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Spyware
Sucks !
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Spyware really sucks! If you have ever
had to waste countless hours and money trying to remove
spyware or adware from your computer system, you know
exactly what I am talking about.
Removing
spyware can be extremely frustrating. Every time you
think it's gone, it pops back up again, it locks up
your browser and slows down your computer down to a
cawl.
Unfortunately,
if you have not had to deal with this problem yet, it's
only a matter of time before you will. To
avoid spyware,
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you
will need to protect your computer and learn what to do and
what not to do in order to avoid your computer getting
infected with spyware and other malicious software (malware).
What
is Spyware?
Spyware
is any software that steals information from your PC without
your authorization and knowledge. Spyware slows down your
PC, using up system resources, CPU time, memory space, disk
space and your Internet bandwidth.
There
are distinctions between spyware and adware. Spyware means
to steal your information from your computer. Adware takes
over your browser and creates never-ending popups and replaces
search pages with fake pages designed to trick you into going
to their advertisers.
How
Did I Get It?
If you
click on certain popup windows or if you were downloading
some free utilities, toolbars or games, there's a pretty good
chance it sneaked in that way, unless you had antispyware
solutions installed in your system. The most likely source
are those file sharing programs that are rife with spyware.
And if you happened to browse through a corrupt website, it
is no mystery at all as to how the spyware came in. Some legitimate
software applications come bundled with the spyware, it may
even say in the legal stuff they want you to accept before
using a program, that you are agreeing to have additional
software installed on your computer. This is almost always
spyware or adware.
Be
Careful About Those Freebies
The Internet
is full of free software that tempts you and when you succumb
to it, comes integrated with spyware. Offers for free weatherbugs,
games or file sharing software many times are really spyware,
trojans, and adware. Another technique that is used to trick
you into downloading their malicious software are pop ups
that offer to scan your computer, fix your registry, or claim
to have found an "error". Often these are designed
to mislead you into downloading their spyware, adware or other
malicious software.
If you
are not protected by anti-spyware software, your infected
computer will relay all your browsing habits to spurious advertisers.
Even your sensitive personal data can be revealed.
Symptoms
If your
computer starts to behave strangely or displays any of the
symptoms listed below, you may have spyware or other unwanted
software (malware) installed on your computer.
1. My computer seems sluggish
Spyware and other unwanted software is not designed to be
efficient. The resources these programs use to track your
activities and deliver advertisements can slow down your computer
and errors in the software can make your computer crash. If
you notice a sudden increase in the number of times a certain
program crashes, or if your computer is slower than normal
at performing routine tasks, you may have spyware or other
unwanted software on your machine.
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2.
Home page and search engine hijacking
When a user's preferred home page or search engine is
changed to an unknown site an unwary victim may be exposed
to an increased risk of further malware or spyware infection.
It is not unusual for malware sites to direct hijacked
computers to other Web sites that download and install
even more malware. There may also be an increased risk
of exposure to unwanted or unsavory content such as
gambling or adult links via advertisements or sponsored
links.
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3.
Tool bars that appear out of nowhere
Often such toolbars are search engine based. Sometimes they
cannot be turned off permanently and reappear on reboot, and
sometimes they cannot be turned off at all. Sometimes, as
part of their installation, they will disable other toolbars
that may already be installed – for example, if a reputable
toolbar such as GoogleBar, AltaVista's toolbar or Earthlink's
toolbar is installed the hijacker will turn off those toolbars
to remove competition.
4. My
settings have changed and I can't change them back
Some unwanted software have the ability to change your home
page or search page settings. This means that the page that
opens first when you start your Internet browser or the page
that appears when you select "search" may be pages
that you do not recognize. Even if you know how to adjust
these settings, you may find that they revert back every time
you restart your computer.
5. I see pop-up advertisements all the time
Pop-up advertisements can be very intrusive. Sometimes they
interfere with Web browsing by taking over the entire computer
screen. They can be difficult or impossible to close. In bad
cases, many windows will appear in rapid succession, making
the computer virtually unusable. Sometimes adware pop-ups
are deliberately deceptive. Examples where the "no"
or "cancel" buttons are actually "yes"
or "install" buttons. Also pop-up windows with fake
Close buttons that when clicked trigger malware installations,
much to the shock of their victims.
What
Can I Do About It?
Anti-Spyware
software is a must. It is just as important as anti-virus
software and works in a similar fashion. There is no other
solution and it's going to cost you money but luckily it's
not that much. And if you waste 3 days trying to fix it yourself
(if you know how and you probally don't), you have to ask
yourself, what's that time and frustration worth? Protect
your computer now.
The one
I used successfully and was most impressed with was Spyware
Doctor. It has won nearly every award there is for software
products in its category. We highly recommend Spyware Doctor
by PC Tools.
Learn
More
Spyware
Doctor has been downloaded over 125 Million times; with
a million more downloads every week. Millions of people worldwide
use Spyware Doctor to protect their identity and PC security
from spyware, adware and other online threats.
Spyware
Doctor has been awarded Editors' Choice, by leading PC magazines
and testing laboratories around the world, including the United
States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and Australia. In
addition, after leading the market in 2005, Spyware Doctor
was awarded the prestigious Best of the Year at the end of
2005 and again in 2006.
Spyware
Doctor continues to be awarded the highest honors by many
of the world's leading PC publications such as PC World, PC
Magazine, PC Pro, PC Plus, PC Authority, PC Utilities, PC
Advisor, PC Choice, Microdatorn, Computer Bild and PC Answers
Magazine.
Why
is it important what awards Spy Doctor has received?
If you are choosing Anti-Spyware you should make sure you
choose one that is proven and has genuine awards from one
or more world leading research labs such a PC Magazine, PC
World, CNET, PC Pro Magazine, PC Authority, PC Answers and
other trusted labs. More importantly do not click on pop ups
from untrusted websites that offer to scan your computer,
fix your registry or claim to have found an "error".
Often these are designed to mislead you into downloading spyware
and/or adware or other malicious software.
For
More Information
About Spyware Doctor Click
Here
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Recommended
by experts and editors around the world as the best
Anti-Spyware.