The Dangers of Pop-Ups: How to Protect Your Computer

Pop-up windows can be tricky; you'll be happily browsing for your favorite musician or the latest news, then all of a sudden you receive a pop-up "warning" telling you your computer is infected and that you need to download a "fix" for it. Without thinking, you click on it, only to get your computer bombarded with spyware and/or viruses. Hopefully you'll have an anti-virus program to catch it, but even they can't find everything.

The biggest issue we face with spyware and its related products removing them. And the ironic part is, a lot of the spyware we get is legal-which is how so many get away with it. When you install a certain program that you want, you may actually be agreeing to download more than that (like a search bar or in-browser search links.)

The biggest offenders of this are Google, AOL and Micrsoft, but there are countless others. These can arrive as news, weather information, and more. They glean information on your browsing habits and send the data back to their clients. This is why you always need to be aware of what you're downloading. Read the user agreement (yes, it's boring, but also important.) and read licenses. Such unwanted programs end up vying for for your bandwidth, which can slow down your connection.

There's a place called Spyware Warrior that mentions a lot of the recent known virus programs and websites going around. They list some of the more insidious programs that masquerade as anti-spyware, such as Spy-Block and Adware Agent. If you're ever faced with a pop-up urging you to download software like this, use common sense: search the web for the name of the program. If it's spyware, chances are it'll be exposed as such this way.

Another thing to be aware of is the power-hogging capabilities of real spyware. If you have an old computer, a new spyware program may actually be too large for you to use. Many people also use more than one spyware program so one will have a bigger chance of catching a program the other doesn't; while this is a good idea, it can also significantly slow the speed of the computer. It's better to find one single program to scan automatically, then choose another to scan manually (without an automatic daily scan.)

The best program you can get won't replace old-fashioned sense and a sharp eye. Always be careful what you download from the internet, and pay close attention to all pop-ups since that's a virus' favorite method of invading your system.