How I will I know if my computer Is infected with spy ware?

Question

How will I know if a certain software is spyware? If only if computer is infected with spyware what will be the harmful effect to the computer?

Answer 1

Use an anti spyware to scan that program....The best way to get rid of spywares,adwares,trojans and pop up is using a best anti-spyware to protect your computer.You must have 1 or 2 antispyware on your computer to protect your computer.Of course there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.So which anti-spyware is the most suited for your system? You can find out by reading in-depth reviews and comparisons of TOP 5 anti-spywares... some really great tips and links to Spyware removal programs.

Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on

http://www.************************

You can download and scan your computer for free.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Best way to tell if your computer is infected with spyware is to get reliable anti-spyware software. One problem with some so-called anti-spyware software is that there are actually spyware programs masquerading as anti-spyware scanners.

A few very good (and free) programs are:

Ad-Aware (they sell a professional version, but the personal
version is free)
Spybot Search & Destroy (and other software that might
be useful)
SpywareBlaster

I believe that Symantec has a spyware checker included with its anti-virus software.

Don't rely on just one - Ad-Aware and Spybot make a good combination, for example. Keep them up-to-date, and scan regularly.

Spyware will slow down your computer, will definitely endanger any personal information (eg. - passwords, credit card numbers, etc) that you use or store on your computer, and could provide backdoors for more malicious software.

Answer 3

It is best to be familiar with the 'what is spyware' to know how your computer will react to these types of things.

"Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first."

Here is a detailed explanation from Microsoft that hopefully will help... http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/spywarewhat.mspx

If you are looking for a good anti-spyware program I would suggest a program called spybot. It is a free download and you can find it at http://www-spybot.net/

Hope this helps

Answer 4

If your computer infected by spyware it will experience slow down of computer. this happen because a part of your computer memory was using by the spyware to load file

Answer 5

You can find out by scanning your computer with an anti spyware program like spybot search and destroy.
Spyware starts off by making the computer slow. What else it can do depends on the spyware on your computer so do a scan and let us know what it finds.

1) If you have not already scanned your comp with spybot http://spywarekiller.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=4 do that now .Update it http://www.spybot.info/en/howto/update.html (latest updates on 14th march 2007) and then run it so it gets rid of all the spyware and trojans in safe mode http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial61.html

then run AVG Anti-Spyware Free
http://spywarekiller.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=39&latest=1

then

2) Do an online virus scan to check and remove virus and spyware if you still have viruses on your computer. And let us know if the online virus scan still finds any virus or spyware .
http://spywarekiller.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=11

If you do not have firefox get it now and use it instead of internet explorer so you dont get any more spyware http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/

Run Secunia Software Inspector http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/ .Securina will tell you which of your software is outdated and have holes in them through which the spyware are entering.

Answer 6

The First thing you may start to notice is that your computer starts running slower then it normally does. Your best bet would to install an active spyware program that you can schedule to scan every couple of days. I would recommend AVG For this. I provided a link for the download below. I hope this helps!

http://www.ewido.net/en/download/

Answer 7

Spyware, Adware, and Malware are not necessarily harmful to your computer, but they do present a security and privacy risk, as they gather and send out your personal information and send it out to individuals or companies. If said data is compromised, it may be used to steal your identity, personal funds, or mess with your credit rating.

There are several freeware programs to help scan for, and eliminate these types of program. Among the most common are :

ewido -----> www.ewido.com
(offers online, and downloadable detection)

adaware---> www.adaware.com
(offers a free home version to root out and eliminate spyware)

spybot ------> www.spybot.com
(freeware to track and destroy adware)

I recommend running more than one of these regularly. By running multiple, you may catch things the previous program missed...
Good Luck!