What Is Spyware And How Did I Get It?
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Iain Williams
Apr 2, 2013, 7:00:04 AM4/2/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Iain Williams
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Article Title: What Is Spyware And How Did I Get It?
Author: Iain Williams
Word Count: 491
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=172636&ca=Computers+and+Technology
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=172636
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=172636
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There are three types of software you are likely to encounter whilst using your PC online. Spyware, adware and malware.
Most people use a collective term to describe them. Either a virus or spyware. Strictly speaking they are designed differently to perform certain functions.
Spyware.
Spyware does what it says. It spies on you. It can monitor your activities, surfing habits, credit card information, passwords etc. and send this data back to a central location so some unscrupulous people can use this data.
Unlike adware, spyware usually runs silently in the background without making you aware it�s there. Obviously the longer it goes undetected the more information it can retrieve from its victims.
Spyware is a very serious risk and should not be taken lightly. Once an attacker has got your personal details such as credit card information, passwords for online banking etc. you stand a very real chance of identity theft and financial loss.
Adware
Adware is generally used to force adverts in front of you. It will monitor your surfing habits and when you visit a site it recognises it will force a relative advert or pop-up.
Let�s say you visit a site that is selling second-hand motor cars. If the spyware recognises the site you are visiting it may well force adverts in front of you that are relative to that site. For example car insurance, vehicle recovery services etc.
Other types of adware just force advertising in front of you whether it is relative or not. P*rn sites are of common use and can pop-up at the most inconvenient of times (usually when the wife is stood behind you)!
Some adware will change your home page, add links to your favourites, add shortcuts to your desktop.
Not such a major security risk like spyware. But it can become extremely annoying to have adverts popping up when you least expect it and having to constantly change you home page.
Malware
Malware is short for �malicious software�. It is designed to destroy data on your PC or cause havoc on a network. Trojans, viruses, worms etc usually fall into this category.
Obviously a major security risk and the results can be catastrophic. Unless immediate action is taken to remove you will more than likely lose some, if not all, data on your PC. It�s not uncommon to have to completely reformat a hard drive to remove them.
How Did I Get Infected?
There are umpteen ways it could have happened. But here are a few of the most common:
�Attachments sent in e-mails.
�Downloading free music.
�Downloading free utilities.
�Installing untrustworthy software.
�Visiting certain types of websites (p*rn, warez etc.)
�Installed when using instant messaging services.
About The Author: Iain Williams is the owner of http://Spyware-Aware.com which gives free advice and reviews of spyware removal software.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=172636
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Iain Williams
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=172636
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=172636
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: What Is Spyware And How Did I Get It?
Author: Iain Williams
Word Count: 491
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=172636&ca=Computers+and+Technology
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=172636
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=172636
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
There are three types of software you are likely to encounter whilst using your PC online. Spyware, adware and malware.
Most people use a collective term to describe them. Either a virus or spyware. Strictly speaking they are designed differently to perform certain functions.
Spyware.
Spyware does what it says. It spies on you. It can monitor your activities, surfing habits, credit card information, passwords etc. and send this data back to a central location so some unscrupulous people can use this data.
Unlike adware, spyware usually runs silently in the background without making you aware it�s there. Obviously the longer it goes undetected the more information it can retrieve from its victims.
Spyware is a very serious risk and should not be taken lightly. Once an attacker has got your personal details such as credit card information, passwords for online banking etc. you stand a very real chance of identity theft and financial loss.
Adware
Adware is generally used to force adverts in front of you. It will monitor your surfing habits and when you visit a site it recognises it will force a relative advert or pop-up.
Let�s say you visit a site that is selling second-hand motor cars. If the spyware recognises the site you are visiting it may well force adverts in front of you that are relative to that site. For example car insurance, vehicle recovery services etc.
Other types of adware just force advertising in front of you whether it is relative or not. P*rn sites are of common use and can pop-up at the most inconvenient of times (usually when the wife is stood behind you)!
Some adware will change your home page, add links to your favourites, add shortcuts to your desktop.
Not such a major security risk like spyware. But it can become extremely annoying to have adverts popping up when you least expect it and having to constantly change you home page.
Malware
Malware is short for �malicious software�. It is designed to destroy data on your PC or cause havoc on a network. Trojans, viruses, worms etc usually fall into this category.
Obviously a major security risk and the results can be catastrophic. Unless immediate action is taken to remove you will more than likely lose some, if not all, data on your PC. It�s not uncommon to have to completely reformat a hard drive to remove them.
How Did I Get Infected?
There are umpteen ways it could have happened. But here are a few of the most common:
�Attachments sent in e-mails.
�Downloading free music.
�Downloading free utilities.
�Installing untrustworthy software.
�Visiting certain types of websites (p*rn, warez etc.)
�Installed when using instant messaging services.
About The Author: Iain Williams is the owner of http://Spyware-Aware.com which gives free advice and reviews of spyware removal software.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=172636
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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