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Beware of Spyware
One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started to work noticeably slower than it used to. You decide to run de-fragmentation of your hard drive and add more virtual memory to the system. No luck! May be, it’s probably some viruses, you ...
Can You Restore Your Data From Your Backup?
Can You Restore Your Data From Your Backup? -By Per Strandberg (c) 2003 data-backup-and-storage.com Making backup is vital! For small business people the value of their business is often stored on their computers. Emails, contracts, PowerPoint...
Purchasing Spyware Software—Avoid the Scams
With the demand for anti-spyware tools continuously on the rise because of the constant release of new and more invasive spyware scams, computer users may find themselves falling victim to malicious software downloads while searching for the right...
The History of Mahjongg
During a recent visit to my parent's house I noticed a solid
black briefcase on the kitchen table. I was curious as to what
was inside. From it's size, I thought it might be a laptop
computer. My mom opened the briefcase to reveal several...
Web Hosts: The Basics
Before you start searching for a web host, you must familiarize yourself with the terminology used in this field. The following terms are also considered key factors in deciding the suitable hosting plan that meets your requirements. You can start...
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Protecting Your Computer from Adware and Spyware
Recently, while checking our company web site statistics, we noticed a number of referrals from gambling and pornography sites. Since we are certain these types of sites would not house links to us, we investigated further and determined that some of our faithful visitors may be the victims of adware or spyware.
What is adware?
Adware, in it's most sinister incarnation, is a program that runs on your computer (like a virus) and occassionally pops up ads or redirects your browser to websites you had not chosen to visit.
What is spyware?
Spyware is software that collects personal information from you without your knowledge or permission. The information spyware collects can range from all the web sites you visit to sensitive information including user names and passwords.
How can I make sure I don't get these on my computer?
* Never download programs or files from a website you don't know and trust.
* Never open email
attachments unless you know what they are. If you receive an email from a friend, but the text is strange and you don't know what the attachment is do not open it. Write to your friend and make sure they sent the email.
* Keep an antivirus program running on your computer at all times. You may also want to download Microsoft's Spyware program which can be found free here: http://www.microsoft.com/
More comprehensive articles on adware and spyware may be found here:
http://cexx.org/problem.htm
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/malware.ars?72460
http://www.adware.info/
About the Author
An authority on integrated web databases, Amanda Huber is co-owner of Vulcan Creative Labs, LLC (www.vulcancreative.com) and DeadFred.com, an online genealogy photo archive. She occasionally contributes articles for Dead Fred's e-newsletter Relatively Speaking which help genealogy researchers with more technical aspects of their online tasks.
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