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What is Spyware?
Spyware can be a number of things. It can
range from watching what websites you go to and monitoring your internet usage patterns,
all the way to more serious things
such as monitoring passwords and other sensitive data you input into the
computer.
Why is it called "Spyware"
?
While this may be a great concept, the downside is that the advertising
companies also install additional tracking software on your system,
which is continuously "calling home", using your Internet connection and
reports statistical data to the parent company. While according to the
privacy policies of the companies, there will be no sensitive or
identifying data collected from your system and you shall remain
anonymous, it still remains the fact, that you have a "live" server
sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your
surfing habits to a remote location.....
Are all Adware products
"Spyware"?
No, but the majority are. There are also products that do display
advertising but do not install any tracking mechanism on your system.
These products are not indexed in our database. Why should I be
worried?
Some spyware is harmless and is just trying to send you personalized
ads. However some spyware can steal passwords, credit card
numbers, email addresses, and other personal information. There is
no way for you to determine what is being sent by these programs. These
types of programs are rare but they exist. Aside from these problems, some spyware can disrupt your internet connection or the ability to display
web pages and send and receive email.
How did it get on my
computer?
Unfortunately,
spyware is frequently installed without your knowledge. Most times it is installed with another
application. LimeWire and Kazaa are good
examples of programs that install spyware. Bonzi Buddy, Gator,
and Hot Bar are some other examples that are common. You have to read the
fine print of the software license agreement to find reference to its
use.
How do I get rid of it?
Since by
it's nature it runs out of view from you and tries to keep itself
hidden, there is really no easy way to remove most spyware programs. We recommend
using a program called Ad-Aware
designed by Lava Soft USA.
There is a free version of the program which also provides free updates. It works much like an anti-virus program
by using lists similar to virus definition files which help it find hidden spyware
and giving you the option to remove it. We have provided a link on
the right to download the software.
Is
spyware legal?
Certainly
the name implies some level of secrecy. However, generally speaking, spyware
is not an illegal type of software. There are certain privacy
issues that a user may object to and therefore they may prefer
not to use the product. This usually involves the tracking and sending
of data and statistics via a server installed on the user's PC and the
use of your Internet connection in the background.
Obtaining
credit card numbers, passwords, and other sensitive data using spyware is
illegal
and is called "sniffing" by the Internet community.
Some of the data displayed on this page
is taken from SpyChecker.com
http://www.spychecker.com/spyware.html
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