Spyware is software that installs on your computer without your knowledge. Its purpose is to gather data, monitor what you do and pass the information on to others. Spyware may also steal personal details, display pop-up adverts, direct you to unfamiliar websites, change your PC’s behavior and cause poor performance, system corruption and security problems. A study found that 88% of consumer PCs had some type of uninvited program installed with an average of 24.5 instances of spyware on each computer.
Spyware doesn’t just happen. You normally get it along with some other application that you download and install. So the message is that you shouldn’t download software from sources you don’t know and must not open email attachments unless you know who they’re from. Trust no-one.
If your PC becomes infected with spyware, you need to get rid of it straight away. There are manual means to do this but they are fraught with danger and give no certainty of success, especially since many machines have multiple infections. The best way is to use an anti-spyware program that is developed specifically for the purpose of getting rid of spyware. However, be careful what you get because, although some are very good, others can be ineffective and a few will make matters worse.
Anti-spyware programs are designed to identify spyware on your computer and remove it. You should therefore run an application frequently, preferably as a scheduled task at set times, to ensure your PC remains free of infection.
An anti-spyware program works by scanning your computer, going through the Windows Registry, any running processes and all files and folders on local disk drives. You can generally set it to run a full scan or check selected locations only. The program will look for known spyware, report what it has found and can then remove all problems from the machine.
A program will have a database of known spyware programs and will check for these on your machine. It is important, therefore, that the database is updated frequently so that a list of all current threats is available. Anti-spyware programs will usually also set protection on Internet Explorer or other browsers to prevent the browser being hijacked by spyware.
There are plenty of reliable anti-spyware programs around and you can read independent reviews before you make your choice. Some of the best ones are Spyware Doctor, Ad-Aware and Spy Sweeper. We particularly like XoftspySE, which is an easy-to-use and effective scanner. You can give it a try for free by downloading the trial version from Paretologic HERE. This will identify and resolve your immediate problems but it’s a time-limited version so you’ll need to buy the full version to get on-going protection. However, it’s a small price to pay to be free of spyware.
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