How to Eliminate Spyware

Eliminating Malware and Unauthorized Applications

In this Internet age, one of the biggest problems computer users face is the damage that can be done to computers, and wallets, by malicious software that gets into computers via email attachments, file-sharing programs, and certain websites. This software can be called spyware, malware, a virus, or several other names, depending on what it does.

Spyware, which secretly tracks your computer activity, can be particularly malicious, because at first you may not notice anything wrong, but then you find that your browser’s home page is changed, bookmarks are added, and so on. Even if nothing serious happens, you have lost your privacy. This article discusses ways to eliminate spyware from your computer. First, you may want to consider getting an Apple computer. Most spyware is designed to work on Windows computers, so with an Apple computer the chances of infection are much less. On the other hand, you may want to consider dedicating one computer to Internet use only, while using another one for everything else. Nevertheless, both of these approaches do not completely solve the problem and restrict what you can do.

The best two ways to eliminate spyware are, one, to reduce your chances of infection in the first place by changing the way you use the Internet, and two, by using programs designed to identify and eliminate it. The first way involves doing things like having what are called cookies turned off on your web browser most of the time, never opening spam email or unidentified attachments, not using file-sharing software, and not using free software that requires you to look at ads.

For the second way, you need to use the programs that are truly effective. There are a lot to choose from, and a high price does not necessarily mean a program is more effective. The programs that will eliminate spyware most effectively is SpyBot Search and Destroy by PepiMK Software. This program is free! Another very good on is Ad-aware 6 by Lavasoft, which is also free, at least in its basic version. Meanwhile, many programs costing $30 or more, such as QuickClean 3.0, are not nearly as effective. Remember to use your spyware eliminating software at least once a month. For more information, read the article on spyware at pcmag.com.

Tags: deleting spyware, eliminating spyware, Get Rid of Spyware, removing spyware, stop spyware, what is spyware

This entry was posted on February 12, 2010 at February 12, 2010 and is filed under Get Rid of Spyware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.