If you run any type of Internet business, Adware and Spyware can be a very serious issue. These programs hide themselves on your computer and do all sorts of annoying and potentially dangerous things.

Viruses spread on your PC. The good news is that Spyware applications usually stay put, much like a parasite. Spyware collects information about your messaging and browsing behavior and your online preferences with the intent to sell it to online advertisers.

Adware is an application which shows advertisements on your PC, including banners and pop-ups. Some Adware programs also track the usage behavior of the application user without the knowledge of that user.

If you find ads constantly appearing on your computer, your home page being changed repeatedly, mysterious toolbars appearing on your browser, a noticeably slower PC, or any other weird thing happening then chances are you have some form of Spyware or Adware on your PC.

It’s scary to know that you’re being “watched”, and that your private information that you assume is safe may actually be used against you. Adware/Spyware programs can enter your PC through email, instant messaging, or downloading files. It’s especially scary for the Internet marketer, because we are constantly purchasing and downloading new products and services online.

If you let Adware pile up on your computer, things can get pretty ugly. It was getting to the point where every time I opened my browser a search toolbar would appear on top (even though I kept uninstalling it) along with about 5 popup windows. I couldn’t get any work done without some kind of interruption every 2 minutes. Talk about annoying! And running virus software such as Norton didn’t help.

If you are finding yourself in the same situation, don’t despair. There are programs available (both free and paid) to help you get Spyware and Adware off your PC. It is not the intent of this article to try to sell you on any one piece of software. In fact, I recommend starting with free software, then evaluating your situation.

For Spyware, the best free program I’ve used is Spybot Search & Destroy, which can be downloaded at:

http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html

For Adware, the best free program I’ve used is Ad-Aware, which can be downloaded at:

http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html

These 2 programs got rid of most of the Spyware/Adware on my machine, but I was still experiencing some problems so I went ahead and purchased some software. There are a lot of good programs out there that will get rid of both Spyware and Adware with the push of one button. Most run between $25-$40.

If you are still experiencing popups or other symptoms of Spyware after running the free programs, do a little bit of research and upgrade to a paid version. Most offer some sort of guarantee, and the money you spend will be well worth the headaches and annoyances of Spyware on your PC.

Copyright 2005 Michael Murray

Michael Murray is a 22-year old full-time Internet marketer and college student with Cerebral Palsy who lives in sunny Orlando Florida. His latest site is an information center on how to remove Adware & Spyware from your PC: http://www.adware-software.com

Working from home has its advantages, including no commute, a more flexible work schedule and fresh coffee and home-cooked meals whenever you want.

But working from home while using a wireless local area network (WLAN) may lead to theft of sensitive information and hacker or virus infiltration unless proper measures are taken. As WLANs send information over radio waves, someone with a receiver in your area could be picking up the transmission, thus gaining access to your computer.

They could load viruses on to your laptop which could be transferred to the company’s network when you go back to work.

Up to 75 per cent of WLAN users do not have standard security features installed, while 20 per cent are left completely open as default configurations are not secured, but made for the users to have their network up and running ASAP.

It is recommended that wireless router/access point setup be always done though a wired client.

Change default administrative password on wireless router/access point to a secured password.

Enable at least 128-bit WEP encryption on both card and access point. Change your WEP keys periodically. If equipment does not support at least 128-bit WEP encryption, consider replacing it.

Although there are security issues with WEP, it represents minimum level of security, and it should be enabled.

Change the default SSID on your router/access point to a hard to guess name. Setup your computer device to connect to this SSID by default.

Setup router/access point not to broadcast the SSID. The same SSID needs to be setup on the client side manually. This feature may not be available on all equipment.

Block anonymous Internet requests or pings.

On each computer having wireless network card, network connection properties should be configured to allow connection to Access Point Networks Only. Computer to Computer (peer to peer) Connection should not be allowed.

