Spyware can trap you in a number of ways -

1 you purchase some software, or you are given free software;

2  you click on a link in an email;

3  when surfing you can get a popup window telling you you have spyware.

In the first case you are offered excellent-sounding software free of charge, or at an attractive price. When you install the program it also installs spyware on your machine. Your firewall may prompt you, but you select the “Allow” button.

Secondly, amongst all the unwanted emails we receive, we find one of interest, and out of curiosity we click on one of its links. We have just linked to spyware.

The third instance is a cruel blow.

This is when we buy “antispyware” which actually itself contains spyware. When we run it we have given it free rein, and we are at its mercy.

SpyZooka is genuine. It’s been around since 2004 and has built up a great name for itself.  Have a look at http://bluepenguinsoftware.com/, it contains educational information. SpyZooka is priced very competitively.

Carl Atkinson of SpyZooka.com offers this timely warning about a trap we could all easily fall into.

First they offer something attractive, but the end-taste is bitter . . .

The internet is a dangerous enough place. We hear about online predators and immediately think of ******** (asterisked out for “family” consumption). There are other predators on the worldwide web that are only interested in conning you out of your money. It is, in fact, more prevalent than most other forms of victimizing on the net.

In any sort of sales business, it is standard marketing practice to convince people that they need your product. To actually put someone in the situation of needing a product you offer is unethical and criminal; it is the mentality of the Mafia.

To take it a step further and not even really provide any service for the money is flat out fraud. Especially if you masquerade as something most people trust. This is precisely what the bogus

They all do the same thing. They infect your computer, tell you that your computer is infected with hundreds of other viruses (they often count harmless temporary files as viruses), and tell you that you need to buy the “update” in order to clean out these “viruses.”

They all do this under the pretense of being a part of your computer’s operating system.

Should you buy the “update,” the problems with your computer will temporarily stop. However, after a few days or weeks, you will have problems again, and they will ask you for more money. This can go on for the rest of your computer’s life.

The first thing to know is that no part of Windows XP or Vista will ever tell you that your computer is infected until you run the Malware Removal Tool. The problem with MRT is that it detects relatively few viruses and spyware anyway, compared to other antivirus programs.

Secondly, no part of a Windows operating system will ever ask you for money.

Thirdly, you can only download their software at the Windows update site. If there is something that seems to be part of your system saying otherwise, you’ve been infected with one of these fraudware programs.

There is one thing that these virus programs are saying is true. You will need an

Shop around and your efforts will be well rewarded.

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Thanks to Carl Atkinson. For more on BluePenguinSoftware.com see the “zooka” ads in our right-hand column.

For your security allfreeantivirus.com