I know screensavers are fun and cute, but they’re also extremely high-risk. They’re frequently used as containers for viruses, spyware and obnoxious advertising that you really don’t want on your computer. These are called Trojans – malicious programs that masquerade as something benign.
Don’t be fooled. Just because you don’t notice anything wrong doesn’t mean it hasn’t done something malicious to your computer. Bad guys are sneaky. Screensavers are one of the biggest reasons that virus infections happen in our clients’ systems.
I’m not referring to your desktop background. That’s just a picture. I’m talking about the screensaver that appears on your screen after the computer has been idle for several minutes. Just use the ones that came with Windows and you’ll be okay. If you really want to customize your screensaver, Windows does provide a slideshow-type screensaver that you can use your own pictures for.
I know IT guys can be killjoys, but this is a bit of wisdom that everyone should heed. As a rule, be extremely skeptical of downloads that are purely cosmetic and don’t provide a practical function for your computer.