So you know what viruses do: They slow your computer down and mess you up. Worms? They eat up your bandwidth and usually feed your computer a bunch of pop up ads to boot. Trojans are as the name suggests, bad programs disguised as good ones.
But who cares about spyware?
Well, the name spyware is a little misleading. When you hear “spyware” you know that it can allow people to look at your computer remotely and monitor your activity, such as your internet history, your email, and certainly, that’s part of it, but that’s not all it can do.
Spyware would probably be more efficiently called “sabotageware” or “scum-of-the-earth-identity-thief-who-belongs-in-prison-ware”! Most spyware will only bother looking at your internet history and using that to feed spammers your info, but other spyware can be a lot more malicious.
The more malicious Spyware can do a heck of a lot more than just steal a few internet website addresses or proxy info. The worst spyware has to offer is nothing less than simply hijacking your entire computer. This allows an identity thief unrestricted access to all of your files. If they’re just a practical joker, they might switch your password so you can’t access your own system. If they’re after your money, they can steal your credit card number, they can steal your bank information, your paypal account, anything they want, it’s theirs.
And that is where antispy software comes in.
Our advice is to just go ahead and get yourself a copy of McAfee Security Center. It’s costs a little extra, at fifty bucks for the full package, but it’s the only computer security you’re ever going to need.
Simply put, McAfee blocks spyware, spybots, spam, viruses, adware, malware, worms, Trojans, and anything else internet thieves can attack you with.
Of course, if you want something a little cheaper, or if you just plain don’t have fifty bucks to spend on antispy software right now, Avira AntiVir might be the best all around package for free. It fights viruses as well as most spyware, adware, and malware. It has a wide, wide database, that is updated every day, and it’s easy to use. Not bad for a free program.
Whatever you do, don’t just ignore the problem. It’s kind of like being struck by lightning. Yeah, it doesn’t happen to everyone, and you probably won’t get anyone trying to steal your identity as long as you’re careful, but you wouldn’t go out in a thunderstorm with no shoes while carrying a lightning rod. Leaving yourself unprotected online is kind of like going out with an identity-theft-rod!
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