Protect Yourself From These Evil Spyware Tricks



Just the other day when I was browsing my computer, a web pop-up ad suddenly appeared on my screen. The pop-up claimed that I had signed up for a free trial with some website called Movieland and because the free trial was up but I had not sent them a cancellation order, I had to pay them the amount of $29.95 a month! As far as I was concerned, this was nothing less than extortion. Unfortunately, although I would not be forced into paying Movieland, I had to deal with constant pop-up reminders appearing on my screen, ruining my computer sessions.

Have you ever had such an experience? Or else had to deal with too many annoying pop-ups on your monitor? Many of us have. This is the effect of spyware. It infiltrates our system and then bombards us with unwanted advertising and other annoyances. Spyware may also install unwanted applications and plugins on our system--ever see a strange toolbar suddenly appear on your web browser? Furthermore, spyware can collect personal information about our web browsing activities and send the surreptitiously gathered data to marketing companies--something that many people consider to be a violation of privacy.

How do you know if you have spyware on your computer? Sometimes the signs are difficult to observe, because spyware does its work secretly. But if you notice that your system is slowing down for no apparent reason, or that programs that used to work fine are acting strangely, you may have been infected with spyware. Since it uses your system resources for its purposes without authorization, spyware can affect the running of your system and in the worst cases, make it nearly unworkable.

I learned from a number of computer security blogs that Movieland is considered one of the more nefarious spyware programs. You can get it just by visiting the Movieland website or by downloading Movieland software. Those are two common ways for spyware to infiltrate your system. Some websites are coded to exploit known weaknesses in your web browser software so they can furtively download and install spyware on your machine. On the other hand, spyware is sometimes secretly packaged along with seemingly innocent free programs--if you download and install the free software, you also install the spyware on your system.

How can you protect your computer from spyware? First of all, make sure your web browser is always up-to-date with the latest software upgrade. Download any new patches as soon as they become available. Your Java software should be up-to-date also; and if possible, you should use Sun’s version of Java instead of Microsoft’s. Second, make sure your web browser settings are set to medium or high security. Third, install reputable security programs on your system--you should at least have a firewall manager, an anti-virus program, and an anti-spyware program.

Do it now before it’s too late. Some forms of spyware are extremely hard to remove from your system. Movieland is one of the more difficult infiltrators to remove. You will probably need expert help to remove it if it gets into your system. So make sure you don’t let it get in.

 To Be Continued   Click Here To Read More

How Does Spyware Get Into Your Computer
You may already have spyware infecting your system, but how did it get the...
how-does-spyware-get-into-your-computer.php

Spyware May Expose You To Rogue Dialer Scams
To understand the scam, you have to know what a dialer is. Basically, it is piece of software...
spyware-may-expose-you-to-rogue-dialer-scams.php

Spyware The Dark Side Of Advertising On The Internet
There is simply no justification for spyware. An online ad may be distracting, but it is gone when...
spyware-the-dark-side-of-advertising-on-the-internet.php

How To Prevent Spyware From Getting Into Your Computer
Modify your web browser security settings for the Internet zone to the medium...
how-to-prevent-spyware-from-getting-into-your-computer.php