Spyware and adware
What are spyware and adware?
Imagine if software could sneak onto your computer without you knowing. That’s spyware, and it can be a minor annoyance or a serious threat to computer security.
Most aggressive spyware can be used to steal personal information, banking details and passwords.
Adware is a form of spyware that records your web-surfing habits and displays advertisements targeted to your interests. This can result in the computer becoming sluggish and cluttered or inappropriate images appearing on screen.
How can I avoid spyware?
To help avoid spyware, install anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Be cautious, as there are many applications that pretend to be anti-spyware but may actually load more spyware onto your computer. You can check that you’re downloading from a reputable site through some online research.
Free or pirated software often contain spyware, so be careful about downloads. There are reviews of free software on the web, which can be helpful in determining what’s safe to use.
Innocent looking email attachments may also contain spyware, even when sent from friends, so it’s advisable to keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date. Some websites, especially pornographic sites, ask users to download special software to view video clips, which can install aggressive spyware.
Protecting your computer is easier if everyone who uses the computer follows the same rules.
What if my computer already has spyware?
Don’t panic if you get a pop-up message saying your computer is infected with spyware. Spyware creators have found ways to make browser windows pop up, frightening users into believing that the computer is infected or that the hard drive is about to be wiped. This is an attempt to scare users into clicking on their advertisement, which might actually install more spyware. Quitting the browser will help to avoid this.
If you can’t get rid of the pop-up, and you can’t shut down your browser, press control-alt-delete to bring up the Task Manager (in Windows) and click ‘end task’ against the browser.
If you’ve been using a computer online without anti-virus and anti-spyware software, it’s wise to install these. Good software can scan an entire hard drive and remove all spyware and adware. You can set up the computer so these scans happen automatically, as well as enabling the computer to check for software updates when it is connected to the internet.
Even if you have your computer set up to scan automatically, it’s a good idea to schedule your own scan every couple of weeks, and to check that your firewall is still turned on.