Enable MAC filtering. Deny association to wireless network for unspecified MAC addresses. Mac or Physical addresses are available through your computer device network connection setup and they are physically written on network cards. When adding new wireless cards / computer to the network, their MAC addresses should be registered with the router /access point.

Network router should have firewall features enabled and demilitarized zone (DMZ) feature disabled.

You can test your hardware and personal firewalls using Shields Up test available at http://www.grc.com

All computers should have a properly configured personal firewall in addition to a hardware firewall.

Update router/access point firmware when new versions become available.

Locate router/access point away from strangers so they cannot reset the router/access point to default settings.

Locate router/access point in the middle of the building rather than near windows to limit signal coverage outside the building.

While none of the measure suggested above provides full protection as counter measures exist, a collection of suggested measures will act as a deterrent against attacker when other insecure networks represent easier targets.

The author of this article ia a software developer, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for more information about the Top Spyware Removal Software.

The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) received over 200,000 complaint submissions for 2004, an increase of 66.6% from 2003. The total dollar loss from all referred cases exceeded 68 million dollars, an average loss of $894 per complaint. There are many types of internet frauds that exist including auction, email, foreign investment letters and online dating. Here are some ways to identify a possible scam or fraud that you may have encountered while surfing the internet.

Auctions

Auction sites are one of the best places to purchase and sell items. They are also one of the easiest places to become an internet fraud victim. Auction fraud represented 71% of the total referred fraud complaints. How the scam works is that you win the auction, but never receive the item. Most of the time the auction site cannot assist you in recovering the money stolen. They will remove the member’s account and disqualify the member’s email address from their site but are not able to do much else. It is in your best interest to research each seller before making any purchases. Auction sites have a rating system for their members and I would advise you to check this and their profile for certain clues. The first is to check how many sales have been completed and the response from the buyers. I would suggest no less than a hundred transactions for moderately priced items (less than a hundred dollars). A scammer will become a member and sell fifty items for a dollar or less usually in a week or two to build up his member rating. Then they will post twenty auctions ending within a day of each other for items that retail for over a hundred dollars but they are selling them for an unprofitable amount. Again, research a seller’s auction history before placing your bid. Also, if Western Union or similar is stated to be the only form of payment, move right on to the next auction.

Fraudulent Email

Email is a great form of communication and also an easy target for schemers. Electronic mail is the primary mechanism by which a perpetrator makes contact representing 63% compared to just 7% by phone. Fraud victims will receive an email with a link stating that their account information needs to be updated. Upon clicking on the link you are taken to a page that looks almost identical to the member page and asks you to enter in your name, address, social security number, checking account routing number and/or credit card number. When you hit the submit button, your information is instantly shuttled to someone waiting to separate you from your money. Before submitting your information, verify that you are truly on the site that the link states it is taking you.

Foreign Investment Letter

Another popular email scheme is an email from a foreign country stating that they have millions that need to be transferred to the United States but need a bank account to finalize the transaction. The sender of the email is willing to give you a percentage of the amount transferred in exchange for using your bank account. Never submit your social security number and checking account or credit card number via an email or an unfamiliar website. This is also known as Nigerian letter fraud and among one of the highest dollar loss frauds with an average of $3000.

Online Dating

You would also be surprised how easily people give their hard earned money away to people they meet over the internet but not in person. The victim meets someone in a chat room or message board and builds a friendship with the perpetrator who usually sends the victim a picture of an attractive person. When the time comes to meet, the schemer admits to not having the money for airfare and expenses, so the victim sends the money via Western Union or similar money transfer service, never to hear back from the person again.

Avoiding Scams

Here are a few ways to avoid becoming a victim of a scam:

1. Do not disclose your social security number, credit card or banking numbers to anyone you do not feel comfortable with.
2. Check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) and Scambusters.com before making a purchase from an unfamiliar website and company.
3. When purchasing items online avoid force seller tactics. If they can’t wait, then tell them you’re not buying. Whenever possible, use escrow. Escrow is a third party who holds the money until the item or service has been delivered to the buyer.
4. Avoid Western Union or similar forms of payment at all costs.
5. Most importantly, do your research.

