Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given Consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts implications

While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habit, sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Whilst the acronym PII is commonly used there is no common or agreed use of the words from which it is created A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software. Privacy -invasive software is a category of Computer software that ignores users €™ privacy and that is distributed with a specific intent often of a

In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Such content will be deleted Specific software is to be mentioned in this article only Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. This article describes how security can be achieved through design and engineering Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.

Contents 1 History and development 2 Comparison 2.1 Spyware, adware and tracking 2.2 Spyware, virus and worm 3 Routes of infection 4 Effects and behaviors 4.1 Advertisements 4.2 "Stealware" and affiliate fraud 4.3 Identity theft and fraud 4.4 Digital rights management 4.5 Personal relationships 4.6 Spyware and cookies 4.7 Examples of spyware 5 Legal issues related to spyware 5.1 Criminal law 5.2 Administrative sanctions 5.3 Civil law 5.4 Libel suits by spyware developers 6 Remedies and prevention 6.1 Anti-spyware programs 6.2 Fake anti-spyware programs 6.3 Security practices 7 Notable programs distributed with spyware 7.1 Notable programs formerly distributed with spyware 8 Notes 9 See also 10 External links

History and development

The first recorded use of the term spyware occurred on October 16, 1995 in a Usenet post that poked fun at Microsoft's business model. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer A business model is a term used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions that are used by enterprises to represent various aspects of its business including its purpose offerings ^[1] Spyware at first denoted hardware meant for espionage purposes. Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. However, in early 2000 the founder of Zone Labs, Gregor Freund, used the term in a press release for the ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall. Zone Labs is a security software company founded by Gregor Freund, an early partner of Philippe Kahn at Borland. ZoneAlarm is a software firewall originally developed by Zone Labs, which was acquired in 2003 by Check Point. ^[2] Since then, "spyware" has taken on its present sense. ^[2] According to a 2005 study by AOL and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 61 percent of surveyed users' computers had some form of spyware. 92 percent of surveyed users with spyware reported that they did not know of its presence, and 91 percent reported that they had not given permission for the installation of the spyware. ^[3] As of 2006, spyware has become one of the preeminent security threats to computer systems running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination In an estimate based on customer-sent scan logs, Webroot Software, makers of Spy Sweeper, said that nine out of ten computers connected to the Internet are infected. Spy Sweeper is Proprietary software sold by Webroot Software, which detects and removes Spyware, and Viruses (with optional AntiVirus component ^[4] Computers where Internet Explorer (IE) is the primary browser are particularly vulnerable to such attacks not only because IE is the most widely-used,^[5] but because its tight integration with Windows allows spyware access to crucial parts of the operating system. Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE) commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a ^[6][5]

Before Internet Explorer 7 was released, the browser would automatically display an installation window for any ActiveX component that a website wanted to install. ActiveX is a Component object model (COM developed by Microsoft for Windows. The combination of user naiveté towards malware and the assumption by Internet Explorer that all ActiveX components are benign, led, in part, to the massive spread of spyware. Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE) commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical Many spyware components would also make use of flaws in Javascript, Internet Explorer and Windows to install without user knowledge or permission. JavaScript is a Scripting language most often used for Client-side web development

The Windows Registry contains multiple sections that by modifying keys values allows software to be executed automatically when the operating system boots. The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the Operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions 64-bit versions and Spyware can exploit this design to circumvent attempts at removal. The spyware typically will link itself from each location in the registry that allows execution. The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the Operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions 64-bit versions and Once running, the spyware will periodically check if any of these links are removed. If so, they will be automatically restored. This ensures that the spyware will execute when the operating system is booted even if some (or most) of the registry links are removed.

Comparison

Spyware, adware and tracking

The term adware frequently refers to any software which displays advertisements, whether or not the user has consented. Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays displays or downloads advertisements Programs such as the Eudora mail client display advertisements as an alternative to shareware registration fees. Eudora is an E-mail client used on the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows Operating systems It also supports several palmtop computing The term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to Copyrighted commercial Software that is Distributed without payment on a trial These classify as "adware" in the sense of advertising-supported software, but not as spyware. Adware in this form does not operate surreptitiously or mislead the user, and provides the user with a specific service.

Most adware is spyware in a different sense than "advertising-supported software," for a different reason: it displays advertisements related to what it finds from spying on you. Claria Corporation's Gator Software and Exact Advertising's BargainBuddy are examples. Claria Corporation (formerly Gator Corporation) is a media marketing software company Visited Web sites frequently install Gator on client machines in a surreptitious manner, and it directs revenue to the installing site and to Claria by displaying advertisements to the user. The user receives many pop-up advertisements. Pop-up ads or popups are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract Web traffic or capture email addresses

Other spyware behavior, such as reporting on websites the user visits, occurs in the background. The data is used for "targeted" advertisement impressions. The prevalence of spyware has cast suspicion upon other programs that track Web browsing, even for statistical or research purposes. Some observers describe the Alexa Toolbar, an Internet Explorer plug-in published by Amazon.com, as spyware, and some anti-spyware programs such as Ad-Aware report it as such. The Alexa Toolbar, an application produced by Alexa Internet, is a Browser Helper Object for Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows that is used Amazoncom Inc ( is an American electronic commerce ( E-commerce) company in Seattle Washington. Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes Spyware or Adware on a user's computer Many of these adware distributing companies are backed by millions of dollars of adware-generating revenues. Adware and spyware are similar to viruses in that they can be malicious in nature, however, people are now profitting from these threats making them more and more popular.

Similarly, software bundled with free, advertising-supported programs such as P2P act as spyware, (and if removed disable the 'parent' program) yet people are willing to download it. For other uses of the term see Peer-to-peer (disambiguation For peer-to-peer networks used for file sharing see File sharing This presents a dilemma for proprietors of anti-spyware products whose removal tools may inadvertently disable wanted programs. For example, recent test results show that bundled software (WhenUSave) is ignored by popular anti-spyware program Ad-Aware, (but removed as spyware by most scanners) because it is part of the popular (but recently decommissioned) Edonkey client. Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes Spyware or Adware on a user's computer To address this dilemma, the Anti-Spyware Coalition has been working on building consensus within the anti-spyware industry as to what is and isn't acceptable software behavior. The Anti-Spyware Coalition ( ASC) is a group dedicated to building a consensus about definitions and best practices in the debate surrounding Spyware and other potentially To accomplish their goal, this group of anti-spyware companies, academics, and consumer groups have collectively published a series of documents including a definition of spyware, risk model, and best practices document.

