Detect, remove and block Spyware
by SpywareBlocker on 21/06/10 at 11:55 am
Spyware (also known as a SpyBot) is software that collects information about a person without their knowledge. It is usually installed onto a computer via the internet, however there has been a few notable cases where spyware has been loaded onto USB devices during the quality control phase of production in some high profile technology company factories.
Once spyware has been successfully installed onto a computer it gathers information on the user(s) and relays it back to advertises or other parties such as criminal networks. There are a few ways spyware can be installed on a computer:
- Whilst installing a program
- installed like a typical virus
- loaded form a USB dongle
- served up by an infected email
- opening spam emails
Spyware programs often range from plain annoying to extermely harmful like keyboard loggers and screen grab applications capable of stealing passwords and other sensitive information.
Just like anti-virus software, anti-spyware scans a comptuer looking for files that are known to be spyware or adware programs. Once these files have been located they are quarantined or permentately deteleted.
As with anti-virus software, anti-spyware software must be updated regulary as it relies heavily on a database of known threats. Anti-spyware softeare often includes a function known as a Spyware Blocker, that prevents spyware from being installed in the first instance.