Please visit the IFCC or view the annual report at http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/statistics.asp for more information about internet fraud.

James Junior is a freelance writer and web programmer for http://www.jccorner.com

Well, this is an article I never thought I would have to write. Computer ownership was just not something I thought people would get confused over but, after overhearing a number of conversations last week from my co-workers, I realized that quite a few people just don’t know how cut and dry this topic is.

Here’s the scoop. Over the last few weeks the company I work for has been going through a massive systems upgrade. And as part of that roll out, they upgraded everyone’s computer with new versions of software via the network. Announcements were made everyday that the changes were coming and to save everything that you didn’t want to lose.

This upgrade, like I said before, was massive. In some cases the software was completely changed over to a new package that the end user had not seen before. There were also security upgrades that allow for remote uploads of patches and system inventories of computers. In short, about the only thing that was the same was the physical computer itself and the files we had saved on our hard drives.

Access levels were changed, passwords were changed, unauthorized software and any related files were deleted, desktop options were locked, Internet access was throttled down (and a content proxy server brought online) and a whole host of other changes implemented. (IMHO, it was about time. The network was slow and the system about 5 years out of date. Here’s kudos to one company trying to make it easier for it’s employees to do their jobs…)

Boy, the wailing and gnashing of teeth I heard around the office would have made an IRS agent proud! Comments like, "Who said they could upgrade my computer" or "I didn’t give them permission to access my computer" were common. I was floored!

Ok, I’m going to clear this issue up in short order (and I apologize for the "YELLING" below…)

Unless you purchased the computer you work on or you made a deal with your boss or you work for yourself, IT’S NOT YOUR COMPUTER! That’s right. Take a deep breath and say the following with me, It’s not my computer… It’s not my computer… It’s not my computer…

Write that phrase out on a sticky note and stick it to the monitor. Write it in ink on the back of your hand or set up a daily pop up reminder. Do something, anything you need to do to remember that the computer you do work on for your boss does NOT belong to you. This will save you a ton of grief in the future. Why? Well it’s about privacy - your privacy.

Your employer has the right to do anything they want to the computers they have bought with their own money and connected to their network.

And if you connect a computer you do own to their network, they also have rights pertaining to the intellectual property that may be generated by or stored on your machine.

So what does this mean to you? Well, for starters, don’t load anything on the computer that you don’t want to be made public. Also, don’t use company assets for personal stuff. In other words, don’t load any banking software on the machine and balance your checkbook at work. You may lose your data files or you may even run the risk of having your bank balance exposed to the public. Or if you have any "questionable" surfing habits, surf at home. Most company networks today record and store everything, including all the places you go to on the Internet.

Want to see a good example of this? Just recently, a link was posted on the Internet that allowed anyone to go search through the complete email files of everyone from Enron. Enron, since they owned all the email that goes through their servers, decided that it was too much trouble to isolate individual emails for the SEC (that’s the Securities and Exchange Commission, a GOVERNMENT agency. The IRS Agent crack above may not be a joke to some…) so they released ALL the emails stored or archived on their system.

Every email, whether it pertained to company business, the hemorrhoid problems of the guy in HR or how many times someone slept with someone else during lunch breaks is now out there for the whole world to see. (I don’t know about you but that guy in HR better go see the doctor quick!)

I bet you are thinking that this kind of thing will never happen to you. Right, just wait. Employers are monitoring you at every turn. And if you don’t watch out, you could get fired over some email you sent to your Great Aunt Sophie about your dog’s coming surgery or a picture that got downloaded to your hard drive from some web page you visited.

Scary, right? You bet it is.

