subject: Preventing Adware From Infecting Your Computer [print this page] Adware is a program that shows advertisements on a computer and is usually installed without the user's knowledge of it.
Most reasonable people don't want adware on their computer, so it's installed in a cunning way behind the scenes. For example it might trick you into thinking you are downloading something else to your computer, or it may be piggybacked with a program that you want.
For instance, if you downloaded a game or emoticon, the malware (malicious software) could be bundled with the download and be called something like "companion software" or something supposedly valuable such as a plugin for your browser to help it run faster, but in fact it only shows ads which in reality would only slow down your browser.
If you want to avoid getting malware on your computer, you should ask yourself a few questions:
? What is this software actually going to do? Malware claims are ofter very vague. It may clearly state that it will improve your browsing experience, but you need to know how. It often means that you will just be browsing with more advertisements.
? Why is the software given away free if it's so great? There are usually only two cases why software is given away for free - It's either a teaser to get you to purchase a full featured version, or it is OpenSource software, which is software designed by several developers rather than just one owner and it is always clearly marked as OpenSource. If the free software isn't either of those then more than likely it is financed by adware.
Once you are infected with malware it can be very difficult to get rid of. Many people have completely messed up their computer by going into the system registry and start deleting files that they think are related to the malware. In most cases, the best thing you can do if you get infected is to let a professional help you to get rid of it or buy a software program that will do it for you.
And of course the very best thing is to protect your computer with a good antivirus and antispy software BEFORE you get infected. There are many good security software programs out there such as Norton, Trend Micro, Symantec, CA, McAfee etc.. I don't know if any one is better than the other as they are continually updated to protect you from the latest viruses out there. I personally used CA for years which was originally EasyTrust, but I now have Norton on my computer and I have been very pleased with it so far.
There are also some free programs out there, but if you have important stuff on your computer that you really need to protect I would recommend buying a popular name brand software rather than just using the free one.
