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About Spyware

Spyware is general term for programs that are installed on your computer without your knowledge. These programs run in the background and “spy” on your Internet browsing habits and gather personal information. This information is sent to a central database in order to provide targeted advertisements to you in the form of pop-ups.

Spyware can be installed on your computer without you knowing it. Some Spyware programs are bundled with commonly used programs in order to infect your computer. For example, when you install AIM, you are also installing Weatherbug, which is a common Spyware program. You can also get Spyware by clicking on other pop-up ads, or visiting infected websites. The best way to prevent installing Spyware is to make sure you know exactly what you are downloading and installing. If you aren’t sure what something is, there is a high chances that it is Spyware.

Common symptoms of Spyware:

• Your computer begins to run very slowly
• Pop-up ads are appearing (even when you aren’t online)
• Your homepage has changed by itself
• New icons appear on your desktop or in your taskbar
• Unwanted toolbars and favorites appear in Internet Explorer
• Your computer keeps losing it’s Internet connection
• Your web browser won’t load any pages

Spyware removal

There are many programs available to remove Spyware from your computer. ResTek recommends using both Ad-Aware and SpyBot to successfully remove many pesky Spyware programs. Both programs are free to download and use. We also provide step-by-step instructions for using each of these programs.

Ad-Aware SE Personal
Download Ad-Aware (from download.com)

ResTek Instructions for Ad-Aware

SpyBot- Search & Destroy
Download Spybot (from download.com)

ResTek Instructions for SpyBot