Top Five 'Spyware Fighting' Tips

Top Five 'Spyware Fighting' Tips

Spyware and adware are becoming major problems for onlinesurfers and PC owners. Some highly respected sources such as AOL, Earthlink and Webroot place the rate of infection at 80-90% of all computers. Granted, some of this percentage is taken up by relatively benign tracking cookies, but other types like keyword logging, system monitors, worms and Trojans present a major threat to your privacy and may even do serious damage to your computer.With the occurrences of Spyware increasing daily, chances are high that you will be going into battle against Spyware very soon - so if you need a battle plan - Try these 5 Tips:

1. Go on the offensive. Fight spyware before it even arrives onyour computer. Make sure you have a good 'anti-virus software' program running on your PC. Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers)now offer anti-virus programs or even purchasing a commercial productis to your advantage. Get a program or product that is regularlyupdated to fend off the latest viruses, adware, worms, trojans andspyware.

2. Put up a Firewall. A Firewall should be one of your first lines of defense against spyware. A Firewall is simply a system or gateway designed to prevent unauthorized access to your computer or network PC.

3. Don't open Emails and Attachments from people you don't know. Use common sense, DON'Topen any emails from people you don't know. Especially, do not open any Attachments until they are scanned for spyware andviruses. Many mail servers will do these scans for free.

4. Keep Your Operating System Up to Date. Be aware of what's on your system - do regular spyware and adware scans to see exactly what's on your computer. Know your machine! You may be horrified to learn someone may be monitoring your every 'keystroke' and every 'image' you've viewed on your computer. So scan regularly and also make sure you download the newest updates from your Operating System; these often contain patches or fixes for serious breaches of security of your PC.

5. Back-up Your System. If all the above steps fail, nothing is foolproof, any computer that uses the Internet can be hacked, so you need to back-up your important data. You can use floppy disks, CDs or use a second computer that's not connected to the net just for storage or back-up of your sensitive data/programs. An inexpensive notebook computer can be used to make daily/weekly back-ups of your vital data and programs.

In conclusion, the best defense against any spyware is a strong offense.

Be prepared, be aware, but most of all, be battle-ready: have a system in place that will nuke these spyware agents before they even reach your computer.

Choose your weapons carefully, be merciless, be thorough and take no prisoners! This is one battle you can't afford to lose.