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Spyware 'can alter system settings'

Poorly programmed spyware can interfere with a computer's processes and may cause system instability, it has been warned.

A blog by Paul Wilcox on the computer advice website computersadviceworld.net says that spyware is often installed covertly without the user's knowledge and consent and therefore can be hard to notice.

The tell-tale signs of spyware infection are slow operating, random rebooting and the changing of homepages without the user doing anything.

Mr Wilcox explains: "If your system does get hit with a spyware attack, all is not lost - there are several software utilities made for getting rid of it."

In related news, it was recently reported that a 26-year-old man in the US has been convicted of attempted identity theft by infecting hundreds of thousands of PCs with spyware designed to collect personally identifiable information.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and now faces a sentence up to 60 years in prison.

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