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Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Need for Adware and Spyware Blocker


There is this one law school student whose thesis is about money laundering so oftentimes she would google the term to come up with a ready list of online references. This proved to be useful to her and the entire process of writing her paper. After several months of doing so, she was confronted with problems like being directed to a weird page totally not related to money laundering every time she types the same words.
At first she thought it was just a glitch in the internet system and then she rationalized that no it maybe a glitch in the search engine she is using but the persistent occurrence of such a thing made her think that someone bugged her. We all hate bugging people us but people we can fend of. What this law student is confronted with is a computer bug that she cannot fend off. In the first place she is not a technology savvy person and in the second place she never uses her laptop for any other things than academic research and actual writing of her papers.
The situation above is not an isolated case. There are many people who find themselves caught up in technology problems that are mind boggling but actually can be answered with two words and those two words are spyware and adware. The infamous term of spyware was first coined in the year 1995 but it was popularized in the year 2000. Spyware is a computer software innocently infiltrated in a personal computer to be able to access personal information of the user.
This is done by studying logging keystrokes, web browsing history and even scanning a user’s hard drive. Sounds like something we see only in James Bond movies but apparently we are wrong for anyone can be a victim of spyware. It is safe to use the word victim because no one wants to be monitored of all their online activities. Spyware can understandably be used to spy on criminals because such use is beneficial to society but how about the use of spyware to intercept credit card details and the like. There is simply no excuse for the lax of the use of spyware.
What ordinary people can do to protect themselves is to block spyware and all other software programs similar to it like adware and malware. This can easily be done by availing adware and spyware blocker programs online. The role of these blocking programs include to remove or disable existing spyware programs or to avoid the installation of these malicious software programs.
Spyware, adware, malware are not like virus or worms that self replicate but they can be just as hassle as their counterparts for whoever wants to be disrupted of their normal personal computer activities. One of the more popular hassles cause by these infectious software programs is the slowness of the computer which can really be annoying because when you are at work you tend to want to finish things quick not just because you are required but also because you want more done or you want to be able to go home early.
In some infections, spyware is not even evident as the bad guy so it can get away with its crime. It is best then to have a ready blocker to at least do something for preventing any infection to occur in the first place.

The Difference of Adware, Spyware and Anti-virus

Adware, spyware and computer virus share some similarities, one of which is that all three are major nuisances for computer users. Let's differentiate the three.
Spyware is software that does not intentionally harm your computer. What they do is that they create pathways wherein someone else aside from the computer owner can communicate with the computer. Normally spywares record the various types of web sites you visit which are later used by web advertisers to allow them to send you unwanted emails and pop-ups.
This is why spyware are usually frowned upon and greatly avoided. They are more intrusive than adware. Spyware have their own separate executable programs which allow them to record your keystrokes, scan files on your hard disks and look at other applications that you use including but not limited to chat programs, cookies and Web browser settings.
The spyware then will send the information that it had gathered to the spyware author. The agent will then use this information for advertising and marketing purposes. They even sell the information to advertisers and other parties. 
Adware, on the other hand, are more legitimate form of freeware. Similar to spyware, adwares are advertising materials which are packaged into a software or program and are installed automatically once that particular program or software is added into the computer system. Some forms of adware, on the other hand, download advertising contents as a particular application is being utilized. It is quite unfortunate that most of the adware programs take the form of spywares that is they track and report user information to program authors.
Some signs of spyware infections include pop-up ads that seem to be not related to the site you are viewing. More often than not, spyware pop-ups are advertisements about adult contents. Also if you notice your computer slowing down, there's a big chance that spywares and its other components have found their way in your operating system. When the Windows desktop also takes a longer time to load, its best to scan your computer for possible spyware infections.
Meanwhile, viruses are destructive form of software. They were purely designed and created for one purpose alone: to wreck havoc to your computer. They destroy whatever they come in contact to and will initiate self replication and infect as many components of the computer's operating system or network as possible.
Nowadays, a lot of anti-virus software also provides spyware and adware scanning and removal utilities. Some programs, however, are focused on located and deleting or destroying spyware and adware programs. Whether is an anti-virus software or a anti-spyware dedicated scanner, they both search your computer and identify any spyware and virus installed on your system.
They then remove it as well as their components located in the system registry among other places in your computer. It is therefore, good to regularly update your virus or spyware scanner to ensure that your computer is protected from the thousands of spyware and viruses in the internet. Never be fooled from ads that claim that their products only contain adware.
These adware maybe spyware in disguised and are just waiting to be deployed for them to gather your information. Learn to setup firewall systems and always block pop-up blockers to minimize computer infection and ensure the security of all your computer files. SPYWARE CEASE!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Computer Menaces Differentiated: Adware vs. Spyware

In a world wherein technology plays a big role in human beings’ comfort, leisure, and learning, the personal computer and the Internet have become very indispensable tools. However, as more and more people become dependent on these two, you come to see others who take advantage of computer users everywhere and cause them nuisance and damage - using the same technology that’s meant to make life easier. It’s no wonder then why it’s very hard nowadays to keep your computers free of unwanted advertisements. As if spams and viruses are not bad enough, people invented spyware and adware, which basically work together to bring your Internet connection experience to a crawl, as well as bombard your computer with popup advertisements, and compromise your privacy and security. But do you know the difference between spyware and adware? Adware Explained You surf the net today. The next day, you are surprised to find the homepage of your browser changed to a rundown site and your computer desktop has a new program that you don’t remember ever installing. You might as well consider your self a victim of adware. What is adware? Adware, also known as advertising supported software, is a package that automatically downloads, displays, or plays advertisements to a personal computer almost right after installation of software or use of application. It may also install an extra component, which feeds your computer advertising, often through the delivery of popup advertisements or installation of a new toolbar in the browser. Other adware may take over your browser and redirect you to sites that you don’t really want to go to. More often than not, adware is a legitimate source of income for many companies that offer software to users for free. Eudora, an e-mail program, is often cited as a good example of this. You can purchase the e-mail program or run Eudora in a so-called “sponsored mode.” In the mentioned mode, the program displays an advertisement window and more or less three toolbar links. What’s good with this program is that it doesn’t keep an eye on your computer use or even give away important information about you. This kind of adware only serves paid advertisements within it. Once you quit using Eudora, the advertisements stop running in your computer system. Once, web tracking is involved, we are no longer dealing with adware. Instead, we have spyware. Spyware Exposed You surf the net today, doing some on-line banking and settling of your credit card account. The next day, you go to the mall. In need of cash, you try to withdraw money from the automated teller machine. To your horror, all of your money is gone. You might have been a victim of spyware. What is spyware? Spyware covertly monitors your Internet and computer use. Some spyware are malicious, in such a way that some collect passwords, user ID’s, credit card numbers, and some other sensitive details about the user. Spyware is somewhat similar to the Trojan horse (a program that claims to rid the computer of virus, but introduces virus instead) since you can download a freeware but then your computer will be infected by something else – the spyware itself. Besides giving a user problems connected to privacy and ethics, spyware robs you through usage of the computer’s memory, as well as eating of bandwidth (amount of information that can be conveyed in a specific period of time), making Internet exploration slower than ever. The spyware may also cause your computer to crash or become unstable. Licensing terms are expected to contain warnings as regards the installation of a spyware program that may come with the downloading of the needed program. However, because of the size of the text, these agreements may not be read completely. There you have it – the menaces of our computer use. But since you are aware about the difference and the circumstances surrounding their installation and effects, you will be able to take proper precautions. You will be now more careful about downloading free software and programs from the Internet. SPYWARE CEASE is here!!