If you are on the Internet, you need to protect your computer and your identity with anti-spyware software. The very best anti-spyware software you have to pay for, but there are still some pretty decent programs that you can get for free. I hope that this article will help you to get the best spyware removal software and avoid spyware tragedies.
Where not to get anti-spyware software
Do not ever, under any circumstances, download software from a popup window. There are plenty of spyware scams going on right now, where a popup will appear and ask you to click on a button to remove spyware or run a spyware check. By clicking on the button, you will immediately download spyware onto your computer. Even if you don’t click on the button, you already have spyware, that is how the program was able to access your computer, but downloading the program that they are hocking can really put you in danger. Spyware can be used to do annoying things like change your homepage or redirect your browser. It can also be used for more damaging purposes like accessing your personal information for identity theft!
Do not download spyware from an unknown source. If you type in spyware removal into your favorite web browser, know that not all of the programs are the same. Some “removal programs” are actually spyware. Some of the bogus programs include names of legitimate spyware removal programs. For example, Spybot is a legitimate program but some spybot-ware is not. You have to be careful.
Where to get anti-spyware software
There are several places that you can go to get legitimate anti-spyware and spyware removal software. One place is at safer-networking.org. This is the home site of Spybot software. Spybot Search & Destroy or Spybot S&D, is the highest ranked of the free software. You can download spybot S&D directly form the safer-networking.org website; downloading only takes a couple of minutes. While you are on the site, you might as well look at the FAQs section to find out about the program you are downloading.
Another place to get quality, free spyware removal software is from Lavasoft. This is the home of Ad-Aware and is the oldest anti-spyware company out there. If you go to the lava soft site, check out the difference between the free versions of the software and the commercial versions. You might decide that the added protection is worth the few dollars every month that you have to pay.
Other reputable free spyware removers can be found at Microsoft. (Their free program is called Windows Defender), or from the anti-virus companies AVAST, AntiVir, and AVG. When downloading one of these programs, make sure you go directly to the company’s website. Downloading the programs from some other website you might find that what you are trying to download and what you actually get are very different things.
Finally, you might try to find a free trial offer on one of the big name commercial programs. McAfee and Norton both commonly offer free trial programs. The free trial periods don’t last very long (usually only about 14 days) but it might be long enough to help you do the business that you have to do.
If you are using free spyware removal programs, you might want to double or even triple up on your protection. The free programs are just not as good as the commercial programs but they are additive. Because all of the programs use different methods, you can increase your protection by downloading more than one of the free programs.