The Spyware Epidemic -- What Internet Users Need to Know to Protect Themselves From Identity Theft

Identity theft is continually on the rise. Spyware has become cyberthieves' method of choice for stealing personal and sensitive information. More and more people are connecting to the internet every day, yet most Internet users remain oblivious to how and why they should protect their computer and keep their personal information safe.

Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) July 18, 2008 -- Creator of http://www.TheBestSpywareRemovers.com, Paul McDonald, has some important tips for internet users regarding how to protect themselves from spyware and malware. First let's look at some disturbing trends:

The number of Internet users has grown over 200% since 2000, reaching a staggering 6.6 billion in March of 2008 and industry experts estimate that over 90% of those Internet users will get infected with spyware -- yet a stunning 80% run absolutely no antispyware software on their computers at all.

Not only are they not running antispyware software, many are doing things online that increase their risk of getting infected with spyware and in turn increasing their risk of becoming one of the 9 million people that the FTC estimates fall prey to identity theft each year -- and most don't even know it.

So what do Internet users need to do in order to protect themselves from spyware?

"The first thing users need to do is get themselves top of the line antispyware software, and not just settle for using the freebie software," says McDonald.

By freebie, McDonald is referring to some of the more widely used free antispyware software available, such as Search and Destroy, Ad-Aware and even Microsoft's Windows Defender. The problem with these types of antispyware software is the manner in which they detect spyware on your computer.

Free antispyware software typically relies on historical observation of known locations within a computer's operating system and registry where spyware installs itself to determine if any changes have taken place. The problem with this type of detection is twofold - in many instances, the software may report a false positive, or a file that is legitimate and should be there due to a new program installation or update and the software also falls in detecting much of the newest spyware resulting in many of the most dangerous spyware left running on your computer.

The most effective antispyware will cost anywhere from $25-$45, with the spyware detection method in most cases reliant upon a database of known spyware programs so users will rarely, if ever will see a false positive. The key here is that antispyware software should be purchased from a vendor that has a large database of spyware definitions, who updates that database at least once per week if not more ,and who also offers free downloadable updates of those definitions into their software.

The other thing Internet users can do to protect themselves against spyware and identity theft, according to McDonald is to educate themselves. "If Internet users spent even an hour doing some research on how to protect themselves online, it would go a long way towards stunting the upward trends in spyware infection and identity theft," says McDonald.

For instance, there are a couple of very simple steps users can take while online.

First, whenever Internet users download any type of file, it should always be saved to their hard drive first instead of running it directly from the download site. This will give the antispyware (and antivirus) software a chance to scan the file to ensure it is clean.

Internet users should also ensure that, if they are a Windows user, they have automatic updates turned on so that they are always up to date with Windows security patches and exploits.

Alongside these two things, Internet users should also use a bit of common sense while online. This means no gambling sites, no pornography sites, and stay away from the P2P (peer to peer) sharing networks. Those types of sites and programs are inundated with spyware.

http://www.TheBestSpywareRemovers.com was established by Paul McDonald and provides visitors with a comprehensive review of the best spyware removers available today.

By visiting his website today, you can also get a copy of McDonald's Free Report -- "PC Protection : Keeping Your Computer Clean and Your Identity Safe" -- a must have for anyone who is connected to the Internet and wants to protect themselves from malware and spyware.

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