The Dangers of Spyware

When you surf the net, every image and page that you view is downloaded to the hard disk drive of your PC. Some of the files that are downloaded aren't just used to enable you to view the page better. Some websites now download programs which track what you are looking at on the internet and cause POP Up's to appear advertising things that you most likey don't want, including pornography.

These files that cause problems, that are donwloaded while you surf, are called Malware or Spyware. They are like viruses because they do things to your PC without your permission or knowledge, but unlike viruses they do not spread to other PC's from yours.

Spyware, because it is a running process monitoring your PC, takes up processing power on your computer and as the amount of malware increases from surfing, the slower you PC can become.

To prevent these problems you need to install some Spyware detection software. Good Anti-Spyware software not only scans your PC with an updated index of Spyware programs but also monitors your browsers Home Paqe to prevent Home Page Hijacking which sometimes occurs while surfing.

If your Home Page is Hijacked it will force your computer to always go to a particular website, everytime you start your internet Browser software (e.g. Internet Explorer). Preventing Home Page Hijacking is very important because trying to fix it after the event can be very time consuming.

The Solution

SecureDesk-Web

This product provides dynamic protection against Web based Viruses, Spyware and Adware

Anti-Spyware

There are many products on the market which claim to block spyware/malware but be careful because some of these are actually spyware themself.

To protect yourself properly it is generally best to use a product dedicated to Anti-Spyware rather than a product which claims to do both Anti-Virus and Spyware.

There are various free Anti-Spyware products of which one of the best is possibly:-

Lavasoft Ad-Aware

Malicious Code is sometimes not detected by Anti-Virus

Viruses sometimes bring malcious code which when the orginal virus is deleted remains on your PC. Microsoft offer an on-line dection tool for maliciaous code which is updated the first Tuesday of every month. To check your machine for trojans and Bot engines etc., follow the link below and select the button "Check My PC for Infection"

Microsoft Maclious Software Removal Tool

To provide a fully active Anti-Spyware you generally have to purchase one of which we recommend Spysweeper from Webroot. To find out about this product click the image link below.