What’s a Spyware and How to Remove It with Free Computer Antivirus

When you start using your computer, you will hope that everything you do in it will remain private. But your privacy is long gone once you unknowingly download spyware into your computer, referring to the malicious software that follows all your computer activities. Get to know this malware and how you can get rid of it using the best free computer antivirus software and other methods.

Spyware is malware that infects your computer or mobile device, spy on your every move, and steal information. It monitors the websites you visit, the log-in details you use for your online accounts, the things you download and install, the shops you frequent, the credit card details you input, and the emails you receive and send.

You’d think your cloud storage accounts are safe from prying eyes because you’re not sharing them, but they are not. One of the biggest mistakes that you can make against your privacy aside from not using free antivirus software for Windows 7 is saving your password, login details, and scans of important documents in the cloud. Anyone can hack that storage because it is online.

Just like its name, spyware operates sneakily around your device. It installs itself without your knowledge and makes your operating system its home. There are even cases when you might have unknowingly agreed to have spyware installed to your computer by simply clicking “Agree” to the terms and conditions of a website or program that appears legitimate.

There are various types of spyware, but they share the common characteristics – they run subtly in the background of your computer or device, hide themselves, keep track of your activities, and collect information about you. What’s worse is that unless you run a free computer antivirus program you can find, they are not easy to remove.

Most people often get spyware after accepting a pop-up without reading it carefully, opening email attachments from strangers, downloading files from unreliable sites, and pirating media like music, games, and movies. There is a chance that you have spyware running in the background if you notice your device crashing frequently or slowing down significantly, deal with having pop-ups both online and offline, and suddenly running out of hard drive space even if there has not been any significant activity to cause this.

Here are a few steps you can follow to get rid of spyware:

1. Uninstall the unwanted software.

Some spyware may have useful uninstallers that you can use to get rid of the program. But others may only be found if you go to the Windows Control Panel, check the programs for unfamiliar and unwanted ones, select them, then choose “Remove.” After uninstalling the malware, reboot your PC.

2. Scan your computer or device.

Run a full scan using free computer antivirus program. It should be up-to-date and a recent version as much as possible. Scan your device and remove spyware. Restart the computer and scan it again for the second time. Repeating the process ensures that you did not miss any malware file hiding in your computer. Use the antivirus program to remove any suspicious files. Restart the computer and scan it again for the third time. Keep doing this process until the antivirus program returns with clean results.

3. Run a scan in Safe Mode.

If your antivirus software still detects spyware after the third scan, even after removing it, you need to run the subsequent scans in Safe Mode. This is when your computer only starts the basic processes. In this mode, the malware won’t be activating and hiding in the background. It makes it easier for your anti-spyware tool to find and remove the malware.

4. Clean the hard drive.

If there are still signs of spyware, you need to delete it from the hard drive. But first, you need the BartPE Bootable CD. This tool can give you access to the spyware folder in your hard drive and manually remove them. After about a minute, the problem is resolved.

Takeaways

Spyware can cause a lot of trouble in your computer system. As such, installing AV programs is important as it provides various tools that will turn your devices into digital fortress.

To avoid the hassle of going through the tedious steps of removing spyware, make sure to install the best free computer antivirus software like Comodo Internet Security. It offers the latest features and protection at a very affordable price. It will definitely bring peace of mind to computer users.

This software features antivirus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, and anti-rootkit tools. It can help in your malware prevention efforts as it kills malicious files before they can do damage or even prevent them from executing in the first place with its Auto Sandbox Technology. You’ll be relieved to know that you can do your online banking and shopping securely, too!

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