| Pacific Grove Unified School District
Spyware is software that landed on your computer (occasionally with your permission--read those consent paragraphs before you click "I agree") and watches what you do. Sometimes it just tracks your browser usage, so-called "adware", and pushes advertisements aligned with your interests. Sometimes spyware forces your browser to randomly and forcefully load pages without your consent or control. Some programs can watch your keystrokes, including passwords, and report this information back to the originator. A good definition of spyware is available on Webopedia. Articles on spyware and getting rid of it are available at intranetjournal.com. The link below will download a popular FREE anti-spyware/anti-adware program from Lavasoft (www.lavasoft.de) called Ad-Aware. This will search your Windows-based computer for spyware. This is a free version you can use on your home or school computer in its basic form. It can be upgraded if you want purchase more advanced features (at your expense, of course.) Just as with your anti-virus program, you will need to update the definition file occasionally to protect your computer from newer forms of spyware. This is just one of many programs for this purpose. Almost a thousand more can be found at www.spychecker.com.
Questions to bcates@pgusd.org |