Newsletter November 2006

Snoopy Lives on Your PC

by Shane Boyle

Team Lead/Silver Team

Where do annoying “pop-up” windows come from on my computer?  This is a very common phrase heard by our Service Desk throughout a normal day on the Convergence Service Desk. Most of us are aware that we live in an invasive environment today where there is more information about each of us than we might care to share. When it comes to pop-ups as they are called, they usually lead to a diagnosis that is called “spyware.” Spyware can be classified as an infection that is a lot like a computer virus. Both viruses and spyware share a lot of the same characteristics.

Here are some comparisons:

Characteristics Spyware Viruses
Small software programs loaded onto your PC with or without your knowledge. + +
Software that has been written with the intent to replicate or destroy data if removed. + +
The security of PC’s, laptops, and networks are compromised when unchecked. + +
Intended to report specific habits or marketing information of a user. + -
Can affect the performance of hardware. + +


You can see that spyware and viruses share a lot of similar characteristics. However, the purpose of spyware, unlike most viruses, is to collect private information about the computer user. The recipients of that information have any number of intended purposes, one of which includes selling or marketing any number of goods through the insidious pop-up window.   It’s not the best of news for our customers, but unfortunately it is a reality in today’s computing environment.

Now that you know a little about the motives of spyware, the next logical question is:  How do I end up with this unwanted software on my computer? The most common sources are Internet pages that have been specifically designed to install software with or without your permission. Another common source comes from enticing, but dangerous free software downloads. Those downloads are very inviting and include toolbars, screen savers, instant messaging, or marketing promotions. The Internet is a wonderful market place with great things for the unassuming patron. But, the Internet also has a dark side where spyware lives.

Here’s the biggest problem with spyware: Once it finds its way onto your computer, the effects can manifest themselves in slow boot up times, unusually slow performance in your software applications, or random web page pop-ups. In the most extreme cases, spyware can render a computer unable to access your company’s network or the Internet. Spyware can also drastically reduce Convergence’s ability to work on your computer remotely and repair in a timely fashion. All of this happens because of the intended objective of spyware. That is: the silent collection of your personal information and the compromise of the security of your company’s network. Not all instances of spyware result in these extreme examples. But, we all know how annoying it is when our computers don’t operate as fast as they should.

At first glance, the removal of spyware may seem as if it should not be difficult, because it’s a program that simply needs to be uninstalled. On the contrary, removing spyware has significant work flow and financial impact on businesses. There are three main losses of productivity issues regarding spyware:

Spyware infections can be difficult and time consuming to remove due to their self replicating design and a lack of mature tools to aid in their removal. Two hours of down time for an employee can be a costly price to pay for an incident that can be avoided.

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What People Are Saying

“I appreciate the technicians’ patience and respect when walking me through something that seems so simple to them (I’m sure), but NEVER once have they EVER made me feel dumb—just the opposite in fact. I love everyone there…thank you for making what could be an impossible nightmare for a computer illiterate, such as myself, a breeze!”
Karin Boggess, Tucker Capital