A Common Computer Question Answered – What Is Spyware?
Almost everyone that has a computer that is connected to the internet has heard the term “spyware” before. However not everyone knows what it means and it is a fairly broad term that can get confusing at times. With that in mind, we are going to cover what exactly spyware is.
When you hear the term spyware, it is refering to programs or software that gets installed on your computer without your knowledge. These programs can cause all sorts of problems on your system – here are a few examples:
1) Steal your personal information. Spyware can “spy” on what files are on your computer and capture the passwords and other personal information you enter while you are online.
2) Add all sorts of extra programs and add-ons to your computer which you haven’t authorized. This is usually used to monitor your online activity and will cause your computer to run a lot slower than usual.
3) When you are online, you are redirected to certain websites that have other harmful files such as viruses or other infections.
4) Sneak in and change your computer’s settings so that your computer is vulnerable to other attacks or infections.
As you can see, spyware can be a big headache!
Spyware is also notorious for slowing down your computer’s performance and creating all sorts of pop-ups or annoying ads when you are online.
Wondering how spyware makes it way onto your computer?
Most of the time you will never know for sure where the spyware on your computer came from. It sneaks its way onto your computer in various ways – some examples are:
1) Many shareware and freeware software programs have Spyware built into them. Software such as music/video download programs are normally given away free, and sometimes they come bundled with Spyware.
2) A common way systems get infected is from “utility” type programs that are downloaded and come bundled with some form of spyware. There are all sorts of programs that are offered for free download on the internet – although they may serve a purpose many of them will also install spyware on your system.
3) One of the trickiest ways that spyware will make its way on your computer is by immitating your operating system’s regular messages.
As an example if you are using Microsoft windows on your computer, a message might popup that looks like it is a message from Microsort. You innocently click on the message and the spyware gets installed.
How do you know if your computer is infected with spyware?
One of the first warning signs is that your computer starts to run a lot slower than before and appears a little sluggish. Spyware will slow down your browsing speed and your overall computer’s performance.
Unfortunately, many people end up blaming their computer’s hardware if their system is running slower than usual. More often than not it is nothing hardware related – it is the fact that spyware has made its way onto their computer.
It’s important that you protect your computer and make sure you destroy any spyware on your system starting today!
Computer experts estimate that 9 out of every 10 computers have some form of spyware installed on them. It’s crucial that you protect your system and personal information by using a top-ranked anti-spyware program.
Make sure you use a spyware remover that will scan your entire system for any existing infections, eliminate any malicious files it finds, and then provide full protection against future infections.
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