Understanding Spyware

If you watch or listen to the news or read the newspaper or online news, you have heard about spyware. Unless you are a computer expert, you may not fully understand spyware and how it works or the risks of spyware for you and your computer. Unless you have spyware detection tools or spyware blocker software, you could very well have spyware adware on your computer.

Spyware comes in the form of hidden files loaded onto your computer to track and report your web activities online. If this violation of your privacy scares you, you are not alone. Think about it! Why would you want someone to track your activities, where you go, what you buy and what you view on the internet, and then sell this information to others so they can market their products to you?    

So, how do spyware programs get on your computer? One way spyware can invade your files is when you click on a ‘banner ad’ you see on a web site or in the window of a search engine or email service. Some of these ad banners launch and deliver spyware files. If you have spyware protection software or software for blocking spyware you may get a pop-up notice on your screen to alert you to the fact that a program has attempted and failed to install spyware. If you have virus check software on your computer, it may include a scan program that allows the software to check for virus spyware. When the scan runs on a periodic basis, the scan results reports will let you know if it detected and/or removed spyware programs.

No matter how careful you are online and no matter your internet preferences or practices, you may have spyware on your computer. The fact is that if you use an email program, if you download or use online games, if you share music or visit social networking sites, if you buy products online or simply surf the web for information, you are at risk for spyware. In fact, the spyware problem has become so pervasive that much email service providers now include tools to block spyware and optional settings to protect the user. These tools are built into their software and offered at no additional cost.

In the newer versions of the Windows Operating System, users also have spyware protection that is constantly upgraded through the automatic patches downloaded onto your computer when you log on to the internet. If you are unsure of your spyware protection, you can perform a search using the search tool in the start menu of your computer. Make sure you are protected from these programs. They are an invasion of your privacy and if triggered will inundate your email box with marketing messages from every manner of sales organization. Additionally, whether by malice or unskilled programming staff, the files loaded on your machine may interfere with the performance and operation of your computer and cause you many problems.