The Damaging Influence That Spyware Can Have On Your Computer

By James Beckett in Software on March 21st, 2008

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by James Beckett

One of the craftiest computer crimes that actually downloads software to your computer to track your internet activity is spyware. One reason it is so clever is that spyware can actually download to your computer and you don’t even know it just because you went to a strange website or ran some free program you thought was ok.

One way spyware launches itself in your PC when you don’t even know it is by “piggybacking” on a good program so the spyware starts secretly when you run something you like on your computer. Make no mistake that spyware and virus software is a threat and we should all be careful to run software that protects our computers against this clever threat and protects us from web sites that download spyware to our systems.

So what are the signs of an infected PC? Don’t forget that the most dangerous activity (transmitting all your personal information and all your online activity) will more than likely be done without you noticing a thing but let’s look at the obvious signs.

When your computer starts to slow down, that’s a symptom of spyware. If the performance of your computer gets worse for no obvious reason, that could be a sign that spyware is at work. The reason your computer slows down is the spyware software is very active recording your activity, reporting it to “home base” and downloading more damaging software to install on your computer.

So if you realize that suddenly your CPU is moving at a sluggish speed compared to what it was like, you will want to run a virus/anti-spyware program to find out if you have been infected unknowingly.

Another very irritating little “trick” spyware often pulls is to “hijack” your browser to take you to web sites that the owners want you to see with the hopes you will buy their stuff at these sites. That merchandise is often a scam or something nasty or illegal so having that happen is pretty upsetting.

The point of any Spyware is to make dollars. Any third party that has ad agreements with Spyware program providers should not be relied upon. If you realize that your computer is acting different, then you should immediately perform a scan before any of your data is compromised.

The slowdowns and hijacking are irritating but the really frightening thing about spyware is how it tracks your online activity and transmits it to strangers. So that means they can also capture your personal and financial information such as account data, user ids and passwords and even your social security number. This threat is plenty of reason to invest in a top quality anti-spyware tool to protect you around the clock when you are on the internet. Its no secret that spyware is a significant cause of identity theft so protecting your accounts from that is worth the effort.

Just as we make our kids be careful online, we should too because the internet can be a hazardous place. Spyware is getting craftier all the time and some of it actually resists being removed and requires extensive work even at the computer registry level to get rid of it. So be on guard for the signs in your computer of spyware and get rid of it fast before it takes over your PC and really makes your online life miserable.

About the Author:

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