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Spyware Downloads
Computers are wonderful, and the further invention of the World Wide
Web goes with home computers like peanut butter and jelly: the two
are sheer perfection together. Yet sadly enough, there are many
people in the world who would utilize the internet to harm your
computer for kicks, or they would steal information from you. These
two actions are effected by spyware downloads.
Technically speaking, when you download things from a website,
they're not called spyware downloads, but rather just downloads. The
spyware itself is embedded -that is, hidden within the song, video,
or whatever else you might download onto your computer, and this is
not to say that every download is so infected.
Very often you will be completely unaware of the spyware downloads,
and only after a period of time will you realize that you've taken
on a program that you don't want. This can begin with a simple
assessment of your online surfing habits, information which is then
sent to a company that collects demographic information. This type
of spyware is rather non-harmful.
To raise the bar a bit from this, there are more insidious programs.
The least harmful of these will simply annoy you by repeatedly
sending pop-up ads, even if you are off-line and your modem is
disabled (which is one of the tell-tale signs that you've been
infected). Often the pop-ups will reflect your own online shopping
or browsing habits, and for this reason, many people don't seem to
mind this annoyance so much.
The problem of spyware downloads escalates, however, in two very
dramatic ways. The first of these is destruction of your hard-drive.
This is not to say that your CPU will melt in front of you. The
hardware itself is physically untouched. However, any information
that you have on your memory can be destroyed, which is why backup
discs are always a necessity. The only bright side to this is that,
unlike a virus, you generally cannot spread spyware to other
computers.
Even more egregious is the theft of your information. This goes
beyond privacy issues, as with someone reading your emails. In this
day and age, more and more people are making purchases online, which
necessitates the use of your credit card, your bank account number,
and any of other vital data that may be tucked away in your hard
drive. If your computer has been infected, all of this is then
available to persons who sent you the nasty software in the first
place.
It is for this reason that it is important to not maintain such
information on your computer and never, ever download anything from
a website, unless you're positive that it's safe.
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