What is Spyware?

Spyware has become the most prominent computer security problem. How do you choose a good Spyware removal tool? Beware of "antispyware" software which installs spyware/adware to the computer.Spyware is a hidden software program. It is often used to monitor the browsing and shopping habits of computer users. Spyware can also be a remote control program that steals confidential banking and personal information. Spyware has quickly become the most prominent internet security problem. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of home PCs. Recent survey shows that spyware is also sneaking into the network of corporate computers.Spyware is often coupled with free downloads, such as free music, game and software downloads. Spyware may slow down computer, hijack homepage and create uncontrolled pop-up advertisements. Some spyware programs can remain unnoticed, secretly gathering information from the computer. Once installed, spyware is difficult to remove without the help of dedicated antispyware software. Due to the rise of spyware activity, antispyware programs are in great demand these days. But are these spyware removal tools the same? Do they provide the security consumers need?There are many reports that some antispyware programs installed their own spyware and adware to the computer. One consumer was quoted saying "It's a rip-off. I downloaded the free trial of an antispyware program, only to find out that it added its own adware to my computer". Other consumers have complained that the antispyware program they use cannot detect all spyware programs. Some even slow down the computer and create pop-up advertisements.Consumers should be aware that spyware removal tools that are heavily promoted by e-mail campaigns are not necessarily good programs. Beware of the free downloads and free scans from unknown software publishers. Their "antispyware" programs may as well be spyware programs themselves. To learn more about spyware and antispyware software.
The Future of Spyware:
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous HuxleyAs the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.By Gregg Keizer, Courtesy of TechWeb NewsBy the end of the year, spyware will have turned to RSS to distribute its key loggers and ad spawners, a security expert predicts.By the end of the year, spyware programs will have tripled in number, put Firefox in their sights, and have turned to RSS to distribute its key loggers and ad spawners, a security expert said Friday. Richard Stiennon, director of threat research at anti-spyware software vendor Webroot, first presented his six predictions at this week's Gartner IT Security Summit. number one on his list? "The first spyware that targets Firefox will appear in the first half of 2005," prognosticated Stiennon. "That means either a spyware writer will take advantage of a vulnerability in Firefox, as others already have in Internet Explorer, or create a site that forces Firefox to invisibly download and install adware or spyware." Stiennon's apparently not worried about the impending deadline for his prediction. "Test code against Firefox exists," he said, "and I've seen exploits against Firefox that don't work. At the Gartner conference, I had a conversation with the CIO of another security firm, and he said that his company had just found an example." Some of Stiennon's predictions were no-brainers, or in one case, with tongue firmly in cheek. "The number of new Microsoft vulnerabilities will grow," he said. "That was said tongue-in-cheek." Others, such as his bet that the number of different types of spyware will triple in 2005 to reach 4,500 total, is an easy prophecy, he added, since "we're well on our way for that number right now." In Stiennon's opinion, his most distressing prediction is that spyware will latch onal Simple Syndication) as a way to distribute ad- and spy-style software. "I'm extremely concerned about this," said Stiennon. "Already we're seeing marketers look to RSS. A recent list by marketing types on why RSS is better than e-mail, for example, had 'no more annoying complaints about spam' at number 8. Where marketers go, adware and spyware writers follow." Another nasty possibility, said Stiennon, is that a vulnerability will be found in one of the big blogging services. "If a spyware writer finds a way to inject code into a blogging site -- which could take the form of a SOAP object -- most likely through a future vulnerability in Internet Explorer 7, then everyone who subscribes to that service's blog RSS feeds is gonna get infected." Such an attack could be massive, and because of the automated nature of RSS, extremely fast-acting. Finally, Stiennon predicted that rootkits, hacker toolkits now used by the most sophisticated worm authors to hide evidence of their malicious code from anti-virus scanners, will migrate to spyware this year. "There's a very small group, under 2,000, of advanced spyware writers. They're already experimenting with rootkits, and when they start using them in numbers, spyware is going to be very very hard to detect." Stiennon's final prediction didn't make his list at Gartner's conference, but is no surprise considering how much space on his blog he's devoted to the recent Israeli incident where several companies' executives have been charged with industrial espionage after hiring private investigators who in turn used a British programmer's spyware Trojan to infect rivals' computers.