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 thats meant to make life easier.

Its no wonder then why its 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 dont 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 dont 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.

Whats good with this program is that it doesnt 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 IDs, 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 computers 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 vs. Anti-spyware: The battle for today’s systems

“Fight fire with fire” is an advice often handed out today to help people with various problems. In fact, this advice is being taken very seriously by people in the software industry. Many people today are becoming aware of the problems posed by malicious software. In fact, 80 percent of computer users today have their systems infected with spyware. Of these people, only about 5 percent know that they have spyware installed into their computers. These are very troubling figures indeed. This is the reason why people today look for solutions against spyware in anti-spyware tools.

Anti-spyware stops spyware from doing damage to your computer using two methods: prevention and solution.

1) Prevention – Anti-spyware stops spyware from ever being installed inside your system. This is done through different ways. Some anti-spyware tools scan every type of information that passes into your computer. The anti-spyware software then checks it against a database of known spyware. Because of this, if a known spyware tries to npenetrate your system, it is immediately prevented from doing so. Of course, this is only effective as long as the spyware database is kept updated.

Another method used by antispyware to prevent spyware from being installed into your system is to limit the activities of cetain programs known to be used in distributing spyware. One such program is ActiveX. By doing this, anti-spyware tools will lessen the chance that any spyware will be installed in your system.

2) Solution – on the off-chance that any type of spyware already exists in your system, anti-spyware tools are also able to get rid of those. This is done by regular scanning of your system. Anti-spyware deletes spyware and makes sure that no traces remain of it to damage your computer.

Usually, programmers find this type of method easier to incorporate into anti-spyware software than preventive measures. This is because of the fact that most methods used by people to introduce spyware into a system cannot be stopped without affecting the common operations of a computer. For example, some spyware creators make use of the program Flash to introduce spyware into a computer. However, some legitimate sites do use Flash to make your web surfing more entertaining. This means that disabling Flash entirely would not be feasible for many users. Hence, anti-spyware manufacturers are faced with the dilemma of setting parameters for such programs that would prevent spyware but ensure the satisfaction of the customers.

Of course, there are alternatives to using anti-spyware against spyware. But these solutions may prove to be impractical. One method is to just limit your computer

If you are looking for effective spyware and adware protection, you can always look online to check out some of the most effective anti-spyware and adware tools available for you. There are a number of software companies who have dedicated their resources to develop more effective and more sophisticated programs to provide you with the best anti-spyware and adware protection for your PC. Here are some of them:

Spyware Doctor

Spyware Doctor is a multi-award winning spyware removal utility that is available for you both in free trail software as well as an on sale software product version able to provide you with extensive spyware and adware protection. It effectively detects, removes and protects your PC from thousands of potential spyware and adware programs proliferating the online world today.

A wide range of malicious trojans, keyloggers, spybots and tracking threats are put at bay with the Spyware Doctor. This is an adware and spyware removal utility that detects and cleans thousands of potential adware, trojans, keyloggers, spyware and other malware that may be infecting and wrecking havoc on your PC. Its remover tool allows you to remove, ignore or either quarantine identified spyware. This tool is made available for free in the trial version.

Spyware Doctor also has an OnGuard system that effectively immunizes and protects your system against hundreds of online privacy threats even while you work. The Spyware Doctor allows you to perform fast scanning and detection at Windows start-up so that you will be alerted with a list of the potential threats identified and provides spyware blocking features to give you continuous protection.

McAfee AntiSpyware

Get rid of malicious programs before they can steal your identity from your PC. Someone may be tracking you online and may be monitoring your every move. The McAfee AntiSpyware may just be the essential protection much needed by today’s security-conscious Internet user like you.

McAfee AntiSpyware can quickly detect and then safely eliminate malicious applications such as key loggers, remote-control programs, spybots and browser hijackers that may be hiding on your system before they can rob you of your precious personal information, snatch passwords or monitor browsing activity when you go online. By eliminating online roadblocks, McAfee AntiSpyware also prevents adware programs to trigger annoying advertisements and sap precious system performance on your PC.

X-Cleaner

X-Cleaner is a premier privacy software solution that is made by one of the most trusted names in anti-spyware technology. X-Cleaner effectively deletes browser and system usage tracks, shreds pictures and generates secure passwords in your PC. It also features a unique anti-spy and adware technology that will remove them fully from your PC. The X-Cleaner also has effective inoculation features that will help prevent future infections and keep your PC safe for use.

Key features of this software include the ability to remove traces of movie files, pictures that you have viewed. It can also detect and remove spy software that logs your private activity online and may undermine personal online security. The X-Cleaner can also find and remove pornographic content that may contain malicious codes on your computer.

To provide the utmost privacy, the X-Cleaner can also permanently erase files on your PC with a military style file shredder. Stop password theft and know if some users are snooping and recording your keystrokes with the use of the X-Cleaner!