The spyware that loved me

For weeks I had been investigating companies that claimed to offer spyware-fighting software but secretly distribute spyware or other advertising apps along with their products . Because I wanted to put myself in the shoes of the average computer user, I deliberately let down my protections to load the applications in question. Not the swiftest decision, I was told by the IT technician who hauled away my machine to reimage the hard drive. After weeks of headaches that got worse and worse, the machine started surreptitiously pumping viruses onto the corporate network.

I had an idea something was amiss when ordinary Web browsing got weird. I don't typically use Internet Explorer, so pop-up windows aren't a problem. Suddenly they became a fact of life. Immediately after installing the software in question, I began seeing new windows for a site offering to give me new "Smiley" icons for Yahoo Messenger. Whenever I used Google, a site called Zesty Find oh-so-helpfully popped up in front of whatever I was really trying to find.

Before long, new toolbars showed up--unasked for--on my screen. Most provided links to other little-known search tools, like Search Web Now and--again--Zesty Find. One of them, which I still can't figure out how to get out of my Internet Explorer browser, seems to be named "zooootrllpq." And no, that's not a tropical beetle.

Read Full Story