Ok, now that I have gotten my point across, lets take a more realistic look. Most employers don’t have some dude sitting in a closet somewhere pouring over every email sent through the system or looking at every file on every employee’s computer. The sheer number of people this would take is daunting.

However, what they usually do is use automated tools to look for patterns of abuse. Like multiple hits on an adult Internet site from the same user. They may scrub emails to look for offensive words, etc. Then once a pattern is identified, the employee is contacted and warned to stop. Rarely is someone fired straight out.

In today’s world of increased scrutiny, it behooves you to play it straight with the computer at work. Leave the personal stuff at home. Who knows, you may be surprised by the increase in your productivity. At the very least, you won’t have to worry over some person reading about your hemorrhoids on the Internet.

It’s something to think about.

Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work.

He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.

Huge number of spyware software applications are available in the market, some being offered as shareware while rest as freeware. (Shareware means a software available for download / CD, and can be used for a particular length of time, usually 30 days. Some are disabled as well). Before making a decision to purchase any such software we should check the reliability and should consider various attributes possessed by them and then select the best and the most appropriate one. The various attributes that one should consider to be the most important when purchasing spyware detection and removal software are -

The spyware software should include tools to enhance the ease of spyware detection and removal. The software should be able to offer descriptions of detected spyware so we can determine whether or not to keep each item. The software should also have auto-update and auto-scheduling capabilities. Auto-update facility ensures that we never forget to download latest spyware definition file. Auto-scheduling ensures that the system is scanned for these malicious codes at a defined interval. This means that even is the system user has changed, the computer is still safe from these spywares. There should be "undo" capabilities in case we accidentally delete something we actually need, and many other features as per individual requirements. The product should provide real-time protection from spyware. In other words, the software should help us prevent spyware installation instead of just removing it afterward. The product should be effective at finding and removing the many different types of spyware.

The product should be easy to use. Its features should be user friendly avoiding any technical jargon, not so easily understood by an average computer user. The user interface should be pleasing to look at, and more importantly, should offer the ease of navigation. The product should be easy to download and install, it should be comfortable enough for running and us to get it up without consulting a book or a tech support person.

There should be a help section installed with the product and should offer easy to understand answers to our questions. There should be someone we can call for support, and the support staff should respond quickly to our email questions. With the right solution for removing and detecting spyware in place, you can keep your computer privacy protected and PC ad-free.

Few top most Spyware software are- Spyware Eliminator, Spyware Doctor, Spy Sweeper, CounterSpy, MS AntiSpyware, Ad-Aware, McAfee, Pest Patrol, NoAdware, Spybot S&D. Best Personal Firewalls are- ZoneAlarm, Outpost Pro, Sygate Firewall, Norton Firewall, Norman Firewall, SurfSecret, Windows Firewall, BlackIce, Injoy, McAfee Firewall.

Computer security awareness is certainly on the improve however it is still amazing how many computer users leave themselves wide open to malicious attacks. Get more free info at: http://www.nichearticles.com/spyware/

Ok, ok, I know you’ve seen them. All those pop up windows claiming that "You’re being watched!" or banner ads saying "Your computer is under surveillance!" And all you need to do is buy their product and your computer’s visbility will disappear from the Internet. Well, to state the obvious, that’s just not true.

We have to give those companies some credit though - they are giving you half of the truth. If they were giving you the whole story, what they’d be saying is that their software will make your surfing tracks disappear from your personal computer. Not from the Internet.

Now, with that said, don’t just blow off these products saying "if they can’t get rid of all my personal surfing records then what good are they?" These products actually address the more important half of the issue. The effective ones really do clean up your personal computer! To me this is very important because it’s easier for people to get your computer’s Internet records, via hacking, tracking or outright theft, than it is for them to get any other type of Internet records.

Want proof? Just ask Gary Glitter, a 1960’s pop star who took his personal computer in to have a repair done. The shop found both pictures and other evidence of illegal Internet activity and called the cops! Glitter spent time in jail because he didn’t "clean up his act" before he took the computer in for a repair.

