The more time people spend on computers, the more hazards are out there. Viruses, malware, spyware and cookies are just some of the things that can download themselves to your computer with little or no warning. You might think that this is only a risk for people who download files and visit questionable sites, but it can happen to anyone regardless of the way they spend their time online.
I was trying to find a replacement for a beloved, well-worn, discontinued stuffed animal. I ended up searching online at all the popular venues such as eBay with no luck. I finally did a search for the brand and make of the stuffed animal and the list came back with one item that actually looked promising. I clicked on it, and when the site came up I was stunned to discover that it was a stuffed animal porn site! I kid you not. I closed the page as fast as I could but the images are still seared into my brain. And, of course, sites just like this that trick you onto them often dump unwanted programs or data onto your computer.
If you've ever asked a website such as Yahoo! or Facebook to remember you and automatically log you on, then you have cookies. While many seem to serve a useful function like saving you time on login, it is important to remember that they are still storing and accessing personal information on your computer. Although cookies are often seen as a convenience, you should also be aware that someone accessing your computer can use your cookies to track where you go on the internet.
Spyware, in its most harmless versions, can be used to get your personal information, note your preferences and interests and then target you for spammers. More harmful versions of spyware can grab more sensitive personal information like passwords and account numbers which can be used by identity thieves.
Malware can make your life difficult in a number of ways. This is malicious software that can take a number of forms including viruses, Trojan horses, and spyware. Using malware, people can steal your information, overwrite code so that when you make a payment it goes to someone other than the intended recipient, or use your computer to cover someone else's illegal activities.
It may take months to realize your computer is infected with malware or spyware. One sign that you might have a problem is if your machine starts to run significantly slower. Also, if you pull up a website and find that there are hyperlinks embedded in many keywords you might have a problem. Pop-ups that continuously launch regardless of what website you're on can be caused by malware. If your email program sends out a message to your entire address book that you didn't write, that's a sure sign that you have a problem.
There are several commercially-available products that can help safeguard and clean your computer. Although popular antivirus software may claim to also take care of spyware and malware, it is often necessary to purchase a separate program designed specifically to deal with those problems. When downloading software to handle these problems, be careful that the software itself doesn't contain any spyware or malware of its own. To help protect against this, always download software from the maker, even when dealing with freeware. Otherwise, you might find that some bit of malicious code is hitching a ride with the download.
The best thing you can do is be careful when you're surfing the net. If you see something that doesn't seem right or your computer starts functioning in a different or impaired capacity, make sure you have it thoroughly checked. Of course, with all things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so you can also consider installing a firewall program to protect you from information trying to dump itself onto your computer.
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