Spyware, virus and worm

Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not usually self-replicate. A computer virus is a Computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user A computer worm is a self-replicating Computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network and it may do so without Like many recent viruses; however, spyware—by design—exploits infected computers for commercial gain. E-mail spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail" is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by 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. The numbers found on Credit cards and bank cards have a certain amount of internal structure and share a common Numbering scheme. In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of Hypertext Transfer Protocol ( HTTP) is a Communications protocol for the transfer of information on the Internet.

Routes of infection

Spyware does not directly spread in the manner of a computer virus or worm: generally, an infected system does not attempt to transmit the infection to other computers. Instead, spyware gets on a system through deception of the user or through exploitation of software vulnerabilities.

Most spyware is installed without users' knowledge. Since they tend not to install software if they know that it will disrupt their working environment and compromise their privacy, spyware deceives users, either by piggybacking on a piece of desirable software such as Kazaa, or by tricking them into installing it (the Trojan horse method). Kazaa Media Desktop (once capitalized as " KaZaA " but now usually written " Kazaa " is a Peer-to-peer File sharing application This article refers to a form of Malware in computing terminology Some "rogue" anti-spyware programs masquerade as security software, while being spyware themselves.

The distributor of spyware usually presents the program as a useful utility—for instance as a "Web accelerator" or as a helpful software agent. In Computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency. Users download and install the software without immediately suspecting that it could cause harm. For example, Bonzi Buddy, a program bundled with spyware^[7] and targeted at 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!^[8]

Spyware can also come bundled with shareware or other downloadable software, as well as music CDs. BonziBUDDY, sometimes spelled Bonzi Buddy, BonziBuddy, or BONZIBuddy, (misspelled Bonzai Buddy) was an on-screen "intelligent Software The term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to Copyrighted commercial Software that is Distributed without payment on a trial The user downloads a program and installs it, and the installer additionally installs the spyware. Although the desirable software itself may do no harm, the bundled spyware does. In some cases, spyware authors have paid shareware authors to bundle spyware with their software. In other cases, spyware authors have repackaged desirable freeware with installers that add spyware.

A third way of distributing spyware involves tricking users by manipulating security features designed to prevent unwanted installations. Internet Explorer prevents websites from initiating an unwanted download. Instead, it requires a user action, such as clicking on a link. However, links can prove deceptive: for instance, a pop-up ad may appear like a standard Windows dialog box. Pop-up ads or popups are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract Web traffic or capture email addresses In Graphical user interfaces a dialog (or dialogue) box is a special window, used in user interfaces to display Information to the The box contains a message such as "Would you like to optimize your Internet access?" with links which look like buttons reading Yes and No. No matter which "button" the user presses, a download starts, placing the spyware on the user's system. Later versions of Internet Explorer offer fewer avenues for this attack.

Some spyware authors infect a system through security holes in the Web browser or in other software. When the user navigates to a Web page controlled by the spyware author, the page contains code which attacks the browser and forces the download and installation of spyware. The spyware author would also have some extensive knowledge of commercially-available anti-virus and firewall software. This has become known as a "drive-by download", which leaves the user a hapless bystander to the attack. The expression drive-by download is used in three increasingly strict meanings Any Download that happens without knowledge of the user Common browser exploits target security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and in the Sun Microsystems Java runtime. A browser exploit is a piece of code that exploits a software bug in a Web browser such that the code makes the browser do something unexpected including crash read Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services

The installation of spyware frequently involves Internet Explorer. Its popularity and history of security issues have made it the most frequent target. Its deep integration with the Windows environment and scriptability make it an obvious point of attack into Windows. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Internet Explorer also serves as a point of attachment for spyware in the form of Browser Helper Objects, which modify the browser's behaviour to add toolbars or to redirect traffic. A Browser Helper Object ( BHO) is a DLL module designed as a Plugin for Microsoft 's Internet Explorer Web browser

In a few cases, a worm or virus has delivered a spyware payload. A computer worm is a self-replicating Computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network and it may do so without A computer virus is a Computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user Some attackers used the Spybot worm to install spyware that put pornographic pop-ups on the infected system's screen. The Spybot worm is a large family of Computer worms of varying characteristics ^[9] By directing traffic to ads set up to channel funds to the spyware authors, they profit personally.

Effects and behaviors

A spyware program is rarely alone on a computer: an affected machine can rapidly be infected by many other components. Users frequently notice unwanted behavior and degradation of system performance. A spyware infestation can create significant unwanted CPU activity, disk usage, and network traffic, all of which slow the computer down. Stability issues, such as application or system-wide crashes, are also common. Spyware, which interferes with networking software commonly causes difficulty connecting to the Internet.

In some infections, the spyware is not even evident. Users assume in those situations that the issues relate to hardware, Windows installation problems, or a virus. Some owners of badly infected systems resort to contacting technical support experts, or even buying a new computer because the existing system "has become too slow". Technical support (also tech support) is a range of services providing assistance with technology products such as mobile phones televisions Computers Badly infected systems may require a clean reinstallation of all their software in order to return to full functionality.

Only rarely does a single piece of software render a computer unusable. Rather, a computer is likely to have multiple infections. As a 2004 AOL study noted, if a computer has any spyware at all, it typically has dozens of different pieces installed. The cumulative effect, and the interactions between spyware components, causes the symptoms commonly reported by users: a computer, which slows to a crawl, overwhelmed by the many parasitic processes running on it. Moreover, some types of spyware disable software firewalls and anti-virus software, and/or reduce browser security settings, thus opening the system to further opportunistic infections, much like an immune deficiency disease. A firewall is an integrated collection of security measures designed to prevent unauthorized electronic access to a networked computer system An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by Pathogens that usually do not cause disease in a healthy Immune system. In Medicine, immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the Immune system 's ability to fight Infectious disease is compromised Some spywares disable or even remove competing spyware programs, on the grounds that more spyware-related annoyances make it even more likely that users will take action to remove the programs. One spyware maker, Avenue Media, even sued a competitor, Direct Revenue, over this; the two later settled with an agreement not to disable each others' products. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy For other uses of settlement including legal uses see Settlement. ^[10]

