A privacy scan is a computer software program that is designed to search your computer for a number of things that decrease your security and make you vulnerable to other people or companies gaining access to your personal information. There are a number of means by which your data can be accessed by others, and a privacy scan is intended to search your computer for information of this kind, check your vulnerability and erase any information that might be used against you.
When you use the Internet, every website you look at, message you send, media unit you download or purchase you make is recorded on your computer. If your computer is used by others, or could be accessed by others, then it makes sense that there might be information on it that you would prefer stay private. Whether business or personal, there are times when, and people with whom, we might not choose to divulge all of our Internet habits, and a privacy scan can help.
Privacy scans are able to identify and locate many sorts of threats to personal privacy including cached files that have been downloaded from the Internet, so that your personal use stays personal. Scans remove the complication and hassle of manually deleting your Internet browsing history so that there is no trace left behind on your computer for anyone else to find. This way, there is no history of the sites you visit left on your system once you delete them.
If you download media files, privacy scans are also able to remove them so that they don’t clutter up your computer once you’ve watched them and so that there is no trace of them remaining.
Another much talked about source in computer vulnerability are cookies. Internet cookies are small pieces of data that are put on your computer by websites that you visit so that, after you have left the site, your personal information remains available. The intention of cookies is to ease use of sites for the user, by keeping record of personal preferences, contact information and passwords, however, the drawback is the possibility that this sensitive information, once stored, might be vulnerable to third party viewing. If hackers, thieves, marketers or spies are able to gain access to your information you are at increased risk of identity theft, credit theft, adware, spyware, spamming and so on. Privacy scans are equipped to detect and isolate cookies so that you can easily remove them from your computer. Another option with cookies is to adjust your computer settings to resist cookies, or ask permission before accepting them, although many websites require cookies in order to be accessed.
Privacy scans are good options for those who are concerned about the remnants of personal Internet use remaining on their computers as well as for those concerned about the vulnerability to theft and exploitation caused by sensitive data left on your computer. Temporary Internet files, cache files and incomplete installs and uninstalls all clutter your computer and can cause your system to slow down, as well as compromise your privacy. Privacy scans are effective ways to rid your system of numerous kinds of clutter and risk, in one simple process.
Kate Dubensky | July 16th, 2008
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