Safe Screensavers

There are a few basic screensavers that come with Windows, but they get boring very quickly. People often look for and download screensavers off the web, but this can be risky if you aren't careful.

There are risks that you should be aware of when looking for free screensavers. Some screensavers contain spyware. Some do not contain spyware, but if you go to their web sites to get more screensavers, the web sites will download adware or spyware onto your computer. Remember my "revenue model" rule of thumb: think about how the company makes their money producing the software product. If there is no obvious advertising on their web site or in the screensaver itself, or if they don't try to upsell you to a better version, be cautious. They have to get money from somewhere to produce the product, right?

Case in point: Really Slick Screensavers is a site where you can get some very cool screensavers for free. Think about my "revenue model" rule of thumb, how does the author make money on this product? Fortunately he answers this here in question #14. You may also notice all of the ads on the web page, which themselves point to other screensaver web sites.

You can also do a little bit of research too. Using a search engine such as Google, enter the name of the screen saver and words such as "spyware" and "problem" and search the web. If others have had problems it may show up in the search. Also, remember to scan your PC with good antispyware products (see my Downloads page) after installing any software.

Really Slick Screensavers are safe and spyware free. Always make sure that you do a little bit of research and exercise caution when selecting a free screensaver from the web, and remember my "revenue model" rule of thumb!

Tags: computers, freeware, screensaver, shareware, software, spyware, t4t