Learn how to take the bite out of Gator.

Gator is a program that bills itself as the ultimate tool for helping you fill out Web forms. It automatically senses when you've arrived at a Web form and it completes it with the click of a mouse. But, as Roger and Chris will tell you on today's episode of "Call for Help," Gator is really nothing more than insidious spyware.

What is spyware?

To offset production costs many developers bundle third-party applications inside their free programs. This lets them provide you with new program versions and updates without going bankrupt. The good news is you get access to free software. The bad news is it may come with spyware.

Spyware is a piece of software that attempts to "call home" or communicate with a remote server. Spyware is becoming synonymous mostly with marketing companies that track your surfing habits so they can customize and serve you ads specifically suited to your tastes. Some forms of spyware even use your computer's Internet connection to deliver ads to other users on the Internet.

You should always do your homework when installing a free piece of software on your system. The best place to find out what you're loading on your system is the program's end user license agreement (EULA). When you install a bundled program on your system it should have its own EULA. The next time you're presented with a license agreement, don't proceed without reading it.

How does Gator work?

Once you install Gator on your system it becomes part of the Gator Advertising Information Network (GAIN). Gator is one piece of what GAIN refers to as GAINware. This includes software programs, websites, online services, and other properties designed to deliver advertising and information.

Gator maintains that it doesn't record personal data, such as user IDs, pass words, home addresses, or phone numbers, because this information is stored on your computer.

Instead, Gator collects which webpages your computer views and how much time you spend at those sites, your response to the ads it displays, the software on your computer, your first name, your country, your five-digit ZIP code, and your system settings. Along with all this data collection, it also periodically installs additional updates.

Get rid of Gator

You may not have realized it at the time of installation, but many popular file-sharing programs install Gator. If you don't mind Gator on your system and actually find it useful, then there's no reason to remove it. Just remember that it's your privacy and bandwidth that'll be compromised. On the other hand, if you don't like being bombarded with ads while you go about your business on the Internet, then it's time to take the bite out of Gator.

Removing Gator isn't hard, but it requires downloading a program called Ad-aware. This program scours your computer inside and out, checking for any known spyware or "adware" components. Ad-aware gives you the option to delete anything it finds and remove it from your system.

Once you install Gator on your system it slowly begins to download the rest of its components from a remote server. For this reason, Gator may or may not show up in your Add/Remove Programs dialog box. But that box is still the best place to start.

Here's how to remove Gator using the Add/Remove Programs dialog box:
  1. Single-click the Start Menu, mouse over Settings, and then single-click the Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
  3. Locate "Gator eWallet" and click on it.
  4. Click the Remove button.


The next step is to download and install Ad-aware (if you didn't already). Ad-aware will clean up any leftover pieces or allow you to remove it in its entirety if it didn't show up in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box.

Here's how to use Ad-aware to remove Gator:

  1. Launch Ad-aware.
  2. Under "Sections to scan," place a check mark next to My Computer.
  3. Single-click the "Scan now" button.
  4. If Gator was removed from your computer already, then you should have about five remaining entries to delete. If it's still installed on your system, then Ad-aware should find about 50 or more entries to delete.
  5. Place check marks next to each entry marked "Gator."
  6. Single-click the Continue button.
  7. Click OK.