SPYWARE LEARNING GUIDE

What is spyware?

In general, spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. Internet advertising (adware) has been criticized for sometimes including code that tracks a user's personal information and passes it on to third parties without the user's authorization or knowledge. This practice has been dubbed spyware and has prompted an outcry from computer security and privacy advocates, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Noted privacy software expert Steve Gibson of Gibson Research explains: "Spyware is any software that employs a user's Internet connection in the background (the so-called 'backchannel') without their knowledge or explicit permission. Silent background use of an Internet 'backchannel' connection must be preceded by a complete and truthful disclosure of proposed backchannel usage, followed by the receipt of explicit, informed consent for such use. Any software communicating across the Internet absent of these elements is guilty of information theft and is properly and rightfully termed: Spyware."

Spyware doesn't actually attempt to "take over" your computer, but it does try to do certain things you probably won't like. Here are some common signs that you have been infected:

• Your PC is running unusually slow.


• Ads are popping up even when your browser isn't running.


• Your home page has been hijacked.


• Antispyware and/or antivirus applications aren't working correctly. Some spyware programs will sabotage the programs designed to detect and eliminate them.


• There's been a dramatic increase in your network's traffic, eating up bandwidth and crippling performance.

Why spyware isn't just a home-user problem?

Spyware is no longer just a home user issue. Spyware in the enterprise is already costing companies millions of dollars in lost time and productivity and money spent to address it, and it's expected to get worse. IDC, a top research and advisory company for the IT and telecommunications industries, reported that $12 million was spent in 2003 on antispyware solutions, but that number is predicted to increase by 260 percent within the next five years. Webroot, creator of antispyware program Corporate SpyAudit, scanned more than 10,000 computers in over 4,100 companies over the course of six months. On average, it identified 20 pieces of spyware per corporate computer.

H spyware gets in your computer

How spyware gets in your computer?

Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program. Data collecting programs that are installed with the user's knowledge are not, properly speaking, spyware, if the user fully understands what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared. However, spyware is often installed without the user's consent, as a drive-by download, or as the result of clicking some option in a deceptive pop-up window.

How you can prevent spyware ?

The best defense against spyware and other unwanted software is not to download it in the first place. Some experts recommend that you change browsers periodically or simply avoid using Internet Explorer. Here are a few helpful tips from Microsoft that can help protect you from downloading potentially unwanted programs:

• Only download programs from Web sites you trust.


• Read all security warnings, license agreements and privacy statements associated with any downloads.


• Never click "agree" or "OK" to close a window. Instead, click the red "x" in the corner of the window or press the Alt + F4 buttons on your keyboard to close a window.


• Be cautious about using "free" music and movie file-sharing programs, and be sure you clearly understand all of the software packaged with those programs.