Spyware really is the most dangerous software on the planet. Never before have thieves been able to steal personal information like bank accounts, credit card information and passwords all from the comfort of there own home. Not only that but they also wreck havoc on your computer. I hate it and it has personally cost me three computers already. So hopefully this article will give you the steps you need to protect your computer and your personal info.

Ok explain what spyware is?

If you are not computer savvy well spyware is a specially designed piece of software that will collect surfing habits and personal information once it has entered your PC. There are also certain types of spyware that can remain hidden in your computer until the owner of the program has given the command to activate. Once the command has been given you will start experiencing symptoms like pop ups appearing while not connected to the internet, computer running slow and not being able to connect to your usual home page to name a few. If this is the case well the chances are you are infected with some type of spyware.

What to do if I'm infected?

First things first you will need to get some spyware removal software installed on your computer. I recommend buying a good software package but if you don't have the money at present then here are two free programs available Ad aware and Spy bot search and destroy. Like I said it is best that you eventually buy a package or even better two. Ok for now use the two mentioned above and just scan and remove any spyware threats found on your computer.

Right now you have a clean computer lets take a look at some other software programs you will need to protect yourself and your computer.

Pop Up Blockers

Pop up blockers are a vital piece of software in preventing spware from entering your computer. Why is that? Let me explain. I'm sure you have come across pop ups while surfing the net, but one of the things i think people don't understand is they can be used as another tool to gain entry to your computer and plant spyware. You see once it appears on the web page your are surfing generally people think that pushing the X button closes the pop up and that's the end of it. But trust me that is not all ways the case. The X button can be changed to OK or Download with out you even knowing about it. While it stills looks like the close button you are actually giving the program permission to download. It will then proceed to plant spyware on your PC. In the event of this happening the best course of action to take is to log of the net immediately before the download completes. So you can see why blocking the pop up in the first place will prevent spyware from entering you computer. There are free pop up blockers available so get one installed immediately.

Anti-virus software

This is one of the best software programs you can have installed on your computer. Anti-virus software will detect and isolate any Trojans, key loggers and worms trying to gain access to your computer, usually when you are downloading a file or product off the net. This also gives you the ability to scan any emails you receive in your inbox. But please if you don't know who its from just delete it, opening emails from unknown senders is one of the more common causes of spyware infection.

Register Cleaners

This really is one of the best tools for cleaning out unused files. If you have removed any spyware or software programs lately this will detect and delete any unused files that have been left behind. You are also able to clean your cache, temporary Internet files and your browser's history. Doing all this will result in your computer running considerably faster.

Make sure you have a Firewall Installed

Firewalls are extremely important!! A firewall is designed to protect you from hackers trying to access to your PC. If you have an opening in your system, well hackers will find it and can then find and do anything they like. Believe me hackers are very good at what they do. If you don't currently have anything on your system there interested in they will simply plant some spyware designed to stay hidden until you connect to a website of there choice. Usually websites like banks or where you are required to enter credit card details and personal info. The spyware will then activate itself and send all this information back to the hacker. This is the worst-case scenario and will result in identity theft!!

Ok if you install all these types of software programs on your computer your personal info and Pc should be pretty safe. There are new types of spyware hitting the Internet every day so just make sure to update the software at least once a week.