The concerns we now have regarding privacy are certainly not to be taken lightly. Since we use our computers a lot, and for a very diverse set of purposes, it is obvious that the information which can be obtained from them is quite representative of our habits. Right now, we tend to be less concerned about the potential destruction of this information, since anti-virus software has reached a fair state of perfection and backups are very cheap. We are, however, very concerned about spyware. Preventing spyware infection is vital today and it is exactly what we are going to cover in this article

There is one thing that has to be mentioned from the very beginning: preventing spyware infection is always preferrable to disinfecting your computer. There is no guarantee that, by the time you scan for spyware and purge your computer of the malicious software, no information has already been sent. Regardless of how efficient products like XoftSpySE can be, it's always better not to have them come into play too often.

There are two main ways for spyware to get on your computer. More often than not, you install spyware yourself, without knowing it. Spyware is often concealed behind otherwise useful software, a browser add-on, a password utility, a peer-to-peer program and so on. This kind of spyware is very easy to spot, but users are often unsuspecting, and rightfully so.

The best way to prevent this kind of infection is to use software coming only from trusted sources, about which you have at least some information. Installing some software you have no idea about, which you have obtained from some obscure website is a sure way to get busted. If you need a program badly, scanning for spyware immediately after installing it should be enough. Actually, running a quick spyware scan after installing any program you are suspicious about is often enough.

Spyware can get on your computer in another way, but this is less common: it can infect your computer by exploiting various vulnerabilities in Windows services. This is less common because the techniques involved are fairly complex, but it has been encountered.

Protecting against this is more difficult, since it does't really depend only on you. The only effective ways are keeping your Windows installation up to date by running Windows Update periodically, regularly scanning for spyware and if you maintain sensitive information on your computer, using a good firewall.

More often than not, these alone are all that is required: a regularly-updated operating system running only trusted software is almost bulletproof. The only exceptions are when someone else installs software on your computer. However, if you also share your computer with someone else (a family member maybe), you may also want to explain to them these issues, and ask them not to install untrusted software.

The ultimate protection, however, can only be offered by dedicated software. Even with the best precautions implamented as tightly as possible, spyware can still get in. This is what anti-spyware programs are for, and you should certainly use one of good quality, like XoftSpySE.

Drew specialises in computer security and optimisation. To read his reviews on the top five Anti-Spyware programs visit http://www.top5-anti-spyware.com