Combating Computer Espionage
In some cases, spies and covert operations are found in war grounds or
politically tense regions. Now however, you can find spies and covert
operations running undetected within your personal computer system as you
use your computer and the Internet.
Have you noticed a suspicious slow down of your computer's processing
without any particular reason? Are you bombarded by unsolicited pop up
ads that indiscriminately appear whether you are running a program or
not? These symptoms may continue to happen despite checking your system
and running your recently updated anti virus program to run diagnostics
on your computer.
Unless you run the correct program, you will not be able to detect the
real problem in your system: spyware and adware.
Adware are unsolicited programs that usually come bundled with freeware
or shareware. Yes, sometimes things that seem to be good to be true
usually come with unwanted invisible strings attached. Companies usually
pay freeware or shareware creators to be able to capitalize and prey on
unsuspecting individuals who download these programs. Adware cause
unsolicited pop up advertisements in your computer and in severe cases,
adware causes pop up advertisements to pop up soon as you boot your
system.
Spyware on the other hand is more covert and usually undetected in your
system until you run an anti spyware program. Spyware is used exactly to
spy on you. In relatively mild cases, spyware is used to track your
Internet browsing habits so that the spyware can report your preferences
to build a marketing profile. This means that as you go about your
Internet business, you are under surveillance and your basic right to
privacy is impinged upon.
In severe cases though, certain spyware better labeled as malware, are
used for criminal purposes and can steal keywords and other sensitive
information based on your computer and Internet usage.
For instance, malware can take note of your keystrokes or take note of
your credit card number and other