Using Anti-Spy

What Is Anti-Spy?

Anti-Spy is the AT&T Yahoo! solution for detecting and removing spyware and adware on your computer. It scans your computer to find spyware and adware and lets you decide what to remove and what to add to the Allow List.

What Is Spyware?

"Spyware" generally refers to hidden programs running on your computer that track and communicate your online activities without your knowledge or consent. Some malicious spyware programs can log everything you type on the keyboard and transmit this information back to an unauthorized user. At minimum, this could be embarrassing; at worst, it could open you up to identity theft. "Adware" can record your surfing habits, display annoying pop-up windows, or change your home page without your consent. Both spyware and adware can drag down your computer's performance as they run processes beyond your view.

How Does Spyware Get on My Computer?

You can unintentionally acquire spyware or adware programs when you install software from disks or download free programs for file-sharing or music-swapping. You can also install spyware without realizing it while surfing the Web, if it is disguised as a program that is beneficial to your browsing experience. Some companies use misleading advertisements to automatically begin installing their spyware programs.

Regardless of how these programs get on your computer, they are typically easy to install but difficult to locate and remove. Anti-Spy helps simplify the removal process, so you can take back control of your PC.

As described in the Using the Online Protection Dashboard tutorial, you can see when the last Anti-Spy scan was performed, run a scan, and check for updates from the Online Protection Dashboard.