Spyware - What you should know...
Spyware (also known as adware) is basically software which is installed on your computer without your knowledge. 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. Not all software that provides ads, collects information or tracks your online activities is bad. You may for example, sign up for a free music service, but you "pay" for the service by agreeing to receive ads. If you read the terms and agree to them, you may have decided that this is fair. You might also agree to let the company track your online activities to determine which ads to show you. Most of the time though, most people don't even bother to read these terms before agreeing to them, which means they wonder why these ads start to appear, or information is being collected.
As with most things in life, there are good and bad. Some forms of spyware make changes to your computer, causing it to run slowly or even crash. These programs can change your Web browser's home page or search page, or add additional components to your browser you don't need or want. These programs also make it very difficult for you to change your settings back to the way you originally had them.
Where does the software appear from?
These programs can also do other things like change your Web browser's home page or search page, or add additional components to your browser you don't need or want similar to what google offer, but links to sites and shops, and even another search box. These programs also make it very difficult for you to change your settings back to the way you originally had them, very annoying, and possibly time consuming.
There are a number of ways that this software can be installed on your computer, the main one is to install it on your computer when you install free software, especially software from file sharing sites. These file sharing programs are installed as part of the software installed to share music files and videos. If you try to remove the software, say for instance when targetted pop-ups appear the file sharing programs will cease to work. |
Do we need Anti-spyware Software?
Many computer users - Yes, that includes all of you that use laptops too, tend to install software downloaded from the internet without a second thought about what it really is installing on your systems. Other known adware is data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. Most anti spyware products will remove aggressive spyware and malicious content.
We think that any software that protects you, and your information is valuable, and so anti spyware software is another great addition to your security solutions. Don't just search through a "search engine" to find a cheap anti spyware software solution. The ones we recommend are well known and used by very satisfied consumers. If you can afford it we recommend you purchase one of them and not get the "free version" as they are cut down versions with only limited capabilities. The free ones are sufficient for users who only use the internet for a couple of hours a week, average, or heavy users should purchase the full version. |
What is the best Anti-spyware software?
And the winner is
This mostly depends on taste and budget. There are many good antispyware products out there with a solid build and which do a great job of protecting you from spyware and removing it. We always say that it is far cheaper to purchase a good security product like antispyware software than to call out an enginner to fix the problem, or spend hours trying to figure out the problem and repair it yourself.
From the menu on the left hand side you will see a list of our recommended antispyware vendors. We add these to the site because we have either tested them ourselves, or we have had quite a few recommendations about the product and how good it is. It is always advisable to check with this site as there are a few antispyware programs out there that do not do a very good job at all in removing spyware.
Free or purchased antispyware software?
Free products are great, but in most cases are just cut down versions of the full product which has better features and also comes with support. Support is essential, especially if you are a novice PC user. With paid for versions you usualy get the latest updates faster & automatically (saves you the worry of updating yourself), scheduler so you can scan your computer at times to suit you, blocking of malicious tracking cookies and more features helping you do things better and faster. |
