FTC Consumer Alert

Short Description
Many experienced Web users have learned how to recognize spyware, avoid it, and delete it. According to officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), …

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Federal Trade Commission ? Bureau of Consumer Protection ? Office of Consumer and Business Education
FTC Consumer Alert
Spyware
Just when you thought you were Web savvy, one more privacy, security, and functionality issue
crops up - spyware. Installed on your computer without your consent, spyware software monitors or
controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your computer to websites,
monitor your Internet surfing, or record your keystrokes, which, in turn, could lead to identity theft.
Many experienced Web users have learned how to recognize spyware, avoid it, and delete it.
According to officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency,
all computer users should get wise to the signs that spyware has been installed on their machines, and
then take the appropriate steps to delete it.
The clues that spyware is on a computer include:
?a barrage of pop-up ads
?a hijacked browser - that is, a browser that takes you to sites other than those you type into the
address box
?a sudden or repeated change in your computer’s Internet home page
?new and unexpected toolbars
?new and unexpected…