Many of you must be wondering what the term adware really refers to. Well, adware is in fact software that displays advertisements on your computer. I am talking about those annoying ads that inexplicably pop up on your display screen, even if you are not browsing the Internet at that specific moment. There are some companies, which provide free software in exchange for advertising on your display.

Nevertheless, it is not free at all! It is annoying and bag for any computer, but the truth of the matter is that, in fact, this is how they make their money!

On the other hand, spyware is software that sends your personal information to a third party without your permission or knowledge. This can include information about Web sites you are visiting. Such software may even send out very personal stuff like the user name and your password. Based on this, there are many companies, which often use this data to send you unsolicited targeted advertisements.

There are two ways that you can have adware and spyware installed on your computer. The first one is getting a freeware installed, which unfortunately includes it. The second way is tricking you into clicking a link that installs it. For instance, you might face the situation when a web site might open a window that looks like a Windows dialog box. The spyware will automatically be installed if you click a Cancel button to close the dialog box. Some of the web sites, which try to push spyware onto your computer, will put a fake title bar in an empty window. If you try closing the window, the spyware will get installed.

However, how can you know whether your computer is affected by spyware? Fortunately, there are several signs you must pay attention to. For instance, if Internet Explorer does not work properly any more or if your computer starts to hang more frequently, then you can be sure that it has been affected by spyware. Therefore, if you notice a significant slow down in your computer, you must quickly get spyware removal software and clean it up. The only problem is that none of the available spyware removers will solve the problem once and for all. Therefore, the best strategy is preventing it, by all possible means.