Spyware & Adware
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Spyware cleaners and why unethical companies like to make adware
by Brad Edwards (see this article at article directories)
With around 90% of computers connected to the internet being infected with spyware, there is no doubt that this is a major problem. Spyware has the ability to display advertisements and tinker with personal settings, which is a major annoyance to many people, and causes millions of machines to run slow.
You may wonder, why would anyone want to infect people with spyware? Well, as you may guess, the reason is mostly to make money off each computer infected. Originally, computer viruses were made mostly as a joke or a prank, and had no commercial application (the first computer worm in the late 1980's targeted NASA and had the sole aim of slowing down their system). As more people started using the Internet, however, unethical companies who realized there was money to be made began to distribute spyware for profit.
Companies like this make money off their creations in a number of ways. First and foremost, adware will bombard you with advertisements (often with general offers such as relationships and fitness). Advertisers sign up and pay a set fee to the company distributing the software for every thousand people who see their advertisement. With malicious software often showing ads every minute, the impressions can add up fast, and over a long period of time can result in a significant amount of advertising revenue for the unethical company infecting people with their software.
Other than pop-up advertisements, these companies do a number of other things to profit off each infected machine. A common thing is to change your homepage. That way, every time you open your web-browser, you are exposed to an advertising message. In addition, harmful programs will often insert a tool bar on your internet explorer browser with additional advertising. Many programs even remove all existing tool bars you have installed in order to make way for the new tool bar they install with advertising.
Additional things programs like this can do is drop icons on your desktop (often linking to more advertised websites) and add favorites to your favorites menu. You may end up having more programs open when you start up your computer, and these things, combined with toolbars and your changed homepage, allow the company distributing spyware to bombard you with as many advertisements as they feel like. Considering how difficult software like this can be to remove, the unethical company can end up making a lot of money over a period of time.
How much companies who make spyware end up making is never actually revealed, and are typically shrouded in secrecy. If you ever feel like starting a business, however, just remember that there are better ways to make a living than infecting people with adware.
You may wonder, why would anyone want to infect people with spyware? Well, as you may guess, the reason is mostly to make money off each computer infected. Originally, computer viruses were made mostly as a joke or a prank, and had no commercial application (the first computer worm in the late 1980's targeted NASA and had the sole aim of slowing down their system). As more people started using the Internet, however, unethical companies who realized there was money to be made began to distribute spyware for profit.
Companies like this make money off their creations in a number of ways. First and foremost, adware will bombard you with advertisements (often with general offers such as relationships and fitness). Advertisers sign up and pay a set fee to the company distributing the software for every thousand people who see their advertisement. With malicious software often showing ads every minute, the impressions can add up fast, and over a long period of time can result in a significant amount of advertising revenue for the unethical company infecting people with their software.
Other than pop-up advertisements, these companies do a number of other things to profit off each infected machine. A common thing is to change your homepage. That way, every time you open your web-browser, you are exposed to an advertising message. In addition, harmful programs will often insert a tool bar on your internet explorer browser with additional advertising. Many programs even remove all existing tool bars you have installed in order to make way for the new tool bar they install with advertising.
Additional things programs like this can do is drop icons on your desktop (often linking to more advertised websites) and add favorites to your favorites menu. You may end up having more programs open when you start up your computer, and these things, combined with toolbars and your changed homepage, allow the company distributing spyware to bombard you with as many advertisements as they feel like. Considering how difficult software like this can be to remove, the unethical company can end up making a lot of money over a period of time.
How much companies who make spyware end up making is never actually revealed, and are typically shrouded in secrecy. If you ever feel like starting a business, however, just remember that there are better ways to make a living than infecting people with adware.
What is adware and spyware?
Adware and spyware are two different kinds of malicious programs, and each have the ability to make your computer a mess. If you end up using the Internet for anything in your life, or if you rely on your personal computer for anything, it is a very important that you completely understand what these things are and how they work.
The first thing you need to know about protecting yourself from these things is to totally understand what they do. Once you know what spyware and adware is, you'll be able to take measures against it infecting your machine.
What Is Spyware?
According to Microsoft, "spyware" is a malicious type of program with the aim of collecting personal information or changing the configuration of your computer. Spyware is often unethical, in that it is often downloaded without your permission. Usually, you won't know it's even there when it enters your system, and you'll need to have anti-spyware software installed in order to remove it.
What Is Adware?
The difference between spyware and adware is not large, and they are essentially the same kind of thing. With spyware, it is possible that your personal information could be given to another source. In other words, someone is "spying" on you, hence the name spyware. With adware, however, the software is designed primarily to display advertisements on the user's PC.
Is It All Bad?
It is unfortunate, but several people tend to believe that all types of this software are harmful and definitely should be avoided. That's not always the case. Of course, in most cases spyware and adware are harmful and are not the kind of thing you want on your PC, but there are exceptions where you may actually want software like this on your PC.
Remember, to make it spyware it has to be downloaded to your computer without your consent. Spyware can sometimes be downloaded through such things as "driveby" downloads or through other exploits, so that the user never even knows it is on their machine. Any program that is downloaded with the users permission is technically not spyware.
Why would you want to have spyware that tracks your personal information and surfing habits running on your computer? And more importantly, why would you want those advertisements? Well, there may be some exceptional cases it may be useful. For example, you may actually sign up for a service online and when you do you may also agree to receive targeted ads.
Companies like this find it useful to track where you go online (monitoring your surfing habits) and looking at what you do, in order to provide you with ads that are highly targeted to your interests. For example, if you were to search for dog food, the spyware company may give you advertising from dog food companies. So, rather than seeing annoying ads that have no interest to you, you may instead see things that are targeted and useful to what you are searching for.
In most cases, though, spyware is damaging. Many programs such as keyloggers will steal your personal information, and adware is often an inconvenience that most people could do without.
