How Do I Get Rid of Spyware?
If you have spyware on your computer, then you might want to know how to get rid of it. Spyware can be a malicious and harmful agent on your computer, and you need to act quickly to remove it. You can manually remove the spyware yourself, or you can use an anti-spyware program to remove it.
If you know that a certain program or folder contains spyware, then you can manually remove it. On the other hand, if you only know that you have spyware on your computer but you do not know where it is, you should use anti-spyware software to remove it.
Uninstall the Spyware
If you know a program is infested with spyware, you need to uninstall this program from your computer. In Windows, you can uninstall the spyware with these steps:
- Go to the Control Panel.
- Go to the Add/Remove Programs choice.
- Click on the program that is infested and uninstall it from your computer.
- Restart your computer after uninstalling it to ensure that it is completely gone.
Run an Anti-Spyware Program
Even if you manually uninstall the program that is infested, you should still run an anti-spyware program. This is because spyware can spread from the program onto other parts of your computer, and still be on the computer without you even realizing that it is there.
You cannot use a virus removal program to remove spyware because spyware is not the same thing as a virus. You need a specific program for removing spyware. If you do not have one on your computer, you can download one off the Internet. However, make sure to research whatever you download to make sure it’s secure, reliable, and trustworthy.
Before you run the anti-spyware program, you need to:
- Close any open windows on your computer. This includes any Internet browsers, and even any documents.
- Disconnect your computer from the Internet before you run the program as well. You want to ensure that any program that might possibly be infected with spyware is not currently running when you run the anti-spyware program. If it is running, this makes it harder for the spyware protection to detect it.
Run the scan, and follow the directions to remove any spyware that it has located. Then, you should restart your computer and scan again. Repeat the process of restarting your computer, scanning, and removing spyware three times.
What Is Spyware
Spyware is a type of malicious software that infects your computer. The software collects information about the user without the user knowing. For example, it will collect information about your credit cards, your bank accounts, personal information, and even your home address and home phone number.
It will also track your Internet habits, such as the websites that you frequent and how often you frequent the sites. This information might then be passed onto different companies.
Spyware Consequences
Since spyware collects personal information, you run the risk of having your bank information, your social security number, or other information stolen and suffering from identity fraud.
Beyond this, spyware programs might:
- Slow your computer down
- Redirect your browser from certain websites to other websites
- Change your homepage
- Install unknown software onto your hard drive
- Create undesired CPU activity, disk usage, and network traffic
- Cause your computer to freeze more frequently
- Cause difficulty rebooting
These are only some of the consequences that you might suffer if you have spyware on your computer.