Could Spyware Be Slowing Down Your Computer and Internet Connection?

Spyware is an increasingly real threat for computer users. At any one point it has been estimated that over 60% of all computers have some form of spyware infection.  A more worrying statistic though is that over 90% of all infected computers find that spyware goes unnoticed by the computer user. Most people will rely on their anti-virus programs or firewalls to protect them, but spyware can still be present and not be identified by these programs.

With spyware infection though comes a range of computer problems. One of the most common symptoms sees an internet connection slow down to a crawl. This is mainly due to the spyware application using the internet to transmit computer information back to the spyware originators. Additional bandwidth is used by adware programs, one form of spyware, to install advertisements and pop-ups into the machine.

The implications of spyware infection are more than just a slow internet connection as the programs make use of other computer resources. This could see a slowing down of computer start-up and shut down times. The more spyware that is present the slower a computer will perform, and will eventually stop altogether.

It is unusual for a computer to be infected with a single piece of spyware, most spyware come in multiples, as if there is a way into a computer more than one piece of spyware will find that weakness.

There are common ways that spyware will get onto a machine, with downloads from torrent websites, and peer to peer networks. Also many unknown email attachments and pieces of software will often be infected. Once installed on a machine many of the most dangerous forms of spyware will also be able to install additional spyware software on to the computer. All of this is easily overlooked during the normal use of the computer.

You may only recognise that you have a problem when your computer starts to slow down, and pop-up ads start to appear on the machine. A final sign could well be strange occurrences during internet browsing, be it strange web pages or additional toolbars making an appearance. All are signs of a spyware application being present on a machine.

With the appearance of these signs it is high time that a reputable anti-spyware program is purchased and installed.

Noadwareis the current market leader when it comes to spyware removers. You can read more about Noadware in our review, which shows our test results.