To protect your computer, you should install anti-spyware software and keep it up to date. Unless you
don't use the internet at all, spyware will get installed on your computer. There is no way to prevent
it completely. Therefore, you need to scan and remove it periodically. Spyware causes two problems. It
tracks your movements on the internet and shares this information back to the internet. The information may
be used to send you pop-ups you probably don't want as well. A worse problem is caused when spyware
builds up on your computer. Each of these processes slow down your computer and your internet connection
and in extreme cases can cause conflicts in your system.
University-owned computers on campus will have Symantec Endpoint Protection installed on their computers which includes both anti-virus and anti-spyware.
A scan will automatically run each week. If your computer is off at that time, SEP will run the scan
the next time the computer is turned on.
For off-campus use on personal computers, we recommend the free utilities Spybot and Ad-Aware if your anti-virus software doesn't include anti-spyware.
If you run these spyware removal tools every two weeks, they should help keep your computer running better. Click
the appropriate links below.
Note: Ad-Aware is not legal on university-owned computers unless you purchase the professional version.