Your Question
Answered
FROM: Twilla Pirbright of Nether Potterbridge-Under-Wold
Question: What is
Spyware and do I need it?
Answer:
Dear Twilla,
A. Spyware is so called because it installs itself s
urreptitiously on your computer and then quietly gathers
information about your surfing habits, bank passwords and other
key financial data and then reports this information back to
its maker (for 'maker' read 'crook').
How do they get onto your computer in the first place? The can
be disguised in downloads such as toolbars, search
engines, browser accessories, screen savers and other seemingly
helpful utilities.
How do you know if your computer is infected with spyware?
There are several symptom, the most obvious of which
are:
-
You receive frequent popup advertisements
- Your homepage taken over by an unfamiliar
website
- Your computer becomes increasingly sluggish
and may become unstable
- A new toolbar is added to your
Internet Explorer browser without your knowledge
- Your browser is slow to open and / or
requested pages are slow to load
- Your searches are redirected to unfamiliar
websites
If you have noticed any of these then you may
want to check whether the cause is a spyware infection or
something else.
Software such as Norton Internet Security and
Bullgaurd Internet Security have spyware filters build in, but
if you don't want to spend money on all the other bells and
whictles that come with them there is software available that
will just deal with spyware.
There is a website called SpyNoMore where you can run a free scan.
If this shows positive you can then buy the SpyNoMore
software and remove the offending files. The cost is $29.95
(about £15.00 at the time of writing) and is well worth it
if you do have a problem. Click Here
AVG do a free anti-virus program which
includes a module to detect spyware. You can upgrade to a more
sophisticated system later if you wish for a modest annual
subscription. Click Here.
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