Some other types of spyware (for example, Targetsoft) modify system files so they will be harder to remove. Targetsoft modifies the "Winsock" Windows Sockets files. In computing, the Windows Sockets API, which was later shortened to Winsock, is a technical specification that defines how Windows network The deletion of the spyware-infected file "inetadpt. dll" will interrupt normal networking usage. Unlike users of many other operating systems, a typical Windows user has administrative privileges, mostly for convenience. Because of this, any program the user runs (intentionally or not) has unrestricted access to the system too. Spyware, along with other threats, has led some Windows users to move to other platforms such as Linux or Apple Macintosh, which are significantly less susceptible to malware. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc This is because these programs are not granted unrestricted access to the operating system by default. As with other operating systems, Windows users too are able to follow the principle of least privilege and use non-administrator least user access accounts, or to reduce the privileges of specific vulnerable Internet-facing proceses such as Internet Explorer (through the use of tools such as DropMyRights). An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination In Information security, Computer science, and other fields the principle of least privilege, also known as the principle of minimal privilege or just In Information security, Computer science, and other fields the principle of least privilege, also known as the principle of minimal privilege or just In Computing, privilege is defined as the delegation of authority over a Computer system In computing a process is an instance of a Computer program that is being sequentially executed by a computer system that has the ability to run several computer However as this is not a default configuration, few users do this.

Advertisements

Many spyware programs display advertisements. Some programs simply display pop-up ads on a regular basis; for instance, one every several minutes, or one when the user opens a new browser window. Others display ads in response to specific sites that the user visits. Spyware operators present this feature as desirable to advertisers, who may buy ad placement in pop-ups displayed when the user visits a particular site. It is also one of the purposes for which spyware programs gather information on user behavior.

Many users complain about irritating or offensive advertisements as well. As with many banner ads, many spyware advertisements use animation or flickering banners which can be visually distracting and annoying to users. A web banner or banner ad is a form of Advertising on the World Wide Web. Pop-up ads for pornography often display indiscriminately. Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Links to these sites may be added to the browser window, history or search function. When children are the users, this could possibly violate anti-pornography laws in some jurisdictions. The term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that Pornography has a variety of harmful effects such as encouragement of Human trafficking

A further issue in the case of some spyware programs has to do with the replacement of banner ads on viewed web sites. A web banner or banner ad is a form of Advertising on the World Wide Web. Spyware that acts as a web proxy or a Browser Helper Object can replace references to a site's own advertisements (which fund the site) with advertisements that instead fund the spyware operator. In Computer networks a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application program which services the requests of its clients by forwarding A Browser Helper Object ( BHO) is a DLL module designed as a Plugin for Microsoft 's Internet Explorer Web browser This cuts into the margins of advertising-funded Web sites.

"Stealware" and affiliate fraud

A few spyware vendors, notably 180 Solutions, have written what the New York Times has dubbed "stealware", and what spyware researcher Ben Edelman terms affiliate fraud, a form of click fraud. Zango, formerly 180solutions and Hotbar, produces software that provides access to partners' games and DRM -restricted videos and software Stealware refers to a type of Software that effectively transfers Money owed to a website owner to a third party Click fraud is a type of Internet crime that occurs in Pay per Stealware diverts the payment of affiliate marketing revenues from the legitimate affiliate to the spyware vendor. Affiliate marketing is an Internet -based Marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more Affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about

Spyware which attacks affiliate networks places the spyware operator's affiliate tag on the user's activity—replacing any other tag, if there is one. An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between publishers ( Affiliates) and ( Merchant) affiliate programs The spyware operator is the only party that gains from this. The user has their choices thwarted, a legitimate affiliate loses revenue, networks' reputations are injured, and vendors are harmed by having to pay out affiliate revenues to an "affiliate" who is not party to a contract. ^[11]

Affiliate fraud is a violation of the terms of service of most affiliate marketing networks. Terms of service (often abbreviated as "ToS" are rules by which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. As a result, spyware operators such as 180 Solutions have been terminated from affiliate networks including LinkShare and ShareSale.

Identity theft and fraud

In one case, spyware has been closely associated with identity theft. Identity theft is a term used to refer to Fraud that involves stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else ^[12] In August 2005, researchers from security software firm Sunbelt Software believed that the makers of the common CoolWebSearch spyware had used it to transmit "chat sessions, user names, passwords, bank information, etc. PortalCurrent events News collections and sources WikipediaNews collections and sources. CoolWebSearch (also known as CoolWWWSearch or abbreviated as CWS) is a well-known Spyware program which installs itself on Microsoft Windows The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by Mass media to describe any form of Synchronous conferencing, occasionally even Asynchronous conferencing Users in a Computing context refers to one who uses a computer system In computing a password is a Word or string of characters that is entered often along with a user name, in modern times usually into a computer system ",^[13] but it turned out that "it actually (was) its own sophisticated criminal little trojan that's independent of CWS. "^[14] This case is currently under investigation by the FBI.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 27. The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act 3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft, and that financial losses from identity theft totaled nearly $48 billion for businesses and financial institutions and at least $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for individuals. ^[15]

Spyware-makers may commit wire fraud with dialer program spyware. Wire fraud is a legal concept in the United States Code which provides for enhanced penalty of any criminally fraudulent activity if it is determined that the activity involved A dialer (US or dialler (UK is an electronic device that is connected to a Telephone line to monitor the dialed numbers and alter them to seamlessly provide These can reset a modem to dial up a premium-rate telephone number instead of the usual ISP. Modem (from mo dulator- dem odulator is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode Digital information An Internet service provider ( ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet Connecting to these suspicious numbers involves long-distance or overseas charges which invariably result in high call costs. Dialers are ineffective on computers that do not have a modem, or are not connected to a telephone line.

