spyware "hits"

[George]

I'm learning about spyware and so forth, am using a WinXP-pro PC and just
installed Adaware, for starters. Also using the typical router/firewall
arrangement.

Ok, so when a scan comes back with line items like look like this typical
one...

[ ] Tracking IE Cached Data Miner
Cookie:[email protected] 42 hits


1) What does 42 hits mean?

2) Is the "cookie" a file that is in 42 places on my PC?

3) Is the "cookie" something that sent itself to adserver.com 42 times since
it got placed?

4) Is the "cookie" something that adserver.com "retrieved" by automatically
calling up my PC 42 times and asking for some sort of info?

5) What sort of info could adserver.com get? Is there a file somewhere that
contains something it looks at? How many places can adserver.com "look at"
on my PC...like certain folders only or certain files only or run ramshod
thru the PC?

 

[melvin cotterill]

Hello George;
Multum in parvo.
Sincerely
Melvin

 

[D.Currie]

I'm learning about spyware and so forth, am using a WinXP-pro PC and just
installed Adaware, for starters. Also using the typical router/firewall
arrangement.

Ok, so when a scan comes back with line items like look like this typical
one...

[ ] Tracking IE Cached Data Miner Cookie:[email protected]
42 hits


1) What does 42 hits mean?

2) Is the "cookie" a file that is in 42 places on my PC?

3) Is the "cookie" something that sent itself to adserver.com 42 times
since it got placed?

4) Is the "cookie" something that adserver.com "retrieved" by
automatically calling up my PC 42 times and asking for some sort of info?

5) What sort of info could adserver.com get? Is there a file somewhere
that contains something it looks at? How many places can adserver.com
"look at" on my PC...like certain folders only or certain files only or
run ramshod thru the PC?

Usually, if you click on the item in question, the spyware removal program
will provide whatever data it has on a particular piece of spyware. The help
file for the program should provide a description of what its results mean.

Cookies are files on your computer and are not necessarily bad, but they can
be. Some cookies are useful to you, so you don't have to enter the same info
every time you visit a particular website. I've found that Ad-Aware is
pretty reliable about sorting the bad stuff from the good, so unless this is
just a matter of curiosity, you can just delete everything AdAware finds and
not look into every detail.

If you're that curious about one item, I'm guessing you didn't find a lot.
Most computers I clean out have average infestations of 300-500
files/entries/folders/etc. I've had more than a few with over 1000 bugs.
With that many, there's no way I'm going to look up each one and see what it
does. I just delete them, and keep cleaning.