.:: Santa Fe Computer provides computer repair services to all of Santa Fe, NM and Albuquerque, NM ::.

Service Hours:

Monday - Friday: 9-5

Saturdays: By Appt.

Sundays: closed

.:: SPYWARE COMPUTER VIRUSES

From a corporate standpoint company CEO's and company IT managers state very clearly that while computer phishing and computer viruses pose huge threats to company computers and computer networks the greater majority believe that spyware is the biggest problem facing companies in today's modern world. THE CONSUMER SPYWARE MIGRAINE HEADACHE - Spyware spam and the other bigger issues like spyware that steals credit card information are huge hassles for consumers. Home computer users with spyware infections lead to credit card theft and non use of computers for email and surfing which of course ruins the enjoyment of computers and ruins the US economy. People shop online all the time. If they cannot use their computer because of spyware then that shopping stops at login because login is not possible.

RUINED PC's ARE SPYWARE's LEGACY - Once your computer is infected with a little spyware or a lot of spyware a variety of things start happening. Number one is your computer slows down, quite often to the point of being unusable. On many occasions a computer can suffer the "black screen of death" caused by an operating system that has suffered a critical system error that is not fixable.

The bottom line is that the computer is literally ruined and more than likely most if not all the files on the hard drive are gone.

SPYWARE DEFINITION

Spyware definitions are elusive because of the variety of ways the unwanted software infects a computer and the variety of ways that the software gathers, saves, and transmits findings about the user of the computer with out a user's knowledge or consent. The word "spyware" all by itself defines what it does. If you break it down to simple terms it's software unknowingly installed on a computer without the user's consent that spys on activity of the computer user for various reasons. Spyware can do a variety of things. Some of the things that a variety of spyware offenders do are as follows:

a. Display pop-up advertisements onto your computer whenever you are online. The spyware company tricks you into installing the software by stating it will find and delete pornographic images on your computer.

b. Banner Ads display onto your computer based on your surfing habits. Quite often this type of spyware is bundled with freeware programs you thought would be useful which in turns buries your computer with ads you did not want.

c. Optimizer's for the Internet - This type of spyware hijacks pages that come up as errors on your computer then pushes them on redirect's (instructions) to a controlling server that takes over as your home page. Disaster striking is what we call this problem.

d. Auto Dialers - This type of spyware hijack your computers modem and dials all the toll free numbers saved on your computer hard drive which ordinarily is done to access pornographic websites.

e. Web Search Spyware - This type of spyware has been designed to monitor your requested web pages and data entered into online forms and then it sends your computer advertisements targeted to your surfing habits.

HOW TO BATTLE SPYWARE

The first and foremost thing to stop or prevent spyware that a business or consumer/home user can do to fight spyware is to surf the internet safely. Do not open emails from someone you do not know. Do not click on websites about spyware, adware or virus removal. Consult your local computer repair company on the best spyware protection software you can load onto your computer that will check to make sure that websites on a page you're visiting from a search you entered are safe. Secondly, you should never ever do peer to peer file sharing via a service provider. They are full of viruses and spyware. Thirdly, you should never click on images found during a browser search. Your anti-virus software cannot check these files which means you could get infected and cook your own computer's goose. Fourth, get your computer serviced once a year by a local computer repair company to clean out any spyware you may have on your computer currently.

Here in Santa Fe, NM and anywhere else the smart thing an internet user should do is be careful where you go, who you get files from, which emails you open, and most of all, which websites you visit. A word to the spyware wise is if it doesnt look trustworthy don't click.