Have you noticed that, compared to when you first bought it, your computer has become sluggish … if not downright lazy? Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms?

• Accessing web pages seems to take longer (and longer, and longer)
  
  
• Your computer seems to have "a mind of its own." That is, it does odd things that you did not tell it to do, as if it could be possessed… for example, web pages open or close on their own, or it makes buzzing or whirring or beeping noises for no apparent reason, or your browser just suddenly closes sometimes.
  
  
• You are getting a lot of emails you send bounced back to you, or there are emails going out "from" you that you know you never sent.
  
  
• You have icons on your desktop that you never (knowingly) authorized to appear there, or your browser's default webpage is suddenly set to a different website, or websites appear in your favorites folder that you didn't stick in there.

For that matter, do you value the privacy of your personal information, including your financial information and online habits, and want to ensure it all stays private?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you absolutely must understand the number one Internet threat to you today -- spyware and adware - and what to do about it.

Big Brother is Watching You, and He's a Nasty Jerk

Spyware is as sinister as it sounds, and has replaced viruses as the top threat to your personal identity and financial information. Spyware is a software program that, without your awareness, gets stored on your computer and then transmits a variety of your personal information and habits to unscrupulous organizations or individuals.

These organizations may just use what they learn about you via their spyware to try to sell something to you. For instance, they may learn by tracking your habits online that you are in debt, or addicted to online gambling, and then consequently pound you (your email, even your home mail) with advertisements for "debt management" programs or online casinos. Or they may sell your personal information to organizations without your knowledge who then pound you with such advertising.

Even worse, though, are the organizations and individuals whose spyware is in place to track your every move in order to "borrow" your identity … and steal from you. Some spyware is so sophisticated that it can track the keyboard strokes you make at certain sites and then "make sense" of those strokes via processing.

How Does $%#& Spyware and Adware End Up on My Computer!??
Spyware and adware end up on your computer because, almost always, you "give" them permission to end up there.

Mind you, you are not AWARE that you are giving them permission to load onto your computer, but the actions you perform online are telling the programs you are "giving" them permission to load onto your computer - which are exactly some of the lame, twisted excuses that organizations behind adware have tried using to justify their nonsense.

The most common way spyware and adware gets added to computer is when you download something from a website or email. This often includes "free" offers from questionable sources, and can also include pictures, music and any other type of file download.

Buried deep in their agreements or other official notice areas that few people ever read, some of the websites will even tell you (often in double-talk) that they may be installing adware or even forms of spyware on your computer.

For instance, the very popular Kazaa music file sharing website - reportedly one of the most notorious sources of adware and spyware -- states this in their privacy statement:

• "Kazaa is supported by advertising displayed by the GAIN Network (using GAIN AdServer software) and Cydoor. Cydoor displays ads at kazaa.com and in the Kazaa. The GAIN Network delivers online advertisements that are selected based in part on how you surf the Web … These applications must be installed to use the free version of Kazaa."

This is, in more words or less, a notice that you'll be getting stuff loaded onto your computer that you don't want loaded there … but you have to tolerate it if you want to use Kazaa free (only paragraphs later Kazaa offers an ad-free version of its site that you must buy.)

Other websites, ads and more trick you into clicking on it - in the same manner that the "Security Alert" in the box above tricks you to click on its "OK" button or even its "X" button -- loading adware or spyware onto your computer in the process.

A newer spyware program to be on the alert for, called Lover Spy, comes through a spam email and sells the reader on sending a fake e-greeting card to someone they want to spy on. The person who receives this e-greeting is sent to a web page to view it, and it tricks them into clicking to download a plug-in "required to view" the e-card.

The spyware is installed in this manner, and it will record keystrokes, steal passwords, record chats and emails, and more - and then send this information back to the person who sent the malicious greeting!

3. Avoid the Internet's Red Light Districts, where you are more likely to catch something… Porn websites, gambling websites, and all the vice websites are notorious breeding grounds for spyware, adware, viruses, and other nasty stuff (kind of like the real world!), largely because viewers are so absentmindedly motivated to click on all the "free" offers.

4. Don't click on ads or downloads that you are not sure about. To avoid viruses as well, never open an attachment in an email unless you are confident of its source. Don't be fooled by ad pop ups that try to scare you into clicking on them like the one below, and don't be tricked by ads like the one in the box above whose minimize, maximize and X boxes in the upper-right hand corner do not really function in their intended manner. If you cannot find a legitimate way to close such ads, try pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys simultaneously on your PC keyboard, choose Task Manager, and shut down the ad or webpage there.