There is a large set of problems that are usually attributed to spyware, but that doesn’t mean the effects of spyware are limited to the items described below. If you are experiencing any one of these, it may be a good idea to run some spyware scans.

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• When you start your computer, or when your computer has been idle for many minutes, your web browser opens to display advertisements.
• When you use your browser to view websites, new browser windows open to display website advertisements. This isn’t always attributed to spyware on your system, however. The website you are visiting could be supported by these pop-ups.
• Web pages are unexpectedly added to your Favorites folder.
• New toolbars are unexpectedly added to your browser.
• New icons are unexpectedly added to the desktop or system tray. However, with most newer programs, a tray icon is automatically placed in your system tray. This can be turned off in msconfig or within the program’s options or preferences.
• A program that has worked fine before behaves unexpectedly. This can be attributed to spyware, but there can be other causes as well.
• Windows components cease to work or behave unexpectedly. Again, this is not always due to spyware.
• Random Windows error messages appear. Yet again, this is not exclusively attributed to spyware.
• When you click a link in a program, the link does not work, or it redirects you somewhere that you did not intend to go.
• Your browser suddenly closes or stops responding. Not just once, but almost every time you use it.
• It takes a much longer time to start or shutdown your computer. This symptom can also be caused by having a large number of programs installed.
• Your computer seems very sluggish when opening programs or processing tasks.
• There are several processes listed in the task manager that you don’t recognize as legitimate programs or Operating System components.

These are some of the main symptoms exhibited on a spyware-infested system. A user can exhibit one or more of these, and symptoms are not necessarily limited to these descriptions. Although these symptoms can allude to a spyware infection, spyware may not always be the culprit causing these problems.

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