How To Get Rid of Spyware?

Answer 1

Nearly every personal computer owner has had an unpleasant encounter with spyware. Spyware slows your computer to a crawl, redirects your web browser to bizarre websites, sends ghost images cascading across your screen and generally makes using your system a nightmare. As the name suggests, spyware can steal your personal information, report on your computing habits and even log every single keystroke you make.

An Ounce of Prevention

The first step to eliminating spyware is to be careful where you browse. Some sites only exist to get you to navigate to them so they can infect your computer. If a cereal manufacturer has a website featuring children's games, the point of the site is probably to promote cereal. If an unknown entity has a site featuring coloring pages, the site may earn its keep by planting bugs in your computer. If you don't have a good spyware program that will intercept such activities as you browse, avoid this sort of site. Alternately, install a good anti-virus/anti-spyware program and either set it up to automatically scan sites as you browse them, or manually scan the sites you go to.

A Pound of Cure

If you don't have an anti-spyware program installed on your personal computer, you probably have spyware on it. There are many very good anti-spyware programs that are free, but, as with anything else you download, be careful. Some anti-spyware downloads are actually spyware, themselves. Windows has free anti-virus and anti-malware software that can be downloaded from windows.com website. Many internet service providers offer free anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, as well, so it's a good idea to contact them first. If they don't offer free protection, you have alternatives. Other products available from reputable companies at no cost include Spybot and Malware Bytes. Schedule regular scans and set your software to update automatically. If your program includes a prevention feature, sometimes called immunization, make sure to run that, as well.

It's a good idea to download programs such as anti-spyware from a reputable site like cnet.com.

Spyware can be a dangerous problem to computer owners, but spyware creators count on unprotected systems to make their dirty work possible. The proper precautions and careful browsing are all you need to protect yourself and your computer.