Drive-by Download

A drive-by download is a program that gets installed on your computer – all without your knowledge or consent. Most often the purpose of a drive-by download is to install some form of malware on your computer, be it adware or spyware. Click here to see if you have been the unfortunate recipient of a drive-by download.

How does a drive-by download work?

There are several ways a drive-by download can get on your computer. One way is through a pop-up ad on the internet. Many times the pop-up box pretends to be a legitimate error message from your computer, tricking the user into clicking one of the buttons. Other times the dialog box will ask if the user wants to install something on the computer – and whether you check “yes” or “no” the drive-by download will be installed on your computer.

Another way the drive-by download can be installed on your computer is simply by visiting a web site. The creators of the programs take advantage of known flaws or holes in popular applications to get it onto your computer. Free music sharing sites, free screensavers, or free game sites are places where you might run into a drive-by download.

A third way you can become a victim of a drive-by download is by reading an email message in HTML text.

Are drive-by downloads harmful?

For the most part drive-by downloads are not harmful, just annoying. In these cases it’s an adware program that gets installed on your computer. The program monitors your internet habits and generates pop-up ads based on your previous surfing history. In other cases the drive-by download is accompanied by a Trojan Horse designed to exploit other security holes on your computer.

How do I protect my computer from these programs?

There are several things you can do to protect yourself and your PC from a drive by download.

Change your email settings so you’ll read your messages in plain text format instead of HTML.
Set your internet browser settings to the highest levels of security.
Use a pop-up blocker to prevent the fake message boxes from even being displayed on your screen.
Use a good anti-spyware program like Webroot Spy Sweeper to give you real time protection against a drive-by download and to clean any adware or spyware programs that have been installed on your PC without your knowledge.