Digital rights management

Some copy-protection technologies have borrowed from spyware. In 2005, Sony BMG Music Entertainment was found to be using rootkits in its XCP digital rights management technology^[16] Like spyware, not only was it difficult to detect and uninstall, it was so poorly written that most efforts to remove it could have rendered computers unable to function. Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group The Sony BMG CD copy prevention scandal concerns the Copy prevention measures included by Sony BMG on Compact discs in 2005 A rootkit is a computer virus which consists of a program (or combination of several programs designed to take fundamental control (in Unix terms "root" XCP redirects here For other uses see XCP (disambiguation. Extended Copy Protection (XCP is a software package Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders Texas state attorney general Greg Abbott filed suit,^[17] and three separate class-action suits were filed. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition Gregory W "Greg" Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is the Attorney general of Texas, only the second Republican since In Law, a class action or a representative action is a form of Lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court ^[18] Sony BMG later provided a workaround on its website to help users remove it. ^[19]

Beginning in April 25, 2006, Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications application^[20] installed on most Windows PCs as a "critical security update". Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Windows Genuine Advantage ( WGA) is an anti- piracy system created by Microsoft that enforces Microsoft Windows online validation of the authenticity While the main purpose of this deliberately non-uninstallable application is making sure the copy of Windows on the machine was lawfully purchased and installed, it also installs software that has been accused of "phoning home" on a daily basis, like spyware. ^[21][22] It can be removed with the RemoveWGA tool.

Personal relationships

Spyware has been used to surreptitiously monitor electronic activities of partners in intimate relationships, generally to uncover evidence of infidelity. At least one software package, Loverspy, was specifically marketed for this purpose. Depending on local laws regarding communal/marital property, observing a partner's online activity without their consent may be illegal; the author of Loverspy and several users of the product were indicted in California in 2005 on charges of wiretapping and various computer crimes. ^[23]

Spyware and cookies

Anti-spyware programs often report Web advertisers' HTTP cookies, the small text files that track browsing activity, as spyware. HTTP cookies, or more commonly referred to as Web cookies tracking cookies or just cookies are parcels of text sent by a server to a Web client (usually While they are not always inherently malicious, many users object to third parties using space on their personal computers for their business purposes, and many anti-spyware programs offer to remove them.

Examples of spyware

These common spyware programs illustrate the diversity of behaviors found in these attacks. Note that as with computer viruses, researchers give names to spyware programs which may not be used by their creators. Programs may be grouped into "families" based not on shared program code, but on common behaviors, or by "following the money" of apparent financial or business connections. For instance, a number of the spyware programs distributed by Claria are collectively known as "Gator". Claria Corporation (formerly Gator Corporation) is a media marketing software company Likewise, programs which are frequently installed together may be described as parts of the same spyware package, even if they function separately.

• CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, takes advantage of Internet Explorer vulnerabilities. CoolWebSearch (also known as CoolWWWSearch or abbreviated as CWS) is a well-known Spyware program which installs itself on Microsoft Windows The package directs traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch. com. It displays pop-up ads, rewrites search engine results, and alters the infected computer's hosts file to direct DNS lookups to these sites. The hosts file is a Computer file used to store information on where to find a node on a Computer network. The Domain Name System (DNS is a hierarchical naming system for computers services or any resource participating in the Internet. ^[24]

• Internet Optimizer, also known as DyFuCa, redirects Internet Explorer error pages to advertising. Internet Optimizer, also known as DyFuCA is a Spyware program which redirects Internet Explorer error pages to advertising pages When users follow a broken link or enter an erroneous URL, they see a page of advertisements. However, because password-protected Web sites (HTTP Basic authentication) use the same mechanism as HTTP errors, Internet Optimizer makes it impossible for the user to access password-protected sites. ^[24]

• Zango (formerly 180 Solutions) transmits detailed information to advertisers about the Web sites which users visit. Zango, formerly 180solutions and Hotbar, produces software that provides access to partners' games and DRM -restricted videos and software Zango, formerly 180solutions and Hotbar, produces software that provides access to partners' games and DRM -restricted videos and software It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site, so that the advertisements make unearned profit for the 180 Solutions company. Affiliate marketing is an Internet -based Marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more Affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about It opens pop-up ads that cover over the Web sites of competing companies. ^[11]

• HuntBar, aka WinTools or Adware.Websearch, was installed by an ActiveX drive-by download at affiliate Web sites, or by advertisements displayed by other spyware programs—an example of how spyware can install more spyware. HuntBar, aka WinTools or AdwareWebsearch was installed by an ActiveX drive-by download at affiliate Web sites or by advertisements displayed by other spyware programs — an example The expression drive-by download is used in three increasingly strict meanings Any Download that happens without knowledge of the user These programs add toolbars to IE, track aggregate browsing behavior, redirect affiliate references, and display advertisements. ^[25][26]

• Movieland, also known as Moviepass. tv or Popcorn. net, is a movie download service that has been the subject of thousands of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Washington State Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau, and others by consumers claiming they were held hostage by its repeated pop-up windows and demands for payment. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The state attorney general in the United States is an executive office in all 50 State governments. The Better Business Bureau (BBB, founded in 1912 is an organization based in the United States and Canada. Pop-up ads or popups are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract Web traffic or capture email addresses ^[27] The FTC has filed a complaint against Movieland. In general use a complaint is an expression of displeasure such as poor service at a store or from a Local government, etc com and eleven other defendants charging them with having "engaged in a nationwide scheme to use deception and coercion to extract payments from consumers. Deception (also called beguilement or subterfuge) is the act of convincing another to believe Information that is not true or not the whole truth as in Coercion (co-er-shion is the practice of compelling a person or manipulating them to behave in an involuntary way (whether through action or inaction by use of threats " The complaint alleges that the software repeatedly opened oversized pop-up windows that could not be closed or minimized, accompanied by music that lasted nearly a minute, demanding payment of at least $29. 95 to end the pop-up cycle; and claiming that consumers had signed up for a three-day free trial but did not cancel their membership before the trial period was over, and were thus obligated to pay. ^[28][29]
• Zlob trojan, or just Zlob, Downloads itself to your computer via an ActiveX codec and reports information back to Control Server. The Zlob Trojan, also known as TrojanZlob, is a trojan horse which masquerades as a needed video Codec in the form of ActiveX when trying to ActiveX is a Component object model (COM developed by Microsoft for Windows. Some information can be as your search history, the Websites you visited, and even Key Strokes.

