Spyware Also known as Adware

Introduction Identify Spyware, and the common problems they cause Provide customer with the information they need to correct the problem and prevent future issues

Topics of Discussion What exactly is Spyware? What problems can Spyware cause? Detecting Spyware Removing Spyware

Spyware? What’s that?  Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection, usually for advertising purposes  Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability  In many cases, customer may have several, even dozens of different spyware programs running at once, all without their knowledge

Detecting Spyware Startup Tab in MSCONFIG Poor Performance System Lock-ups and crashes Error messages Use Search Engines to look up program filenames

Removing Spyware Spyware Removal Tools Ad-Aware (

Real Life Customer is experiencing slow performance, lock-ups, error messages or other problems that have no apparent resolution Most customers do NOT want to have their hard drives erased Drive Customer Experience by offering alternatives and arming customers with the information they need

What This Means By reducing or eliminating the spyware on the customer’s machine, you can often resolve the problem without resorting to an OS re-install Reduce handle times and callbacks Increase Care metrics and preventing customer calling back

Next Steps Do what is right for the customer Stay current on the common spyware programs If you are unsure, use Techchat and get a second opinion Ad-Aware download is <1MB and will fit on a floppy disk