Like Trojan programs, spyware secretly installs itself when you download software like shareware or freeware programs, or visit an unscrupulous website (not all shareware and freeware programs install spyware, but with the correct tools installed, you will know if they do).  Spyware is capable of tracking your movements online and delivers ads based on where you surf. Pop Up advertisements proliferate on the Internet, your Web browser gets more cluttered, and can even be completely obscured by "pop-up" advertising windows. Intrusive advertising can hinder your browsing, and some ads even set cookies and run damaging scripts... Fortunately, there are tools that can protect you: For example,  ZoneAlarm Pro 5.0 blocks Pop Up advertisements by default, and the free utility Spybot Search and Destroy will detect and kill spyware programs.

The parasite (adware/spyware) test online

Click on this link (opens in a new window), this will launch the parasite test (javascript), then read the results below detection script. If your computer is infected they will tell you how to uninstall the parasite.

You might prefer to download and install Spybot Search and Destroy, though, as it is much more simple to use and can detect much more unwanted programs; the parasite pages often only tells you how to remove the parasites manually, meaning editing the registry, typing dos commands, etc. Spybot Search and Destroy allows you to programmatically deleted parasites, and restore registry settings if the deletions cause problems for your system.

Shortcut : test your computer.

Tricks and Free Popups-Killer

An easy way to kill popups is by hitting ALT + F4 on your keyboard. Press them simultaneously and it will immediately close the active window. Do it fast enough, and you'll be able to close very fast opening popups.

You might find some windows that you cannot close with AFT+F4, try another shortcut : control + w. If you still can't close them, use control + ALT + Del to open the task manager to select and kill the application manually.

But, if you prefer, we found that Google (the world's #1 search engine) has included a great popups-killer with its latest toolbar : Google Bar. With it you will be able to stop popups entirely, or allow popups only from specific sites (white list). Best of all, it is 100% free, and does not require any form of enrollment.

Installation is extremely easy and only takes a few seconds : click here to visit Google Bar's Homepage and install it.

For a detailed help regarding their popups-blocker ability, just visit this page : Google Bar Popups Help.