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Antivirus, Firewall and Spyware Resources
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AdwareWhat is Adware?Adware is a more benign, annoying relative of spyware. Adware is designed to collect information about you and your browsing habits in order to display targeted advertising. It is most often obtained when downloading and installing free software, such as games, utilities and other computer programs. In exchange for giving you free software, the author makes his/her money by displaying advertisements on your computer screen. Most legitimate freeware includes a lengthy user agreement that you must agree to before installation can continue. Part of the deal includes you giving the author permission to display advertising on your computer. Most people never read this agreement and simply click "ok" to install the software. With adware funded software, clicking "ok" means that you agree to the installation of the adware in exchange for getting the freeware software. Adware advertisements usually run in a small section of your computer screen or appear as popups when running the software. If you stop using the software, or if you purchase the software and enter a registration key the advertisements should disappear. Adware is a legitimate form of income for many developers, who let you use their program in exchange for showing you ads. Much adware is harmless and doesn't gather any personal information, only browsing history. When you get tired of seeing the ads, legitimate adware will uninstall completely to leave your computer "advertisement-free". Here is a good article on spyware and adware symptoms. Adware RemovalUnfortunately, a large amount of adware programming is either not written properly or is not created in an ethical manner. Much adware will not uninstall completely (or at all), due to bad programming or unscrupulous developers who intentionally create the adware to never uninstall or to gather personal information about you. This is more like "adware spyware" and is really hard to get rid of sometimes. Unless you are very skilled with computers, the best way to kill adware is by using an adware removal tool. Perhaps the best adware remover on the market is Adaware by Lavasoft. You can get a free version of this popular product, but as with all free products - you get what you pay for. Lavasoft has a paid version of it's popular Adaware adware detection and removal product that is designed to safely remove adware and prevent you from picking up more. AD-AWARE PLUS EDITION normally retails for $29.99, but you can get it from this link for a discount. In some cases - especially if you are really good with computers - adware removal can be done manually. This involves some patience and time, as you first need to identify what type of adware you have on your computer, then research removal procedures on the internet. There are many good websites dedicated to adware spyware removal, and you can find some of these on our adware resources page. Adware ProtectionAs with anything, the only guaranteed way to prevent an adware problem is to abstain from downloading or installing any free software; but this is not always practical. Adware protection software is available, and will help identify potential adware before it's too late. Adware protection and adware removers usually work on three levels, at the pre-download stage, the pre-installation stage and the after-install stage. Adware spyware protection products usually include a database of known adware spyware websites, and will warn you before you download a questionable product. Because new adware spyware sites pop up every day, the database needs to be updated regularly in order to do much good. Most of the better adware protection products include automatic updates, which will take care of this issue. If an adware download slips by the software (this happens quite frequently and is normal), the adware protection program may catch it at the time of install, especially if you have been obtaining regular updates. If it doesn't catch the adware spyware during the installation process, there is a good chance it will kill the adware during a system scan. Adware protection software will not find and remove all adware. Each software is a bit different, and you may have to try several before you find one that will kill your adware. Is Adware Spyware?As previously mentioned, adware is more of a distant relative of spyware. Adware in it's purest form is harmless, but can be quite annoying - especially if you have a lot of it on your computer. Spyware on the other hand, can be very intrusive and dangerous. There is a fine line between adware and spyware, and I call this "adware spyware". This is adware gone bad, and can transmit personal information about your shopping habits, bank accounts, credit cards, etc... Identifying AdwareIn most cases, you will know you have adware if your computer constantly displays popup windows or ads that run in one of the edges of your screen. If you have lots of adware on your computer, you will notice slow performance in combination with many annoying popups and advertisements. Sudden slow performance with no evidence of popups or ads is generally a sign of spyware. If you are experiencing this, please visit our spyware page to see what you can do about it.
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SECURITY Articleshome
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MailWasher Pro allows
you to preview multiple accounts and all aspects of your e-mail before you
download it. It also allows you to delete and bounce e-mail back to the
originator. The sender will receive an e-mail saying the address is
unknown. Another feature helps identify and mark e-mail as normal, virus,
possibly virus, possibly spam, probably spam, chain letter, and
blacklisted, so you can deal with the e-mail as you wish. |
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