I came across an article, posted today at Business Daily Africa, which covers the growing threats spyware causes to computers and personal information. Beatrice Gachenge explains how spyware is silently downloaded to your computer while browsing an otherwise innocent looking Web page. Remember, whenever you visit a Web page, that page is actually downloaded to your PC.

The entire page is downloaded including pictures, graphics, and malicious programs. This software can be installed even when you think your system is fully protected. Another way for malicious code to reach your hard drive through legitimate looking email. The software is activated and installs itself the second you open the email.

Spyware can perform several different malicious functions. It can secretly record every keystroke you make whether typing on a Web page or on your computer. It can also make a screen shot of any emails you open them. Ms. Gachenge goes on talk about spyware taking over your browser and directing it to other malicious pages where more spyware can be downloaded or information gathered. This is more akin to certain types of viruses.

Ms. Gachenge makes a good point to increase consumer understanding of spyware by re-classifying it as “privacy-invasive software”. This is certainly a more accurate and descriptive label for those not so well informed about these types of threats. However in this article, the writer obviously lumps sypware and viruses in the same category. Spyware’s main purpose is to record personal information and transmit that information to it’s creators or those who would pay to have it created for them. Viruses, on the other had, are more often meant to cause harm to ones system or take over certain functions. An obvious slow-down is a good indication that your system has been infected.

This article at Business Daily Africa concludes by recommending an anti-spyware program called Spyware Blaster. This is a freeware program for personal use only. I have never used this software myself, so I went in search of some real user reviews.

Spyware Blaster does not actively detect and remove malicious programs. SB’s job is to block malicous code like ActiveX spyware, adware, tojans, hijackers and others including tracking cookies from infecting your system in the first place. Spyware Blatster seems to work well with an average user rating of 4 of 5 starts at Cnet.com, the same rating at Majorgeeks.com. Unfortunately, most of the protection is only available for those using Internet Explorer. Firefox and Netscape users only get cookie blocking. Opera and other browsers are not supported.

The program is free but updates are done manually. For $10 a year, you can get automatic updates and tech support. Spyware Blaster is not perfect and will not catch all forms of spyware, but it’s a good idea to use it in conjunction with a spyware detection and removal tool. After all, it’s free and does not devour system resources.