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“5 Ways to Give Your Web Site a Big-Company Look and Feel”
We all DO judge a book by its cover, and the same saying goes for Web sites. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs offer great information on their Web pages, but compromise their image dramatically with a few amateur mistakes that can be VERY unforgiving. ...
Can I Hear Your Web Site?
A web site makes great eye candy, but can your web site engage senses other than sight? Believe it or not, there are actually companies working to add smell and taste to your web sites and emails! For fun, check out www.trisenx.com . At this...
Security in Today's World
There are many things in life that are worth protecting. Our children, our valuables, our resources and of course, ourselves. Only twenty years ago, if security was mentioned, you were speaking of protecting your home. And you were most likely...
Seecrets On Security: A Gentle Introduction On Cryptography Part 2
The recent explosive growth of PC's and Internet-based commerce has significantly increased the need for a wide variety of computer security mechanisms. This article, the second of a three-part series, lays the underlying foundation in plain...
Why Your Online Advertising Traffic Leaves as Soon as It Arrives
****By placing this creative work in a website, newsletter, or publishing or distributing it in any way, you agree to be bound by the terms of the following license. If you do not agree, do not publish or distribute this article. Modifications...
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Remove Rogue Desktop Icons Created By Spyware
If you have used a Windows machine for a while, whether it's Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows 98, you're sure to have noticed desktop icons appearing from out of nowhere. How can icons mysteriously emerge on your Windows desktop?
1. When you buy a computer, many vendors place icons to selected products and services on your desktop, such as links to high-speed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or add-on services vendors think you may need.
2. As you install software on your Windows machine, icons may appear, either to start the application or link to the manufacturer's website. Installing just one program could add three or more icons to your desktop!
3. It's easy to accidentally drag a Favorite, bookmark, text file, or other icon to your desktop, creating an icon.
Normally, it's easy to delete Windows desktop icons. Just place your mouse pointer on the offending icon, then right-click it and choose "Delete", clicking "Yes" to confirm if prompted.
However, what if the rogue icons are for adult websites, unfamiliar search engines, or other websites you don't recall visiting? You may try removing these icons but get an error, or after removal they still reappear again and again and again!
If so, then more than likely spyware, adware, or other malware has infected your machine. It may have been through file trading software, an inadvertent "yes" click when a popup window asked you to install software, 'freeware' that included adware, or other means. To remove the rogue icons, you need to remove the malware creating these icons.
Removing spyware and adware can be a time-consuming process, fraught with potential disaster as it is possible to accidentally remove files that render your operating system unusable. However, the following software products can help with this process as long as you read the instructions carefully, make backups, and get expert advice
if you're not completely sure about removing what they ask you to do:
* Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.com/
* Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/
* Pest Patrol: http://www.pestpatrol.com/
* Spybot Search and Destroy: http://safer-networking.org/
* Spy Sweeper: http://www.webroot.com/
So, how can you prevent these icons from appearing in the first place? Practice safe computing.
* Backup your machine. If it does get infected to the point of being unusable, at least you won't lose all your important files.
* Install security-related operating system updates so spyware and adware cannot enter your system through well-known exploits.
* Download or buy a virus scanner, and keep it updated! Virus scanners cannot detect all spyware, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Check online or visit your local computer software store.
* Purchase a hardware or software firewall, and keep it updated! Firewalls help protect your computer from common exploits that spyware or adware can use to infect your machine.
* Consider using a different web browser. Though it is not perfect, Mozilla Firefox at http://www.mozilla.org is currently less susceptible to spyware than Internet Explorer, mainly because it lacks certain technology (such as ActiveX) that is often exploited by malware writers. Note that depending on your web use, certain websites may not work correctly with other web browsers.
By practicing safe computing and using spyware-removal software, you can help remove rogue desktop icons from your desktop and keep others from appearing.
About the Author
Andrew Malek is the owner of the MalekTips computer and technology help site at http://www.malektips.com . Visit his anti-spyware page at http://malektips.com/spyware/ for more advice on removing adware, spyware, and other malware.
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