University of Nebraska at Omaha
unomaha.edu
anti-spyware.
Spyware is software that monitors activity and gathers information on a computer. Many forms of spyware keep tabs on the places you visit across the internet or the songs you listen to on a media player. However, a growing number of spyware seeks to log your keystrokes, then relay your personal information, including your account numbers and passwords, back to an unknown location. It is considered by many security experts to be the number one threat to computer users today.
Oftentimes, people download spyware to their computers unintentionally by accepting "free" program offers which have spyware attached to them. Neat utilities such as weather forecasters, schedulers and memo pads may come with a extra piece of software which, after the user loads the utility, keeps track of people's visits over the web. Other users are tricked into accepting spyware when they click "yes" on a pop-up offering some kind of service like a free check of the system or similar offer. Then there are the makers of spyware who force their malicious code onto a computer by taking advantage of bugs in the user's web browser or by using a virus to spread their software. In almost all cases, the owners of these computers do not know someone added spyware to their system, nor did they give permission to anyone to spy on them.
Spyware can be anything from merely annoying to outright dangerous. The more annoying kinds of spyware will surreptitiously open a new window and display an ad while the user browses the web. Sometimes these displays become so numerous, or open up so frequently, the computer becomes unusuable. The worst types of spyware, however, records a user's keystrokes, then reports the information back to its maker. More recent versions can also record mouse clicks. In either case the goal of these spyware makers is to grab whatever information they can and use it to steal or blackmail.
The best way to prevent spyware from appearing on your computer, of course, is not to accept free offers from web ads or pop-ups, and to use internet browsing software whose bugs are fixed. Barring this, you might consider using a spyware remover, a utility that detects most kinds of spyware and removes them for you. We offer some links below for you to consider.
Weblinks
The University of Nebraska at Omaha neither offers nor supports browsers or spyware removal software of any kind. It does offer anti-virus software which can remove some forms of spyware from a computer, but does not remove them all or warn you if spyware tries to install itself. Nonetheless, you might try one or several of the software packages we link to below to help prevent spyware from infecting your computer system.
Browsers
Spyware Removal Tools
More Information on Spyware
