Tuesday, January 20, 2009

How To You Know if Your PC is Infected with Spyware?

By Scott McKenzie

Spyware is the worst form of malware and it has the ability to steal your identity,can hide itself very well.Hence you cannot find out if any spyware program has been installed on your computer.Hence to find out,if any spyware is there on your computer,you have to look for some signs of having a spyware in your computer and do something before you lose your personal data.

The initial hint of the existence of a spyware in your computer is slow performing system. When you try to open different programs at the same time, the memory allocates resources to make the system work efficiently. Spywares are computer programs that runs in the background. You are unaware of them running and they eat up your resources resulting to a slower system.

Another sure sign is when strange programs begin to pop up on your task manager. Some spyware can hide its presence, but most of them can be seen as programs with names you do not recognize. Your computer will detect these normally so keep an eye out for unfamiliar names.

Third indication of a spyware infecting your computer is when icons start appearing on your desktop for trial programs that you have not installed on your system. Seldom they are created by reliable programs e.g AOL had a number of add-on trial program installations on your hard disk. But you never know they may be used by a spyware that wants you to download a program and install it in order to steal some of your identity or infect your computer further

As mentioned previously, even if nothing too severe has occurred to your computers performance, you still need to remove it in order to ensure that worse spyware does not install itself in the future.In addition, if it has been a long time since you have reformatted your hard drive, chances are you have at least some low level spyware that may not be dangerous, but is going to be negatively affecting your computer.

Spyware isn't just sneaky, they're also very clingy. Some spyware can reinstall itself even after you have removed the install. You have to find the original installer to completely remove this kind of spyware.

Spyware, even non-invasive spyware, can cause a host of problems for your computer and put you at risk for identity theft. If your computer is infected, you'll probably notice it's running slower, but there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes as well. Even a seemingly innocuous spyware program can attract malicious programs that can record personal and financial data. If you think your computer might be infected, you should make it a top priority to remove it before it's able to collect and disseminate your personal information.

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