Welcome to the Journey Systems Tech News and Information Newsletter. Our bi-weekly newsletter is free resource with all of the important things that you the end user needs to know, about how to maintain and keep your computer systems healthy.

If you’re a 9th degree-black-belt-computer-guru you may wish to follow the link at the bottom of this newsletter if you wish to OPT OUT. If you’re not sure you’ve made it to the 9th-degree- black-belt level yet, then this newsletter is the resource for you. We’ll provide you with the latest information for keeping your system running lean and mean.

.:Spyware - Definition

Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. The term, coined in 1995 but not widely used for another five years, is often used interchangeably with adware and malware (software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Spyware

Are you ready for the "Wow"?

.:Featured Article - SPYWARE:.

My computer is so slow, and just isn't running like it used to!
Does the internet seem to be slower these days? Do your computers just takes longer and longer to boot up? Don’t feel alone. Most computer users these days experience sluggishness in their systems over a period of time.
This could be caused by excessive spyware, adware, or malware in your system.
In this newsletter we will discuss the less problematic of these, spyware.

Once upon a time the only things you had to worry about were viruses. Installing an anti-virus program usually covered that. Now with the advertising dollars driving the market, spyware, adware and malware are becoming the common issue for today’s computer users.

Advertisers spend large sums of money to get their product or brand name in front of you as often as possible. Spamming your mailbox is one way of doing it. Banner ads and buttons on web sites are others. As the web users have become savvier, they have learned ways of blocking those ads, and filtering that e-mail. Has this stopped the advertising machine? No.

These days, legitimate advertisers, are not only trying to maximize their dollars by targeting their advertising, but they’re using your computer as a source of information about you. As you surf the web, or look through your e-mail, small little scripts get slipped into your machine without your knowledge. Most of these are pretty benign, such as tracking cookies. Others from not so legitimate companies or individuals are not so benign.

These scripts have several purposes. They collect data on YOU for one, and others are designed to corrupt your machine and do damage to your operating system. Many people seem to not care that they are being watched, but they should care. Identity theft is on the increase and it is your job to protect yourself.

Option 1: A very popular title that you should try is AdWare SE by LavaSoft http://www.lavasoft.com/
They have several versions you can buy, or a free version for individual users. This program is very good at cleaning the spyware out of your system. You have to manually update and run this software, as it doesn’t have real time monitoring (except in paid versions) and doesn’t automatically update. It doesn’t stop spyware from getting in, it only finds it once it is there.

Option 2: Spyware Blaster - by Javacool Software - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
This program is basically a spyware blocking utility. Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, you could find your computer to be the brand-new host of one of these unwanted fiends!