How to spot spyware

Spyware can be used harmlessly by advertisers who track your internet usage and then use that data to target specific ads to you. Or, more dangerously, it can be used by hackers who might monitor your chat sessions, capture keystrokes to figure out the personal information you enter (password or account number), or change your Web browser settings.

Recognizable symptoms of Spyware include:

• Your computer is bombarded with pop-up advertisements or warnings when you're online.
• Your browser settings have changed (not by you).
• You have a new browser toolbar that you did not install.
• Your computer seems sluggish.
• Your computer crashes frequently.

Spyware is spread in any of the following ways:

• You can download spyware unintentionally through email attachments or malicious Web sites.
• Spyware can be part of a software bundle, usually with freeware or shareware.
• Other users can infect your computer without realizing it.
• Computer viruses, worms, and Trojans can carry spyware with them and install it on your hard drive.

Need spyware protection? See the products we offer