The first thing you need to know about protecting yourself from these things is to totally understand what they do. Once you know what spyware and adware is, you'll be able to take measures against it infecting your machine.
What Is Spyware?
According to Microsoft, "spyware" is a malicious type of program with the aim of collecting personal information or changing the configuration of your computer. Spyware is often unethical, in that it is often downloaded without your permission. Usually, you won't know it's even there when it enters your system, and you'll need to have anti-spyware software installed in order to remove it.
What Is Adware?
The difference between spyware and adware is not large, and they are essentially the same kind of thing. With spyware, it is possible that your personal information could be given to another source. In other words, someone is "spying" on you, hence the name spyware. With adware, however, the software is designed primarily to display advertisements on the user's PC.
Is It All Bad?
It is unfortunate, but several people tend to believe that all types of this software are harmful and definitely should be avoided. That's not always the case. Of course, in most cases spyware and adware are harmful and are not the kind of thing you want on your PC, but there are exceptions where you may actually want software like this on your PC.
Remember, to make it spyware it has to be downloaded to your computer without your consent. Spyware can sometimes be downloaded through such things as "driveby" downloads or through other exploits, so that the user never even knows it is on their machine. Any program that is downloaded with the users permission is technically not spyware.
Why would you want to have spyware that tracks your personal information and surfing habits running on your computer? And more importantly, why would you want those advertisements? Well, there may be some exceptional cases it may be useful. For example, you may actually sign up for a service online and when you do you may also agree to receive targeted ads.
Companies like this find it useful to track where you go online (monitoring your surfing habits) and looking at what you do, in order to provide you with ads that are highly targeted to your interests. For example, if you were to search for dog food, the spyware company may give you advertising from dog food companies. So, rather than seeing annoying ads that have no interest to you, you may instead see things that are targeted and useful to what you are searching for.
In most cases, though, spyware is damaging. Many programs such as keyloggers will steal your personal information, and adware is often an inconvenience that most people could do without.
What spyware does to your PC
Spyware and adware are a malicious programs that may have a number of undesirable effects on your computer. Symptoms include changing search results when you do a search on Google, or changing your homepage. Other forms of spyware and adware will even change the configuration of your PC.
The main problem of spyware and adware is that they are very difficult to remove. Often, it will be impossible to manually remove spyware, and you'll need an anti-spyware program to remove it. Here are a few symptoms of a spyware infected machine:
Slowing Your Computer Down
A major annoyance of having spyware and adware on your machine is that they will significantly slow your computer down. Most of all, it can hurt you by being annoying. Pop up ads may happen when your surf the internet, as a result of having adware installed on your machine.
Often, your computer will begin to get slower and slower the longer you have adware on your machine. Moreover, if you don't realize that you have spyware when you first get it, you'll usually end up getting more spyware and this makes it even more difficult to remove.
Why does spyware make your computer slower? Well, your computer is basically made to do more, thus slowing it does. Not only does it need to perform the tasks that you want it to do, but (with spyware installed) it now needs to do a number of other things such as monitoring your surfing behavior or displaying annoying pop-up ads.
Things such as tracking what you're doing, recording information, displaying advertisements and running malicious programs all take up your computers processing power. Thus, your computer will run slower.
In rare cases, spyware can even cause your computer to completely crash.
Relaying Information
Some types of spyware go beyond just displaying advertisements. There are a number of worse types that are also common. Like adware, spyware can track what you're doing and where you're going on the internet.
In some cases, spyware can record the websites you have visited and the keystrokes you have entered. It may take this information and report it back to the company who makes the spyware.
Once your personal information is relayed back to the company or individual running the spyware, your personal information, such as your credit card information, your addresses, paypal account and other sensitive information will be in the hands of the spyware owner. They will then have your username and password for all accounts you have logged into online.
If you have heard about identity theft before, this is where it comes from - malicious spyware programs who record what you do and where you go. Unfortunately, this is alarmingly common and many people do not recognize how serious the problem actually is.
The main problem of spyware and adware is that they are very difficult to remove. Often, it will be impossible to manually remove spyware, and you'll need an anti-spyware program to remove it. Here are a few symptoms of a spyware infected machine:
Slowing Your Computer Down
A major annoyance of having spyware and adware on your machine is that they will significantly slow your computer down. Most of all, it can hurt you by being annoying. Pop up ads may happen when your surf the internet, as a result of having adware installed on your machine.
Often, your computer will begin to get slower and slower the longer you have adware on your machine. Moreover, if you don't realize that you have spyware when you first get it, you'll usually end up getting more spyware and this makes it even more difficult to remove.
Why does spyware make your computer slower? Well, your computer is basically made to do more, thus slowing it does. Not only does it need to perform the tasks that you want it to do, but (with spyware installed) it now needs to do a number of other things such as monitoring your surfing behavior or displaying annoying pop-up ads.
Things such as tracking what you're doing, recording information, displaying advertisements and running malicious programs all take up your computers processing power. Thus, your computer will run slower.
In rare cases, spyware can even cause your computer to completely crash.
Relaying Information
Some types of spyware go beyond just displaying advertisements. There are a number of worse types that are also common. Like adware, spyware can track what you're doing and where you're going on the internet.
In some cases, spyware can record the websites you have visited and the keystrokes you have entered. It may take this information and report it back to the company who makes the spyware.
Once your personal information is relayed back to the company or individual running the spyware, your personal information, such as your credit card information, your addresses, paypal account and other sensitive information will be in the hands of the spyware owner. They will then have your username and password for all accounts you have logged into online.
If you have heard about identity theft before, this is where it comes from - malicious spyware programs who record what you do and where you go. Unfortunately, this is alarmingly common and many people do not recognize how serious the problem actually is.
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