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Spyware really is the most dangerous software on the planet. Never before have thieves been able to steal personal information like bank accounts, credit card information and passwords all from the comfort of there own home. Not only that but they also wreck havoc on your computer. I hate it and it has personally cost me three computers already. So hopefully this article will give you the steps you need to protect your computer and your personal info.

Ok explain what spyware is?

If you are not computer savvy well spyware is a specially designed piece of software that will collect surfing habits and personal information once it has entered your PC. There are also certain types of spyware that can remain hidden in your computer until the owner of the program has given the command to activate. Once the command has been given you will start experiencing symptoms like pop ups appearing while not connected to the internet, computer running slow and not being able to connect to your usual home page to name a few. If this is the case well the chances are you are infected with some type of spyware.

What do I do?

Well the very first thing you should do is get yourself some spyware removal software to detect any spyware present on your computer. Now if you don’t have the cash to spend at presant then there are a number of free programs available. Two that come to mind are Ad aware and Spy bot search and destroy. Just remember these are free programs and tend to leave some spyware behind. So please get yourself a paid software tool once you have some money as I have found they do a far better scan. But just use the two mentioned above for now and clean out you system.

So now that you have a spyware free computer lets look at some other types of software to help protect you and your PC even further.

Pop Up Blockers

Pop up blockers are a really great piece of software to help prevent spyware from entering your computer. Why? Well let me explain. Pop ups are another form of program for companies or individuals to use to gain entry to your computer. You have more than likely seen them around but what I think most people don’t realize is once a pop-up appears on your screen it can be already to late. Most Internet users simply think by pushing the X button on the pop up window it will close and that’s the end of that. Wrong!! You see people can simply change the script in the pop up program and change the X “close”to OK or download. So by pushing the X you may be giving permission for it to download on to your computer without you even knowing about it. If this does happen I strongly suggest you log of immediately before the download completes. Better still get your self a pop-up blocker to prevent them from popping up in the first place. Again there are plenty around for free.

anti-virus programs

Anti-virus software is compulsory if you wish to protect yourself against spyware. This type of software will detect any spyware trying to enter your system usually as you are downloading a file or product of the net. Anti-virus software will also give the power to scan any emails in your inbox. But if you start receiving mail from unknown senders, it’s best just to delete them. Opening emails from people or companies you don’t know can result in your PC being infected.

Register Cleaner

Register cleaners are the perfect software for cleaning out your computer. If you have removed some spyware or any software programs recently it will detect and delete any unused files that may have been left behind. It will also clean out your temporary Internet files, your cache and your browser’s history. You will be surprised how much this will speed up your computer.

Install a Firewall

This is absolutely essential!! A firewall will protect you against hackers trying to enter your system. If you have what is called a “port” left open on your computer well hackers will find it and enter your system and can find and do basically anything they like. If you you’re thinking “OK” I don’t store any passwords or credit card details on my computer. Well let me tell you hackers are very good at what they do they can simply plant some spyware on your computer. Once you connect to a certain website that the owner of the program has chosen like bank websites or any website you are planning on using your credit card then the spyware will activate itself and begin sending your bank account, date of birth, user name, password and your home address back to them. This will result in Identity theft and is the worst-case scenario. Get one installed immediately.

Ok if you install all these types of software programs on your computer your personal info and Pc should be pretty safe. There are new types of spyware hitting the Internet every day so just make sure to update the software at least once a week.

Last 5 posts by Robert Pearce

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Tags: Software