Adware Protection - Personal (Computer) Hygiene

Adware protection - You wouldn't give your credit card details, social security number or bank account details to a criminal would you. That might seem like an obvious statement, but if you did, you would expect all kinds of financial trouble to start raining down on you from a great height. So why oh why do we do we leave our computers vulnerable to the world's cyber criminals when, for the price of a few beers, we could invest in some adware protection that will keep our personal information safe and sound?

What is adware and why do we need adware protection?

Adware comes in many forms; it could be a browser toolbar, a pop-up or it might just make the occasional advert appear on your screen when you visit specific websites. Adware is advertising software; it is used to generate revenue for its creator by charging the advertisers a fee every time an advert is shown.

When you download a 'free' piece of software, whether that’s a program, a toolbar or even something as 'harmless' as some new Smileys, it will often contain some extra computer code that will install itself on your computer to allow adverts to be shown to the user. In the majority of cases, the user is unaware that they are installing adware as they are not told at the time of download.

There are many other ways that your computer can become infected; visiting malicious websites, file sharing, or email attachments to name just a few.

We need good adware protection because this code is not always as innocent as it may sound, while adverts may be a nuisance and become annoying, many times the adware includes other code that can record virtually everything you do on your computer; which sites you visit, where you spend your money, and more importantly, all of your personal financial information.

What are the dangers of NOT having adware protection?

If you decide against installing adware protection on your computer, there are three possible outcomes:

1. You may be lucky and your computer will never get infected. The odds of this happening are slim and, with the magnitude of the malicious threat increasing on a daily basis, the likelihood of staying adware-free is reducing all the time.
2. Your computer might get infected with adware that doesn't try to steal your personal financial details - not all adware is bad, there are instances where the income generated from adware is used only to fund the development of the program you are using, these ads help to offset the cost of providing you with a free service, and in these circumstances you might consider that the price of watching a few ads is worth paying. The problem here is that it is impossible to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' adware, and even if the adware is innocent, it can still slow your computer down to a crawl.
3. If your computer gets infected with malicious adware and you notice it behaving strangely, there are two possible scenarios;
• the best case situation is that the code will just slow your computer down or it can cause it to crash completely. This alone can cause hundreds of dollars worth of damage, but usually your computer is recoverable.
• The worst case situation is the adware is particularly malicious and will steal all of your personal financial information - think about the information that is on your computer; your name and address, your credit card number, your social security number or your online banking details. With just one or two pieces of this information an experienced cyber fraudster can create financial havoc for you with your stolen identity.

How to protect yourself.

• Get yourself a pop-up blocker - pop-ups are the biggest villains when it comes to installing adware. Pop-ups are both annoying and dangerous so you need to take action. Most browsers come with a pop-up blocker pre-installed, so check the Tools section of your menu bar and make sure it is enabled.
• Scan your computer regularly - Use a software program designed to detect and remove malicious programs. There are many good programs available, and as a last resort, if you can't afford to buy one use an free online scan to see if you are infected.
• Scan all freeware programs - before you install any new software, always make sure that you scan it first to make sure it is clean. There is very little that is truly free nowadays, and that includes freeware despite its name.
• Get up to date Adware Protection - don't assume that because you have anti-virus software that it will protect you from adware, many of the older anti-virus programs will not detect newer forms of threats. Most of the new or updated programs will keep you safe, but it is essential that you keep your programs updated on a daily basis - virtually all paid for programs now come with an automatic update option, make sure it is enabled.

Finally, browse around this site for recommended options or check out some of the adverts on this page to find good adware protection and keep yourself safe.