Spyware may not affect your computer’s performance very much but it does pose a serious security threat to you. Spyware can steal sensitive information you have on your computer before passing it on to third parties who will exploit this information. Does this sound scary to you?

Well it is and you should definitely have some kind of spyware removal software installed on your computer to help protect your system against these sneaky attacks on your privacy. There are plenty of free spyware removal software programs available for you to download and use to protect your privacy.

Free Programs

One of the best spyware blockers available on the market is Ad-Aware SE Personal. This is an effective program that will help you detect spyware and to delete it from your computer. This is a user friendly program and this aspect has fueled its popularity.

Another program that is also very popular is SpyBoy Search and Destroy. This programs carries out the same duties as Ad-Aware, however it is a good idea to use both spyware removal software programs together. You may find more spyware this way and have a better chance of keeping your computer clean.

If you use Internet Explorer as your preferred web browser then you might want to use IE-SPYAD. This program will help to classify websites, advertisers, marketers, and known spyware sources to the Restricted sites zone of your browser. The list of sites is very extensive so you stand a good chance of avoiding spyware to your system.

Preventative Measures

If you would like to prevent spyware instead of merely using spyware removal software then there are programs that prevent your computer from being attacked by spyware in the first place. SpywareBlaster is one such program. It stops spyware and adware from getting in your system so that you do not need to use spyware removal software in the first place.

We often unwittingly install spyware so having a program that tells you what is on your computer at the end of every session is a handy one. HiJack This is a program that will give you a full report on all start up items, buttons, and browser add ons. This will help you to determine if there has been anything suspicious added to your computer system. You can delete the suspicious features and stop the spyware from infecting your computer completely.

In the earlier Windows systems, viruses were a major threat and annoyance as they concealed themselves in suspicious websites and e-mail attachments. This alone has caused significant damage in both personal and business computers and their answer to the problem were commercial virus scanners. Virus scanners have their limitations however and do not detect mysterious activity that could be slowing down your computer or monitoring your keystrokes or private information.

These malicious programs are known as spyware and their role is to steal sensitive data like stored passwords and inputted credit card information from your computer. Since they run in the background invisible to the task manager, spyware consumes a considerable amount of system resources especially if multiple spyware programs work together.

They take advantage of Windows vulnerabilities to get into your system or appear in the form of fake programs that seem legitimate, but when installed, puts the spyware in place. Spyware is pretty difficult to avoid at times with its many different forms and hard to detect if you don’t have the right software. Therefore, it is important to take action and learn how to block spyware and figure out the best possible way in doing so.

Installing a Powerful Anti-spyware Solution

Many program developers have answered to this ongoing cyber crisis by developing a solid scanner that works similarly to the way anti-virus scanners work. Instead of combating viruses, anti-spyware or malware scanners search the whole computer for spyware and certain trojans as well.

Choosing a good spyware removal software is critical in taking the spyware out and accuracy should be your top priority in making your choice. Try to look around for the most popular anti-spyware software and see if they show off numbers on how large their database is. The larger the database the more spyware it can get rid of.

Many homepages of anti-spyware software have free trials so you can evaluate. Try to see if their user interface is easy to handle so you can perform spyware scans whenever needed. Before installing any spyware blockers, cross check with anti-spyware review sites and see if they are legitimate. Be alert too on their ratings especially if you plan on purchasing a license for a commercial anti-spyware software.

Sidenote: After thoroughly testing all the free and paid Spyware programs available, none of them performed as well as No Adware. You can read our full review of No Adware here..

If you are on a tight budget, however, there are some good freeware solutions that you can start off with. Once you downloaded and successfully installed the anti-spyware software, you should now have the best solution to take care of the threats in your system. Now all you need to do is configure it before you begin scanning.

Scheduling Updates with your Anti-spyware Software

After you found the right anti-spyware solution and run the program, you should notice various options depending on the one you chose. The top programs should have an updating feature where the program downloads the latest spyware database. Make sure you do this first so your program is fitted with the latest database needed to remove the latest threats. It is a good idea to schedule these updates so you won’t have to worry about updating in the future.

Turning on Auto Protection

Some anti-spyware programs come with real-time protection, meaning the program runs in the background actively protecting you from incoming spyware. While this can slow down your computer, it gives an extra layer of security in further eliminating spyware in the long run. Turn this on if you have more than enough system memory.

Using the Full Scan Option

Now that your anti-spyware is fully configured, you should be ready to perform your first spyware scan. When you try to scan, you might be presented with a few options on the type of scan you want. Choose the full scan option as it searches every part of your system for traces of spyware. Have all drives included and let it search the registry as well if an option is available. Once your computer starts scanning, leave it alone as it will take time finish and any other activity or programs running may cause the scanner to freeze.

After the scanning finishes a report should be displayed highlighting what the program has found. Deleting these claimed spyware is completely safe as long as there are options to backup these results in case removal causes damage. Restart your computer and see if there is any improvement. Once you see the program solved, update your Windows operating system to patch existing vulnerabilities to further protect your system from incoming spyware.

New computer users should understand the basics of hardware and software. Program enthusiasts should also know what shareware and freeware are and the benefits of each. There is also spyware and adware which are both common threats to all computer systems and while it is easy to tell right away that they aren’t good programs, avoiding them and blocking spyware can prove to be challenging.
Spyware and adware are either considered malware or malicious software, but they do have their differences and knowing these differences can help determine the best solution.

