Sneaky Spyware
Is your PC slow? Lots of popups?
What is spyware?
Spyware is software that is downloaded on to your PC which contacts a main server with your browsing habits, general information, etc...
What does it do?
Spyware can do many things. One of the main symptoms is a large amount of popup ads when browsing the internet. This is caused by the software monitoring your activities and placing ads where it thinks you might be swayed to purchase something. This software uploads pertinent information about you to keep track of what you do online. Other symptoms include lockups, slowness, and crashing.
What to do about it?
While it's difficult to stop the software from getting on your PC, there are some simple ways to clear these items off. There are many programs out there that eliminate these items from your hard drive. The technicians at User Friendly use AdAware which can be found at www.lavasoft.de and is available for free. Running this program weekly/bi-weekly will keep your system free of unwanted spyware. Lavasoft also has a professional version which will monitor internet traffic and keep spyware off your PC without having to run frequent scans.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006