The other half of this issue and the one that is a bit more complicated to address is made up of all the records established and held by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), Internet routers (computer "traffic cops" that route Internet requests around the web) and website hosting servers.

These computers are completely outside your scope of influence. You can’t just call up your ISP and tell them to delete all records that pertain to your account! Once they are done laughing, they will let you know that to do that they would have to cull through literally millions of records for any given day to pull out your two or three hundred records. The effort would be enormous and they don’t have the resources to do this kind of work.

Besides, these logs are used mostly to trouble shoot server / router errors and to help stop hacker abuse and other kinds of DOS (Denial of Service) attacks.

But you can affect the information that gets stored in these logs. To understand this you need to know how the process works. Here are the basic steps:

-You sign on to your ISP.

-Your ISP assigns you an IP (Internet Protocol) address. An IP address is a series of numbers that tell the computer where you are connecting from and who to send information to.

-You type in a web address in your browser and send that request to your ISP.

-Your ISP logs the request, along with your assigned IP address and then goes out to the Internet to request the web page.

-The ISP’s request goes through multiple routers, each one logging who made the request and forwarding on the request to the next until it gets to the server hosting the web page.

-The host server logs the request and sends the information back out, often through a completely different set of routers, each one again logging the request and passing it on to the next until it gets back to your ISP.

-Your ISP looks up in it’s log who made the initial request and sends it on to you.

-You get the page, a temporary copy is stored on your hard drive.

-You click on a link or enter in a new web address and the process starts all over again!

So for every request you make to your ISP, not only does that request get stored on your computer, it gets stored on a number of other computers as well! Comforting right?

Well there is a way to hide, or mask would be a better term, your web surfing activities. You need to use an anonymous surfing tool. Sites like Anonymizer.com or the-cloak.com offer an online proxy type service that takes advantage of SSL and encryption to keep your surfing tracks to yourself.

All requests made to them through SSL are encrypted so even your ISP can’t read what you requested. This secure connection is the same type that ecommerce sites use to protect your credit card data. Then all requests they make for you reference their computers as the originator of the request so all the routers and web host servers see is their IP address! Your personal and or browser information is blocked from the Internet.

So, if you really want to protect your privacy, give the snoopers a one - two punch. Clean up your act by using one of the history / cookie clean up tools available for download AND surf through one of the anonymous surfing providers out on the net.

Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work.

He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.

High-tech private investigators are becoming the answer for many Internet users who have been victimized online. The use of e-mail by that unethical element lurking in cyberspace rings all too common these days. With law enforcement agencies overwhelmed and under trained to address these issues, victims have often been left to deal with them on their own.

Frustrated, powerless, even scared, many people have turned to InfoPursuit, a California based private investigative firm, for assistance. The fact that they employ experts trained in the specialized field of e-mail tracing and Internet-based investigations makes them unique. They take pride in being able to uncloak the seemingly anonymous sender by tracing e-mail back to its source.

“We have a highly skilled staff, most of which have former law enforcement experience,” says Jeff Duggan, Director of Services at InfoPursuit. “The e-mail tracing techniques we employ are on the cutting edge and have proven effective in resolving the unknown, the identity of the sender.” This online based firm hosts a Website at www.infopursuit.com, detailing the various services offered.

More and more people everyday find themselves on the receiving end of some type of threatening or harassing e-mail. Cyberstalking, online bullying, and e-mail fraud schemes have created a very disturbing and volatile environment for a vast number of users. With e-mail becoming a household term, people today are using the Internet as their primary means for communication. The need to trace malicious e-mail is increasing.

