This document was originally written for a friend to give out to customers at his job so they have a better understanding of Spyware. I figured why not release this for anyone else who is curious about it, in more details then usually given.
Q: “What is spyware?â€
A: Spyware is anything that will be installed on your machine to gather information or promote someone’s web site or company. What I mean by promote a web site is that they could be using Spyware to create constant pop-ups on your machine while you are not on or even while you are on, creating a constant annoying process, while doing that, they are getting more hits to there affiliates processing more and more money to there accounts.
Q: “What different forms does Spyware come in?â€
A: The person who is trying to put Spyware on your machine will do desperate things just to infect your machine. The most common type of Spyware comes from web sites, which are called ActiveX Components which will basically give a server authentication to install whatever the package includes right from your web browser. When there is pop-up displayed while surfing to a web page, asking for a choice between Yes or No then you should always click no. There are exceptions of course. If the site is legit, something like Microsoft’s web site, then you should be ok, just do not accept anything from some web site you have no clue of what it’s for.
Spyware also comes in the form of applications, primarily installs. When you install an application, sometimes it will ask you to install “Promotion Software,†never install this! When they say promote, they usually mean that some sort of Spyware will be installed so that it will constantly be doing some sort of voting for an affiliate they have so they make money. Almost every type of P2P File Sharing program installs these pests. For instance, here are just some of the most used P2P file sharing applications which are known to install Spyware with it; Audiogalaxy Satellite, BearShare, iMesh, KaZaa, LimeWire, Morpheus and many more…
You will also notice, when using a spyware scanner, to remove spyware that it picks up a lot of registry keys and various cookies. Those are not as much of a threat as the applications actually running, but it does mean that you could be infected or you visited a web site that attempted to steal information from you. The registry keys are there because you obviously either have a program that’s currently spyware, or you previously had it installed, those are just its old settings.
Q: “How can this be a threat to me?â€
A: The severity of your privacy over the internet is very high. Some spyware components will send anything and everything about you that’s on your computer. You could be giving out home, CC #’s, personal and various other types of information to the attacker (spyware creator / user). Most spyware components just cause a system to decrease in performance, which in a way is not a threat to you, but it could be if the computer is very important and much not be slowed down what’s so ever. Eventually, after you have installed so many things that included spyware, it will be time to take it into the local computer shop if you’re not careful.
Q: “What should I do to cleanse myself of Spyware and how do I prevent it?â€
A: Constantly run a spyware cleaner, I recommend using a couple, one being Ad-Aware, SpySweeper and the freeware utility SpyBot Search & Destroy. If you do a lot of downloading and various internet activities, scan yourself daily or weekly. If not, going a month or so is probably fine, but pushing it, since there is always new Spyware components released. Also, use an alternative web browser, most Spyware components target Internet Explorer, which could allow silent installs and various threats. The web browser I recommend is called Opera or FireFox. That should help you protect yourself and your machine. If you want a variety of Spyware removers then I would check out http://www.spychecker.com for all your Spyware removing needs!
Q: “What is spyware?â€
A: Spyware is anything that will be installed on your machine to gather information or promote someone’s web site or company. What I mean by promote a web site is that they could be using Spyware to create constant pop-ups on your machine while you are not on or even while you are on, creating a constant annoying process, while doing that, they are getting more hits to there affiliates processing more and more money to there accounts.
Q: “What different forms does Spyware come in?â€
A: The person who is trying to put Spyware on your machine will do desperate things just to infect your machine. The most common type of Spyware comes from web sites, which are called ActiveX Components which will basically give a server authentication to install whatever the package includes right from your web browser. When there is pop-up displayed while surfing to a web page, asking for a choice between Yes or No then you should always click no. There are exceptions of course. If the site is legit, something like Microsoft’s web site, then you should be ok, just do not accept anything from some web site you have no clue of what it’s for.
Spyware also comes in the form of applications, primarily installs. When you install an application, sometimes it will ask you to install “Promotion Software,†never install this! When they say promote, they usually mean that some sort of Spyware will be installed so that it will constantly be doing some sort of voting for an affiliate they have so they make money. Almost every type of P2P File Sharing program installs these pests. For instance, here are just some of the most used P2P file sharing applications which are known to install Spyware with it; Audiogalaxy Satellite, BearShare, iMesh, KaZaa, LimeWire, Morpheus and many more…
You will also notice, when using a spyware scanner, to remove spyware that it picks up a lot of registry keys and various cookies. Those are not as much of a threat as the applications actually running, but it does mean that you could be infected or you visited a web site that attempted to steal information from you. The registry keys are there because you obviously either have a program that’s currently spyware, or you previously had it installed, those are just its old settings.
Q: “How can this be a threat to me?â€
A: The severity of your privacy over the internet is very high. Some spyware components will send anything and everything about you that’s on your computer. You could be giving out home, CC #’s, personal and various other types of information to the attacker (spyware creator / user). Most spyware components just cause a system to decrease in performance, which in a way is not a threat to you, but it could be if the computer is very important and much not be slowed down what’s so ever. Eventually, after you have installed so many things that included spyware, it will be time to take it into the local computer shop if you’re not careful.
Q: “What should I do to cleanse myself of Spyware and how do I prevent it?â€
A: Constantly run a spyware cleaner, I recommend using a couple, one being Ad-Aware, SpySweeper and the freeware utility SpyBot Search & Destroy. If you do a lot of downloading and various internet activities, scan yourself daily or weekly. If not, going a month or so is probably fine, but pushing it, since there is always new Spyware components released. Also, use an alternative web browser, most Spyware components target Internet Explorer, which could allow silent installs and various threats. The web browser I recommend is called Opera or FireFox. That should help you protect yourself and your machine. If you want a variety of Spyware removers then I would check out http://www.spychecker.com for all your Spyware removing needs!
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