Currently, spyware is one of the most popular computer threats out there. Spyware is part of a category of programs that secretly stores data about the web sites visited by a user, and then it serves up unsolicited advertisements.
On the internet there are spyware programs that can also changed the way we search on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing and redirects the user to some web sites that ask for money.
Because spyware is very widely spread, and damages can vary based on the complexity of the program, it should be removed right away. There are plenty of anti spyware solutions out there, but the user has to be very careful because actually some of these anti spyware solutions can actually be spyware themselves.
But how does a spyware program make it’s way into your computer? Unfortunately, in many cases, spyware is installed on a computer by the user without the user actually knowing. Spyware is not considered a virus, it’s just a small virtual threat. Even if in the past anti virus solutions did not detect these problems, because of their complexity, spyware signatures are now identified by most anti virus software solutions.
The best thing is to manage to block the spyware programs before they can be installed on the computer. You can do this by opting to use special anti spyware programs, anti virus solutions but also by methods of blocking them, like pop-up blockers.
Here you can see some essential anti spyware programs:
Copperhead AntiSpyware
The programs scans your computer for spyware but also for malware programs. Copperhead AntiSpyware costs around $20 and can be ordered from the developer web site.
Arovax AntiSpyware
This is a free program that can detect spyware signatures on a computer. Arovax is compatible with Windows XP and can be downloaded from the developer’s web site.
The most popular web browsers, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari, come with pop-up blockers solutions. Still. they will not be able to stop the spyware already present on your computer, so to avoid visiting web sites with spyware you should replace a file from your Windows directory.
To do this, just follow the steps explained below
- click on Start
- choose My Computer from the menu
- In my Computer,go to: C:\Windows\System3\Drivers\etc
- once in the ETC directory, you will see a bunch of icons, double click on Hosts
- A new window is going to open, and you have to select a program to use to open the file. In this case you can use Notepad.
- delete the entire contents of the file.
- go here: http://downloads.marcofolio.net/useful/tips/block/hosts.txt – select all the contents you can find on this page and paste it in your empty hosts file.
- Save your file
