After installing a new printer, I began to have some serious problems with freezing up. It was if my computer was possessed! (See alien!) So, I found Tech Support Guy online and one of the members began walking me through the fixing process. During a Panda virus scan, I noticed that the eAnthology software I'd downloaded for virus protection kept popping up without my having initiated it. Then everything started wacking out! It took all night to run a program! Panda detected no viruses, though eAnthology said it had one quarrantined. The person helping me at TSG told me to uninstall eAnthology and download AntiVir. AntiVir found a VBS/Newlove.A virus and I deleted the file to rid it.
Since doing so, I was going to contact eAnthology to get them to stop charging me for their service, and found reports online about them being Adware and not a legitimate anti-virus! My question is: what exactly IS adware, what are the dangers in it, and how can I be sure eAnthology isn't going to hide somewhere in my computer and wreak havoc!? Anyone have answers to this or experiences with eAnthology?

I do not personally have experience with eAnthology, but Adware is software that is generally free but delivers ads to your computer when using that program. The problem though is that many adware programs now deliver ads to your computer, when you are not using the original program.

There are no dangers per se in adware itself, as it is only a mechanism of delivery ads to your computer, but rather in the way this software is installed on your computer. A lot of adware these days is installed without your knowledge and can take control of your internet explorer browsing experience.

There are ways of detecting whether or not eAnthology is still on your computer after you uninstall it. If you have uninstalled it and want us to check, you can post a HijackThis log and for this particular piece of adware we can see if it is still running.

You can find a tutorial on how to use hijackthis here:

How to use HijackThis to remove Browser Hijackers & Spyware

I hope this answers your questions

I just ran across Stop-Sign again today after months. Well out of pure curiosity, i accepted their challenge to SCAN my PC online, but guess what? They download their program, stealthily. You must be careful when you follow their configuration steps, thats when the program can ADD all the little extra's. Its no big deal though, you can sweep their download back off your computer with no problem & forget about them. I do feel its a cheap shot to entice you for a FREE ON-LINE SCAN which turns into an AUTHENTIC REAL-TIME DOWNLOAD on your system. Take Care & Be Cautious & Aware!