SPYWARE, BEWARE!!! @@

Caught in a web, free is the price you pay 10 times over.
Revisiting an old subject.
The reason I am going over this again is I see so much of this it is not even funny. I spend hours cleaning up after spyware, adware and malware. Funny enough, viruses have taken a back seat to this epidemic. No matter how much I preach and teach you still seem to come back to me contaminated.
So what do I mean, “free is the price you pay 10 times over?� It goes with the saying that free has no value. If you don’t pay, you surely will later on. Most of us seem to take advantage of that free game or screensaver that you can get anywhere on the web now days. FREE this and FREE that=FREE SPYWARE and COSTLY HEADACHES. Warning, they are loaded with spyware, FOR FREEEEEEEEEE…………
Spyware usually comes with free software applications that you download. It performs some useful purpose, but the price you pay for this "freeware" is having your online behavior (e.g., which Web sites you visit) recorded and that information is transmitted back to the company that provided the free software that you downloaded. This is how you become targeted for advertising, based on the data you inadvertently provided about your interests and habits.
How many of you actually read the licensing agreement that you agree to when you install free software? Often, when you click "I accept," you're agreeing to the spyware installation, monitoring and use of the information collected, DO’H. Though some companies promise not to disseminate the information to third parties you generally have no way of proving whether they do or not.
BEWARE, for there is a plethora of spyware out there, eagerly waiting to get its hooks into your computer. Gator was one of the first to gain notoriety, I am sure you remember that one…GAIN. Of course, not all programs bad. Take Windows XP operating system, it communicates with Microsoft to find updates and report program crashes to better the software and your performance. Other applications send information back to the "mothership". The better ones, such as the Google toolbar, allow you to choose whether to turn that feature on or off while others don't even tell you they're doing it.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, unwanted spyware wastes valuable bandwidth and system resources besides invading your privacy. If you are loaded with it, it can slow your system and/or Internet connection down to a crawl and you will find it impossible to get anything done. Some spyware can even crash your system or cause quirky behavior. The interactive nature of the Internet is what allows it to be so useful.

The federal government is working on making Spyware illegal. This summer, a U.S. House subcommittee approved the SPY ACT (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass). This law would require a conspicuous warning on programs that gather and transmit information. Keystroke logging would be prohibited. Time will tell if legislation can stop the problem. Just like the increasing amount of unwanted e-mails since the CAN SPAM act was passed last year, the only thing we have notice is there is MORE OF IT. Seems that they have passed an act but are not ACTING UPON IT.


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