The Mystery of Unwanted Programs

Unwanted and unexpected software installs are a big sign that your computer system has likely been hacked.

In the early days of malware, most programs were computer viruses, which work by modifying other legitimate programs. They did this to better hide themselves. For whatever reason, most malware programs these days are Trojans and worms, and they typically install themselves just like legitimate programs. This may be because their creators are trying to walk a very thin line when the courts catch up to them. They can attempt to say something like, "But we are a legitimate software company."

Very often the unwanted software is legally installed by other programs, so you must take the time to read your license agreements. Frequently, I see license agreements that plainly state that they will be installing one or more other programs. Most of the time you can opt out of these other installed programs; other times you can not. The programs that do not allow you to opt out of other software should not be installed.

What to do: There are many free programs that show you all your installed programs and let you selectively disable them. The hard part is determining what is and what is not legitimate. When in doubt, disable the unrecognized program, reboot the PC, and re-enable the program only if some needed functionality is no longer working.