Spyware, Adware and Computer Viruses

How computer users can protect themselves from spyware, adware and viruses

Spyware, Adware and computer viruses all share similar traits the main similarity being that all three are a major pain in the butt for computer owners. But there are also differences between them.

Spyware

Spyware does not necessarily cause any harm to a computer. What it does is create a way for someone other then the computer user to communicate with your computer. It spies on what websites you are visiting and may steal your email address so that advertisers can send you spam emails.

Some spyware may even make a record of you keystrokes, search for password files on your hard drive and see what programs you have on your computer. Once this information is gathered together the program then sends it all to the spyware author. This information can be used to steal your identity or it may be sold to advertisers.

Is spyware creeping around in your computer?

Adware

On the other hand adware is a bit more legitimate type of software. Usually adware will be packaged with free software or browser tool bars that the computer user has installed on their computer. Once the software or toolbar is installed the the adware application will start every time the software is run or every time a computer user opens their browser. Unfortunately many times adware takes the form of spyware in that it is programmed to track user activity and then send this information back to the software authors.

Computer Viruses

Now we will look at the most destructive computer problem for most users, computer viruses. Computer viruses are designed for one reason and only one reason: to cause havoc for computer owners. Viruses are created to destroy any and all information they come into contact with and will replicate themselves in order to infect as much of the computers operating system as possible.

So how do you know if your computer is infected by spyware? Some of the most obvious signs are: pop-up advertising that is not related to the website your viewing. Most of the time these pop-ups will have ads for adult sites. Another clue that you may have spyware is if your computer starts to run slower then its a good chance that your computer may be infected. One of the most obvious indications that its time to run a spyware scan on your computer is when the home page of your browser is changed.

Anymore most anti-virus software comes with spyware and adware removal components. There is software though that is focused solely on finding and deleting spyware and adware. No matter which type of program you use whether it be anti-virus or anti-spyware always insure that you have some type of software on your computer to take care of these problems before they happen.

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