Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet (where it is sometimes called a spybot or tracking software), spyware is programming that is put on someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get on a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program.
Data collecting programs that are installed with the user's knowledge are not, properly speaking, spyware if the user fully understands what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared. However, spyware is often installed without the user's consent, as the result of clicking some option in a deceptive pop-up window. Adware, software designed to serve advertising, can usually be thought of as spyware as well because it almost invariably includes components for tracking and reporting user information.
The Spyware programs are used to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging from keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging and just about everything else. These tools are perfectly legal in most places, but, just like an ordinary tape recorder, if they are abused, they can seriously violate your privacy.
Spyware and adware are also applications that run whenever your computer is turned on. The more programs or applications that you have running, the slower that your computer will perform. In addition, like installing other programs, the more that are running increases the chance that you will have conflicts which will result in irregular operation, computer freezes or possibly loss of data.
Remedy
There are several very good spyware removal tools out there. However, they must be used with caution! Some of your new free programs will cease to work once the spyware is removed. In this case, you will have to decide whether the program's benefit outweighs the spyware danger. Sometimes,after the spyware is removed, Internet Explorer will no longer work!
Two excellent programs I use are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. Both are free. Both can be download from:
Now that you know what spyware can do,you should read up on whatViruses can do and how to prevent them.
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