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Signs of a spyware

• Unauthorized pop-up advertisements, even when not browsing the Web
• A change to the browser home page or default search engine without user consent, which often resists attempts to change it back
• A new and unwanted toolbar on the browser, 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 softwaredesigned 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 andworms 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 of the term spyware occurred on October 16, 1995 in a Usenet post that poked fun at Microsofts business model. Spyware later came to refer to espionage equipment such as tiny cameras. However,in early 2000 the founder of Zone Labs, Gregor Freund, used the term in a press release for the ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall.[2] Since then, computer-users have used the term in its current sense. 1999 also saw the introduction of the first popular freeware program to include built-in spyware: a humorous and popular game called Elf Bowlingspread across theInternet 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 (later Radiate) and Conducent. He eventually rescinded his claim that the ad software collected information without the users knowledge, but still chastised the ad companies for 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, and many more software antidotes have appeared since then.[3] International Charter now offers software developers a Spyware-Free Certification program.[4]
According to an October 2004 study by America Online and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 80% of surveyed users computers had some form of spyware, with an average of 93 spyware components per computer. 89% of surveyed users with 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 have often characterized spyware as the pre-eminent security threat for computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Some malware on the Linux and Mac OS X platforms has behavior similar to Windows spyware, but to date has not become anywhere near as widespread.