does anyone know what ''spyware '' is and does once it has entered into your computer ?

Question

My computer software said that spyware had been used only this morning, I only went to the yahoo insider website for a video.
Is it common for "professional " sites such as ET, Insider , ABC CBS, NBC< or whatever to allow or use spyware , and if so to what end ?

email if you like.

Answer 1

its a program used by bogus companies to send your email address out to bogus advertisers

Answer 2

typically spyware tracks your movements on the internet and can either report back to the originating person, or produce popup ads pertaining to sites that you have visited. In other words if you were looking for cars, you might start noticing pop up ads for cars.

Most web sites use items called cookies. These can be a form of spyware or not.

As far as labeling it spyware, that all depends on the spyware program you are using. Some of those programs are spyware themselves.

Good spyware removal programs are spybot or adaware SE and both are free.

Answer 3

"In simpler terms, spyware is a type of program that watches what users do with their computer and then sends that information over the internet. Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user. More benign programs can attempt to track what types of websites a user visits and send this information to an advertisement agency. More malicious versions can try to record what a user types to try to intercept passwords or credit card numbers. Yet other versions simply launch popup advertisements."

Safe computing means regularly running these two programs (free downloads for personal use):
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Answer 4

Spyware is like a little program that runs on your computer and sometimes allows data from your computer to be sent to other computers without your knowing. Site like ABC use this spyware (if any) to see your surfing habits, and they are generally safe. But download some freeware spyware cleaners. Try Spybot or Adware. Just google them.

Answer 5

Most sites that you enter have designed spyware to put into your computer. Most are harmless and only track what your interests are in shopping. So they can send you spam. However, some are designed to get personal information like S/S#s, pass words and log in names, etc.
You can purchase "Spyware Doctor" and prevent this from happening and it will remove any spyware that you already have on your computer. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

In the field of computing, the term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or legitimate user. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party.

Answer 7

Most sites that employ spyware want to know what sort of things you're interested in for marketing purposes.