What is Spyware?  Spyware is tracking software that monitors where you go on the internet – from either links you click on, or website addresses you type in.  It can be installed when you install another program.  The spyware program then reports back to the vendor this information – including many bits of information about you and your internet habits that you might consider private.

Another hazard of spyware is popups.  If you are surfing the web and you are receiving more frequent popups – or if you are receiving them now and you have never received them before, chances are you may be the victim of inadvertently installed spyware or adware.  Examples of installed adware are Gator, SaveNow, The Weather Bug, ClockSync or TimeSync, Internet Tools, Hotbar, and many many more.

The solution?  One of the more effective programs that we have found to combat this is Spybot Search and Destroy.  What this free program does is scan your computer and remove and/or block spyware and adware agents it finds.  We generally run the program every week, it takes about five minutes, and it finds questionable programs or files often.

 Here is a link to the software site - http://www.safer-networking.org.  Please, read through some of the information there, as you will be surprised to find what might be on your system and how it is used, as well as how to remove and prevent it in the future.  Since the process of downloading, installing and running the program can be tricky, please feel free to call us with any questions regarding it.  Please be aware that you have to be cautious, as many computers have programs that are required by proprietary systems to run that Spybot might not be able to understand. 

 This is a worthwhile investment in your time to use this program – and to increase your surfing the web.