Spyware
What actually does spyware mean? Well, spyware is some sort of software designed to spy on you. You may be wondering, what does other people have to gain from spying on you. A lot, actually. Your shopping behaviour and user profile can be an invaluable marketing tool in the hands of lots of businesses ready to use such data - do not surprised if they will start harrassing you with offers and you will probably wonder where did they get this kind of information.
Spyware is software designed precisely to spying you. There are certain websites that provide various things that are used to trick you - for example you have to accept a license when downloading a free program, but most people don't read the info and they end up with a piece of spyware installed. From that point, your actions will be recorded and information will be passed to a server belonging to the company that deployed the spyware on your computer. Needless to say how much will this harm your own privacy and that you are at risk due to the behaviour of spyware software.
In extreme cases, spyware can be really dangerous for the unfortunate computer user that 'benefits' from such spyware software, installed in his/her computer. For example, an unsuspecting computer visitor may be visiting a website that may exploit a browser vulnerability and insert a piece of spyware on the computer's hard drive. Such a dangerous piece of spyware is called a keylogger - it will record all keystrokes from that point (everything the user types in) but it may also scan hard drives for personal information and relay that information to the website owner. Now - at this point a possible scenario is that the website owner will be able to log into the banking accounts of the victim and get all his/her savings. And all of this happens only due to the presence of the tiny spyware program inside the user's computer. Therefore, you need to make sure you are keeping your computer updated at all times in order to be sure that no spyware is installed - and you also need to have an anti-spyware tool like Microsoft AntiSpyware or Spybot, to keep you protected.
Please note that spyware programs can be extremely difficult to remove. Spyware programs usually install themselves, hidden in multiple locations inside your computer and they usually have more than one way of re-launching them or they run in multiple instances at times. Even the most performant spyware removal programs may fail at certain times. When that happens, you may actually get into a situation when only reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system will fix the problem. When you do that, make sure you update your computer with the latest updates, and rethink your security measures, so you do not get infected again with the same spyware.
Spyware is software designed precisely to spying you. There are certain websites that provide various things that are used to trick you - for example you have to accept a license when downloading a free program, but most people don't read the info and they end up with a piece of spyware installed. From that point, your actions will be recorded and information will be passed to a server belonging to the company that deployed the spyware on your computer. Needless to say how much will this harm your own privacy and that you are at risk due to the behaviour of spyware software.
In extreme cases, spyware can be really dangerous for the unfortunate computer user that 'benefits' from such spyware software, installed in his/her computer. For example, an unsuspecting computer visitor may be visiting a website that may exploit a browser vulnerability and insert a piece of spyware on the computer's hard drive. Such a dangerous piece of spyware is called a keylogger - it will record all keystrokes from that point (everything the user types in) but it may also scan hard drives for personal information and relay that information to the website owner. Now - at this point a possible scenario is that the website owner will be able to log into the banking accounts of the victim and get all his/her savings. And all of this happens only due to the presence of the tiny spyware program inside the user's computer. Therefore, you need to make sure you are keeping your computer updated at all times in order to be sure that no spyware is installed - and you also need to have an anti-spyware tool like Microsoft AntiSpyware or Spybot, to keep you protected.
Please note that spyware programs can be extremely difficult to remove. Spyware programs usually install themselves, hidden in multiple locations inside your computer and they usually have more than one way of re-launching them or they run in multiple instances at times. Even the most performant spyware removal programs may fail at certain times. When that happens, you may actually get into a situation when only reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system will fix the problem. When you do that, make sure you update your computer with the latest updates, and rethink your security measures, so you do not get infected again with the same spyware.
This information is provided without any warranties of any kind. Use it at your own risk. Terms and conditions