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The
Spyware Who Loved Me - part2.
Another
obvious clue that your computer has been infected with a spyware
package is an abrupt change of your preferred Internet browser’s
home page. Spyware packages can reset your email signatures and
display advertising content – even while you are offline!
Aggressive
prevention. One of the best methods of protecting your system
from spyware is to first become knowledgeable as to what type
of software blatantly bundles spyware as part of their "freeware".
Peer-to-peer file sharing Kazaa is notorious for including a couple
of adware packages. The free version of the nifty WeatherBug,
a provider of current temperature and important weather updates
to your system's desktop includes adware as part of its download.
The free version of media player DivX is another where adware
once found itself comfortably at home, but not with the recent
release of the DivX 5.2 product suite.
“Spyware
Nuker” sounds like it should be a good, safe program to load
on your system, right? Wrong! It is known to be a false spyware
remover. Some of the spyware packages are written to avoid detection,
are difficult to uninstall, and frequently leave components installed
in your system in order to continue to monitor your activities
and then silently reinstall themselves.
The
best spyware detection and removal software inoculates your computer
to help prevent the various spyware packages from loading themselves
into your operating system. The detection and removal software
should be programmed to run automatically either late every evening,
or at least once a week – depending on the amount of Internet
usage and number and types of sites you visit. If your Internet
voyages take you across sites that contain pornographic or hacker
material, you better run the spyware detection software immediately
following that visit. Assume you may be infected after you wander
across the less-than-scrupulous sites.
Some
of the best spyware detection and removal software is shareware.
They include (in alphabetical order): Ad-aware, HijackThis, PestPatrol,
Spybot – Search & Destroy, and SpySweeper. My best recommendation
would be to download one of these products (my personal favorite
is Spybot – Search & Destroy) from http://download.com
and consider paying for the product you consider to be most suitable
for your needs.
There
are countless other commercial products, but I have found the
shareware products to be more than adequate. If you prefer to
pay for a commercial product, there are packages frequently bundled
with your favorite anti-virus software (McAfee, Norton, etc.).
Even firewall software developer Zone Labs has spyware detection
and removal software included in their ZoneAlarm Security Suite.
It
is an ugly, ongoing war out there, and spyware is probably the
source for most service calls dispatched these days. Don’t
allow either your privacy or your personal information to become
a casualty in this ongoing battle. It is imperative that all of
today’s systems – your system especially – be equipped
with spyware detection and removal software. Make certain you
take the necessary steps to keep your operating system, virus,
and spyware software up-to-date.
About
the author:
Jared Prescott is a published author, product reviewer, and General
Manager for http://aaatechnet.com AAA Tech Net, Inc.He has bountiful
experience providing network and hardware solutions and can be
contacted at info@aaatechnet.com.
The
Spyware Who Loved Me - part 1.
The Spyware Who Loved Me - part
2.
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