Before you can figure out the best spyware protection utility you need for your computer.
You need to find out what spyware is.
Spyware is the Sherlock Holmes of the internet.
If you can imagine Mr.
Holmes walking around in a stooped position with a magnifying glass stuck held close to his eye, then you have an exact picture of what spyware does.
If Mr.
Holmes can see your footprints, so can spyware.
If Mr.
Holmes can follow your trail while extracting information, spyware can do better and faster by getting specific information that its operator needs from you.
If you have something like this in your computer, then you need the best spyware protection available.
So who are the operators of spyware? Spyware are mostly operated by advertisers.
In order to get to know your shopping habits, hobbies and interests, they set spyware to do a Sherlock on you.
The spyware will gather data on the websites you visit, your email address and most likely your name.
Once advertisers have this data, they will send you some junk mail in the hopes of enticing you to purchase their products.
It's really harmless but can give you the creeps.
The best spyware protection software available will get rid of these spies in your system and prevent other spies from entering your system.
Spyware, like any utility, is pretty useful until someone starts to abuse it.
In this case, abuse would mean getting really private information like your home address, telephone number, age and, most likely, your credit card information.
Having spyware in your system is like living in a goldfish bowl.
Well, that's a little bit extreme, but the comparison is apt especially when you store important information in your computer and use it when you browse the web.
Getting the best spyware protection utility will help prevent Sherlock from learning things about you.
So how does the anti-spyware utility work? It does its job much like anti-virus software.
It scans your system and, if it finds spyware, deletes the program from your computer.
Anti-spyware is active and resident on your computer when your PC is working.
This way, it gets to monitor your files and any automatic data transfer events that happens in your computer.
When an automatic data transfer occurs, the spyware protection utility scrutinizes the transfer to figure out if the automatic process was initiated by legitimate software like Windows update, or by unknown software that could very well be a spyware utility.
When your anti-spyware detects an unknown automatic data transfer procedure from an unknown source to an unknown destination, it will temporarily halt the transfer and notify you of the procedure.
You will be given a choice to deny or allow the transfer to proceed.
The best spyware protection programs will do this and more for you.
By themselves, Windows firewall or anti-virus programs can prevent spyware utilities from entering your system.
However, it pays not to take chances when it comes to securing your privacy.
Sometimes, all you have to do is to visit the wrong website and a spyware utility is automatically uploaded into your computer.
Having the best spyware protection program, a good firewall and a good anti-virus program will give you more freedom in surfing the internet.