Spyware

What is Spyware?     Full Definition
Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties.

How does it work?
Spyware is known to include various kinds of keystroke monitors (capturing what keys you press), bugs and Web trackers (recording wherever you go), and Trojan horses that ferret out information (like passwords) and send them to someone on the Internet. Stealth is being used to gather information about you, up to and including identity theft. The repository for most of the information about your internet activity, and some of your personal information, are in cookies. They are, for the most part, a necessary evil. Because the Internet does not retain information between sessions (it's "stateless"), cookies are used to store all kinds of information that makes your browsing easier and better, such as shopping carts, various preferences, and passwords. This same information is a treasure trove for marketers and (sometimes) hackers. Most systems have hundreds of cookie files, and some are perfectly legitimate and useful while others are insidious and sometimes harmful.

How did I get the Spyware?

• The most popular method of delivery is with software you have downloaded. Many freeware programs, and especially P2P file sharing programmes, are amongst the most notorious. They come with an enormous amount of bundled spyware that will eat system resources, slow down your system, clash with other installed software, or just crash your browser or even Windows itself.


• When a Web site or pop-up window automatically tries to download and install spyware on your machine. The only warning you might receive would be your browser's standard message telling you the name of the software and asking if it's okay to install it.
  
  
  
  If your security settings are set to low, you won't even receive the warning!
• Software that adds enhancements to your Web browser - like a toolbar, animated pal or additional search box. Many of these include elements of spyware as part of the deal. Or sometimes they are nothing more than thinly veiled spyware themselves. Particularly nasty add-ons are considered browser hijackers - these embed themselves deeply in your machine and take quite a bit of work to get rid of.
• The nastiest way is by a very cruel trick many spyware distributors use. You are told that you may have been infected and are offered a free spyware scan. At the completion of the scan you are given a clean bill of health. Sadly, that is not the case. This utility has installed its own spyware on your machine.

How do I get rid of Spyware?
There are programmes available that will do the job. A good FREE programme is Ad-Aware and I find that it is very effective. It allows me to rename any suspect files, minimize the software while scanning, and I am able to right click on files in explorer and scan them for spyware.

The two best anti-spyware programmes available are Spyware Doctor and CounterSpy. They both offer trial periods to test their products. Both provide regular updates to their spy definition database, offering the most comprehensive protection available!

PestPatrol – free online spyware scanner
PestPatrol detects spyware, spyware cookies, adware, keyloggers, and other pests that anti-virus, firewall and other security software can miss. When using this service you will have to load their scanner. Click Yes.