Free Gamhelper -- No Gaming Matter
Out of the blue I started getting pop-ups and pop-unders all of them pointing to ads.free-windows-games.com, otherwise known as Free GamHelper. I did some research and found out that I was infected with a program that is both adware and browser helper object.
Adware is a program that was written to assist advertisers in getting their advertisements directly to you. Pop ups are the most common form of this directed advertising, but it can also occur in the form of pop-unders, banner ads, and floating advertisements. Adware programs are known to hog your computer's resources. Both your processing power and your bandwidth are severely slowed, leading to a slower computer and Internet. Adware usually gets on your computer from being in a software bundle. That means that you intend to download and install one program, but extra stuff gets installed when you run the installation of the program you wanted.
Browser helper objects, also called BHOs, usually take the form of toolbars, but are known to not show up at all. They usually look like an added search bar when they appear as a toolbar. Browser helper objects are known to change your Internet Explorer settings such as your start page and default search page, as well as hijacking your search results. It is rare that a browser helper object is installed on its own. It is usually part of a bundle and is installed on your computer without you knowing about it until after the fact. Browser helper objects are also known for monitoring your web browsing activity and sending that information to a remote server so the ads you get are more "targeted" to your interests.
Through research I discovered that to remove Free GamHelper you need to have an anti-spyware program. I discovered there are a couple problems with this. The first problem is that there are a lot of programs that pretend to be anti-spyware when in fact they are really spyware programs themselves. The second problem is when you do finally find an anti-spyware program it may not do the job. Most anti-spyware programs only remove 80-90% of an infection often times leaving you still infected. There are anti-spyware programs out there that will remove 100%, you just have to look for them. Make sure to check for awards from places like Tucows and WUGNET, which are recognized in the computer industry as only being given to superior programs.
About the Author:Carl runs a site devoted to helping you rid your computer from all sorts of spyware and malware at http://www.spyzooka.com/
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Free Gamhelper -- No Gaming Matter