What is Spyware and what does it do? Spyware is a program created to invade your privacy. This malicious program records what you do on your computer, records your keystrokes, and copies your documents. The creator of the program can then use this information to access your bank statements, display ads on your computer or worse. However, by taking these three simple steps, you can greatly reduce your chance of acquiring a spyware program.
How do you prevent spyware?
Step 1: Get an anti-spyware program. Not an anti-virus program, a anti-spyware program. Anti-virus programs are not quite the same anti-spyware programs. Anti-virus programs were created to combat against virus infections. While some anti-virus programs do come with some sort of spyware protection, it isn’t efficient against spyware as it is viruses. The reason behind this is the programming of the two programs. That’s why anti-spyware programs are created, to prevent spyware from causing harm to your computer.
It is also important to make sure the program is up to date. Otherwise you won’t be protected from the types of spyware that is created everyday. After every update, do a full system scan to check your system for any threats.
Step 2: Refrain from going to sites containing any sort of pornography, warez, illegal downloads, etc. While it may be a let down for some, it is highly recommended you avoid these sites at all costs. Sites containing any of the mentioned, often contain all sorts of malicious programs as well. This step is truly vital as this is a major step to prevent spyware invading your computer.
Step 3: The most valuable step of them all. Back up your computer! I cannot stress this enough. In the case that you do manage to infect your computer with a virus or spyware program, you can simply restore your computer back to normal.
While it may be a hassle to backup your computer, it is better than dealing with the spyware program. Once spyware programs are on your computer they can be extremely difficult to remove. There is also the chance that you may have missed some of it, giving it time to regain it’s strength. However, by creating a backup, you can easily restore your computer your computer back to working condition. Plus there is no risk of the spyware returning because when restoring from a backup, it deletes everything on your hard drive. Once the hard drive is wiped clean, the files from your backup is copied to replace the deleted ones. This is the best and most efficient way to prevent spyware.
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This site covers the basics to spyware and virus removal.