What is Spyware
Some companies sell legitimate “spyware” programs. Many forms of parental control programs in effect spy on users. So do employee monitoring programs. These are not what we mean when we talk about spyware. In this tutorial, we cover malicious spyware. That is, programs installed without your knowledge that can eat up system resources, affect performance, and steal confidential information. As the name suggests, spyware literally spies on you when you use your computer.
Among other things, it may keep track of which websites you visit and what you do on those sites. Spyware may also include keyboard loggers which collect the user names and passwords that you enter at various sites.
Spyware is different from worms and viruses in that spyware’s primary purpose is to spy on you. It doesn’t self-replicate. Even so, spyware is just as dangerous. If you care about your privacy, you need to understand how spyware lands on your machine and whether you are at risk.
If your system has slowed down for no apparent reason, you may already have spyware because you visited a malicious or compromised website and the program installed without your knowledge. This type of code dumping is called a drive-by download. Some spyware will even install after you say No to installing it.
Information
Drive-by download A program that is installed without your knowledge when you visit a malicious or compromised website.
Spyware is often bundled with other software or downloads on file-sharing sites (e.g., sites where you download free music or movies), or is installed when you open an email attachment. Because of the secretive nature of spyware, most people are not aware when spyware is on a computer that’s unprotected by anti-spyware.
How to Prevent Spyware
- Use antivirus and anti-spyware software.
- Ensure that your browser, operating system, and software have the latest updates and security patches.
- Set your browser security and privacy levels higher.
- Use extreme caution if you frequent file-sharing sites.
- Don't click on pop-up ads.
- Be careful what you install
How to Prevent Malware From Infecting Your Computer
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