The Internet Gives Birth To A Monster Called Spyware
Julian Pereira
Internet users worldwide, may not realize that there is a monster, known as spyware, that has taken up residence in their computers. Infact, there could be several monsters, going by various names, such as adware, trojans, malware etc. They could be described as cookie monsters of the internet world.
How do these monsters thrive in a computer ? They feed off the information they gather about people and often times they are well fed. These creatures are not conducive to your wellbeing. They infest and corrupt the workings of a computer and they transmit personal information to their buddies at the other end of the internet line. They have lots of such buddies that want to get to know peoples surfing habits, their online purchases, their interests, their chats, their credit worthiness, their birth date and the list goes on and on.
Spyware and adware help the workings of promotional companies. They can only be successful in their promotions, if they can target people in an effective manner, by getting to know their audience as best they can. It is only by understanding peoples needs, likes and dislikes that they can send out promotional material with the hope of generating sales. However, sales materials may only be the tip of the iceberg, and while this may be more of an annoyance, the infiltration by spyware can lead to loss of privacy, loss of credit card details and lead to stolen identity. When personal information is stolen there is no limit to the extent of damage this can cause and the hardships it can bring about to an individual or a family.
Spyware and adware have an easy entryway into computer systems. They usually piggyback with other software downloads, including shareware, freeware, p2p sharing of files, music downloads etc. Once lodged into a computer they can reside indefinitely, till detected and removed.
The solution is to have spyware detection and spyware removal software.
The authors site can be viewed at http://www.DeleteSpyware.net
About the author: Julian Pereira Enjoys writing articles that are related to Internet Security and computer privacy issues. His site can be viewed at http://www.DeleteSpyware.net
The latest information and news on Spywaredude:
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Court Slams Door On Sale of Spyware (Slashdot)
coondoggie writes "The Federal Trade Commission yesterday had a US District Court issue a temporary restraining order halting the sale of RemoteSpy keylogger spyware. According to the FTC's complaint, RemoteSpy spyware was sold to clients who would then secretly monitor unsuspecting consumers' computers. The defendants provided RemoteSpy clients with detailed instructions explaining how to ...
WOT Releases Extended Protection for Web-Based Email Users (PRWeb)
WOT, Web of Trust, extends the security protection of its popular browser add-on to the top three Internet-based email services -- Google Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. WOT checks links embedded in email and warns users of dangerous websites to help them avoid spyware, spam, phishing, identity theft and other Internet fraud, before they risk clicking. (PRWeb Nov 21, 2008) Read ...
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Error.com's missed opportunity PayPal, the online payment service that is a major target of phishers, has been caught sending customer emails that confuse its own login page with a third-party landing site that offers spyware protection and a bevy of other products.?
WOT Releases Extended Protection for Web-Based Email Users (PRWeb via Yahoo! ...
WOT, Web of Trust, extends the security protection of its popular browser add-on to the top three Internet-based email services -- Google Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. WOT checks links embedded in email and warns users of dangerous websites to help them avoid spyware, spam, phishing, identity theft and other Internet fraud, before they risk clicking.
FTC get CyberSpy?s RemoteSpy banned in the U.S. (Geek.com)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been successful in its bid to get the RemoteSpy spyware application released by CyberSpy Software banned in the U.S. For now the ban is temporary, but the FTC are pushing to make it permanent. The ban stems from a complaint (PDF) lodged by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) back [...]
Microsoft to offer free anti-virus software (The Manila Times)
Microsoft has announced plans to offer free anti-virus software to PC users starting next year. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said the software, code-named "Morro," will "provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans."
Commercial vendor of spyware under legal fire (ZDNet)
Just like every decent marketer out there, vendors of commercial malware tools are very good at positioning their tools. However, their pitches often contradict with themselves in a way that what's promoted as a Remote Administration Tool, has in fact built-in antivirus software evading capabilities, rootkit functionality and tutorials on...
Microsoft Will Replace OneCare with Security Software (NewsFactor via Yahoo! ...
Microsoft plans to stop accepting paid subscriptions to Windows Live OneCare in mid-2009. The security software is slated to be replaced by a free offering code-named Morro, which will focus on providing consumer PCs with core protection from viruses, spyware, rootkits, trojans and other forms of malware.
Microsoft to offer free security software (MSNBC)
Microsoft Corp said Wednesday it will discontinue sales of its subscription PC security service and instead offer free software to help protect computers from viruses, spyware and other threats.