Antivirus Spyware

Antivirus spyware is spyware that passes itself off as a spyware remover. The internet explorer antivirus, otherwise known as the IE antivirus, is yet again, a rogue spyware remover. This fake spyware software will annoy you with incessant pop ups saying that your computer is infected with spyware and that you need to download some programs to clean it all up. You can pick this spyware up from various spots on the web.

-One big area is if you are trying to watch movies that were just released online. Some sites are pretty safe, but sometimes you'll pick something up in a download or viewing.

-You may open a file in a media player, and you may need to download and additional fake codes is a real spyware program designed to spy on the user.

-If you are or were using internet explorer, spyware may have infiltrated your system through a weakness in the ActiveX controls. In past experience, I have found that internet explorer has been very weak to spyware, malware and adware because of this weakness in the ActiveX controls. Firefox is probably your best bet for defending against this threat. Chrome is also a good choice.

-A good thing about Firefox is that it will actively protect your computer when you visit a known bad or malicious website. Before it shows you the content, it warns you that you are about to view a known bad site that may possibly contain spyware and or malicious programs.

-You can pick up an antivirus spyware program like IE antivirus from accidentally being redirected to a known bad website. Known as browser hijacking, the IE antivirus program commonly uses this as a vector to infect your computer.

A big sign to tip you off is if you are getting a lot of pop ups while you are not browsing the internet. These pop ups are likely from the antivirus spyware showing you a scan and a link for you to download some other bogus software.

A computer containing this antivirus spyware is running a big risk. The spyware is constantly collecting information,slowing your processing speed and internet connection. To remove the virus manually would be a complicated procedure involving tampering with the registry in your computer.

I recommend a spyware blocker such as Spyware Doctor and a registry cleaner such as Registry Mechanic.  Both are made by PC Tools and are excellent at what they do.