|
VHS Home | ConsignProTM | PawnShopProTM | Support | Order | Contact Us |
| Visual Horizons Software | ||||||
Spyware - the hidden computing threat Computer slowing down? Pop-up windows appearing daily? Your computer may be infected by "spyware" or "adware". Spyware and adware are the newest tools used by unscrupulous marketing companies to collect data on your web surfing habits. These programs track where you've been, what you click, and what you look at on the web and often transmit this data back to the marketing company. Once your habits are identified, "adware" can pop-up annoying ads that you'd most likely be interested in. EarthLink's SpyAudit program, which scanned 1,062,756 PCs, found 29.5 million instances of spyware, an average of nearly 28 spyware items per computer. The unfortunate part is, until recently, most anti-virus programs don't identify or remove spyware from your computer. To remove these "Trojan horse" program, you'll usually need special software. My favorite program is "Spybot - Search & Destroy". This "freeware" can be downloaded (at no charge) from www.download.com. As of today, over 50 million people have downloaded this program! Once downloaded, install and run this software on your computer. After you remove any spyware, keep this icon on your desktop and run this program each month to remove any new occurrences. More info on spyware and adware can be found at www.microsoft.com (Search for spyware). Brian Wilson |
Return to ConsignPro Homepage
Copyright 2003 Visual Horizons Software, LLC
Last revised: February 5, 2003