Today’s Internet is a far cry from its predecessor both in size and content.  The evolution from a handful of mostly government, educational and several Fortune 500 websites to the current information super-highway has been a mostly smooth, enjoyable trip. The expansion of the Internet paved the way for many small businesses to create a marketing platform readily available to the majority of the world. This marketing medium combined with the affordability of high-speed DSL/Cable condemns the notion of dial-up Internet. While this “always on” notion of DSL/Cable has provided many of us with time saving speed and freed us to pursue other endeavors, it has also brought with it a plethora of problems. Previously with dial-up Internet we found ourselves dialing in only to complete the necessary tasks (i.e. checking email, looking up a specific website), this was due in part to time constraints, the availability of phones lines, etc. Now due to the ever-increasing speed of DSL/Cable we find ourselves with more time to “surf” the web than ever before.  Seeing this new trend evolve, marketing companies have started using this to their advantage and created the monster known as spyware. Companies used to merely install a small file (cookie) on your PC to keep track of how many times you accessed their website and other small snippets of information about you, but now this is not enough.  Due to increasing consumer awareness, these companies are realizing that we are wising up to their email advertisements and deleting their messages.  Because of this, some websites are including Spyware in their web pages to support their existence.  To insure your PC against this type of attack we recommend you avoid the following websites:
 

• Online Gaming/Gambling.
  Aside from being counter-productive, these websites have been proven to be a haven for some of the worst Spyware.
   
• Daily Weather/Horoscopes.
  Including weather related software.  Aside from the included Spyware, this software will drastically slow down the performance of your PC.
   
• Online Shopping.
  The general rule of thumb is if they don’t advertise outside of the internet – stay clear (ie. safe websites would be Ebay, Amazon, Overstock.com, etc.).
   
• Music Downloads.
  In order to support their existence the majority of these companies are filling your PC with Spyware.
   
• Free Backgrounds, Screen Savers, Audio Themes, Mouse Cursors
   
• Websites containing “Adult Content”
   
• Don’t click on any advertisements (even those promising to remove Spyware). 
   
• Don’t install anything that you are not 100% sure of it’s content.

 “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”

-                      George Bernard Shaw

Sincerely,
 

AJ McKean
Technical Manager