WOULD you willingly install a program on your PC that monitors your internet activity, subjects you to blizzards of pop-up adverts, renders you vulnerable to viruses and slows your computer to a crawl? Of course not. Yet millions of people are unwittingly doing just that.
The programs in question are a breed of software called spyware or adware. They are designed to gather information about a computer user’s online activity, and use it for marketing purposes – or worse. For instance, if you regularly visit car sales or vacation sites, the software can arrange that you see pop-up ads put…
