Spyware? – On MY computer?

Spyware? No, it has nothing to do with James Bond’s underwear. Spyware is a general term for programs that install themselves without your knowledge or deceive you while you install them.

Spyware? No, it has nothing to do with James Bond’s underwear. Spyware is a general term for programs that install themselves without your knowledge or deceive you while you install them.

They can track where you go on the web, capture your account numbers and passwords, hijack Internet Explorer and redirect your searches to their sites, change your security settings and even use your computer to attack other corporations.

Spyware is getting harder to remove and can even reinstall itself if not removed completely. They will eventually choke your computer until it’s unusable. It’s taken as little as several hours and as long as two days to restore a PC, which is lost time to you and your friendly IT guys. Some of them look innocent, like the smiley faces for email, and others may disguise themselves as pop-up blockers, only to pummel you with pop-ups.

Rules to follow for the home and office:

Windows updates arrive every few weeks – always install them.

For work computers if IT didn’t install it, you should ask before you install it.

If it pops up with a warning that you need to install something, you probably shouldn’t.

If it’s free and promises to enhance your web browsing, it’s probably bad.

The writers of spyware try to make it look as innocent and appealing as possible so you will download and/or install it.

The web is getting more dangerous every day, so be careful out there.