If you’re an avid user of the internet, spyware is something you should be concerned about. A lot of users ignore online spying, with the belief that it has no effect on them. However, if you have ever typed out your financial or login details with your computer keyboard, read your mail, or do anything with your computer you would consider private, chances are you were being watched.
Spyware could be installed on your computer for a lot of reasons; to monitor your emails, call logs and messages, to steal your credit card or login details, or even to view your browser history. Apart from compromising your privacy, spyware slows down your computer, making it difficult to function optimally.
There are lots of ways Spyware could get into your computer. Most people would not consciously install spyware on their device, so hackers design them in the form of Trojans. When you install programs that are not trustworthy or visit malicious links and websites, spyware can make its way into your computer.
How to check if Spyware is on your computer
Just like you can’t tell for sure if a car engine is faulty just by looking at it, you also can’t determine whether or not a computer has Spyware on it without a proper examination to see how it behaves. Here is how to detect spyware on your computer.
Keep an eye on Program Installation
Nowadays, you can monitor almost everything that happens on your device at any time. There are software programs that you can find on legal download sites that watch the installation process of other software.
Most Spywares are built to be intelligent, so they will not reveal themselves to you during installation, or even after. They will most likely stay concealed in your directories or other software. An installation monitor lets you weed out the spyware from the useful programs.
Use a Spy program
An intelligent and highly efficient method of detecting spyware is to install spy software. It might be ironic, but it can be really practical.
When you install spy software, it observes and logs all data from your computer and reports to you. That way, if there is any software on your computer having an unauthorized communication with a remote server; it alerts you immediately so you can take corrective action.
Scan with anti-spyware
It should be noted that while most antiviruses are effective at what they do, they usually do not have any effect on spyware. To get protection from spyware, you might need to scan your computer with an effective anti-spyware.
The antispyware program works by seeking through your computer for codes that are related to spy software and deleting them.
Monitor computer resources
A surefire way to detect the presence of malware is through system performance. There are a few symptoms to check out for – If your computer becomes unexplainably slow, pop-up windows show up randomly, your browser’s home page changes suddenly, you keep getting redirected to other sites, or random error messages appear, then it could be due to the presence of spy software.