InfoPursuit’s ability to trace e-mail messages and track down these Cyber-terrorists has brought relief to many. Vicki Hansen, a former student who relied heavily on the Internet, is an example of someone who found resolution through InfoPursuit. “They were able to trace an e-mail message for me and identify the harassing sender who was using a free e-mail service,” says Hansen. “I first went to the police and the only advice they gave me was to turn my computer off.” Like Vicki Hansen, many students and professionals alike depend on these technologies daily. For that reason, they just do not have the ability to turn off the computer in hopes of the problem disappearing. Now they don’t have to.

If you are experiencing a problem with someone on the Internet or would like more information on the e-mail tracing services offered by InfoPursuit, contact Jeff Duggan or visit their Website at www.infoPursuit.com. Some of the other services offered in addition to tracing e-mail are Internet profiling, people finder searches, personal background checks, criminal record searches, and business checks.

InfoPursuit was established in 2002 and currently serves clients worldwide. They have assisted individuals, businesses and law enforcement agencies with high-tech investigations.

InfoPursuit
http://www.infopursuit.com
contactus@infopursuit.com

Every now and then you can read about a new virus and the damage it causes. The millions viruses costs companies each time they strike. It is however not only companies that are suffering from the damages caused by viruses. A virus can be just as damaging if not more for a private Internet user by destroying important documents, family pictures and everything else you keep on your computer. Therefore should no home computer be without a good virus protection software. This way you can protect your computer and yourself from loosing data, corrupted hard drives and a number of other problems. There are several anti virus programs available of which some are free and some are not. You should however always remember that you might get what you paying for, meaning that the service and the updates might be better for the paid alternatives and thereby protect your computer better.

When using a virus program you should try to find one that is fast, reliable and able to discover as many viruses as possible. Whether it is fast or not might seem unimportant if you don’t use your computer that much, but you will find that an anti virus program that scans your computer faster will be used more frequently and thereby giving you a better protection. If an anti virus program should be effective when protecting your computer it needs to be able to recognise all viruses, and since new viruses are constantly created this means that the database for the program has to be constantly updated. You should therefore consider how often the different anti virus programs update their databases when choosing which antivirus program to get. You should always make sure to keep your virus program up-to-date.

One of the best anti virus programs on the market today is Panda Active Scan Anti Virus Software Online which has an unrivalled capacity for detecting viruses and other threats online which is the most common path for viruses to reach our computer. Almost all viruses today are spread through the Internet. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 is easy to install and once it is installed it finds and remove viruses automatically. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 also automatically updates itself if you want it to. In other words: Panda Anti Virus is an anti virus program that manages itself and makes sure that it is up to date and able to keep your computer safe from viruses. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 scans your entire computer, including the program itself, to make sure that a virus can’t infect any part of the computer. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 doesn’t just search for virus, it also search your computer for a number of other security risks like spy wares and Trojans.

Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 contains TruPrevent Technologies. TruPrevent Technologies is a system designed to help Panda Anti Virus protect your computer against unknown viruses and intruders. The user can choose whether they want to use TruPrevent Technologies or not. The technology has been implemented to allow Panda Anti Virus to protect your computer against new virus since a new virus can spread world wide within a few hours. The TruPrevent Technologies allows Panda Anti Virus to detect and block viruses even if they are not yet included in the virus database. This allows Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 to keep your computer safe against all viruses and not only the ones that are already identified, since you might encounter a new virus despite the fact that Panda updates their database at least once a day. Old anti virus programs - and most of the modern anti virus programs as well - can only protect you against already identified viruses. The ability to protect against unknown viruses is what Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 a superior choice for an anti virus program.

Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 does not only offer superior security and very user friendly functionality. It also comes with tech support where experts answer any questions that might arise.

All personal computers should have virus protection since you otherwise risk loosing important document, family pictures etcetera and if you are looking for user friendliness and a superior security Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 is your best choice.

You can get panda antivirus at support cave.

