Spyware has overtaken viruses as the greatest online threat to our privacy …
Fact: Almost all of us have Spyware and Adware on our PCs.
- Scan your PC for free with Spyware Doctor!
- We also recommend PCtools Security Suite 2009
Spyware Definition
The definition of “spyware,” though, depends on who you’re talking to. Companies trying to convince you to purchase a pay-per-use version of their software will usually try to convince you that spyware is anything on your computer that records any kind of information about you at all - including relatively harmless information like cookies that allow a website to “remember you” when you login, like Yahoo or Hotmail.
Spyware comes in many forms
In reality, though, spyware is any program, script or piece of data that records harmful or sensitive information about you and transmits it to someone else. That could mean cookies in which your web browser stores sensitive data, browser helper objects (BHO’s) that load up with and integrate into Internet Explorer, or additional “optional” programs or toolbars that come bundled with commercial software and record data about your browsing habits. Spyware can run in the background, behind the scenes and without your knowledge, or it could sit right out in the open, like many of the “toolbars” installed by companies like Alexa.
Piggybacking and Rogue Antispyware
Spyware isn’t always installed behind your back. Most of the spyware installed on my friends’ computers came bundled with programs they’d already chosen to install, a technique called “piggybacking.” In its most nefarious form, spyware comes masquerading as antispyware, playing off of users’ fears in a modern reproduction of an ancient confidence scheme. Any good antispyware program will alert users to both hidden and user-installed spyware threats.
Those annoying Pop-up Ads
Many antispyware programs also protect against so-called “adware,” programs that hijack your internet browser and open irritating pop-up windows that serve advertisements to you, often pornographic in nature. More than just a mere irritation, these can pose a serious problem if they end up on your work computer. Antispyware programs often include adware protection in their services, and the line between spyware and adware is often blurry.
Most antispyware programs protect against the full range of spyware and adware, but fall short of full-on virus and trojan protection. Please check out the solutions offered by PCtools below, the suite protects you against all web-borne threats while Spyware Doctor really hones in on Spyware and Adware.
Direct Download links for Products mentioned in this article
PCtools Spyware Doctor
PCtools Internet Security Suite 2009
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admin | October 11th, 2008
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