How Does Adware/Spyware Spread?

One of the most important things for you to understand is just how spyware spreads. How does it get from its source to your computer?
By understanding this fact, you’ll know how to better protect yourself from future invasion.
It’s Not A Virus
One thing to know is that spyware and adware are not viruses and don’t spread in the same way as a virus would. With a virus, the infected computer system is used to spread the virus from one system to the next. It is actively looking for the next victim. Spyware gets into your system by deception. In most cases, you download it to your computer.
You’ve Installed It
Most commonly, spyware enters the computer when the computer user installs it. Of course, you wouldn’t know that you are doing that. What happens is quite a bit more worrisome.
You visit a website and find a piece of software that you would like to have. You download it.
Little did you know that the software that you just downloaded had spyware piggybacked onto it and now you’ve got both the desirable software and the spyware lurking on your computer. You may not even know it’s there for months!
Or, you may have the spyware trick you into downloading it. In this case, you may be asked to perform an operation that is “required” to complete the download. When you do, you are actually downloading the spyware or adware onto your computer