Differentiating Spyware and Adware

Spyware coming from the root word “spy” are malicious software that has tracking functions capable of fetching sensitive user data and personal files. Some forms of spyware take the form of keyloggers where keystrokes are logged capturing any typed data including passwords. This data is remotely sent usually to the creator of the spyware for any destructive use. Other spyware can monitor desktop activity and interfere with operations remotely using Windows exploits as a point of entry. System slowdowns and instability can be caused if multiple spyware are active.

Adware can be similar to spyware, but are not capable of monitoring activity. However, they can operate in stealth in similar fashion to spyware making them tough to detect. Their primary function is displaying banner ads, pop-ups, and other advertisements that usually annoy the user. They can pop-up unexpectedly in the form of browser objects or attempt to modify the wallpaper or browser homepage by redirecting the user to advertisement content. Adware developers profit from the displays of these ads and while they don’t do as much damage as spyware, adware can slowdown systems more because graphical advertisements can eat up memory.

How Spyware and Adware Affect Systems

Spyware spreads similarly to how viruses spread all over the internet. Anonymous instant messages or e-mails can be sent asking you to visit a suspicious link. The link can contain harmful website code that can transfer the spyware contained to vulnerable systems that enter. This can happen really fast since most spyware programs are tiny and come in unnoticed. They can also spread along with viruses through removable storage media like flash drives and memory cards. Some spyware can also hide in suspicious program installers that look like something beneficial to the user.

Adware is usually bundled with free programs in order to fund development of these programs and can also be secretly installed when suspicious banner advertisements are clicked. Like spyware, adware can be concealed in memory making it difficult to remove.

Detecting and Removing Spyware and Adware

Despite their differences, both adware and spyware can be removed using the same anti-malware solutions so long as a quality spyware blocker is chosen. If you don’t have any scanner installed, it could be possible to get rid of the adware by uninstalling the program that it came bundled with. Some adware aren’t as malicious and may have uninstallers of their own. Still it is best to have a malware scanner ready to make sure all elements are cleaned up.

Spyware is much more difficult to detect which is why all systems connected to the internet should have their computers fully scanned for possible spyware and adware activity. There are some freeware and portable tools that specialize in removing certain spyware and adware and there are some commercial solutions that can scan all areas including the registry for malware. Some virus scanners may have support for spyware and adware removal too, but aren’t as reliable as dedicated scanners.

Sidenote: After thoroughly testing all the free and paid Spyware programs available, none of them performed as well as No Adware. You can read our full review of No Adware here..

Preventing Spyware and Adware from Entering your Computer

Although having reliable spyware removal software should keep the spyware and adware at bay, it is still a good habit to keep your Windows system updated using Windows Update to make sure all the patches are installed to plug known security holes to further shield yourself from intrusions. Try to stay away from suspicious installers and games that are free as one of their catches may force people to install toolbars, monitors, and other small programs that can spy and display unwanted advertisements. Check your computer for viruses and use a registry cleaner to fix corrupted entries just to make sure your system is running in optimal performance.

Even if your computer isn’t showing signs of slowdown or instability, scanning your computer for adware and spyware is useful to make sure all of your sensitive data are safe.

Imagine a program that records every page on every site you visit, every key you press, every password or credit card number you enter. Now imagine the program sending that information to places unknown to you, without your permission.

This isn’t a paranoid fantasy. This is spyware.

Spyware can slow down system performance to a crawl and gobble up your bandwidth. Spyware also poses a serious threat to privacy. Anyone who surfs the internet is at risk of picking up spyware. There are seven steps every computer owner should take to remove these digital peeping toms.

1. Prevention Is the Best Remedy

It is easier to prevent a spyware infestation than to cure one. Every computer user should set up firewall software as one of their first actions on a new computer. A firewall is different than an anti-virus program. An antivirus program watches program actions, and flags any process that seems suspicious.

A firewall is a “traffic cop” that monitor information as it flows in and out of your computer. If another computer is trying to contact your own, or a program starts transmitting information, a firewall will let you know and stop the process until given permission otherwise.

Many operating systems come with firewalls and antivirus programs installed. Many good ones can be downloaded from the web, some are free. Just be sure to follow the cautions below before you download.

2. Well Guarded is Well Prepared

In addition to a firewall and an antivirus program, it is also wise to install a spyware detection program. Most spyware programs do not automatically run in the background, as do firewall and antivirus programs. They detect known spyware and flag it for removal at the user’s discretion.

3. If It’s Too Good to Be True…

Beware of offers of free emoticons, desktop wallpapers or singing, dancing email programs. Many are legitimate, but all come with strings attached. For the innocent ones, those strings are advertisements. For the not-so-innocent, they carry hidden spyware. Think of any new program as a potential digital double-agent. Do an online search for reviews of the program.

4. Know Thy System

Be familiar with your computer’s processing speed, both while online and while working on its own. If there’s a sudden slowdown, or if you realize that a creeping lethargy has overtaken your system, check for spyware first.

Occasionally check out your computer’s program files. In Windows, that means using Windows Explorer. Don’t change anything if you’re not a power user, but do investigate any program or file you don’t recognize. You can check it out via an online search to find out what it does.

5. Watch Those Installations!

Be careful when installing any program. Many ask to install free or trial extras that may act as spyware. Read the fine print on those add-ons, especially “How We Use Your Information.”

6. Update Often

Keep your protective programs up to date. Nothing can stop this year’s threat if it hasn’t been updated since last year!

7. Patrol Regularly

Spyware programs must be run by the user. Set up a reminder for yourself to do this at least monthly.

Spyware is more than a little creepy, but it is avoidable. Simple precautions will ensure that your system keeps your information secure and for your eyes only.