This blog is being posted to alert you to some very malicious and aggressive spyware. 

It seems there is no such thing as safe surfing anymore. According to one expert, one of every thousand pages on the web are infected with some type of spyware.  Neither the website owner nor the victim of the spyware even know that they have been infected!

It is more important than ever to have a good Anti-Virus program. In addition, however, you need to be sure you are protected from spyware as well. Because there are thousands upon thousands of spywares, no one product can fully protect you.

To me, spyware used to mean an innocent "little bugger" was watching what I surfed on the Internet and then sent me advertisements and pop-up ads that would appeal to me based on my web browsing. That may have been true at one time, but not any longer.

One of my assistants was infected with a Trojan (spyware) from the Zlob family. This particular spyware is very aggressive and malicious. It can hijack your homepage, hijack your search engine and it can hijack your IP Address as well.  This Trojan will change your dynamic network settings, taking control of your web browser and search engine. It will also block Windows updates and downloads as well as updates from your Anti-Virus provider.

After running several reliable and reputable spyware removal products (some free, some purchased) the Trojan remained and became progressively more malicious. This Trojan even knows when you are trying to remove it and it can be very vengeful!  While trying to remove the spyware via a removal tool, this Trojan crashed Windows which, in turn, "fried" the computer's mother board. 

After purchasing a new computer, my assistant found that as soon as she clicked on Internet Explorer, the culprit was back. Her IP Address had been hijacked so, even though she had a new computer and the computer was not infected, the Trojan still had control.

I am going to cut to the chase here as the details are like a Halloween movie - long and gory.

My assistant called a very reputable anti-virus company with a fine reputation and a great product for assistance. After 21 hours of intense system checks and fixes, the problem could not be corrected. By the way, the assistance from this company was not free, there was a charge of $99.

My assistant then called another anti-virus company. The problem was resolved in a matter of minutes and it was FREE! Who was able to provide the magic cure? Microsoft!

Microsoft provides free support to any Windows user experiencing a Virus or Spyware problem. For some reason, this is not a well known fact and the various computer service providers are certainly not sharing this information.

To be sure you are not infected with a virus or spyware, go to www.safety.live.com. This is a Microsoft site and provides a free scan that not only removes viruses and spyware, it will also check your registry keys and your hard drive for any problems. 

If you have a virus or spyware issue that is not resolved, then just call 1-866-PCSAFETY.

Don't suffer needlessly. Write that phone number down and save this site to your Favorites. You will be glad you did.

By the way, my assistant paid over $400 purchasing products and paying for the computer repairs that were recommended by the experts. She had to buy a new computer. No one was able to help or provide an answer until she found Microsoft's FREE service.