WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU GET INFECTED BY SPYWARE?
You can avoid – or at least lower your risk of – infecting your computer with spyware by doing a few simple things. The first thing to do is update your browser and operating system software – the patches will close any loopholes spyware might take advantage of. Use a respected anti-spyware programme, run it frequently, delete spyware it finds and keep it up-to-date.
Don’t download programmes unless you read the end-user license agreement (EULA) carefully to make sure you’re not downloading something unintentionally – the fact that the programme you want to download might have spyware software hiding with it may not be clear in any attached documentation – if it is confusing, chances are you shouldn’t download it.
Don’t click on ads or buttons that promise something too good to be true – it probably is! Especially if the link promises anti-spyware software, it is probably spyware itself.
Spyware is a virus, but unlike a virus that is malicious for no other reason than to be malicious, a spyware application is much more dangerous as it can monitor what you do and send information to someone else – leaving you open to anything from annoying pop up ads to identity theft.
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