Spyware and Adware

CCleaner seems to be a very useful program. It deletes all temporary files such as cookies and internet history while also emptying your trash etc. Surprisingly the program cleaned up an estimated 456mb of unnecessary files from a PC that has only been running a couple weeks. This amount will quickly add up and start wasting large amounts of space on your C drive.

AVG Anti-Spyware is another very useful program. AVG scans your PC for intrusive spyware that is running without you knowing. After one scan, 30 infected objects or 129 infected traces were found. This again was found on a computer that has been used for no more than two weeks. It is very surprising to see how quickly spyware can add up on your computer.

Between spyware and adware I believe that spyware is more dangerous to have on your computer. This is because adware has a different concept behind it than spyware. Adware is placed on your computer when you download a free trial of a program. While running a company’s free software they will allow advertisements to run on your desktop which should end when the program is closed. Most of the time adware is a legitimate way that companies gather revenue and should not be worried about. Spyware on the other hand is downloaded onto your computer and can be harmful.

Spyware can monitor your web surfing habits and relay information back to the spyware creator. Information sent back can consist of email addresses, passwords, credit card numbers, or even every single keystroke entered. The most common way an individual can get spyware on their PC is through downloading peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs.

I believe some software contain spyware and adware to gain shopping and web surfing habits along with personal information in order to know where to advertise certain products. Once this information is collected companies can target certain groups of people to see the company’s advertisements. From this targeted advertisement, a company can gain customers and revenue in return.