Spyware Safety Spyware is any software which takes information from your system without your knowledge or consent.  There are multiple types of spyware available including Trojans, Web Bugs, Advertiser software, and Computer Monitoring software.  Trojans are programs which are placed on your system by tricking you, similar to the story of the trojan horse in Troy.  Web Bugs are ActiveX controls or cookies that track what you do online from web sites.  Advertiser software is software installed with certain ad-supported programs which watches what you do online in order to send you targeted advertising.  Computer monitoring software is software sold for use by bosses, spouses, private investigators, identity thieves, X's and others for one purpose: to record everything you do on your computer.  This is the type that SpyCop protects you from.

So should I use other scanners in addition to SpyCop?
YES!   For Web Bugs and Advertiser spyware, we recommend Ad-Aware or SpyBlocker.  To keep your system anonymous while on the Internet, we recommend a service such as Anonymizer.  To protect yourself from viruses, we recommend AntiVir.  For a good firewall, we recommend Agnitum Outpost.  And of course, use SpyCop from http://www.antiespion.com to protect yourself from computer monitoring spy programs.  Some of these programs overlap a bit.  For example, SpyCop finds only the most popular advertiser spies, but not all of them.  To protect your privacy as much as possible, we recommend the use of all of these programs.

What types of computer monitoring spy programs are available?
There are simple ones known as keyloggers which record your keystrokes for later viewing on the same PC and then there are the totally insidious type which can record your screen as a slide show and Email the recording to someone else.  Of course, there is everything in between.

Why is this so dangerous?
Reading the information above should make this obvious.  Anyone who may want to keep an eye on you, including your Boss, Spouse, Company Employees, X-lover, hackers and criminals can easily learn more about you then you would ever want.  Spy software makes it easy for anybody to get your financial information, credit card numbers, and web site passwords!  SpyCop will search your system for these programs and optionally disable them for you.

Why haven't I heard about this before?
The widespread use of spy software is a somewhat recent phenomenon.  There were keyloggers and the such in the early computing days of DOS, but nothing nearly as invasive as the ones available today.  More and more people are using spy programs to spy on each other's computer usage.  Programs advertised as software to keep your child's Internet activities in check are being used by spouses and bosses.  Some companies are advertising that their software can be useful for catching your spouse cheating online.  The scary part of this is that companies advertising this way are making the largest number of sales!

Why can't I just clean my registry or delete startup items?
Most of the more advanced spy programs run completely hidden.  This means they are not visible in the task list, are not shown in your registry and are not shown in the standard startup areas.   Instead, these spy programs are placed in another area of Windows startup which "startup cleaners" don't usually look at, and once they are running, they run in "stealth" mode.   SpyCop can find them all, even if the person who installed then renamed the files themselves!

I'm a business owner; why do I have to be concerned with this?
Just like Bosses can spy on their employees, employees can spy on their bosses.  An angry employee can simply swipe credit card numbers from the bank they work at, or this software can be used for a new form of corporate espionage.  The fact of the matter is that these types of activities are occurring at this very moment within the business world!  Is YOUR business safe?

Is spying in this way legal?
Spy software itself is legal.  It is perfectly legal for an employer to install it on computers they own and it is legal to install the software on other's computers with their consent.  It is illegal for a person to install software on another person's computer without permission.  Despite this, illegal spy software installation occurs quite frequently in the real world.

What can I do about it?
Install SpyCop on your computer.  SpyCop will search your system for computer monitoring spy programs and optionally disable them so the spying stops.  If spy software is present on your system, the next step is to figure who would want to spy on you and confront them about it.