Are Your Kids Responsible for Spyware on Your Computer?

If you have teenagers in your house, there is a pretty good chance that it was one of them who infected your computer with spyware. There are many programs that kids download because they are "cool" or because a friend is using them. But chances are that cold download contained spyware.

On the positive side, spy ware is often easier to remove and fix the damage that if they downloaded and installed a virus. But it can still be a pain to remove it.

It makes sense to teach your kids safe surfing habits, and make them aware that some of those cool programs they want can actually cause major problems with the computer's performance and sometimes damage it permanently.

So what kind of programs are the ones that appeal to teenagers and often come bundled with spyware?

• Free games you download from the Internet
• Filesharing programs, such as the programs you would use to swap music and movie files
• Smiley programs that send animated smiley is in e-mail or instant messaging programs
• Toolbars for Internet Explorer, even specially themed ones such as ones named after popular characters or celebrities, which can definitely appeal to teenagers
• Free pop-up blocking programs from a non-reputable source

It is worth noting that not all of these types of programs will come bundled with spyware. But it is a popular add-on, and is how free programs often make their money.

You should teach your children to never download anything on the Internet without your permission. Then you can check out the program, and see if it is something that comes bundled with spyware. You can also set user permissions on your computer so that your children's login IDs are not permitted to download any files, as an extra precaution.