Spyware - An Introduction & Prevention Tips

A gun, a stick or anything can be used for good as well as for bad purpose. Internet is one such thing that was invented with the sole intention of using it for information sharing and helping the world move forward, but again it was used by people for almost every bad thing in the world, right from illegal weapon sale to stealing crucial information that can claim lives of millions.

Today, most of the things (business) have gone online; many important transactions happen through the Internet and business worth millions of dollars is handled online. People use their credit card numbers and personal information for such transactions, which, if by any chance falls in a wrong hand can cause havoc for them and they may loose everything they own. People called ‘BAD-Hackers’ use some programs to gather information such as a person’s credit card number, personal information etc. when that person passes it online during some important transaction, and use it for their own advantage. Such programs are also called ‘Spywares’.

What is a Spyware?

A spyware is a program, which gets installed on your machine (PC) when you visit a particular link. The software gets installed on your PC even without you notice it getting installed. This program further collects all the user information (such as passwords stored in machine memory or some file, IP address of the PC, software installed on the machine, Operating System used by the user etc.) and every move (every link visited, every key hit etc.) by the user and transmits that information over the net to the Hackers. Some Spyware are further programmed to spread themselves to other people via the mailbox of the user.

Who create them?

Spywares are created/developed by hackers or some sneaky companies who want your personal information for their own advantage, to post advertisements on your PC without you requesting for them, and much more.

How do I know if my PC has been infected by a Spyware?

There are certain symptoms/signs, which can help you in finding out if your PC is infected by a spyware, they are:

1) Any type of software needs some memory and CPU time in order to keep it running. After getting installed, the spyware affects your PC speed and makes it slower than its regular speed. If you feel that your PC is running slower and taking more time than usual, and the speed of your Internet connection is really slow (at least slower than it used to work previously) and the net connection is being used even when you are not surfing, then it may a spyware, which is affecting the speed of your PC.

2) Pop-up ads are one of the most prominent symptoms of spyware. If you experience things such as: some pop-up menu getting attached to your address bar, any application or desktop, some pop-up adds/links, which get opened even when you do not open any such link etc. then there are dense chances that your PC has got infected with a spyware.

3) If mails are sent from your mailbox to different mail Ids along with all those in your contact and that too without your knowledge and you receive many bounce back mails. This is an indication of some spyware and spamware being installed on your machine.

4) Some unwanted sites get opened every now and them when you surf.

5) The default page setting of your Internet browser gets changed to something else.

6) Some programs such as anti-spy wares, anti-virus software and firewall software etc. stop working properly.

7) Many times your PC does not respond to your actions such as pressing Control, Alter and Delete should display you Task Manager but all that you see is a sudden splash of Task Manager which seems to be pulled by some other application. And it becomes impossible for you to see currently running processes.

How do I locate Spywares in my PC?

1) You can check out in Add/Remove Softwares utility of your operating system, which is available in Control Panel of your Windows.

2) The other place where you can find out if there are some unwanted programs installed in your PC is ‘Start Up Menu/Folder’

3) Certain Spywares register themselves in the registry of your operating system. So you can find them in registry. (Please be sure that you know how to modify/use registry, before you try to remove any application from your PC)

4) The spyware can be seen on the browser toolbar or may be browser extensions.

How do I get rid of the Spywares?

The spywares are complex programs and it can be a real tough work to remove them from your PC. It is always better to go for some anti-Spy ware. Anti-spy wares help in searching and removing the spywares from your system. Scan your system for any such spyware if you think your system is being infected by a spyware.

Some prevention tips

1) Use a good online anti-spy ware, which will make sure that your system remains safe when you surf on the net. (Do take care of keeping your anti-spyware software definition up to date for better protection!)

2) Visit only trusted sites. This will reduce the risk of your encountering any such spyware, which comes from unauthorized sites.

3) Use a proper email protection tool. This will help in reducing the spread of such programs.

4) Keep a constant watch on the speed of your PC and also the speed of internet that you are using, if you feel there is any decline in the speed of pc or net, scan your system for spyware.

5) Remove all unwanted applications from the ‘Start Up’ and ‘Add/Remove Application’ Menus.