Spyware & Adware

Spyware & Adware are growing problems that effect many Parkland College students.

What are Spyware & Adware?

According to the Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Spyware is defined as:

any software that covertly gathers information about a user while he/she navigates the Internet and transmits the information to an individual or company that uses it for marketing or other purposes; also called adware

How does this effect me?

Spyware can effect the functioning of your computer. At the very least it uses system resources better used elsewhere. In many cases, it can disrupt access to web sites, including Parkland sites such as Student Email.

What are the symptoms of Spyware?

The symptoms of spyware vary by what kind it is. Some will simply help marketers track what web sites you visit. Others will open pop-up windows even when you aren't using a web browser. Others will take over the search functions of the browser.

The most common problem that effects Parkland students is that when they try to log into the Student Email system, they receive a message saying that "No search results found".

What can I do to remove Spyware?

There are a variety of programs that claim to remove Spyware. In our experience, the best are SpyBot - Search & Destroy and AdAware. SpyBot is free, and AdAware is availble free for non-commercial use.

Where can I download them from?

SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.3	Home page	Parkland Download
AdAware 6.0 Personal	Home page	Parkland Download

How do I use these applications?

SpyBot provides an online tutorial on how to use the software. AdAware provides online help by clicking on the Help button on the left side of the screen.