Legal issues related to spyware

Criminal law

Unauthorized access to a computer is illegal under computer crime laws, such as the U. Computer crime, Cybercrime, e-crime, hi-tech crime or electronic crime generally refers to criminal activity where a Computer S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the U. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986 intended to reduce " hacking " of computer K. 's Computer Misuse Act and similar laws in other countries. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the UK Parliament. The Act's introduction followed the decision in R v Gold (1988 1 AC 1063 with the bill's critics charging Since the owners of computers infected with spyware generally claim that they never authorized the installation, a prima facie reading would suggest that the promulgation of spyware would count as a criminal act. Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning "on its first appearance" or "by first instance" Law enforcement has often pursued the authors of other malware, particularly viruses. However, few spyware developers have been prosecuted, and many operate openly as strictly legitimate businesses, though some have faced lawsuits. ^[30][31]

Spyware producers argue that, contrary to the users' claims, users do in fact give consent to installations. Consent as a term of jurisprudence is a possible defence (an Excuse or justification against civil or criminal liability Spyware that comes bundled with shareware applications may be described in the legalese text of an end-user license agreement (EULA). Legal writing is a type of Technical writing used by Legislators Lawyers Judges and others in Law to express legal analysis and Many users habitually ignore these purported contracts, but spyware companies such as Claria claim these demonstrate that users have consented.

Despite the ubiquity of EULAs and of "clickwrap" agreements, under which a single click can be taken as consent to the entire text, relatively little case law has resulted from their use. A clickwrap Agreement (also known as a "clickthrough" agreement or clickwrap license is a common type of agreement (often used in connection with Software Case law' (also known as decisional law or judicial precedent) is that body of reported Judicial opinions in countries that have Common law It has been established in most common law jurisdictions that a clickwrap agreement can be a binding contract in certain circumstances. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive ^[32] This does not, however, mean that every such agreement is a contract or that every term in one is enforceable. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law

Some jurisdictions, including the U. S. states of Iowa^[33] and Washington,^[34] have passed laws criminalizing some forms of spyware. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Such laws make it illegal for anyone other than the owner or operator of a computer to install software that alters Web-browser settings, monitors keystrokes, or disables computer-security software.

In the United States, lawmakers introduced a bill in 2005 entitled the Internet Spyware Prevention Act, which would imprison creators of spyware. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Internet Spyware Prevention Act, also known as I-SPY, is an act by the United States Congress to impose penalties and punishments on creators of Computer ^[35]

Administrative sanctions

An administrative fine, first of its kind in Europe, has been taken by the Independent Authority of Posts and Telecommunications (OPTA) from the Netherlands. It applied fines in total value of Euro 1,000,000 for infecting 22 million computers. The spyware is called DollarRevenue. The law articles which have been violated are art. 4. 1 of the Dutch telecommunications law; the fines have been given based on art. 15. 4 taken together with art. 15. 10. A part of these fines has to be paid by the directors of these companies in their own person, i. e. not from the accounts of their companies, but from their personal fortunes. ^[36] Since a protest procedure has been taken, the fines will have to be paid after a Dutch law court will take a decision in this case. The culprits maintain that the evidence for violating the two law articles has been obtained illegally. The names of the directors and the names of the companies have not been revealed, since it is not clear that OPTA is allowed to make such information public. ^[37]

Civil law

Former New York State Attorney General and former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer has pursued spyware companies for fraudulent installation of software. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American lawyer and former politician of the Democratic Party. ^[38] In a suit brought in 2005 by Spitzer, the California firm Intermix Media, Inc. ended up settling by agreeing to pay US$7. Intermix Media Inc ( AMX symbol MIX formerly eUniverse) was a Los Angeles -based Internet marketing company which owned the MySpace website 5 million and to stop distributing spyware. ^[39]

The hijacking of Web advertisements has also led to litigation. In June 2002, a number of large Web publishers sued Claria for replacing advertisements, but settled out of court. June 2002: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September Claria Corporation (formerly Gator Corporation) is a media marketing software company

Courts have not yet had to decide whether advertisers can be held liable for spyware which displays their ads. In many cases, the companies whose advertisements appear in spyware pop-ups do not directly do business with the spyware firm. Rather, they have contracted with an advertising agency, which in turn contracts with an online subcontractor who gets paid by the number of "impressions" or appearances of the advertisement. An advertising agency or ad agency is a service Business dedicated to creating planning and handling Advertising (and sometimes other forms of promotion Some major firms such as Dell Computer and Mercedes-Benz have sacked advertising agencies which have run their ads in spyware. The multinational technology company Dell Inc develops manufactures sells and supports Personal computers and other computer-related products Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury Automobiles Buses coaches and Trucks It is currently a division of the ^[40]

Libel suits by spyware developers

Litigation has gone both ways. Since "spyware" has become a common pejorative, some makers have filed libel and defamation actions when their products have been so described. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt In 2003, Gator (now known as Claria) filed suit against the website PC Pitstop for describing its program as "spyware". ^[41] PC Pitstop settled, agreeing not to use the word "spyware", but continues to describe harm caused by the Gator/Claria software. ^[42] As a result, other antispyware and antivirus companies have also used other terms such as "potentially unwanted programs" or greyware to denote these products. Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without

Remedies and prevention

As the spyware threat has worsened, a number of techniques have emerged to counteract it. These include programs designed to remove or to block spyware, as well as various user practices which reduce the chance of getting spyware on a system.

Nonetheless, spyware remains a costly problem. When a large number of pieces of spyware have infected a Windows computer, the only remedy may involve backing up user data, and fully reinstalling the operating system.

Anti-spyware programs

Many programmers and some commercial firms have released products designed to remove or block spyware. Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes Spyware or Adware on a user's computer Steve Gibson's OptOut pioneered a growing category. Steve Gibson (born March 1955 Dayton Ohio) is a computer enthusiast Software engineer and security commentator based in Laguna Hills California. Programs such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE (free scans for non-commercial users, must pay for other features) and Patrick Kolla's Spybot - Search & Destroy (all features free for non-commercial use) rapidly gained popularity as effective tools to remove, and in some cases intercept, spyware programs. Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes Spyware or Adware on a user's computer Spybot - Search & Destroy (often Spybot-S&D) is a popular Malware, Spyware and Adware removal program which works on Microsoft More recently Microsoft acquired the GIANT AntiSpyware software, rebranding it as Windows AntiSpyware beta and releasing it as a free download for Genuine Windows XP and Windows 2003 users. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer GIANT AntiSpyware was a spyware detection and removal application developed by GIANT Company Software Inc. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Windows Server 2003 (also referred to as Win2K3 is a server Operating system produced by Microsoft. In 2006, Microsoft renamed the beta software to Windows Defender (free), and it was released as a free download in October 2006 and is included as standard with Windows Vista. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, is a software product from Microsoft to prevent remove and Quarantine Spyware Windows Vista (ˈvɪstə is a line of Operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and business desktops Other well-known commercial anti-spyware products include:

