Are YOU one of the 90% Affected by Spyware or Adware?
Spyware and adware are two kinds of malicious software that can harm your computer. Spyware is software you downloaded that was "maliciously" put onto your computer without your permission. Adware is similar, but it's malware which has been given permission to be installed on a user’s device by the manufacturer of their device and/or operating system. They typically offer you or the user a free service in return for watching ads and receiving some kind of monetization that could be as benign as notifications or as nefarious as tracking personal information from across the web.
The problem is that most people don't know what Spyware and Adware are, let alone realize that they may have installed it on their device without their knowledge. In fact, according to a recent Norton Internet Security survey, of those 63% who use Norton Internet Security for Mac, only 25% have ever heard of Spyware or Adware before.
Did you know your computer can be filled with Spyware and Adware? Answer the following short quiz to find out! Then read on to see what steps you can take to remove the potentially harmful software.
A. Spyware is software you downloaded that was "maliciously" put onto your computer without your permission. B. Adware is similar, but it's malware which has been given permission to be installed on a user’s device by the manufacturer of their device and/or operating system. They typically offer you or the user a free service in return for watching ads and receiving some kind of monetization that could be as benign as notifications or as nefarious as tracking personal information from across the web.
C. The problem is that most people don't know what Spyware and Adware are, let alone realize that they may have installed it on their device without their knowledge. D. In fact, according to a recent Norton Internet Security survey, of those 63% who use Norton Internet Security for Mac, only 25% have ever heard of Spyware or Adware before.
A. True B. False C. False D. True
Why You May Not Know You've Been Infected
It could be that you didn’t realize you had any spyware on your computer, but either way, it's highly likely spyware has managed to get on your computer. What's even scarier is that there are five different ways in which your personal information can be intercepted by malware and at some point almost everyone – whether you realize it or not – has been affected by one of these: credit card fraud , identity theft , email spam , data breach and more.
The reason? Most people don't know their computer is infected, let alone know how to remove the spyware from their device. What's worse is that the average person has twenty apps on their phone and more than ten apps on their computer. They also visit several apps, websites, social media profiles and online stores daily. In other words: odds are you have been infected with the malicious software.
"I am sure that most people don't even know what spyware is," says San Jose-based David Molloy, an author for Norton Internet Security. "The majority of people have never heard of it before—so I am definitely surprised about the results we're seeing. I know that a lot of people who have bought Norton Security for Mac have been surprised by the fact that they had spyware on their Mac. It's really important to keep your computer protected."
The Norton Internet Security 2016 survey polled more than 4,000 people from around the world and found surprising results—many of which could be caused by spyware or adware:
40% of people don't check to see if their apps contain malware/spyware or adware.
55% don't bother to check if their online shopping sites collect data about them.
50% don't do anything to ensure the sites they visit are secure.
40% don't bother to learn if the devices they use are secure or are infected with malware, including tablets or mobile phones.
"We are all busy and it is entirely possible we may not have time to research the various smartphones, tablets and other devices we use," Molloy says. "So it is understandable that many of us do not consider the security of our appliances before we buy them."
Molloy continues: "Even if you don't think you're affected by Spyware, it's probably worth making sure as its impact on your computer can be huge. Spyware allows advertisers and others to monitor your activities and collect information about you that could potentially be used for illegal activity such as identity theft. Plus, if you don't know it's there, you may not realize you're being affected by Spyware or Adware."
Available Now: Norton Internet Security 2016!
Norton Internet Security 2016 is a step up from Norton Anti-Virus 2013. For starters, it features new features in the following areas:
In addition to these new features, Norton Internet Security 2016 also provides some improvement on the security front over its predecessor. It blocks about 75% of all known malware and adware with its Enhanced Protection lock feature. This means that even more people can be protected from threats in today's world of increasing cyber risk.
"We've seen an increase in the number of malware threats over the last few years, which is why we have made such a significant upgrade to our security technology," explains Lance Gumbs, Vice President and General Manager of Norton Internet Security. "Our new features are not only meant to protect our customers from today's malware and spyware threats—but also from the more common adware that has become more prevalent on computers around the world."
More New Features in Norton Internet Security 2016:
Norton Identity Safe – Protects your identity. Protects you from hackers and identity theft by automatically adding a personal password to your device before it is set up.
Conclusion
Even though "Adware" and "Spyware" are different things, most people don't even know what Adware is. According to a recent Norton Internet Security survey, of those 63% who use Norton Internet Security for Mac, only 25% have ever heard of Spyware or Adware before. The average person has adware on their computer, and many have never even heard the term before this survey.