Spyware is a general term used to describe software that
performs certain behaviors such as advertising,
collecting personal information, or changing the
configuration of your computer, generally without obtaining
your consent first.
Most of the time spyware is used to monitor your internet
surfing habits, and this information is used in conjunction with
adware to target specific advertisements to your tastes.
However, spyware can be used to monitor much more than just
surfing habits. Depending on the purposes of its creator,
spyware can monitor and gather information about:
- Email addresses
- Passwords
- Credit card numbers
- Keystrokes
- Chat
programs - Word processor documents
- Web
pages visited - Download habits
- Cookies
(little packets of information stored in your internet browser
to identify you to websites that you visit - Anything
on the hard drive
It's because of this kind of malicious behavior that
spyware presents such a risk to the everyday computer user and
according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware
currently affects 80% to 90% of desktop computers worldwide.
Now that is one scary statistic.
Because spyware can gather so much information about you and
send it to another source without you even knowing what's
happening, spyware is a huge privacy and security threat.
In the wrong hands, spyware can be used to take someone's
personal information for the purposes of identity theft or
fraud. Information about you gathered by spyware can even be
sold by the spyware creator to third parties. The most
concerning part about this is that you have no control over what
the spyware monitors or where the information goes. Because of
this, you should choose to remove spyware from your
computers and take actions to prevent spyware from being
installed on your computers in the future.
How Does Spyware Get Onto My Computer?
Spyware typically finds its way onto your computer when you
download other programs, mainly freeware (free software, often
for trial purposes). This is called bundling - basically the
spyware producers pay the freeware producers to include the
spyware in their products. This helps finance the freeware that
you download so that you don't have to pay for it.
When you download your freeware, the spyware application that
you're also downloading may be mentioned in the licensing
agreement. The spyware company is counting on you to click "Ok"
without really reading the agreement, but if you do, the spyware
installation will be mentioned in very hard to understand jargon
so you may not realize that spyware is being added. Sometimes
the spyware is not even mentioned in the agreement, in which
case even if you read it, you will not be aware of the spyware.
Spyware can also be installed on your computer just by
visiting certain sites. You may be prompted to download a
certain application to see the site properly, to view a greeting
card, to watch a video or hear a song on the site, etc. But
really the application could have nothing to do with what the
site says its purpose is - it could be spyware instead.
Another trick spyware makers use to get you to download their
spyware is through ActiveX controls (simple programs that run in
your internet browser). When these start to load, your browser
will ask if you want to install. If you hit "No" this is only
good for the page you are on. Every time you load a new page,
your browser will ask you again. Lots of people give up and just
click "Yes" after this happens a few times. Little do they know,
they are agreeing to spyware.
Spyware is a problem that cannot be ignored and we
encourage every visitor to our site to learn how to
l" title="Read how to best get rid of spyware and
adware.">remove spyware from their PC's.
l" title="Read how to best get rid of spyware and adware.">
Read: What is the best way to remove spyware?
Or title="Download the best spyware removal tool"> download the
Spyware removal program we've had the most success with.
About the author:
I spend my days working in IT and write for the site-
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