• PC Tools's Spyware Doctor (free scans but you have to pay to remove the spyware)
• Sunbelt Software's Counterspy (15-day free trial)
• Trend Micro's HijackThis (free)
• Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper (free version does not remove spyware)
• ParetoLogic's Anti-Spyware and XoftSpy SE (free version does not remove spyware)

Major anti-virus firms such as Symantec, McAfee and Sophos have come later to the table, adding anti-spyware features to their existing anti-virus products. PC Tools (Founded in 2003) formerly known as WinGuidescom, develops and distributes security and optimization software for the Microsoft Windows and Mac Spyware Doctor is a Spyware removal product for Microsoft Windows developed by PC Tools. Counterspy redirects here For other uses see Counterspy (disambiguation CounterSpy is a proprietary Spyware removal program for Trend Micro ( is a global company headquartered in Tokyo, that develops Software and services to protect against Computer viruses Malware HijackThis, sometimes abbreviated HJT, is a Freeware Spyware -removal tool for Microsoft Windows originally created by Merijn Bellekom Webroot Software Inc provides security software for consumers enterprises and small and medium–sized businesses Spy Sweeper is Proprietary software sold by Webroot Software, which detects and removes Spyware, and Viruses (with optional AntiVirus component Symantec Corporation, founded in 1982 is an International Corporation which sells Computer Software, particularly in the realms of security McAfee Inc ( is an Antivirus software and Computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara California. Sophos is a developer and vendor of security software and hardware including anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Anti-spam and Network Access Control Early on, anti-virus firms expressed reluctance to add anti-spyware functions, citing lawsuits brought by spyware authors against the authors of web sites and programs which described their products as "spyware". However, recent versions of these major firms' home and business anti-virus products do include anti-spyware functions, albeit treated differently from viruses. Symantec Anti-Virus, for instance, categorizes spyware programs as "extended threats" and now offers real-time protection from them (as it does for viruses). Real-time protection, on-access scanning, background guard, resident shield, autoprotect, and other synonyms refer to the automatic protection

Recently, the anti-virus company Grisoft, creator of AVG Anti-Virus, acquired anti-spyware firm Ewido Networks, re-labeling their Ewido anti-spyware program as AVG Anti-Spyware Professional Edition. AVG Technologies (formerly named Grisoft) is a privately-held Czech company formed in 1991 by Jan Gritzbach and Tomas Hofer that specializes in security AVG is an Umbrella term for a range of antivirus and Internet security software for the Microsoft Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD AVG also used this product to add an integrated anti-spyware solution to some versions of the AVG Anti-Virus family of products, plus made a freeware AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition available for private and non-commercial use. AVG is an Umbrella term for a range of antivirus and Internet security software for the Microsoft Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD Freeware is computer Software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee This shows a trend by anti virus companies to launch a dedicated solution to spyware and malware. Zone Labs, creator of Zone Alarm firewall have also released an anti-spyware program. ZoneAlarm is a software firewall originally developed by Zone Labs, which was acquired in 2003 by Check Point. A firewall is an integrated collection of security measures designed to prevent unauthorized electronic access to a networked computer system

Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware in two ways:

• 1. They can provide real time protection against the installation of spyware software on your computer. This type of spyware protection works the same way as that of anti-virus protection in that the anti-spyware software scans all incoming network data for spyware software and blocks any threats it comes across.

• 2. Anti-spyware software programs can be used solely for detection and removal of spyware software that has already been installed onto your computer. This type of spyware protection is normally much easier to use and more popular. With this spyware protection software you can schedule weekly, daily, or monthly scans of your computer to detect and remove any spyware software that has been installed on your computer. This type of anti-spyware software scans the contents of the windows registry, operating system files, and installed programs on your computer and will provide a list of any threats found, allowing you to choose what you want to delete and what you want to keep.

Such programs inspect the contents of the Windows registry, the operating system files, and installed programs, and remove files and entries which match a list of known spyware components. Real-time protection from spyware works identically to real-time anti-virus protection: the software scans disk files at download time, and blocks the activity of components known to represent spyware. In some cases, it may also intercept attempts to install start-up items or to modify browser settings. Because many spyware and adware are installed as a result of browser exploits or user error, using security software (some of which are antispyware, though many are not) to sandbox browsers can also be effective to help restrict any damage done. This article is about the Computer security mechanism For the Wikipedia feature where newcomers can experiment with editing or established editors can experiment with

Earlier versions of anti-spyware programs focused chiefly on detection and removal. Javacool Software's SpywareBlaster, one of the first to offer real-time protection, blocked the installation of ActiveX-based and other spyware programs. SpywareBlaster is an anti Spyware and Adware program for Microsoft Windows. ActiveX is a Component object model (COM developed by Microsoft for Windows.

Like most anti-virus software, many anti-spyware/adware tools require a frequently-updated database of threats. As new spyware programs are released, anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, making "signatures" or "definitions" which allow the software to detect and remove the spyware. As a result, anti-spyware software is of limited usefulness without a regular source of updates. Some vendors provide a subscription-based update service, while others provide updates free. Updates may be installed automatically on a schedule or before doing a scan, or may be done manually.

Not all programs rely on updated definitions. Some programs rely partly (for instance many antispyware programs such as Windows Defender, Spybot's TeaTimer and Spysweeper) or fully (programs falling under the class of Hips such as BillP's WinPatrol) on historical observation. Spybot - Search & Destroy (often Spybot-S&D) is a popular Malware, Spyware and Adware removal program which works on Microsoft An intrusion prevention system is a Network security device that monitors network and/or system activities for malicious or unwanted behavior and can react in real-time to They watch certain configuration parameters (such as certain portions of the Windows registry or browser configuration) and report any change to the user, without judgment or recommendation. While they do not rely on updated definitions, which may allow them to spot newer spyware, they can offer no guidance. The user is left to determine "what did I just do, and is this configuration change appropriate?"

Windows Defender's Spynet attempts to alleviate this through offering a community to share information, which helps guide both users, who can look at decisions made by others, and analysts, who can spot fast-spreading spyware. Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, is a software product from Microsoft to prevent remove and Quarantine Spyware A popular generic spyware removal tool used by those with a certain degree of expertise is HijackThis, which scans certain areas of the Windows OS where spyware often resides and presents a list with items to delete manually. HijackThis, sometimes abbreviated HJT, is a Freeware Spyware -removal tool for Microsoft Windows originally created by Merijn Bellekom As most of the items are legitimate windows files/registry entries it is advised for those who are less knowledgeable on this subject to post a HijackThis log on the numerous antispyware sites and let the experts decide what to delete.

