Protecting Your Personal Data through BitDefender Antispyware

The BitDefender antispyware programs are available as another major component of its BitDefender Total Security 2009 suite of applications. It also has independent antispyware programs dedicated to removing spyware alone. How does the BitDefender antispyware benefit each computer user?

What is Spyware?

Spyware, often referred to as spybots or tracking software, refers to programs that install themselves in the user’s personal computer without the user’s consent or knowledge. These stealthy programs have a primary objective: to gather the machine information and personal data of the user, and transmit them to third parties, right under the nose of the computer user.

The ways in which spyware can be downloaded into the host computer are numerous. Many computer users do not know that their machine can be infected with, not one, but multiple spyware programs. Vulnerabilities that spyware programmers often exploit are the weaknesses inherent in the Windows operating system and its proprietary browser, Internet Explorer.

There are also Web sites that install spyware on their own. The user unwittingly agrees to some pop-up window telling that they need to install a software component to view some media and privileges, or increase the efficiency of the machines. A click of the button is all it needs for the Web site to start the downloading process. It can also be bundled with “legitimate” software packages, infecting the computer along the way of the installation process.

A spyware can be transmitted via worms and viruses. Worms usually drop spyware as part of their payload. Many spyware also act as viruses, infecting files and tampering with the Windows registry reference data to survive inside a personal computer. Unlike the worm or the virus, replication is not one of its primary characteristics. Yet, it may be programmed to destroy data or fill up hard-drive space. It is not hard to imagine a personal computer making system crashes, having lost files, not having enough system resources, failing to boot, or with applications that freeze, due to a number of spyware independently working inside the computer.

It is called tracking software precisely because it sends out data that should not be otherwise shared. These data include credit card numbers and other financial information; the user’s browsing activity data, or redirecting user traffic to marketing sites.

How does the BitDefender antispyware remove these malicious programs?

There are only two significant ways to remove the spyware threats in your computer. One is to install stand-alone and specialized antispyware programs. The second is to back-up your data and re-install the entire operating system.

With the BitDefender antispyware program, hopefully the user does not have to resort to number two. Antispyware works much like a regular anti-virus program. It tracks the signature of a particular spyware, list them in its database, and screen the computer from all incoming and outgoing spyware threats by installing a firewall. The independent programs can be scheduled to perform scans on the computer at regular intervals; checking the registry data, inspecting program files, analyzing software libraries, and checking out Windows components for similarities.

BitDefender antispyware also emulates an antivirus program when it comes to monitoring for spyware. The antispyware checks against the incoming data streams and tracks those activities that represent conventional components that make up spyware activity.

The BitDefender antispyware is sure to protect your personal information and keep them where they should belong: in your computer.