Where is it From?
The first consideration for getting rid of spyware involves thinking about where you could have gotten the spyware from in the first place. You are not likely to have spyware come onto your computer by itself.
- Downloading unauthorized applications
- Using peer to peer networks
- Using free applications; many free applications have spyware because the developers are paid to incorporate them into their programs
In many cases you can learn from a site like http://www.howtogetrid.org about the
signs of spyware. You can tell that you have spyware if your computer is suffering from
problems like the following:
- Constantly appearing pop-ups
- Changes in your web browser, including a new front page or bookmarks that you did not approve of
- New toolbars on your browser that you never downloaded
- Programs running in your task manager that you did not approve of
steps if it is.
Update Your Operating System
You should see if there are any updates to your operating system. You might have to get an update ready because it can keep any security gaps in it from being prevalent. The problem with many operating systems is that hackers tend to find security holes and use them as spots to get spyware though. Consistent updates have to be used to get any exposed gaps from being present.
Getting Software to Work
In many cases you can get a program like this installed right onto your computer. In other cases you’ll have to install the program on another computer and then move that program onto your own computer. This is due to the way how spyware can keep some traditional spyware prevention programs from opening up. You can use a simple procedure to work with this:
- Install a professional anti-spyware program onto another computer.
- Move the functional application files to a portable hard drive or flash drive. It should be fully updated with the most recent spyware definitions.
- Insert the drive into your computer.
- Load the program up from the drive. It should be able to get the program to start scanning your computer and then quarantining all spyware files that it gets.
The Autoruns program that you can download online may also helps you out. This could help you see what programs start up when you boot up your computer. You can use this to uncheck any files that you don’t want to get started up when you start up your computer.
This program should be used to go along with a good scanning procedure. A program like Autoruns may find programs that could be spyware so you can target them with your anti-spyware program. It makes the process of removing spyware easier to handle.