Helping Hands Help ThemselvesHelping Hands Help Themselves
A slew of self-described anti-spyware vendors have surfaced on the Web, but they may be more interested in making money off you than ridding your computer of malware.

Be careful of those who offer to help. A slew of self-described anti-spyware vendors have surfaced on the Web, but they may be more interested in making money off you than ridding your computer of malware, say spyware critics and the Federal Trade Commission, which polices the industry.
These vendors have Web sites with bold, alarmist headlines that claim that nine in 10 PCs are infected with spyware. Pop-ups from these vendors mimic Microsoft operating systems' anti-spyware security alerts, scaring users into buying a program to fix the problem. Some use pop-up ads disguised as a system warning that claims a PC is infected with spyware and offers to test it immediately. They always seem to find spyware and offer--for a price--to rid the machine of the malware, warning of dire consequences if the user doesn't accept the offer. And some of their tactics are questionable. PSGuard and WorldAntiSpy at their Web sites promise a free scan of a user's computer to see if it's infested with spyware, but the link takes users to an ActiveX interface that downloads their software instead of running a scan.
It's worth checking on how difficult it is to contact a vendor offering assistance. One site, SpyAxe, says it's based in Cyprus, but there's no contact information on its Web pages. The link for the latest news takes users to a download page, not the stories touted. Other sites are just as mysterious about their principals and where they're located. SpySheriff gives a London address but no phone number. And many of these sites serve as relabeled versions of one another. SpywareStrike and SpyAxe use the same testimonials from happy users who are only identified by first names and states; only the product name is changed to protect the guilty.
Photo illustration by Anastasia Vasilakis
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