Spyware Anti Virus Software: What It Is, Why You Need It

By Graham McKenzie

Most of us surf the Internet every day, never stopping to consider that our computers need protection. Then one day our computers slow down to a crawl, or crash, and we don't know why. The reason often is that there is a virus, spyware, or both, plaguing our unprotected PCs.

In the good old days of the'90's, PC users only had to concern themselves about anti-virus software. There were hackers who sent out malicious code to paralyze PCs, but nobody was trying to destroy PCs with worms or phish for personal data with Trojan horses. It used to be enough just to buy an anti-virus program and keep it updated. If you kept your anti-virus program up to date, you were essentially 100% protected.

In 2009, it is not as simple. There are uncounted numbers of people whose aim in life it to harm your PC. They flood your PC with adware and spyware because they want to know what you are doing or they want to keep images of their products in front of your face whether you want to buy those products or not. They impose their will on your PC by stealth and they laugh that there is nothing you can do about it.

Because there are just so many damaging programs lying in wait to attack your PC, everybody needs the protection of spyware antivirus software. That is the reason most anti-virus programs now have a spyware detector within them.

Why You Need Spyware Anti-virus Software

We don't think about spyware because, most of the time, there is nothing that tips you off that it's on your computer. Spyware is something that comes into your browser's cache with stealth when you are performing innocent tasks.

The problem is that the people who write spyware don't care how much they harm your computer, and they certainly do not make it easy for you to rid your computer of their efforts. Statistics indicate that no fewer than 95% of all the computers over all the world are infected with spyware. Spyware has become even more common than viruses.

That's why, to preserve the performance of your computer, you simply must install spyware anti-virus software. This ensures that you will protect your computer as best you can for the duration of its life.

How Does Your Computer Get Infected by Spyware?

There are several ways spyware finds its way onto your PC. For example, many manufacturers of the software programs you use add a spyware component. This spyware keeps track of what you do with their program. You may be advised of this when you click on the agreement that allows you to load the program, but most agreements bury their disclaimer deep in the fine print.

Although there is no way you can be sure that you are getting all spyware off your computer, using just one program will usually get most of it. When you use two different spyware anti-virus packages you can eliminate virtually all the stealth programs that may be slowing down you PC. Read reviews on most programs by doing a search for the package you want to use and then reading the linked review. programs by doing a search for what you want to use and then adding the word review. - 30432

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