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By John Millar, Special to the Free Press September-09-2004
It's good, it's bad and at times it can get really ugly -- spyware
is on a computer very near you. According to a study by Atlanta-based
Earthlink Inc., an Internet service provider with more than five
million customers, the average PC is infected with 28 spyware
programs.
Yet a study by TheInfoPro Inc. for Secure Computing of San Jose,
Calif., found many employers don't see spyware as a significant
threat. Only 25 per cent of the study's respondents recognized
spyware as a major problem.
Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information
about a person or organization without their knowledge.
This definition, from searchCRM.com, also says spyware on the
Internet is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly
gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers
or other interested parties. Spyware can get into a computer as
a software virus or as a result of installing a new program.
Most computer users are now aware of technology terms such as
freeware, shareware, cookies, media players and file sharing and
have likely used one or more of these applications. Users may
not, however, be aware that such programs could contain code or
components that allow user information to be collected and sent
without the user's knowledge or consent.
Information or activities that might be collected and forwarded
from your computer include Internet surfing habits, on-line shopping
habits and keystrokes.
It is important to distinguish between programs that are downloaded
with the user's consent and those that are not.
Adware is often criticized for being a form of spyware. Adware
is the software application that delivers advertising banners
while the program is running.
Adware may serve a positive purpose if it helps keep down costs
on websites that are supported by advertising revenues. However,
if the adware includes code to track personal information and
pass the information to a third party, without authorization,
there are privacy and security concerns.
Applications allowing parents to monitor the computer and Internet
use habits of their children, without the child's knowledge, would
also be good uses of spyware technology.
A further term used to describe a method by which spyware programs
gain access to your computer is drive-by download. These programs
can be initiated simply by visiting a website or viewing an HTML
e-mail message.
If security settings are not properly considered, drive-by downloads
can occur without any action on your part.
Having updates of patches or service packs automatically downloaded
and installed by a form of drive-by download may be quite helpful.
System administrators must always ensure, however, that any update
does not conflict with existing system configurations.
Although recent survey results appear to indicate that businesses
are not treating spyware as seriously as the threat warrants,
research also shows that more than two-thirds of users have computer
policies in place that in some way relate to spyware. Unfortunately,
respondents also claimed these polices are not being enforced.
Increasingly, organizations are installing software to detect
and deal with spyware. Practices that increase the risk of spyware
infection, such as instant messaging and file sharing, are being
addressed.
Anyone interested in learning about detecting and removing spyware
may find Lavasoft's AD-aware and PestPatrol offer helpful information
and tools.
Given the potential for your computer to operate like a server
sending out information about you and your computing habits to
people or entities you don't know, perhaps you would want to give
more consideration to your own privacy practices and assess your
computer's level of infection by spyware programs.
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