Besides scanning your PC afterwards with anti-spyware and anti-virus software to fix infections, you can do a lot to prevent being infected by spyware and or virusses. Click here to read our review of anti-spyware software.

  1. Do not visit high risk websites – these websites include crack and serial websites. Adult related websites. Websites that offer “free” games/software/music etc. Usually the “not well known” branded websites are riskier than well known names.
  2. Install special plugins to protect your system from spyware. For FireFox install the plugin no-script. You can download the plugin here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox
    You can download Firefox here: http://www.getfirefox.com.
    After you restarted Firefox it will block all Javascript. You can enable javascript for a certain website by clicking on the “S” image in the lower right corner. So if there are certain parts that do not load its because of this – just enable javascript for the sites you trust (youtube, google etc…).
  3. Enable extra security features in browser. Check the security settings tab in Firefox and enable “Tell me if the site I’m visiting is a suspected attack site and forgery”. Now you will get a warning if its a phishingsite (site to get to your information like bank details) or a known website for distributing spyware.
  4. Update your software and anti-spyware/virus programs. Regularly update your system software or enable automatic updates for Windows. Download the latest security fixes for your browser.
  5. Never download software from websites or peer to peer networks unless you really trust the website or the source.
  6. Audit the installed software – regularly check the programs installed on your PC. If you suddenly have a program installed on your PC you are sure you didn’t install than this could be spyware.
  7. Use firewall software – make sure that you can go on the internet but nothing can go from the internet to your PC unless you initiated it. There are several firewall solutions that even block installed programs from “calling home”. Calling home means that programs send information from your PC to a server on the internet. This can be for updates but also for more malicious reasons like sending personal information like banking details.

By using all these tips you can protect yourself better agains spyware infections.

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