malware, and proceeded with the usual, scan, detect, quarantine. I thought it took care of it but the Malware actually took care of Avira! Now my ...
IMB's user avatar
  • 5,503
2 votes
1 answer
233 views

Open dns still detects malware activity after having scanned and removed malware

I'm using open dns to block unwanted sites. Everytime I go to the dashboard I always see this malware activity in all of the networks that I have in open dns. What do I do?I'm using avast free, ...
Wern Ancheta's user avatar
  • 6,542
2 votes
1 answer
931 views

My home page always changes to smartwebsearch.net – is it a Trojan? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What to do if my computer is infected by a virus or a malware? Every time I change the Home page in Firefox or IE it returns back to http://www.smartwebsearch.net ? What is ...
Nour's user avatar
  • 191