Spyware versus Adware; the Difference Impacts Your Privacy

By: Sharron Senter

Many people use the terms Spyware and Adware interchangeably.
You shouldn't! There are important differences between the two.
True, both terms refer to the act of tracking your computer
activity, such as how long you visited a particular Web site.

However, the key difference is the intent behind how and why a
business collects your information. Adware is commonly
associated with pop-up advertisements used by businesses trying
to sell you something. However, Spyware, the more malicious of
the two, isn't trying to sell you, instead, it's trying to take
something from you -- your credit card and social security
numbers and bank account information. Some Spyware collects
information about you and, if placed in the wrong hands, could
be detrimental to your financial wellbeing and used to steal
your identity. Adware is usually something you can see. Whereas
Spyware often can't be seen, in fact, businesses behind Spyware
don't want you to know they're lurking. Therefore, you may have
a Spyware infection and not know it. One vicious Spyware is
keylogging, a tool that hangs about in the background, logging
your keystrokes, including account numbers and passwords you
type on your keyboard, and then sends the information to the
originating source.

Future of Spyware Spyware will only become more invasive with no
concern for your privacy, regardless of what you want or think.
Worse, no one piece of software will protect you from the above.
Why? One belief is that there are far more research dollars
being spent on developing Spyware than combating it, since the
information derived from the former is more lucrative.

Protecting Yourself There are two methods to protect yourself,
both are equally important.

1. Manage your computer usage behavior. If you download most
anything for free - movies, software, music, etc., then you can
anticipate being exposed to highly aggressive forms of Spyware.

2. Utilize anti-spyware software programs and a hardware
firewall. Both help to fend off Spyware. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware se
and Microsoft's AntiSpyware (Beta) programs are reputable.



About the author:
Sharron Senter is co-founder of http://www.VisitingGeeks.com -
an on site computer repair, security and networking company
serving north of Boston, Southern NH and Maine. Visiting Geeks'
technicians are crackerjacks at squashing viruses, popups and
securing and making computers perform faster. Learn more about
Sharron at http://www.SharronSenter.com None