How To Protect Your Privacy Online

If you are careless about your browsing habits you can risk all sorts of problems ranging from having your computer infected with a virus, to accidently giving up personal information that could be devastating in the wrong hands.

Phishing is the practice of using means such as spam emails and pop-up ads to fool people into giving up their personal information. Most attempts at phishing can be stopped by using basic common sense, however some of these schemes can be very complex. Recent examples included an entire fake bank website designed to mirror real ones as closely as possible. When unsuspecting web users logged in, their username and password iwas obtained by the scammers.

Spyware is a type of software which is typically secretly installed on people's computers when they visit certain websites without them even being aware that software is being installed on their computer. The main purpose of this type of software is to collect information about a user such as their browsing habits or computer specifications. Spyware often takes far more malicious forms, however.. Spyware is sometimes used to phish for personal information, change computer settings, re-direct web browser activity, and actually install more spyware. Having a solid anti-spyware program is essential for safe web browsing, we reccomend the software provided at AdWare.com

Adware is similar to spyware, however the main function of adware sofware is to show advertisements on the computer to which it has been installed. A computer that has been infected with adware will be slowed down quite a bit, and will be very annoying to use. Adware and spyware are not only installed covertly by some websites, but can be included in what are otherwise legitimate programs. This makes it very hard to avoid having some ad/spyware infect your computer, so a good program to counter adware and spyware is critical.

Viruses are often confused with adware and spyware, and while similar, these types of programs are much more malicious. Many are designed to phish personal data, while others aim to deal as much damage to the computers they infect as possible. Computer viruses are spread in forms of executable code, and one of the most common ways people's computers become infected is when corrupted .exe files are opened. If a website appears sketchy it would be wise not to download files from it.

Many other types of scams exist, and in such varities that listing them all would be impossible. Fortunately with the right software and some basic knowledge, you can stay well protected.

There are literally hundreds of different anti-adware and spyware programs that can be found online. While all of them claim to deliever amazing results, most only end up detecting a small portion of the spyware that is infecting and slowing down your computer.

I learned this the hard way after my laptop, only 1 year old at the time, was becoming slower and slower even though my free anti-spyware program was telling me that my computer was completely clean. After doing some research I concluded that the program I was using wasn't enough. I went to AdAwareAlert.com , and after using their free scan I was shocked to find hundreds of pieces of spyware which my old program completely missed!

One small purchase later my laptop (which at this point was headed to the dumpster fast!) became much faster and easier to use, saving me hundreds of dollars that I otherwise would have spent on a new computer. I cannot recommend AdAware Alert enough, and I trust it's anti-spyware software above any other.

Fake Anti-Spyware: A new trend among phishers is to circulate fake anti-spyware programs which when installed distribute more spyware on your computer and steal your personal information. Avoid these programs as they have been shown to do this: Antispywaremaster, XP Antivirus 2008, Antispyspider, IE Antivirus, WinFixer, Malware Bell, SpySheriff, Smithfraud, VirusHeat, SpyAxe, AntiVirGear, Malware Alarm, VirusBlast, Spyware Removal Wizard, SpyHeal, RemoveIT Pro

Have you ever heard that it is impossible to truly delete a file from your computer? Have you wondered how computer experts can scour a hard drive and find files that were supposedly deleted years ago? The answer lies in a part of the hard drive known as the system registry.

The Windows registry is a database repository of information about a computer's configuration. Installing or uninstalling software, downloading and deleting files, and browsing the web all increase the size of the system registry. The larger the registry gets, the slower the computer runs! Personal data and sensitive files can also find their way into the registry, where they will be preserved.

Luckily, there are programs that can clean and re-organize your computer's registry to ensure it keeps running fast. The best and most affordable of these is Registry Easy. If you've had your computer for a year or two and have noticed it running slower, then give this program a try, your computer WILL run much faster.