Different types of spyware

Many times, spyware is hidden in legitimate software. Be cautious of deals offered by well-known companies. Crooks and thieves often create web sites that resemble Adobe, Google or Microsoft, says Wheeler. They instruct you to download upgrades which secretly contain spyware. Common sense should tell you to download things like screensavers or wallpaper only from a company's registered web site. Have a safety talk with anyone who uses your computer. Run an anti-spyware application. The schemes for stealing are the same, notes Wheeler. What's changed is the technology. The rest of us have to try to stay one step ahead.

There is a type of spyware that the New York Times has labeled as “Stealware” and what spyware researcher Ben Edelman refers to as “Click Fraud”, also known as “Affiliate Fraud”. The most notable vendors of this kind of spyware are 180 Solutions and WhenU. This spyware redirects the payment of the rightful affiliate’s commission to the account of the spyware vendor.

An instance of spyware rarely "exists" alone. An afflicted computer can rapidly become corrupted with a lot of spyware devices. Frequently, users will notice erratic behavior and a decline of the system’s operation. Spyware contamination can cause considerable inappropriate CPU activity, network traffic, disk usage and the slowing-down of the legitimate uses of these resources. Stability issues, system crashes and application crashes are also very common. Spyware which disrupts the networking software normally causes problems connecting to the Internet.

A Trojan horse, by definition, sneaks in a danger-some program cloaked as something acceptable. Many spywares get spread in this way. The representative of the spyware presents the program as a suitable utility, for example, as useful software or as a web-accelerator. Users then install the software not suspecting that it could do harm to their computer. A classic case of this is Bonze Buddy, a spyware application designed to trick children, claims that: “He will explore the Internet with you as your very own friend and sidekick! He can talk, walk, joke, browse, search, e-mail, and download like no other friend you've ever had! He even has the ability to compare prices on the products you love and help you save money! Best of all, he's FREE!”

Often times, spyware programs are revealed by visibly presenting advertisements. Some spyware simply displays pop-up ads on a pre-determined schedule. For example, a pop-up may appear when the user opens a new browser window. Yet other types display ads when the user visits a specific type of site. Spyware developers use this as a selling point when pitching their wares to advertisers who want to buy ad placement in pop-ups shown when the user lands on a particular site. It is also one of the reasons why spyware programs collect and store information on user behavior.

What types of computer monitoring spy programs are available?

There are simple ones known as keyloggers which record your all of your keystrokes. Keyloggers are only one part of the spy software threat. On the other end of the spectrum are the totally insidious type which can record your screen as a picture slide show and then email the recording to someone else without you ever knowing. Some even defeat firewalls!!

Why haven't I heard about this before?

The widespread use of spy software is a somewhat recent phenomenon. There were keyloggers and the such in the early computing days of DOS, but nothing nearly as invasive as the ones available today. More and more people are using spy programs to spy on each other's computer usage. Programs advertised as software to keep your child's Internet activities in check are being used by spouses and bosses. Some companies are advertising that their software can be useful for catching your spouse cheating online. The scary part of this is that companies advertising this way are making the largest number of sales!

Why can't I just clean my registry or delete startup items?

Most of the more advanced spy programs run completely hidden. This means they are not visible in the task list, are not shown in your registry and are not shown in the standard startup areas. Instead, these spy programs are placed in another area of Windows startup which "startup cleaners" don't usually look at, and once they are running, they run in "stealth" mode. SpyCop can find them all, even if the person who installed then renamed the files themselves!

I'm a business owner; why do I have to be concerned with this?

Just like Bosses can spy on their employees, employees can spy on their bosses. An angry employee can simply swipe credit card numbers from the bank they work at, or this software can be used for a new form of corporate espionage. The fact of the matter is that these types of activities are occurring at this very moment within the business world! Is YOUR business safe?

Spyware	Protect Yourself From Spyware
How do you get spyware	Eliminate Adware and Spyware
symptoms of spyware	How to remove spyware
Computer Security	The Spy Who Robbed Me
Spyware. History and Description	Different types of spyware

Spyware-remove adware from your computer