If a spyware program is not blocked and manages to get itself installed, it may resist attempts to terminate or uninstall it. Some programs work in pairs: when an anti-spyware scanner (or the user) terminates one running process, the other one respawns the killed program. Likewise, some spyware will detect attempts to remove registry keys and immediately add them again. Usually, booting the infected computer in safe mode allows an anti-spyware program a better chance of removing persistent spyware. Safe mode usually refers to a diagnostic mode used by a computer Operating system (OS Killing the process tree can also work.

A new breed of spyware (Look2Me spyware by NicTechNetworks is a good example) is starting to hide inside system-critical processes and start up even in safe mode. With no process to terminate they are harder to detect and remove. Sometimes they do not even leave any on-disk signatures. Rootkit technology is also seeing increasing use,^[43] as is the use of NTFS alternate data streams. A rootkit is a computer virus which consists of a program (or combination of several programs designed to take fundamental control (in Unix terms "root" NTFS (New Technology File System Is the standard File system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows In computer File systems a fork is additional data associated with a file system object Newer spyware programs also have specific countermeasures against well known anti-malware products and may prevent them from running or being installed, or even uninstall them. An example of one that uses all three methods is Gromozon, a new breed of malware. It uses alternate data streams to hide. A rootkit hides it even from alternate data streams scanners and actively stops popular rootkit scanners from running. A rootkit is a computer virus which consists of a program (or combination of several programs designed to take fundamental control (in Unix terms "root" A rootkit is a computer virus which consists of a program (or combination of several programs designed to take fundamental control (in Unix terms "root"

Fake anti-spyware programs

See also: List of fake anti-spyware programs

See also: Rogue software

Malicious programmers have released a large number of fake anti-spyware programs, and widely distributed Web banner ads now spuriously warn users that their computers have been infected with spyware, directing them to purchase programs which do not actually remove spyware—or else, may add more spyware of their own. Rogue security software is Software that uses Malware (malicious software or malicious tools to advertise or install itself or to force computer users to pay for A web banner or banner ad is a form of Advertising on the World Wide Web. ^[44][45]

The recent proliferation of fake or spoofed antivirus products has occasioned some concern. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Such products often bill themselves as antispyware, antivirus, or registry cleaners, and sometimes feature popups prompting users to install them. This software is called rogue software. Rogue security software is Software that uses Malware (malicious software or malicious tools to advertise or install itself or to force computer users to pay for

It recommended that users do not install any freeware claiming to be anti-spyware unless it is verified to be legitimate. Some known offenders include:

AntiVirus Gold ContraVirus Errorsafe (AKA system doctor) MacSweeper PAL Spyware Remover Pest Trap PSGuard SpywareStrike Spyware Quake

Spydawn Spylocked SpyShredder Spy Sheriff Spy Wiper UltimateCleaner WinAntiVirus Pro 2006 WinFixer WorldAntiSpy

On January 26, 2006, Microsoft and the Washington state attorney general filed suit against Secure Computer for its Spyware Cleaner product. AntiVirus Gold is a rogue antivirus program developed by ICommerce Solutions S ContraVirus, is a Rogue Spyware application that poses as a legitimate anti- spyware program WinFixer, WinAntiVirusPro, ErrorSafe, SystemDoctor, WinAntiSpyware, AVSystemCare, WinAntiSpy, Performance Optimizer MacSweeper is malware that misleads users by exaggerating reports about spyware adware or viruses on their computer PAL Spyware Remover is a Malware program that pretends to be an Antispyware program while it is not SpySheriff is Malware that disguises itself as an Anti-spyware program in order to trick the owner of the infected computer to buy the program by repeatedly informing Rogue security software is Software that uses Malware (malicious software or malicious tools to advertise or install itself or to force computer users to pay for SpywareStrike is a rogue anti-spyware program This means that it pretends to be an anti-spyware program but it is a security risk since it gives exaggerated information about the computers SmitFraud or W32/SmitFraudA is a type of Spyware that installs itself into a computer via Adware, without the user's knowledge Spydawn is a malware program that claims to be a commercial anti-spyware when in fact it is itself adware -advertised SpyLocked, also known as SpywareLocked, is Rogue software that seeks to trick the user into purchasing its full rogue version SpySheriff is Malware that disguises itself as an Anti-spyware program in order to trick the owner of the infected computer to buy the program by repeatedly informing SpySheriff is Malware that disguises itself as an Anti-spyware program in order to trick the owner of the infected computer to buy the program by repeatedly informing Spy Wiper, also known as Mail Wiper and Spy Deleter, is a Malware program that was fraudulently sold as an Antispyware program UltimateCleaner 2007 was a rogue anti-spyware program that popped up fake Windows security messages and other security warnings in order to trick users into believing that WinFixer, WinAntiVirusPro, ErrorSafe, SystemDoctor, WinAntiSpyware, AVSystemCare, WinAntiSpy, Performance Optimizer WinFixer, WinAntiVirusPro, ErrorSafe, SystemDoctor, WinAntiSpyware, AVSystemCare, WinAntiSpy, Performance Optimizer Rogue security software is Software that uses Malware (malicious software or malicious tools to advertise or install itself or to force computer users to pay for Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[46] On December 4, 2006, the Washington attorney general announced that Secure Computer had paid $1 million to settle with the state. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. As of that date, Microsoft's case against Secure Computer remained pending. ^[47]

Security practices

To deter spyware, computer users have found several practices useful in addition to installing anti-spyware programs.

Many system operators install a web browser other than IE, such as Opera or Mozilla Firefox. A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a Opera is a Web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company Though no browser is completely safe, Internet Explorer is at a greater risk for spyware infection due to its large user base as well as vulnerabilities such as ActiveX. ActiveX is a Component object model (COM developed by Microsoft for Windows.

