It is a type of program that secretly records whatever you are doing on your Device. They can be used for welfare of people but majority of them are used as malicious. They are usually used by hackers who aim to capture passwords, banking details, and credit card details.
Motive of a spyware-
earlier spyware was used to monitor for licensing purposes and reported author if any mishappening was going on, but nowadays spyware is used for stealing private and credential information such as usernames and password for banking sites, email accounts, social networking sites and online games etc.
majority of us cannot even detect a spyware on our computer, as it is designed to work quietly in the background. Majority of antiviruses also cannot detect some spyware. They are often distributed as ‘shareware’ in order to trap as many people as possible.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM A SPYWARE?
There are many ways to protect yourself from a spyware.
the first precaution is that don’t install any software from untrusted sources unwittingly. Many downloading sites have scanned programs and often guarantees that their archives are free of spyware. You have to decide for yourself if you can trust them, but more established sites have their reputation to maintain, so their guarantees are more reliable as compared to others. so its always better to download from well-known sites rather than using lesser known sites which offer freebies to attract you. It’s our greediness which always invites problems. Reviews on the sites can also be very helpful for you to decide the best downloading sites.
Second- you can install an anti-spyware tool. Majority of these tools are of very good quality and some are freeware themselves. They run continuously in the background without slowing down your computer. They run on a daily basis updating and make themselves ready for any kind of new emerging spyware. They do a brilliant job.
Thirdly- Buy software from Website/Authorized vendor of the software. pirated or nulled might be filled with spyware
Stay alerted from dangerous imposter programs-
These dangerous imposter programs are designed to look like other well-known programs so you will install them easily, before installing any program always check Digital signatures by going in Properties than Digital Signature tab as most of the good programs are digitally signed now. This will save you from installing such programs in first place.
There are some reputed anti-virus products which can help you too.
EXCEPTION TO THE RULES
In devices which you use for your work like a business, some protective measures are always there i.e, anti-virus and anti-spyware might be installed on them before you buy them. People who use these devices are aware of these anti-viruses and anti-spyware according to the security policies of the companies for their staff. Which is the real deal in many cases?
