Spyware - Remove it Now. Dec 24, 2001 Lavasoft has released version 4.55 of it spy removal program Ad-aware. This program is still freeware and is generally acknowledged as the best program of its type currently available. Lavasoft defines spyware as: "a synonym for advertising systems, which secretly uses your internet connection to download banner-ads or send various user data to an companies server - with or without knowledge of the user". If you have been sufing the net for more than a few months you have likely picked up at least one of the ad programs we are talking about. Ad-aware 4.55 goes after the following types of spyware: Aureate,Timesink, CometCursor,Cydoor, Gator, Web3000, Flyswat, Alexa, Adware, Doubleclick, Weblancer and DSSAgent. Some of this stuff gets on you computer when you are just surfin around (CometCursor is one example) - just a quick yes to a popup window and whiz bang it all yours. Other varieties get on your computer when you try out a so called freeware program that is really an adware program. When you decide to uninstall the host application (the freeware), in many cases, the spyware will remain active on your system even after the deinstall is done for the host application. This is where Ad-aware 4.55 comes in; it hunts down these left - over spyware programs and get rids of them for you. For the most part people are not aware of the fact that they install an "advertising parasite" when they installed the "freeware" host application. It is also seems clear that this spyware may cost your privacy or at least bandwith and cpu ressources. Given that non-adware freeware programs that perform the same functions are almost always available - it seems prudent to use them instead. You can get more information by tapping into the Ad-aware forum at: http://www.morelerbe.com/cgi-bin/ubb-cgi/Ultimate.cgi You can download Ad-aware 4.55 at: http://www.lavasoft.de/