Spyware
Characteristics and
Behavior:
Spyware in its many shapes and forms
seeks to manipulate your personal information,
your web habits, or your computer itself. And it
intends to do all of this where you cannot see it.
Hence, it is a spy, a cat burglar rummaging
through your computer.
Where Does A Computer
Pick Up Spyware?
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The
Internet. If your computer has ever been connected
to the Internet or a Local Area Network connected
to the Internet, your are almost guaranteed to
have come into contact with spyware. More often
than not computers that are online frequently (or
constantly) are infected with some kind of
malicious software that is unknown to the
user.
| What Can Spyware Do To My
Computer? |
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Spyware
can do everything that a virus can do and more.
With different variants of spyware come different
risks.
- Simple
spyware, like tracking cookies and malicious
BHOs, most often just want to monitor where you
go on the Internet and how often. These programs
target you for advertising, utilizing methods
from hijacking your homepage to sending you
those annoying popup ads.
- More
malevolent spyware can record vital information
that unscrupulous 3rd parties can then use to
steal money or your identity. Programs like
keystroke loggers (keyloggers) can record
keystrokes and advanced BHOs can detect when you
enter a secure site, like a bank's personal
account page. Any information that you enter
online can thus be potentially stolen:
- Bank Account
Numbers
- Passwords
and email addresses
- Home
Addresses
- Names,
mailing addresses and email addresses of friends
and family
- Where you
work, where your children go to
school
- Drivers
License Numbers (useful for identity
theft)
- Social
Security Numbers (useful for identity
theft)
- The most
aggressive forms of spyware can interrupt
computer functionality in ways that resemble
those of a virus. These programs can actually
interfere with a computer's intended operations,
causing it to reboot, shut down or erase
important data. Dialer programs can even be
downloaded onto computers with dial-up Internet
connections. These dialers log users on to
high-priced, premium numbers without the user
knowing it . . . until the bill
arrives.
| How do I know if I have
Spyware? |
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The
most common symptom of Spyware is a slow machine.
Spyware uses memory to run its functions, so even
if you can't see the programs running, they are
taking up space and resources, causing windows to
open and close slowly, Internet browsers to seem
sluggish, and games and programs to act bogged
down or glitchy. But even if your computer doesn't
experience these symptoms, it doesn't mean that
it's free of malicious programs. The best thing to
do is run a free scan to see if, in fact, your
system is at risk.
Click
Here To Download AntiSpyware? 2009
Free | | |
Why Use
AntiSpyware?
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Protect Your
Data |
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Defeat
Hackers |
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Protect Your
Privacy |
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Eliminate
Pop-Ups |
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Protect Your
Identity | | |
What's Lurking
On Your PC?
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Do you surf
the Web? |
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Do you get
bombarded by annoying pop-up advertisements?
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Has your
system's speed decreased
significantly? |
If the
answer to all of these questions is yes, your
computer could be harboring dangerous Trojans,
worms and dialers and you will remain at risk
without AntiSpyware
protection.
Find out
what's lurking on your PC Now with AntiSpyware
Free Scan!
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