Spyware is one of the biggest threats to your privacy and the security of your data. Here's a series of helpful questions and answers that can help you remove and minimize future spyware from your computer.

Spyware comes in various forms, but basically it is a program or piece of information on your computer that either sends data about you or your computer habits to someone else on the Internet. This can be a company that is collecting data, or a thief seeking to steal access to your computer or data like bank information on it. Spyware can also be a program that places unwanted ads on your computer. Cookies can be considered spyware. They are little piece of information placed in your web browser to track your web habits. This is useful sometimes as a web site can see you have visited it before and let you on without a registration process. Cookies are also used to keep track of your progress through a web store. They are also used to customize website ads to your likes and dislikes.

Spyware is bad because for one it can hog precious system resources like memory and hard disk space. It can also compromise your privacy, providing outsiders with information about your computer habits. If a spyware program installs a keylogger it can capture your keystrokes and send it to a third party. This can potentially expose your user IDs and passwords to thieves. Some spyware are trojans which allows someone to log into your computer remotely and use it for their own purposes like sending spam or launching malicious attacks on other computers on the Internet, making it look like you are at fault.

There are several techniques how spyware gets on your computer. Sometimes they arrive as an automatic download from a website you are surfing. Typically this happens a lot on porn sites. Sometimes if you download a free or illegal piece of software, they are embedded in the installation process. Or spyware can get on your computer via an email attachment that you shouldn't have opened.

Sometimes a spyware program is very obvious and it can be deleted manually. It adds itself to your menu bar and be found listed in your Add/Remove Programs list in your Windows Control Panel. Click START, (then if you have Win95/98/Me click Settings) then Control Panel then Add/Remove Programs and look for a program that you don't recognize. Sometimes its obvious....like "XXX dialer" or something like that. Just use the Add/Remove Programs features to remove it. Sometimes its not as evident and you have to go diving into the registry and delete entries and also search for specific files on your hard drive and remove them. There are good list of spyware removal techniques that can be found on the internet.

There are a few things you can do to stop spyware. Don't download programs by companies you are not familiar with. Avoid shareware and freeware. Don't download illegal pirated software. Set your browser security to high. One Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > then the Security tab and move the slider to MEDIUM or preferably HIGH. The only problem with this is it may block access to some websites you want to see. Ultimately your best bet is to get an anti-spyware program and scan your system regularly.