Darlene Downloaded a Screen Saver from Freeze Com
I downloaded a screen saver from Freeze.com two days ago and while the screen saver is great - my computer crashed this morning. This is a new computer and should not have any problems because I have Avast, Kerio Firewall & Spysweeper on my computer. Does this have anything to do with Freeze.com? If so, will I have a problem deleting it completely when I use the add/remove a program? Thank you for your help...I love your newsletters and wait for them every week. Keep up the great work! Darlene

Answer 
We cannot tell you why your computer crashed, but adware/spyware programs are one of the biggest causes of computer crashes and other computer problems.

Since you mentioned the screen saver you downloaded from Freeze.com, perhaps you're already guessing this may have had something to do with your computer problems. Freeze dot Com is a known purveyor of adware and bundled spyware/adware applications. Like most adware/spyware they lure you in with promises of "free" software amid false statements like "No Spyware" - which is a matter of interpretation. Since Freeze is a well-known bundler of adware spyware products, we'd advise that you update your Spysweeper program immediately and do a "full" scan (not a quick scan) and allow SpySweeper to scan your entire computer. Before you run any kind of scan with SpySweeper, make sure you have the latest version of SpySweeper and that you have the most current spyware definitions. It would be very strange if Spysweeper didn't find oodles of questionable things on your computer if you've completed the installation of one of Freeze's screen savers (or anything else they offer).

Remember that Avast is an anti-virus program not an anti-spyware or anti-adware program. Never rely on an anti-virus program to protect you from spyware. Kerio is a firewall and it would not necessarily detect anything installed by Freeze. In fact, when you installed the screen saver, Kerio might have popped up and asked you if you wanted to allow the application to connect to the Internet and you might have innocently said "yes" figuring it would not run correctly unless you gave it permission. Again, firewalls are not anti-spyware or anti-adware applications.

We don't have any applications by Freeze.com installed but just looking at their license agreement and privacy policy, you can certainly expect that removing any applications made by Freeze.com using Add or Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel will not remove everything that these applications install. You should always use the Control Panel to remove the main parts of the application but you should run an updated anti-spyware program to ferret out the junk these kinds of programs invariably leave behind.

Additional Information about Freeze.com

You might also be interested to learn how Freeze.com while giving away "free" software pays affiliates (anyone) $1.00 for each person they can convince to install Freeze.com screen savers on their computers:

Get paid for promoting our spectacular FREE Freeze.com Screen Savers.  Your payout is $1.00 per completed U.S. install and $0.10 per completed International install. Click for Details & Demo

 Accurate Real-Time Reporting
- Multi-Tier Payouts - 10% Direct Referrals - 5% Indirect Referrals
- Free Content Including Clip Art, Icons, Photos, & Wallpaper!

Join Today, and your first check will arrive within 60 days!

(The above is verbatim from http://www.freezecoldcash.com/ )

So, think about it: They give away these screen savers and pay someone $1.00 for inducing others to download them. So, if these screen savers are really free, how do they afford to pay $1.00 to affiliate for convincing people to put these screen savers on their computers? This shows you the tremendous amount of money companies can make with adware/spyware programs.

Here are some interesting articles about  "Freeze.com".

http://www.download.com/Spyware-Center/1200-2023-5150469.html

http://blog.siteadvisor.com/2006/01/the_role_of_affiliates_in_spyw.html
See Case Study

http://freewarewiki.pbwiki.com/ScreenSaverDotCom

Finally, for those of you interested in truly free screen savers, we have dozens at http://thundercloud.net/screensavers/ .