Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without the user's knowledge which gathers information about that user for later retrieval by whomever controls the spyware.

Spyware can be broken down into two different categories, surveillance spyware and advertising spyware.

Surveillance software includes key loggers, screen capture devices, and trojans. These would be used by corporations, private detectives, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, suspicious spouses, etc.

Advertising spyware is software that is installed alongside other software or via activex controls on the internet, often without the user's knowledge, or without full disclosure that it will be used for gathering personal information and/or showing the user ads. Advertising spyware logs information about the user, possibly including passwords, email addresses, web browsing history, online buying habits, the computer's hardware and software configuration, the name, age, sex, etc of the user.

As with spam, advertising spyware uses the CPU, RAM, and resources of the user's computer, making the user pay for the costs associated with operating it. It then makes use of the user's bandwidth to connect to the internet and upload whatever personal information it has gathered, and to download advertisements which it will present to the user, either by way of pop up windows, or with the ad banners of ad-supported software. All of this can be considered theft in the cases of advertising spyware that installs without disclosure.

And while anti-virus software like Symantec's Norton Anti- Virus or McAfee's ViruScan can offer some protection, one of the best ways to combat spyware is with anti-spy software. Two of the best are Lavasoft's Ad-aware and Spybot's Search & Destroy, which are available as free downloads.

http://www.lavasoft.de/

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

The free version of Ad-aware does not proactively protect against spyware infestation. You have to start the Ad-aware application and initiate a scan to detect spyware. But the paid version, Ad-aware Plus does remain alert in the background, like Spybot, to deflect any attempts at infestation. In recent tests, Ad-aware Plus and Spybot both protected systems extremely well.

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend installing Microsoft's Service Pack 2. SP2 tightens your PC's security with a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer. Plus, the newly minted Security Center gives you one easy-to-use interface for keeping tabs on your PC's security apps.

There are also other steps you can take to protect against spyware. One simple step is to switch from Microsoft's browsers, which have security holes for spyware programs to exploit. A good alternative is Mozilla Firefox. Another not- so-simple step is switching to the Mac or Linux operating systems, which don't have spyware problems.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today...Guaranteed! For details just visit my website: Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net; dean@lets-make-money.net

---

Linux for Home Users

Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More

Groupware and Version History: Collaboration Series #1

This article is the first of a series of articles... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization: Integration with Third Party SQL Application/Database

Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More

How to Build a Basic CSS Layout

Designing without tables by using CSS layouts is fast becoming... Read More

Reduce TCO: The Java Database Way

TCO (Total Cost Ownership) is the buzzword in... Read More

Where to Find Free Fleet Maintenance Software

Costs of fleet maintenance software can vary widely. It is... Read More

Industry Experts Answer the One Million-dollar Question - Why Genie Backup Manager?

Many reasons made GBM a unanimous choice for experts, one... Read More

Spyware - The Internet Devil Of Our Times!

Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Data Conversion & Migration Scenarios ? Overview for Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves multiple industries in the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Annual Enhancement Program ? How To Be Re-Enrolled

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More

Microsoft Navision Database Selection: C/SIDE or MS SQL Server - Overview For IT Specialist

There are certain pluses and minuses in both cases and... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains - Typical Problems And Fixes ? Overview For IT Administrators

How to delete the user? This is the first problem... Read More

Crystal Reports For Microsoft Navision - Overview For Programmer/IT Specialist

Let us give you - developer some hints in the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: exchange & brokerage ? implementation notes

If you company is small or mid-size special products or... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Logistics & Warehouse Management ? Implementation & Customization Highlights

Logistics automation is often considered as barcoding extension to Sales... Read More

Design a Web Album Using Adobe Photoshop- Part 2

So let's begin crunching down these 300 images using Adobe... Read More

Recovering Microsoft Great Plains Customization ? Tips for IT Director

Remember nice and prosperous Clinton era? When you implemented innovative... Read More

String in Java

Handling character strings in Java is supported through two final... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions - Navision Customization: C/SIDE, C/ODBC, C/FRONT, XBRL

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More

Microsoft Small Business Manager eCommerce ? Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is scaled down Great... Read More

Daffodil DB: Web Database

What is a Web Database?A web database is a database... Read More

Microsoft CRM Implementation - US Market Lessons

Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft Business Solutions. If... Read More

Crystal Reports - Geterogeneus databases: SQL Server, Oracle, Unidata, Btrieve ? Tips For Developer

Crystal Reports is the most flexible tool on the market... Read More

Microsoft CRM Integration with Lotus Notes Domino: Messaging Connector ? Future Directions

IBM Lotus Notes Domino and Microsoft CRM (Client Relation Management)... Read More

Artificial Intelligence And Intuition

The intuitive algorithm.Roger Penrose considered it impossible. Thinking could never... Read More

Software Engineering: An Introduction

Software Engineering is the Systematic Approach for analysis design implementation... Read More

Call Alert Notifications - Free Answering Machine Software for PCs

If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More

10 Things You Could be Using Photoshop For, But Probably Arent

Most people don't use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here... Read More

Microsoft Moves to Small Business Accounting/Retail Market ? Stakes and Thoughts

In this small article we will be looking at the... Read More

6 Easy Steps for a Smoother CD/DVD Order

It's all about turn times in the eMedia industry! The... Read More

Computer Based Language Development and Spell-checking

Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems... Read More

Dont Choose Adobe When Working With PDF

While Adobe is the most known maker of PDF tools,... Read More

Accounts Payable: A Powerful Document Management and Workflow Solution

Accounts payable is just one area of office management where... Read More