Tech Notes

Categories: General
      Date: Jun 23, 2009
     Title: Tech Notes

Spyware & Adware, oh my!

Spyware & Adware is problem. Compared to Viruses, that can often render a system almost unusable, these programs are often installed when visiting web sites or by the user themself. They may be seemingly innocent or official popup screens, such as a notice that your system is running slow, do you wish to correct it. Often, once loaded, a piece of spyware may load many other spyware programs as well. Symptoms are:

inability to access some web sites or redirected to other web sites
excessive popup ads
unusual slowness, particularly when on the Internet.

Tips to keep your computer spyware & adware free:

Only install software from reputable manufacturers
NEVER click the OK button on a pop-up window, click the "X" to close the window instead
Use a commercial anti-spyware program with regular updates

Recommended free anti-spyware software:

Spybot Search & Destroy
www.safer-networking.org
Adaware SE
www.adaware.com
Microsoft Windows Defender
This software does not work with Win98 or ME www.microsoft.com