|
How did I ever get these awful pop-up
windows all over my computer? Every time I open a web
browser or do anything on the internet I get these nasty
ads. And, why would I ever want to see pop-ups about buying
insurance or sex kittens? You'd think that the advertisers
out there on the internet would know better. But, they
obviously don't.
If you are seeing these pop-ups
then you are most likely infected with Spyware. Most
people do their best to get Anti-Virus software to protect from
viruses and general attacks on their computer. What they
don't realize is that most of this software doesn't protect your
from Spyware. Why? The answer isn't clear, but there
is a big difference between spyware and a virus.
A virus is something that is aimed
at debilitating your computer. It infects files throughout
your computer and literally eats away at things until it stops
working. On the other hand, spyware's aim is to hit you with
advertising and gain information about your likes and
dislikes. The goal here is to learn about what you like to
view on the internet and then hit you with pop-up ads whether you
want them or not. There is a difference, but in the end it
doesn't make much difference. You feel violated and often it
leads to major problems on your computer.
So, what can you do about it?
The very first thing is that you should absolutely never download
something off the internet that you aren't completely sure is
clean. Usually things from major corporations are okay
because they'd get so much bad feedback that they'd be stupid to
do it. On the other hand, little companies all over the net
get paid to dump you with spyware. This means that when you
want to download that cool music software or video viewer, you
probably shouldn't. Normally you can't get
"infected" by simply clicking on links on websites, but
if you get a window that says you are downloading something then
you should "beware" of the grim spyware reaper.
Now, if you get infected there are
things you can do to help. There are a number of spyware
attackers that attempt to purge your computer. The most
well-known is called AdAware, but there are literally hundreds of
types of software that you can try. A great place to learn
about spyware and get downloads is C/Net
Downloads.
A big word of "WARNING"
is that from my experience these attempts to purge your computer
can be extremely damaging to your system. Very often you end
up deleting key operating system files and your computer doesn't
work anymore. When in doubt, always back up all of your data
files before you try doing anything. Then, be prepared to
literally "wipe your computer clean" if things don't go
well. Your best bet is usually starting with a clean slate
anyway, then ending up with a computer full of glitches. It
is also highly recommended that you have a professional
computer repair place work on your computer for you.
|
