A Competent Spyware Detector is Vital For Your Pc Security

Before using anti spyware software it is 
useful to understand what spyware is. 
Spyware is a type of malicious computer 
program which is designed to take 
control of your computer and web browser 
(usually internet explorer) with the 
purpose of communication to a third 
party over the internet. A competent
spyware detector is vital to combat this
threat.

There are hundreds of spyware programs
present on the internet and will infect 
your computer without you even realizing 
it. 

“Security experts at ScanSafe said 
their analysis of real-world internet 
traffic shows September witnessed a 
21% jump in the circulation of both 
spyware and adware.”1

Spyware can be merely annoying to 
extremely damaging depending upon the 
type of spyware. It is rather easy 
to diagnose whether your computer 
has been infected by spyware. There 
are some types of spyware known as 
adware. These programs launch numerous 
pop-up ad windows when you are surfing 
on the web. If you get popup 
windows then you can be fairly sure 
that there is some adware on 
your computer.  

The pop-up windows are mostly activated 
by keywords. The ads on the popup windows 
are linked to the keywords.  Some 
spyware doesn't even need keywords. 

Other types of spyware use a type of 
software known as key logging software. 
Using this software the spyware monitors 
what is typed on your computer.  This is 
used to steal passwords and credit card 
numbers, personal information etc. This 
can be very damaging to your financial 
interests. Some spyware monitor the 
websites you visit and transfer the 
data to a third party. 

This information is used by advertising 
companies. If your home page gets 
changed automatically, it is another 
sign of spyware infection. If you find 
any program is not getting uninstalled 
and is very difficult to delete, that is 
another way to detect spyware on your 
computer. Spyware also slows down your 
computer considerably. One more danger 
of spyware is that they create a back 
door in your computer which makes it 
more prone to attack from other viruses. 

Anti-spyware is a type of software which 
is designed to detect and delete any 
spyware, adware or malware present on 
your computer. There are lots of spurious 
“anti-spyware” programs available freely 
on the internet. 

“Malicious programmers have 
released a large number of fake 
anti-spyware programs.”2 These are not 
antispyware in any sense but rather 
install more spyware on your computer. 
So you should be very careful from 
where you get your anti spyware. 

There is genuine spyware detector 
software also available on the internet 
such as Lavasoft’s adaware and 
Spybot which can be downloaded freely. 
However their performance is not as 
good as commercially available 
antispyware since they do not 
provide real time protection to 
your computer. So it is better to 
opt for a commercial version which 
updates itself on the internet. 


Once you get your spyware detector software, 
install it and then run a scan. Installing 
is usually very easy and all you have to do 
is just follow the instructions. Switch on
the automatic update facility if it is 
available on the software. Doing this 
much is sufficient to keep your computer 
free from spyware.  


References:
1.“Spyware onslaught to continue” 
03 Nov 06, ContractorUK.
2.Roberts, Paul F. "Spyware-Removal 
Program Tagged as a Trap". eWeek. 
May 26, 2005.