These days, the term ‘Spyware’ is more popular than the word ‘Software’. The impact of Spyware attacks on daily life systems is pretty big. As the usage of the computers in our day-to-day life increases, so does the Spyware threat.

Right. How do we combat Spyware? We are not corporate users. We are not die hard techies. We are ordinary computer users that use computers for simple tasks like Emails, Browsing, Chat, Accounts, Documents, etc.

We can not afford to buy AntiSpyware products for $25 or more. There are some free products available. But the problem is, those products, most of the time, cant prevent the Spywares from entering your system.

I am going to tell you 5 simple, non-techy ways to fight Spyware.

1. Do not get deceived by FREE offers :- One thing we all must understand. There is nothing you can get for Free. Nobody is interested in giving you Free stuffs. If something is sold for free, you must understand that you are going to pay the price anyway! 90% of the so called FREE offers are not FREE. If you are not paying the price by ‘money’, the chances are high that you are going to get infected by FREE Spyware. Beware.
2. Avoid uncertified Downloads :- Will you be buying pizza from a small garments shop? Will you buy Cycles in an Ice Cream parlor? Similarly, never download softwares from unofficial sites. They may be bundled with Spywares.
3. ActiveX and Java Script are friends with knives :- Anytime, they will cut your head! Yes. Extreme care should be taken while using ActiveX and Java Script. Always set the browser setting to prompt you whenever there is a need of ActiveX or Java Script.
4. Never click links on unknown Chat buddy :- Instant messages are cool and we all know that. What many of us don’t know is that the links on the messages from unknown buddies may harm your computer, if clicked. If you get a suspicious link from a known buddy, ask them about the link before you click it.
5. Update Windows regularly :- Automatic update is available to all Genuine Windows Users. Most of the time, Spywares tend to exploit an unpatched bug of Windows. We can counter it only by updating Windows regularly.

I hope these simple steps would save your life. Feel free to contact me for further clarifications.

This post was contributed by Gopi who is the editor of TechnoPark. You can visit his blog for similar post and get constat updates. Feel free to ask him any question on this post. I hope you enjoyed it.