Is this spyware?

And what can my client's customer do?

[dickbaker]

I have a site for a real estate-related company. Everything has been fine since it went up.

Today, I got a call from a person at the company saying that one of their customers was having a problem. It seems that when she goes to any page on the site and puts here cursor over a realty-related word ("mortgage," for example), the word is highlighted and there's a little message along with a link to a competitor's site. The spyware program, if that's what it is, is concentrating on certain keywords.

I've heard of spyware, but never heard of something like this. I've had a number of people check out the site on their computers, and nobody else has this problem.

Is this indeed spyware and, if so, what should I suggest to my client?

Thanks much for any replies.

[Shannon Moore]

I don't know if it classifies as "spyware", but it's definitely a parasite.

Your client needs to download and run AdAware (free version's fine), and/or Spybot (more complex; I've only recently started using it, in addition to AdAware). There's also a free app called HijackThis that's been recommended on Webmaster World before.

[henry0]

I will add spybot seach and destroy SSD

I use SSD and hijackthis; what a great combo

regards

Henry