Spyware is a computer software that gathers information from the user through the user’s Internet connection. Most of the time, the user is not aware that his or her private information is being accessed. Through a spyware, data such as your Internet habits and the list of sites you visited can be seen by other people without your knowledge. If a spyware has been unintentionally installed in your computer, it can monitor your activity and send the information to someone else.
The most dangerous thing about a spyware is that it can actually access your credit card numbers, passwords, and emails. Spyware can also lead to the crashing of your computer because the transmission of the data by spyware consumes a lot of bandwidth and Internet resources.
Why spyware is used
Spyware is usually used for commercial purposes. One of the strategies is the accession of your email address and sending pop-up advertisement to your account. Other ways include accessing your financial information stored in the Internet’s database.
How to avoid spyware
Because prevention is always better than cure, you ought to do certain things to make sure that you lower the risk of having your computer infected by spyware. Some people say that one of the things that you should do is to use Firefox or Opera as web browsers. Another thing you have to do to get rid of the spyware threat by installing anti-spyware software, you you can download it for free or buy it online.