Signs of a spyware
-
Unauthorized pop-up advertisements,even when not browsing
the Web
-
A change to the browser home page order, search engine
without user consent, which often resists attempts to
change it back
-
A new and unwanted toolbar on thebrowser, which often
resists attempts to remove it
-
A sudden and dramatic slowdown in PC performance
-
Increased crashing of operating systems, Web browsers, and
other common applications
spyware covers a broad category of
malicious
software designed to intercept or take partial control of a
computers operation without the
informed consent of that machines
owner.While the term taken literally suggests software that
surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more
broadly to a software that subverts the computers operation for
the benefit of a third party. Spyware programs perform actions
such as displaying advertising,tracking Web sites visited, or
changing the configuration of a PC.Though these are the most
common forms of spyware, attention is often focused on less
common but more potentially harmful forms, such as programs that
record keystrokes,collect personal information and send it to a
third party, or remotely control a PCs resources
Spyware differs from
viruses and
worms in that it does not usually
self-replicate. Like
many recent viruses,however, spyware -
by design - exploits infected computers for commercial
gain.Typical tactics furthering this goal include delivery of
unsolicited
pop-up advertisements;theft of
personal information (including financial information such as
credit card numbers);monitoring of
Web-browsing activity for
marketing purposes; or routing of
HTTP
requests to advertising sites.
History and Development
The first recorded use ofthe term spyware occurred on October
16, 1995 in a
Usenet post that poked fun at
Microsoft—s business model. Spyware later
cameto refer to
espionage equipment such as tiny
cameras.However,in early 2000 the founder of
ZoneLabs, Gregor Freund, used the term in a
pressrelease for the ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall.
[2]Since
then, computer-users have used the termin its current sense.
1999 also saw the introduction of the firstpopular
freeware program to include built-in spyware:
ahumorous and popular game called
Elf Bowlingspread across the
Internet in November 1999, and many users learned
with surprise that the program actually transmitted user
information back to the games creator, Nsoft
In early 2000,
Steve Gibson of
Gibson Research realized that advertising
software had been installed on his system, and he suspected that
the software was stealing his personal information. After
analyzing the software he determined that they were adware
components from the companies Aureate (laterRadiate) and
Conducent. He eventually rescinded his claim that the ad
software collected information without the users knowledge, but
still chastised the adcompaniesfor covertly installing the
spyware and making it difficult to remove
As a result of his analysis in 2000, Gibson released the first
anti-spyware program, OptOut, andmany more software antidotes
have appeared since then.
[3]
[4]
According to an October 2004 study by
America Online and the
NationalCyber-Security Alliance, 80% of surveyed users computers
had some form of spyware, with anaverage of 93 spyware
components per computer. 89% of surveyed userswith spyware
reported that they did not know of its presence, and 95%reported
that they had not given permission for it to be installed
[5]
As of 2005, pundits haveoften characterized spyware
as the pre-eminent security threat forcomputers running
Microsoft Windows operating systems. Some malware on the
Linux and
Mac OS
Xplatforms has behavior similar to Windows spyware, but to
date has not become anywhere near as widespread.