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You’re
deluged with pop-up Ads. One client said her machine acted as though
it was "possessed". This sign makes detecting spyware
a must doesn't it?
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Your
web browser home page defaults to a page you never requested as
if under another’s control even after you change it. Your
browser home page has been hijacked.
You may also get a new, unrequested horizontal browser toolbar.
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Media
files like .wav (sound), .avi (movie), .wma (audio and video) and
others open in strange applications.
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Your
machine takes a long time to do anything—start up, open programs,
shut down and so forth. Most people really get motivated to detect
spyware when experiencing this sign.
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You
suffer frequent, unexplainable slowdowns.
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Your
high speed broadband connection is a lot slower than it used to
be. Sometimes it slows to a crawl. Another motivator to detect spyware
and kill it.
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Windows
seems more unstable that it was. Crashes are now an expected occurrence.
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There
are unexplainable charges or services on your telephone bill (can
be malware called a telephone dialer). This program dials out to
someplace in the world on its own schedule and may report on what
it has found out about you.
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Strangers/businesses
seem to know more about you than they should. Check your credit
report. Beware of spyware collecting your personal information resulting
in identity theft. This makes for a critical need to detect spyware.
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Redirected
search engine results. You search for apples and you get a listing
of oranges.
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Strange
additions to Internet Explorer Favorites or Windows Start Up Menu/Group.
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Kazaa,
or other music file sharing program, is installed on your computer.
If it is, I guarantee that you could have up to two thousand and
more spyware programs on your computer. You will have a Detect Spyware
Festival!
Spyware
Detector Bonus Sign: Your Anti-spyware or anti-virus program is
turned off or malfunctioning. That way you cannot detect spyware.
As a self defense tactic, spyware sometimes targets the weapons designed
to kill it.
Want
more info on how to detect spyware and spyware removal tools? Sure
you do. Then please click on my
Spyware Killer|Remover|Killers article.
This article also tells you what spyware is, describes its tactics
and tells you what you must do to avoid being a spyware victim, more
about spyware detection and how to kill spyware.
If you've heard enough and want to kill spyware now, go straight to
a review of our recommended spyware
remover.
This article has taught you enough spyware detection to make you a
little dangerous. Read the other articles in the sidebar above to
learn more about how to kill spyware and to be your own spyware detector.