Advanced Privacy Guard - What is it and What Does it Do?

You may or may not have heard of Advanced Privacy Guard. What is it? It's simply a fake program that appears to be an anti-spyware program. Have you ever gotten those pop ups that are warning you that you may have a virus, or that a system scan has been done and found problems? This could very well be Advanced Privacy Guard.

This is simply a malware that gets placed on your computer. Although it can't steal your passwords or get rid of data, it will steal your money if you aren't aware of what it is. When these annoying pop ups keep coming up saying a threat has been detected, Advanced Privacy Guard offers you a program that will supposedly get rid of these viruses and threats - and they will take your money. Don't fall for it.

What happens when a normal person sees these messages that their computer is infected with malware and spyware? They panic, and often purchase the fake program that promises to rid their computer of all these infections. Often, Advanced Privacy Guard places even more malware on your computer!

This program can also cause your computer to be sluggish, your system to freeze up or even crash. That is why it is so important not to download this fake program. It can really do some damage to your computer. In fact, if you are getting the pop up messages and suspect you may have Advanced Privacy Guard malware on your computer, you should get rid of it as soon as you can.

You may wonder how you got this program on your computer to begin with. It's really difficult to tell, but some examples are trojans, browser exploits, pc ports and other things. You could even have gotten it from a site you visited where you thought you were downloading something else. Pinpointing where it came from is sometimes impossible.

To avoid getting malware and spyware on your computer, including Advanced Privacy Guard, you should always be extremely careful about your browsing activities. Any sites you visit that you aren't familiar with can be potentially dangerous. When you do visit a new site, never download anything that you aren't completely sure of.

The truth of the matter is you should never download any anti-spyware program that just pops up. Most of these programs will take your money and infect your computer with even more malware, viruses and spyware. For most of us, it's really hard to tell the difference between an effective anti-spyware program, and one that is going to do more harm.

The best thing to do if you believe you may have Advanced Privacy Guard on your computer is to buy a good anti-spyware program. Most of the time this will only get rid of up to 90% of the spyware, then you will have to buy another one to get rid of the rest. One thing is for sure - if you get advertisements or messages that want you to purchase Advanced Privacy Guard, don't do it. Period.

About the Author:

Carl runs a site devoted to helping you rid your computer from all sorts of spyware and malware at http://www.spyzooka.com/