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Not even James Bond could bring any glamour to the nastiness of spyware, which is a software program that installs itself (without your knowledge) on your computer. After it's installed, the software collects information about you, and when you're online it sends the information to the spyware program's owner. Most spyware fits into either of two categories:
How spyware works
Surveillance spyware scans documents on your computer and can capture your keystrokes as you type. It can spy on forms you're filling out on a Web site (such as your login password or your credit card number) and the text you enter in a chat window. Government and detective agencies have been known to use this type of software, as have jealous spouses.
Advertising spyware is software that is installed when you're installing other software (usually software you download from the Internet) or that is installed in the background while you're visiting a Web site. It's common for advertising spyware to be included (without your being told) when you install software that's advertised as "free, if you don't mind seeing advertisements when you use it." One of the most pervasive distributors of spyware is software you download to take advantage of "peer to peer" file exchanges (for music and video). Advertising spyware logs information about your computer — and about you. The information includes passwords, your Web browsing habits, your online buying habits, and so on.
Both types of spyware can also install viruses and worms on your computer. Many of them change your browser settings (such as your home page), and your efforts to correct the changes are temporary; the spyware changes them again.
One of the annoying features of spyware is its connection to pop-up ads. Using the information it has collected about you, the spyware initiates pop-up ads whenever you connect to a Web site. The spyware software producer receives income whenever you respond to one of these pop-up ads, so the theory is "the more the better." After a while, using the Internet becomes almost impossible because of the barrage of pop-ups. Regardless of your Internet Explorer controls for your children, the pop-ups often contain pornography.
How to get rid of it
The only way to remove spyware from your computer is to use software designed for that purpose. The following two programs are well regarded by computer professionals:
- Ad-Aware from Lavasoft.com Lavasoft.com
- Spybot S&D (for Search & Destroy) Spybot.com
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