? somebody installed snapshot spyware on my laptop

[nissan]

As private investigators, many of us are concerned about our own well being and security.

My laptop was playing up and went to the computer shop to fix it for me.He updated my virus scanner, reinstalled windows etc.

As he was doing it, i told him do a spyware search while he is at it.

Apparently somebody has installed snapshot spyware on my laptop.I dont know who put it on my laptop.I bought it brand new about 1 year ago.

Who could of possibly put it in my laptop?Anything i can do to prevent this? I have now got a new laptop.

This is some info about snapshot spyware

"Now records all keys typed into a system and all programs used. You can also monitor a computer by email. Once installed on a system Snapshot Spy Pro will secretly email the person spying logs at pre determined intervals of all keys entered and all system program activity.
 
Category Description Programs designed to monitor user activity. They may be used with or without consent. Because it is sold commercially, many anti-virus vendors do not detect them. The most common form of a commercial monitoring tool comes in the form of a keystroke logger, which intercepts keystrokes from the keyboard and records them in a log. This can then be sent to whoever installed the software, or keylogger, onto the machine. Some Commercial Monitoring Software may take screenshots or video and send the information to an outbound connection

[Jacob]

What was the actual software?

Some can be remote-deployed, some can be deployed on a local network (by being on the same wifi network as you, for eg.) and some need to be manually installed.

[Andrew]

Prevention:
* Run up-to-date anti-virus software.  Micrsoft Security Essentials is a good FREE utility for Windows: http://http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
* Always apply all Windows security patches immediately.
* Don't go to dodgy websites where you can pick up this kind of malware.
* Don't install any software that you didn't get from a trusted source; hacked versions of software can sometimes contain these little add-ons.
* Install and regularly update/run Spybot Search and Destroy: http://http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Recovery:
Make regular backups and system restore points so you can fall back to a last known good state if you get compromised.

Hope that helps...