Advertising Cleaner 2.0 - User Guide and FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - Advertising Cleaner

1. What is Spyware?
   Spyware are small programs that run in the background on your PC. They 'hide' themselves from the user and perform tasks that typically invade your privacy, they do literally 'spy' on you, and can make it difficult for you to find and remove them. These spyware programs come bundled with free downloadable programs from the internet (such as Kazaa, Imesh or even Cuteftp). The reason these programs are free to you is because advertising companies pay the developer of the program to put their spyware within it.
   
   
2. How does Spyware get in my computer?
   Spyware applications are usually downloaded and installed together with various free programs - the most common are file-sharing applications. Spyware now comes with about 900 different applications (including Kazaa, Bearshare, Real Player, Cuteftp) and the number is always rising.
   
   
3. What can spyware do?
   Some spyware programs display pop-up adverts, interfering with your browsing. Others are more serious - they can log everything you type (keyloggers) then send the results to a company without your knowledge or approval. Yes, this means they can read all your private emails, find out what sites you visit, and even what are your passwords. Most of these spyware programs are badly written, let's face it, they don't care about you or your computer, as long as they get the information they want off you. Therefore, they can cause your computer to crash regularly or weaken your security, thus making it easier for hackers to attack your computer.
   
   
4. Can't I just uninstall the software which came with Spyware?
   You would think that uninstalling the original program would remove the Spyware it came with. In some cases it will - but you can't be sure - these people are scum and they want to steal any information they can get off you, it's worth money to them, that's all that matters. Programming a proper uninstall for their own Spyware software is not in their interest, so don't count on it. AdvertisingCleaner can help you detect and shut down spyware applications directly.