{"id":30806,"date":"2018-03-19T20:05:34","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T14:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/?p=30806"},"modified":"2018-03-19T20:05:34","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T14:35:34","slug":"prevent-spyware-infecting-computer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/prevent-spyware-infecting-computer\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Ways to Prevent Spyware from affecting your Computer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spyware is one of the form of malware that will affect your computer and reconfigure your Internet browser settings by changing your home page and modifying your search results. Even if you modify your settings back to how you initially had them configured, spyware will maliciously revert your browser settings each time you restart your computer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"billboard1-sticky_1-0\" class=\"comp billboard1-sticky billboard-sticky is-lockable\" data-height=\"1050\">\n<div class=\"spacer\">\n<div id=\"billboard1_1-0\" class=\"comp billboard1 mntl-gpt-adunit gpt billboard\" data-ad-width=\"300\" data-ad-height=\"250\">\n<div id=\"billboard\" class=\"wrapper\" data-google-query-id=\"CI364u7K-NkCFcyfaAod8iwCSQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/479\/lifewire\/lw_learn-how-antivirus\/billboard_0__container__\">Due to the seriousness of spyware and the harm it can do to your system and personal information, it is highly recommended you take the following measures to prevent spyware from overtaking your system:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 id=\"the-first-is-to-download-and-install-anti-spyware-software\">The First is to download and install Anti-Spyware Software<\/h3>\n<div id=\"native-placeholder_1-0\" class=\"comp native-placeholder mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p>Once you install the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/best-free-spyware-removal-4151293\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">anti-spyware software<\/a>\u00a0on your computer, you must keep your anti-spyware application updated to keep up with the latest forms of spyware. Configure your anti-spyware software to routinely check for updates. If your anti-spyware software does not contain the latest update files, it will be rendered useless against the most current spyware threats.<\/p>\n<div id=\"billboard2-sticky_1-0\" class=\"comp billboard2-sticky billboard-sticky is-lockable\" data-height=\"600\" data-parent=\"\">\n<div class=\"spacer\">\n<div id=\"billboard2-dynamic_1-0\" class=\"comp billboard2-dynamic mntl-gpt-dynamic-adunit mntl-gpt-adunit gpt billboard dynamic is-requested\" data-index=\"2\" data-ad-width=\"300\" data-ad-height=\"250\">\n<div id=\"billboard2\" class=\"wrapper\" data-type=\"billboard\" data-pos=\"btf1\" data-priority=\"3\" data-sizes=\"[[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 601], [160, 600], [300, 251], [2, 1], 'fluid']\" data-rtb=\"true\" data-targeting=\"null\" data-google-query-id=\"CLiB5e7K-NkCFYIRaAodO-sI7Q\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/479\/lifewire\/lw_learn-how-antivirus\/billboard2_0__container__\"><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: 'Roboto Slab', serif; font-size: 28px;\">Be Careful when Surfing in Web<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Spyware is often installed on your computer when you visit an infected or malicious website. Therefore, you should exercise caution with links to websites from unknown sources. In addition, you should only download programs from trustful websites. If you are uncertain about a program you are considering downloading, conduct further research by analyzing reviews about the product. When downloading a specific program, ensure you\u2019re not downloading pirated software. Spyware can be distributed by exploits that promote software piracy.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"lookout-for-pop-ups\">Lookout for Pop-Ups<\/h3>\n<p>Malware can lure you into installing spyware on your computer by prompting you with a pop-up window. If you see an unwanted or random pop-up alert, do not click \u201cAgree\u201d or \u201cOK\u201d to close the pop-up window. This will actually install the malware on your computer. Instead, press Alt + F4 or click on the red \u201cX\u201d on the corner on the pop-up alert to close the window.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"keep-up-with-os-updates\">Keep up with OS Updates<\/h3>\n<p>Important system updates provide significant benefits such as improved security. Just as with any antivirus and anti-spyware software, not keeping up with operating system updates will make your PC vulnerable to the latest malware threats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"html-slice\">In order to prevent spyware threats, ensure you use the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/windows-7-automatic-update-3507018\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Automatic Updates<\/a>\u00a0feature in Windows and have your computer automatically download Microsoft security updates.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"apply-patches-to-software\">Apply Patches to Software<\/h3>\n<p>Ensure that you have the latest patches installed on all of your software applications, such as Microsoft Office software, Adobe products, and Java. These vendors often release\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/what-is-a-patch-2625960\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">software patches<\/a>\u00a0for their products to fix vulnerabilities that can be used by cyber-criminals as means to deploy malware such as spyware.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"strengthen-your-browser-settings\">Strengthen your Browser Settings<\/h3>\n<p class=\"html-slice\">Most web browsers will warn you of executable programs and will suggest a safe course of action. In addition to having an updated web browser, ensure that you have properly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/using-the-pop-up-blocker-in-ie-11-446388\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">configured<\/a>\u00a0your browser and that all of your plug-ins and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/how-to-selectively-disable-internet-explorer-add-ons-2624491\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">add-ons<\/a>\u00a0are updated, including Java, Flash, and Adobe products.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Easy Ways to Prevent Spyware from affecting your Computer &#8211; Spyware is one of the form of malware that will affect your computer and reconfigure your Internet browser settings by changing your home page and modifying your search results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84612],"tags":[85006,68218,85007,84633,68216,68215,28190,68219],"class_list":["post-30806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antivirus","tag-computer-virus-prevention-tips","tag-how-to-prevent-computer-viruses-wikipedia","tag-how-to-prevent-computer-worms","tag-how-to-prevent-spyware","tag-how-to-prevent-viruses-in-your-body","tag-how-to-prevent-viruses-on-your-computer","tag-how-to-protect-your-computer-from-virus","tag-prevention-of-computer-virus-attack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}