What is up with adware & spyware now?

The latest spyware removal techniques include correcting where you browser goes when you login to purchase something on the Internet.

When you logon to your bank site or an online store to purchase something, your browser enters a special communications mode and in the address bar of your browser you will see this indicated with a “https://…”.

Recently I have seen spyware cause this type of communication to be re-routed to another computer on the Internet before it goes to the site where you are doing the purchasing. However, you will notice nothing out of the ordinary while this goes on in the background.

What is important about this is that as your communication goes through the intended site while on the way to the site you think you are securely buying something from — only you aren’t. Someone is logging all of the information that you just typed into that page. Credit card data, personal data, all of it.

Now, before you say something like “I don’t care if someone knows my data - I don’t have anything to hide!” remember that identity theft is a BILLIONS of dollars per year crime these days.

Spyware removal is more than a simple “yeah, I’ll get to it” item these days. You cannot skimp on doing this or your computer will slow down and become unstable. Meaning that it will crash more than it would normally if you are using Microsoft Windows.

Free spyware removal tools are available to you. Use them.

Safer browsers that will allow less spyware to attack your computer are available as well. Take some advice from me/Homeland Security/Wall Street Journal/eWeek/etc. and stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Use Mozilla, Firefox or Opera - they are all safer than Microsoft Internet Explorer.