Some ISPs—particularly colleges and universities—have taken a different approach to blocking spyware: they use their network firewalls and web proxies to block access to Web sites known to install spyware. College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. A firewall is an integrated collection of security measures designed to prevent unauthorized electronic access to a networked computer system In Computer networks a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application program which services the requests of its clients by forwarding On March 31, 2005, Cornell University's Information Technology department released a report detailing the behavior of one particular piece of proxy-based spyware, Marketscore, and the steps the university took to intercept it. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. comScore is an internet Marketing research company that provides marketing data and services to many of the Internet's largest businesses ^[48] Many other educational institutions have taken similar steps. Spyware programs which redirect network traffic cause greater technical-support problems than programs which merely display ads or monitor users' behavior, and so may more readily attract institutional attention.

Some users install a large hosts file which prevents the user's computer from connecting to known spyware related web addresses. The hosts file is a Computer file used to store information on where to find a node on a Computer network. However, by connecting to the numeric IP address, rather than the domain name, spyware may bypass this sort of protection.

Spyware may get installed via certain shareware programs offered for download. The term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to Copyrighted commercial Software that is Distributed without payment on a trial Downloading programs only from reputable sources can provide some protection from this source of attack. Recently, CNet revamped its download directory: it has stated that it will only keep files that pass inspection by Ad-Aware and Spyware Doctor. CNET Networks Inc is a media company based in San Francisco California, United States, and is part of CBS Interactive, owned

The first step to removing the virus(spyware) is to put your computer on "lockdown. " This can be done in various ways such as using your anti-virus software, or simply disconnect your computer from all internet activies. This will make whoever is in control of the virus unable to have any control of your computer. The second step to removing the spyware is to locate it and remove it, manually or by virus protection software. Also, stay away from websites that have potential threats to your computer.

Notable programs distributed with spyware

• Bonzi Buddy^[49]
• Dope Wars^[50]
• ErrorGuard^[51]
• Grokster^[52]
• Kazaa^[53]
• Morpheus^[54]
• RadLight^[55]
• WeatherBug^[56]
• EDonkey2000^[54]
• Sony's Extended Copy Protection involved the installation of spyware from audio compact discs through autorun. BonziBUDDY, sometimes spelled Bonzi Buddy, BonziBuddy, or BONZIBuddy, (misspelled Bonzai Buddy) was an on-screen "intelligent Software Dope Wars is a Turn-based strategy Computer game in which the player simulates the role of a Drug dealer. Claria Corporation (formerly Gator Corporation) is a media marketing software company Grokster Ltd was a privately owned software company based in Nevis, West Indies that created the Grokster P2P file-sharing client in 2001 that utilized Kazaa Media Desktop (once capitalized as " KaZaA " but now usually written " Kazaa " is a Peer-to-peer File sharing application Morpheus was a File sharing and searching peer to peer client for Microsoft Windows, developed and distributed by the company StreamCast, that RadLight is a media player that allows a user to experience a large variety of multimedia including content such as DivX, DVD video (requires third-party plugin WeatherBug is a computer program from AWS Convergence Technologies Inc eDonkey2000 (nicknamed "ed2k" was a Peer-to-peer File sharing application developed by MetaMachine using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with XCP redirects here For other uses see XCP (disambiguation. Extended Copy Protection (XCP is a software package A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Autorun or autoplay (sometimes spelled in CamelCase as AutoRun or AutoPlay) is the ability of many modern Computer Operating This practice sparked considerable controversy when it was discovered. The Sony BMG CD copy prevention scandal concerns the Copy prevention measures included by Sony BMG on Compact discs in 2005
• WildTangent^[57] The antispyware program CounterSpy used to say that it's okay to keep WildTangent, but it now says that the spyware Winpipe is "possibly distributed with the adware bundler WildTangent or from a threat included in that bundler". WildTangent is a game network privately held in the US that exclusively powers game services for PC manufacturers such as HP Dell Toshiba Lenovo and Gateway CounterSpy is an American Magazine that published articles on Covert operations, especially those undertaken by the American government ^[58]

Notable programs formerly distributed with spyware

• AOL Instant Messenger^[57] (AOL Instant Messenger still packages Viewpoint Media Player, and WildTangent)
• DivX (except for the paid version, and the "standard" version without the encoder). DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX Inc (formerly DivXNetworks Inc DivX announced removal of GAIN software from version 5. 2. ^[59]
• FlashGet (trial version prior to program being made freeware)^[60]

Notes

See also

• Category:Spyware removal – programs which find and remove spyware
• Spy software
• Adware
• Malware
• Rootkits
• Trojan horse (computing)
• Employee monitoring software
• Computer insecurity
• Defensive computing
• Phone home

External links

Guide

• Magoo's Guide to Eliminating Spyware — information on how to get rid of spyware and keep it from returning. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Computer surveillance is the act of surveilling people generally their Computer activity possibly without their knowledge Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays displays or downloads advertisements Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without A rootkit is a computer virus which consists of a program (or combination of several programs designed to take fundamental control (in Unix terms "root" This article refers to a form of Malware in computing terminology Employee monitoring software is a means of Employee monitoring, and allows company administrators to monitor and supervise all their employee computers from a central location Many current Computer systems have only limited security precautions in place Defensive Computing is a form of training for computer users to help reduce the risk of computing problems by avoiding dangerous computing practices Phoning home is unsually surreptitious communication between applications or hardware installed at end-user sites and their manufacturers or developers
• The Spyware Warrior Guide to Anti-Spyware Programs at Spyware Warrior
• Anti-spyware Guides — a page listing a lot of spyware guides.
• PuterTuner.com — a step by step guide, with downloads, on what tools to use and how to use them for removing spyware and adware.

Removal

• Spyware and Malware removal tools — parasites encyclopaedia and instructions how to remove spyware and malware programs.
• Spyware & Malware Removal Self-Help Guides — self-help guides on preventing and removing different types of spyware and malware.
• Self Help Fixes for Spyware / Malware - Spyware removal guides

Prevention

• How Spyware And The Weapons Against It Are Evolving — article discussing causes and possible remedies of the spyware problem.
• Securing Your Web Browser — document that describes how to securely configure your web browser.

Testing and comparison

• Consumer Search — a third-party ratings and comments on different reviews in other websites, in which the ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Anti-Spyware.

Organizations

• Anti-Spyware Coalition — a group developing formal definitions and best-practices. Best Practice is an idea that asserts that there is a technique, method process activity incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than
• StopBadware.org — A non-profit group (sponsored by Google, Lenovo, and Sun) that aims to provide "reliable, objective information about downloadable applications".

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