Free Spyware Software

One of the fun parts of owning a computer is, of course, access to the internet. The worldwide web is chock full of useful information, readily available at your fingertips! It is also home to potentially lethal viruses, many of which can wreak havoc on your system within moments. The following four programs can help you avoid trouble; best of all they are absolutely free.

Firefox - a web browser for the ages. Okay, a web browser that beats Internet Explorer by preventing pop ups and harmful scripts from being downloaded to your computer. Lots of nifty features too, including tabbed browsing, live bookmarks, and tons of add-on features.

Spybot Search and Destroy - gets rid of adware, spyware, and malware. Blocks the installation of spyware before it occurs; works in conjunction with anti-virus software, not as a replacement for one.

AVG Antvirus - offers basic antivirus protection including scanning email attachments for viruses and scanning of all hard drives, removable drives, and external drives on your computer. A paid version does some additional tasks and includes technical support.

Zone Alarm - if you don’t have a firewall installed on your computer, you are opening yourself up to potential catastrophic security breaches. With Stealth Mode enabled you can search the internet in private, away from the intruding eyes of those who might want to steal your important information.

As with many freeware programs, “pro” or professional versions of the software are sometimes available to give computer users a maximum amount of protection, for a price. Still, all four of these programs have something to offer and are worth exploring. Your computer safety and privacy is essential, insure it today by downloading the programs that are right for you.

Copyright 2005 — Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Samples from his portfolio are available right online.

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Most people believe that once they have anti-virus software installed on their computer, they are adequately protected from malicious intruders into their PC.
This is a serious mistake.

Viruses can ruin your computer, but some spyware can ruin your life.
Some of the more malicious forms of spyware are capable of collecting keystrokes (”key-loggers”) from your computer and transmit them back via the Internet to the cyber-criminals who installed it on your computer without you even knowing it. Another way is that these cyber-criminals can gain access to your computer via a ‘back door’ and obtain your personal information.

The information sent back across the Internet could contain account numbers and passwords to your bank accounts, credit card numbers, including verification codes, and highly sensitive personal information such as your Social Security number. The result is that these cyber-criminals could drain your bank accounts and rack up enormous charges on your credit cards before the banks or credit card companies have time to warn you about unusual activities within your accounts.

In the case where these people get a hold of your Social Security number, they can assume your identity and cause a host of hair-raising problems, such as taking out a mortgage on your house, or even selling your house or conduct criminal activities under your name. I some cases these problems may take years to get straightened out.

Fortunately most of the spyware that can be introduced to your computer is not that malicious. The vast majority of software that is secretly put onto your system consists of small pieces of information, called “cookies” which are designed to keep track of your browsing habits and enable website owners to customize the display and advertisements on their sites according to your fields of interest. Still, these advertising intrusions can also take on annoying proportions in the form of unwanted pop-up ads, useless toolbars and other modifications to your browser’s look.

The best way to protect your computer against this type of unwanted software is to install software that is specifically designed to detect and remove these types of intrusions. There are a number of anti spyware software packages out there, some better than others, but the main key is to make sure that the software you obtain is updated frequently, preferably automatically via the Internet. It is highly recommended that you yourself perform a scan of the computer regularly, at least weekly.

Many anti-spyware packages can be programmed to perform these scans automatically. Usually the default time of such software to do this scan is when you boot up the system first thing in the morning. However, this is also the time you will be most active with the computer, and performing a spyware scan and an anti virus scan could slow your PC down quite a bit. It might be better to schedule these scans to be run during off times, such as lunch or dinner hours when you least use the computer.

Scanning the computer only removes the nuisance software after it already has been installed. It is of course much better to try to prevent such intrusions before they happen.

One way is to not to plug your computer directly into the modem, but install a router between your modem and your PC. This will stop many of the attacks, but not all of them. In addition to that, the installation of a firewall presents an extra barrier to intruders. Also, make sure that you regularly update your operating system, as many of the security leaks of the software are constantly being addressed and fixed.

None of these preventive measures are foolproof, but if you combine all these techniques, you may be spared a lot of grief and annoyances.

Bill Stafford has been operating a computer sales and support company for over 20 years. For more information and tips for your PC or the Internet, visit his site at:
http://inforesources.wordpress.com

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If this is you, then you are either a security expert or extremely lucky! Unfortunately, it is becoming all too easy nowadays to get infected by spyware and malware. In fact, at any one time, around 90% of computers are infected with some form of rogue program, be it spyware, malware or adware. It is the single most common problem that support staff to the end user and businesses, have to deal with. These spyware programs can have lots of often devastating, effects on your computer, ranging from pornographic popups, to complete identity theft. Some of the nastier infections including programs that often say they will rid you of spyware (AND their rogue program) for a fee! Not only are these programs annoying, but they can slow your computer, destroy important information, render your computer completely useless and in extreme cases, lead to your identity being used to run up incredible debts in YOUR name!

Of course, the most important thing to do would be to protect yourself from ever getting these kinds of spyware nasties in the first place, There are a lot of freely available programs already available. A firewall, antivirus program and some spyware/adware checking program should be the FIRST things you install on your computer before venturing anywhere further on the internet. Of course, this advice could already be too late for you….

In this case I would recommend using some of the free resources available. One very good source of such information is the many forums and communities set up to defeat these programs from gaining any foothold in the ever increasing internet user list. Forums, such as that found at http://forum.securitycadets.com, have been set up to freely help those that have spyware/adware etc on their computer and want expert advice on removal, safely and cleanly. These people are experts in their field and dedicate themselves entirely for free, to help those that are maybe not so ‘aware’ about rogue programs. You can use the freely available tools and programs they recommend (all checked, all approved, all SAFE) to run scans, diagnostics and clean anything untoward from your computer. These people were often once victims themselves, and are determined to help others from falling foul as well.

They will also assist you in securing your computer for the future to prevent reinfection. These forums and their volunteers are also one of the best places to find out about any new rogue programs that you should be aware of.

In conclusion, if you are an internet novice, or even a computer expert, forums such as SecurityCadets.com are a one-stop place for all security related programs, advice, help and news that every internet user should be aware of. And somewhere you should bookmark now, in case you should be ‘unlucky’ enough to need their help, advice and support one day!

[I go by the name AndyAtHull and are unemployed currently. I own my own security site http://www.securitycadets.com and for http://forum.securitycadets.com for users to come for FREE help]

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