There's a lot of unhappy results you can get from indiscriminate Internet surfing these days. Some are potentially harmful, requiring a reboot of your system, or even worse. Some are only a pain the you know what, and some are fairly benign, and you likely won't even notice them. This article will help separate the good, the bad, and the ugly, and help you determine what to do once you find something you don't recognize.
First of all, many people confuse spyware with computer viruses. A virus is designed to specifically do damage to your computer, and many times reproduces itself and spreads through your email address list. In fact, it is called a virus as it spread just like a cold or any other illness. These are dangerous, and are only intended to do danger.
Spyware on the other is by definition any software that collects information without your knowledge. At best, these are controlled pieces of software knowingly put on your computer by your boss or your parents to monitor your computer activity. At worst, they are put there by anonymous third parties for a variety of purposes.
The main purpose is for advertising, and to generate what is called pay per action revenue for the advertiser. For example, if somebody includes a pay per action in a software that you downloaded, every time you click on a pop up advertisement, somebody gets paid. The way around this is to look for the "X" that is usually up in the corner. Software developers, however, are getting smarter, and sometimes hide that "X," so you need to actually hover your mouse where you think it might be in order to see it. Some programs, which are incredibly frustrating, won't offer the "X" until a few seconds have passed, literally forcing you to look at the advertisement.
Some spyware is actually helpful, and in many cases people don't even consider it spyware. For example, many browsers will remember your login details for your favorite web sites, saving you the trouble of having to type them in each time. Other examples are tracking cookies, which are placed in your browser by web sites that require a log in, like in many of the popular free blogging sites on the Internet these days.
The best thing to do if you keep seeing those pesky pop ups is to disable the software, or simply uninstall it. And in the future, be very careful of downloading any software that claims is "free," as many cases, this doesn't turn out to be the case.
Some spyware is intended to pave the way for viruses, by changing your firewall settings. This kinds of blurs the line between spyware and viruses, so it pays to be very careful about ever accepting actions that you don't recognize. Unless you know exactly what a pop up is asking you, always click on the "No," or "Cancel" button. It goes without saying that you should always have a robust anti spyware program up and running to keep yourself safe.
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