• Unsolicited phone calls via unsolicited software 12/7/05
• Always read the fine print 11/30/05
• How a virtual PC can save your hide 11/23/05
• Destruction of personal property 11/16/05
• Watch your bank 11/9/05
• Nasty ads from a nasty program 11/2/05
• The unwilling spam king 10/26/05
• A Better Internet? Not really. 10/19/05
• Putting the BargainBuddy dog to sleep 10/12/05
• P2P files: you can't trust 'em 10/5/05

Download.com users are no strangers to the frightening world of spyware. Each week, we'll share a new reader tale of spyware woe, so check back frequently for each terrifying episode.

These "free" icons come at a price

When I opened AOL Instant Messenger and started chatting with friends online, I noticed my icon wasn't too appealing. So I went to a "free" AIM icon site called IMBuddy.net and downloaded an icon. Mistake number one.

After the icon installed, my entire computer locked up, but considering it was a seven-year-old Gateway, I thought this was normal. Mistake number two. This was not normal, as my computer wasn't displaying icons, a Start menu, or a taskbar. I restarted my computer, and it barely loaded. I saw loads of pop-ups and disreputable programs, including those for Virtual Bouncer and WinTools. I clicked no when asked if I wanted to install Virtual Bouncer. Mistake number three--it was a button flip. WinTools didn't bother to ask and just installed itself. I immediately ran Ad-Aware, which found about 100 keys. It said spyware processes were currently running, so I restarted and scanned before Windows loaded. This time, Ad-Aware found about 400 more keys. After Windows loaded, my computer still had unwanted programs such as MediaMotor, WinTools, and many more. I decided to perform a system restore on my computer. Mistake number four.

After the restoration, the computer was no different. So, I installed Super Ad Blocker so I could scan my computer. Before I did, I decided to watch a movie on my computer. Mistake number five.

Before I was done, the computer restarted itself. I ran over to it, logged on, and found new icons for online dating and gambling sites. I ran Super Ad Blocker's spyware-removal module. It removed all the keys, so I started using the computer again. This was mistake number six.

Certain pieces of adware kept reinstalling themselves, including WinTools, ShopAtHome, and MediaMotor. I ran Spybot - Search & Destroy, but it didn't finish its scan. When I ran SuperAdBlocker, it froze, and when I ran Ad-Aware, it immediately shut down. (I believe ShopAtHome was the program that was disabling all my antispyware tools.) This meant I had to reinstall XP. Mistake number seven. It didn't help, and the spyware was still there. My account also wouldn't work, so I had to use a guest account to log in--but when I went online, it was still pop-up after pop-up.

So I went back to IMBuddy.net, where I discovered a EULA that discloses the installation of some of the aforementioned programs. Had I known this, I would never have downloaded that icon.

--Travis
Arizona, U.S.A.

A few episodes ago, we posted a spyware horror story called "Always read the fine print" in which we discussed the importance of carefully reading user-license agreements and trolling sites for privacy policies. As you state, the site IMBuddy.net does indeed disclose the installation of several third-party programs--MediaMotor among them--in its privacy policy. (Typically, this information is all the way at the end of the privacy policy, as site owners hope you won't read that far.)

The button flip you experienced with Virtual Bouncer is one of the dirtier tricks adware and spyware vendors pull to get users to unknowingly install their software. To combat this lowbrow tactic, we suggest you attempt to close any such window rather than clicking yes or no. If you don't see an icon for closing the window, pull up your Task Manager and try to close it with that.

Otherwise, we hope you eventually found a way to clean up your extremely infested machine, and we'd suggest other users who don't want these kinds of programs on their computers steer clear of the site that infected you.

--Download.com editors

Got your own spyware horror story you'd like to share? Let us hear it.