When Good Websites Go Bad

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When Good Websites Go Bad

Ask the average Internet user what sites install spyware on user computers and the answers will usually include genres such as free download sites, illegal file-sharing sites, porn sites and other less-than-ethical Web operations.

What's scary is that these same people think avoiding these sites is all that is needed to keep their computers spyware free. What's even scarier? The fact that our favorite websites, ones that are run by honest and legitimate businesses and people, can harbor spyware in the shadows without us even knowing it.

A Barrage of Attacks
Think it's only the "bad" websites that are distributing spyware? Guess again. It's been estimated that legitimate sites account for as much as 75-percent of the websites distributing spyware and viruses on the Internet.

In the past few months there have been increasing reports of hackers attacking legitimate websites, such as Facebook.com, and injecting malicious code into the pages of these sites. This code is used to install spyware on the computers of innocent visitors to the site.

How to Protect Yourself
It's essential that you run an anti-spyware program on your computer – and don't assume that your anti-virus software covers spyware threats. While some software security programs do offer spyware and virus protection, many only offer one or the other. Cyber Defender has been reported as offering protection from viruses, spyware and other malware by the Star Reviews comparison site. Many other software products were reported as covering just one.

If you want to keep your computer spyware free, avoiding "fishy" sites isn't going to cut it. You have to run comprehensive anti-spyware software on your system. If you're running an anti-virus program, make sure that it protects from spyware as well. If it doesn't, you're going to need to invest in further protection.

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When Good Websites Go Bad