WHAT IS SPYWARE AND HOW DO I REMOVE IT FROM MY COMPUTER?

Written by Dean Erickson


Spyware is a menace to any computer, but there are many free Spyware removal products online to help out.

It sounds rather sinister, doesn't it? In a way, it really is. Spyware (another name for Malware or Adware, which is Internet-speak for "advertising supported software") enters your computer without your explicit consent. You see, Spyware normally comes packaged with other programs, which you do want and actually choose to download. If you aren't too cluey about how to detect Spyware in a potential download (and let's face it, who is), you simply won't know that you've downloaded and activatedrepparttar Spyware software.

What does Spyware do? It collects information about you and your business or organization to help advertising companies place better targeted advertising copy onrepparttar 107339 websites you visit. That is, advertising that may actually be of interest to you. OK, in theory, it's a reasonable idea. You are going to be surfing anyway and these days websites survive thanks to their advertising, so wouldn't you rather see ads that may be of some relevance to you? For example, if you are sitting at a computer in New York, Spyware will tell advertisers your geographical position and hence target ads that are relevant to New Yorkers (restaurants and stores inrepparttar 107340 area or events taking place inrepparttar 107341 area). If you happen to visitrepparttar 107342 same website from Paris, those ads will be French ads.

How does Spyware work? Oncerepparttar 107343 software program sneaks into your computer (via some download you've made, for example, Kazaa) it follows you around as you surfrepparttar 107344 net. It collects information about you from your hard drive. It sounds illegal doesn't it? Well, it isn't. Not yet anyway.

The Internet & Education: One Mom's Perspective

Written by A.R. Linder


On many a Friday night my daughter and I can be found in front ofrepparttar computer playing an online game based upon “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. The differences are that allrepparttar 107338 questions are related to science, we can’t actually win a million dollars, it’s absolutely free, and we arerepparttar 107339 players. It isn’t unusual for us to spend a couple of hours playing this game. I am always amazed by how much she knows as her age as well as how much I seem to have forgotten at mine.

Many years ago while developing and teaching Air Force training courses for U.S. Space Command, I became fascinated withrepparttar 107340 use of computers in learning. Also while working inrepparttar 107341 training area, I became a fan ofrepparttar 107342 basic premises of Thorndike’s Laws of Learning. Although some would characterize them as almost forgotten and even sometimes discredited, I have foundrepparttar 107343 laws to be helpful in flagging what works and what does not in educating my child as well as adults and youth in other programs I have managed. I have realized much success incorporatingrepparttar 107344 essence of those laws of learning and computer technology as I have dealt with my child’s learning. Thorndike’s laws are pretty simple:

The Law of Readiness deals with ensuring a child is ready to learn--making surerepparttar 107345 student is fed, free from too much worry, comfortable, and well aware ofrepparttar 107346 importance of what is to be learned. In other wordsrepparttar 107347 student must be prepared to learn. One exercise I have done with my child dealing with this law is researchingrepparttar 107348 admissions criteria for different schools. We found sites like CollegeTours.com, a site providing loads of information and virtual tours of different college campuses, to be a handy reference for this exercise. We have even gone as far as to look at scholarship requirements using scholarship databases such as CollegeNET.com and CollegeIsPossible.org. We have also comparedrepparttar 107349 costs of different institutions. We have been doing this sincerepparttar 107350 sixth grade. By understandingrepparttar 107351 requirements now, hopefully, we won’t be running around in her junior and senior years trying to get things in order. It is awfully difficult to bring up that grade point average in a couple of semesters, especially ifrepparttar 107352 young person is stressed by time constraints. Getting my child prepared now is my way of ensuring we are prepared whenrepparttar 107353 time comes. A worksheet for this exercise can be downloaded from my website YouthPlay.org.

The Law of Exercise relates to making sure that practice is part ofrepparttar 107354 study routine—especially when dealing with essential facts and rules. The Internet and various software can be very useful in providing repetition in a not-so-routine manner. Games such as Basket Math at ScienceAcademy.com where your child actually makes a hoop each time he or she getsrepparttar 107355 correct answer can make rote learning of multiplication tables a tad more interesting than just repeatingrepparttar 107356 multiplication tables over and over.

I remember clearly when I began to dislike math—a subject I had loved until, I believe, I ran intorepparttar 107357 wrong teacher. I remember my worst days in school. I remember my best days. I rememberrepparttar 107358 teachers who were creative and inspiring and know thatrepparttar 107359 best skills I possess today are inrepparttar 107360 areas they taught. That isrepparttar 107361 Law of Effect at work. I look very hard for sites that are good learning websites and share them with my daughter. I don’t want her to be turned off by sites that are really advertising monsters, just enticing you to a point of enjoyment and then launching an advertising scheme where you must make a purchase before you can go any further. Certainly I understand that many websites survive through their ability to sell products, however I believe this can be accomplished without bait and purchase gimmicks.

Goodness, have you ever tried to unlearn something you learned how to do wrong? This isrepparttar 107362 Law of Primacy, which states that what is learned first is learned best. You really have to make sure thatrepparttar 107363 resources that your child uses are good resources. Every textbook is not a good textbook; every website is not a good website; and every teacher is not a good teacher. And assuming that these tools are good simply because they exist or becauserepparttar 107364 school system uses them can cause your child a world of harm. A parent really has to do more than have these tools available. If you tryout a piece of software or an Internet resource and you cannot followrepparttar 107365 instructions, then there is a very good chance your child may not be able to effectively userepparttar 107366 resource either. Andrepparttar 107367 same rule applies with other resources as well. Some sites such as Math.com and MathForum.com gave really simple step-by-step instructions to concepts my child was learning in school, yet I had long forgotten. I was able to refresh my memory and to get her on track using these resources.

The Law of Intensity deals withrepparttar 107368 vividness ofrepparttar 107369 learning experience. If I take my child torepparttar 107370 zoo to learn about animals, he or she will learn more than if I just explainrepparttar 107371 animals. One of my favorite sites for young kids is Switchzoo.com. My younger nieces and nephews are fascinated withrepparttar 107372 animals they are familiar with, but just spillover with excitement as they manipulaterepparttar 107373 animals to make new ones. I think that my daughter and I are really supposed to be a little old forrepparttar 107374 activity, but in all truthfulness we have a great time with it too. There are so many places out there that I neither haverepparttar 107375 time norrepparttar 107376 money to take my child. The Internet has been especially useful in getting my child to those places. At our fingertips we haverepparttar 107377 Virtual Smithsonian Institute andrepparttar 107378 National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. At GreatPlaces.org we have in living color enjoyed films and photos of Madagascar, Tibet,repparttar 107379 Amazon and several other far away places. Throughrepparttar 107380 gateway of MuseumStuff.com, we have viewed museums all overrepparttar 107381 world including my personal favoriterepparttar 107382 web only exhibits of our National Museum of Air and Space in Washington DC. And let’s not forgetrepparttar 107383 brick and mortar library. Before computersrepparttar 107384 library is how my parents took me to far away places. It still works and every library that we have visited recently also has wonderful computer resources as well. So, if you don’t have a computer at home, that is certainly no excuse for not spending some time with your child using this wonderful technology. And I still buy books for presents—wonderful, exciting, colorful books.

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