Reclaim Your PC from the Internet Spies
by Jason Frovich
Published on this site: August 4th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
Viruses are, however, not the only malicious software programs
out there. The newest addition to the evil software family
is the so called Spywares and a good anti-virus program or
firewall is not enough to safeguard against these clever programs.
Spywares are known by many names such as adware, trojans,
malware, browser hijackers etc. The thing they all have in
common is that they will transmit your personal information
to companies and individuals who have an interest in knowing
about your surfing habits, online purchases, credit worthiness,
interests, web searchs, chats, birth date and even your credit
card number. The list goes on and on, since Spywares are constructed
by promotional companies who need to know as much as possible
about the online consumers to target them effectively. By
ewes dropping on you online, these companies hope to be more
successful when sending out promotional materials.
Spyware usually enter your PC by piggybacking on other software
downloads. Every time you use downloaded or otherwise shared
files, including Freeware, Shareware or p2p sharing programs,
you stand the risk of unknowingly infecting your computer
with Spyware. Even confirmed virus free music files, films
and computer programs can have Spyware stowaways. Once inside
your computer, they will hide, monitor all your actions and
promptly start telling your secrets to anyone willing to listen.
Contrary to most viruses the Spywares actually make an effort
not to be observed. Since they won't cause obvious
harm such as deleting important files or shutting down your
computer, they can thrive in your PC for years without you
noticing, sending out massive amounts of information about
all your online habits.
At a first glance, you might find this annoying but essentially
harmless. Why not let the companies send me promotional material
about things I am actually interested in? Spyware is however
far from harmless, since the infiltration by Spyware not only
let the companies know about your latest online search, but
also much more private matters such as credit card details,
online purchases of medicine and your private e-mail correspondence
with family, friends and business partners. There are even
examples of how this massive gathering of personal information
has led to an overall loss of privacy and stolen identities.
In the computerized world of today it is not hard to imagine
the amount of damage and personal suffering the fraudulent
use of a persons identity can cause.
It is obvious to anyone that we must start combating the
Spyware programs, but the best way of doing this is not to
panic and pull the plug on your PC, never go online again
and keep five feet away from all Freeware. There is a much
better solution: http://www.supportcave.com
Jason Frovich, Supportcave.com offers new and enhanced
Free
Spyware Removal Software. Not only will these programs
effectively check and clean your computer from Spyware, once
installed they will also shield
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