Supportcave.com offers new and enhanced Free Anti Virus Remover Software. Not only will these programs effectively check and clean your computer from Spyware, once installed they will also shield your computer from future Spyware intrusions and browser hijacks - before the malevolent software even have a chance to enter you PC! Anti Virus Remover Software is an important function all computer users should rely on to ensure their computer is free from nosey software and their privacy protected.

http://www.supportcave.com/

Everyone should eliminate spyware and adware from your hard drive for your computer privacy protection. Spyware and adware programs also slow down the speed of your computer by cluttering your hard drive with annoying programs. Once you eliminate adware and spyware, your computer speed will improve immediately.

Spyware compromises the security of your personal information because the creators of these hidden programs can get access to your desktop even while you are offline.

Adware creates annoying pop ups while you use the Internet. It can change your home page and even hijack certain pages to display their own messages, which are sometimes obscene.

One of the most effective ways to stop spyware and adware is the use of computer firewall protection. These programs eliminate incoming spyware and adware that is attached to the legitimate data that you download when surfing the web.

Some computer firewall protection programs display the number of attempted ‘hacks’, which includes any illegitimate programs or data: spyware, adware, or other potentially harmful files such as viruses.

It is not unusual for computer firewall protection software to block hundreds of ‘hacks’ per day. Some users are more exposed than others to the negative effects of spyware, adware, and viruses.

One important factor is the type of connection that your computer has to the Internet. For example, DSL ‘cable’ connections are replacing the old ‘dial-up’ connections that run over a household’s normal phone lines.

With a DSL connection, your computer can be connected to the Internet all day, every day. This increases the likelihood of your computer becoming infected with spyware and adware.

With today’s Internet, there’s no such thing as too much computer privacy protection. It’s important to find and eliminate spyware and adware from your hard drive because computer security is as important as the lock on your front door.

Copyright © 2005 Spyware Information.com All Rights Reserved.

This article is provided by http://www.spyware-information.com where you will find free spyware cleaners, downloads, removal software, valuable tips and updated articles about adware and spyware that show you how protect yourself from identity theft. For other informative spyware and identity protection articles go to http://spyware-information.com/articles_1.html

Spyware symptoms happen when your computer gets bogged down with spyware programs running in the background without your knowledge. Spyware, adware, malware and even spamware can cause your computer to behave very strange.

If you are experiencing any of these spyware symptoms listed below, chances are you have spyware or other unwanted software installed on your computer.

• Slower Computer Performance

One of the easiest spyware symptoms to detect is if your system suddenly starts operating slower than usual. Spyware and Adware programs use a lot of your computer resources to track your activities and deliver pop up ads that slow down your computer and can even make it crash.

If you are getting a lot of program crashes, your computer is much slower than normal or your hard drive whirls away when you’re not doing anything, these are common spyware symptoms.

• E-Mail Symptoms

If you get a lot of bounced back email and see evidence of email being sent without your knowledge, then it’s possible that you have spamware in your computer files.

Spamware can send spam messages from your computer and create a lot of headaches for you. Trojan spamware is very dangerous because it can steal a copy of your email address book and send it back to an email spammer.

• New Desktop Shortcuts or Homepage

Some spyware programs add new shortcuts on your desktop. Browser hijackers actually change your default homepage you selected to a different homepage. Sometimes the program won’t even allow you to change back to your original homepage.

• Bombarded With Pop-Up Ads

Adware is another common spyware symptom that bombards you with pop-up ads often for adult or other objectionable web sites. Computer hijackers like this have huge system effects and can make your computer completely useless.

• Unwanted Search Results

Computer hijackers can even change the results of your web search and suggest websites the hijacker wants you to see instead of what you actually searched for.

• New Toolbars

Computer browser hijackers can also add new toolbars to Internet Explorer that you did not knowingly install. Sometimes it’s next to impossible to remove them.

Spyware dangers have now moved ahead of viruses as the number one danger facing computer users today. Quality spyware protection software is designed to find all of these hidden programs and disable them before they have a chance to work.

If you experience even one of these spyware symptoms, your personal information and computer are completely at risk.

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