We all get hit with it at some point or another - the infamous slow computer. And most of the time, we have no idea why as it can be caused by a number of different things such as hardware failure, not enough memory, high resource utilization (memory hogs), etc. You might just be surprised however, to learn that more often than not slow computer problems are at least partly, if not mostly attributed to spyware.

Spyware has become so prevalent and so widespread that experts are now saying that over 90% of all Internet users will, at some point, become infected with spyware. Yet over 80% of those users do not have any form of spyware protection on their computer. That being said, how do you know whether or not your computer is infected with spyware?

Let's look at some of the most common symptoms of spyware infection;

- Slow computer
- Annoying popups
- Homepage has changed
- New icons on your desktop
- New toolbar in your internet browser
- No symptoms

Yes, it is true that you could literally show no symptoms of a spyware infection on your computer yet there could be a number of spyware applications recording your keystrokes and browing habits without you knowing it.

Regardless of whether or not you are seeing symptoms that may indicate a spyware infection, the only surefire way to tell if you are infected is to actually scan your computer using proven antispyware software.

Most antispyware software vendors will allow you to download their software and scan your computer for free. This is great because this will tell you without a doubt whether or not you have spyware on your computer.

Or will it?

The problem with this is that the hackers have become so clever that they have created spyware that actually is disguised as antispyware software. Yes, there is software that you can download that will claim to scan and clean your computer, however all it really does is install more spyware so you need to be careful and do your due diligence in selecting to download and run a free scan. Make sure the vendor you choose has a solid reputation and their software is proven to be effective.

After you have downloaded the software and completed an initial scan, you then have the option of purchasing the full version of the software so that you can remove all of the detections. If you do not purchase the full version, you will not have spyware removal capability.

Again, I recommend you do your research before deciding on a spyware remover but you absolutely do need to incorporate antispyware software into your computer security as it is the only proven method for effectively removing spyware.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_McDonald

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