Pop up blocker does not work – pop up blocker are meant to disallow other windows from opening without your consent, if you find your pop up blocker unable to deal with windows coming up that you did not initiate, then your computer is likely to be infected with spyware.

Computer becomes slow and sluggish – Because spyware uses your system resources (processing power, memory) your PC will become slower as they use more and more of your computer resources. Install a anti-spyware if you notice a degradation in your computer performance.

Home page has changed – Some spywares hijack your homepage by changing it to another website and you will be unable to change it back. If that happens, run an anti-spyware and remove the rogue software from your control panel.

New icon on your desktop – If you see a new icon on your desktop, most likely, a new software has been installed without your consent. Remove it immediately.

New toolbar on your browser – similar to the above, if you see a new toolbar on your browser, you have probably installed a rogue software without your consent. Check out your installed programs to find any strange program, and uninstall immediately.

Firewall alert – firewalls alerts should be taken seriously if you are alerted of a program trying to access the internet, you should make sure it is a known program before you grant an access. If you discover it to be a program you are not aware of, deny access and remove immediately.

Strange search result – if you perform a search in a search engine but you get result that are strange and full of advertisements, you are most likely to have a spyware running on your computer system.

There are many free malware removal tools available on the market, but beware of “false positives”, and this is what I mean…

You download free trial copy of malware removal software to perform a scan of your computer system, when you run the first scan it displays lists of spywares that it claims to be present on your system, The list include viruses, spywares, adwares and so on, that are, in fact, not present on your computer, but are present in the malware software database itself. This is known as false positives and there are numerous malware software vendors that trick unsuspecting consumers in this way.

The aim is to create a panic so you can buy their software for protection. Don’t be fooled, be careful before you install this type of malware protection. Do a bit of research online, or read reviews from previous users.

Malware detection and removal is a lucrative business for companies that create malware removal software, so in an attempt to lure you into buying their software you get tricked into thinking that your computer is infected with ghost malwares.

Also, some free malware removal software can be very difficult to remove from your system once you install them. This can be another problem on its own in that whenever you start your computer, the software automatically begins its fake scanning, and if you are not good at software installation and removal it might be very difficult to get it removed from your system.

Not all free trial software are rogues, there are reliable free software online but you must know where to look. Conduct a thorough research and