Most people at some time or other are tempted by an internet freebee. An Internet freebee often comes in the form of a piece of software, product voucher or free gift.
There are dangers involved with all three types of these freebees. With product vouchers it is best to choose offers with known retailers. Many offers are printable and this takes away all risk. Some offers are indeed very good, and with a keen eye for spotting these bargains, there is money to be saved.
However, if you have to reveal you name address, land line and cell phone number, problems can arise. The biggest risk with lesser known companies is they may use your details to promote products you may not want, and worse still sell your details on. This could mean increased spam in your email box, unwanted telesales calls and additional junk mail through the door.
Free gifts from unknown retailers may very well not arrive and for your efforts, you may have to endure all the problems described above. As a rule of thumb it might be advisable to only accept free gifts from reputable companies who have no interest in selling on your details.
The most dangerous area of Internet Freebees is freeware and trail software. Most people have been irritated by unwanted tool bars but there is much more at risk here than being annoyed. Probably the most popular way to get a virus established in your computer is to attach the virus to a download. The risks are immense. The problems don’t stop with unwanted tool bars. The virus ‘sidekick’ is often downloaded with free and trial software. This virus will put unwanted adds into your browser and will pop up whenever you interact with a website. Another annoyance is viruses that change your home page and search engine preferences.
Being annoyed by unwanted software changes, are for most of us just irritating, and with a modicum of expertise can be removed without too much effort. However, there are greater dangers, because along with the unwanted pop ups, come more dangerous infections that can deduce and glean information from you your keystrokes. With this information criminals can get your passwords and log in details. With this data it is possible for them to get into your bank accounts and remove funds.
If you do use free software, there are two things you can do to protect yourself. Find the free software you want from reputable websites like ‘download.com.’ The other thing you can do is download a good anti virus program and a standalone malware program, and scan often for infections.