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| On the Lookout for Spyware | 26 Oct 2004 |
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| Quite often customers call Adam Internet reporting their machines are covered in popups, are experiencing slowdowns, or even dialling strange numbers to connect to the Internet. These, and other internet nasties, are known as Spyware, and this article deals with this common problem.
Why is it called Spyware? Spyware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software, or AdWare. It is a way of shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. The downside is that the advertising companies also install additional tracking software on your system which continuously sends statistical data back to a centralised web server (or home base, if you will.) Internet advertising has also been criticised for occasionally including code that tracks a users personal information and passing this on to third parties whithout the persons authorisation or knowledge. This form of spyware can often result in generating spam, which is similar to receiving offers in your mail from various companies you have never heard of, if you have used your credit card details to make a transaction over the phone or via the internet. While according to the privacy policies of the companies, there will be no sensitive or identifying data collected from your system and you shall remain anonymous, it still remains the fact that you have a "live" server sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your internet habits to a remote location. Are all Adware products 'Spyware'? No, but the majority of them are. There are also products that display advertising (i.e. popups) but do not install any tracking mechanism on your system. Is Spyware illegal? Even though the name may indicate otherwise, Spyware is actually not an illegal form of software in any way. However, there are certain issues that a privacy oriented user may object to and therefore prefer not to use the product. This usually involves the tracking and sending of data and statistics via a server installed on the users PC and the use of your Internet connection in the background. While legitimate adware companies will disclose the nature of the data that is collected, the fact is that the technology is in theory capable of sending much more than just banner statistics - and this is why many people feel uncomfortable with the idea. Real Spyware... There are also many PC surveillance tools that allow a user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging from keystroke capture, snapsots, email logging, chat logging and just about everything else. These tools are often designed for parents, businesses and similar environments but can be easily abused if they are installed on your computer without your knowledge. These tools are perfectly legal in most places but, just like an ordinary tape recorder, if they are abused, they can seriously violate your privacy. Other software which fall under the category of Spyware are automatic diallers. These diallers are usually generated by explicit or pornographic websites on the Internet, as a means to charge for the use of viewing this material. However, quite often diallers can be generated by a misleading hyperlink or website search. Auto diallers can often take over an existing dialup connection so that the end user does not know they have been downloaded. It can also modify your connection to dial an international number. This is known as "Internet Dumping" and quite often Internet users do not realise they have downloaded an auto dialler until they receive their phone bill, which is higher than normal due to international charges. If you would like to find out more about internet dumping, visit the ACCC website. What can I do to protect my machine from spyware? Some Internet users have the misconception that if they have up to date antivirus software, they will be protected against spyware. Unfortunately this is not the case. Spyware has different tendencies to viruses; while they can 'infect' your computer, they do not try to propogate like viruses do. Fortunately, there is software available to combat spyware. One such software program is Ad Aware, made by a company known as Lava Soft. It is a free program, easily downloadable which they claim if kept regularly updated will keep your system spyware-free. To download Ad Aware, Click Here. |
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