Tier 3: Anti-Spyware
Spyware is basically software downloaded onto your computer either by entering a website or downloading a Program that monitors your internet use and sends it to companies who then sell that information to advertisers.
Spyware can be stopped by: Running an anti-spyware program regularly.
Spyware can: change the startup page for your Web Browser to any website (many cases a pornography website), pop up advertisements (I have seen as many as 50 popup advertisements appear at once as a result of spyware infection), slow down and eventually stop your computer from being able to run or even boot up, monitor your web surfing such as the type of sites you visit or keywords you put into search engines, install software such as casino games or pornography memberships (in some cases I have seen a pornography program install itself and steal the users credit card information in order to subscribe to the service costing up to $400 a month), install annoying search bars onto your web browser, and generally make your computer experience much more frusterating.
There are many steps you can take to prevent this problem known as spyware. I recommend downloading Firefox, a fairly new web browser. 90% of spyware utilizes Internet Explorer to download onto a computer, simply eliminating the use of Internet Explorer will prevent more spyware than any anti-spyware software. Generally an increase in spyware can be a result of pornographic sites, which are saturated with spyware. So if you suddenly see a surge in spyware know that this could possibly be from yourself or a family member going to pornographic websites. Also, be wary of the “additional” software certain programs offer. Generally they are spyware.
The world of anti-spyware software is endless. In many cases one program will find something that none of the others find, and vice versa. Ad Aware is the best free program on the market, Microsoft Anti-Spyware (now called defender) comes in a very distant second, but could be promising in the future (it is currently in Beta). Many people end up using Ad Aware combined with a pay program such as Webroot Anti-Spyware, another good program and worth the money. I have worked with pay and free programs…none of them get everything, but combined usually get most everything. I personally use Ad Aware, nothing else. I simply stay away from pornography and Warez type sites and use only my firefox browser (this isn’t to say that everyone with spyware watches pornography, that is only one of the places where spyware is the worst). I have helped many friends remove their spyware problem, scanning up to 2000 individual pieces of spyware in one case. An average individual will get by with Ad Aware, but if problems persist then it may be necessary to buy or at least download the free trial of a pay program.
Good luck to everyone with their spyware problems. Links to pay and free programs are now in my additional info site.
Next I will be talking about identity theft and easy ways for my 3 tiered system to fail. Oh NO!!! Stay Tuned.
